Virginian Pilot Celebrates "Gotcha" Moments and Negative Campaigning

Pravda was a beacon of journalistic truth and technical prowess compared to the Virginian Pilot.

Isn’t it the Drive-by-media that is always opining that we should “stick to the issues?”

That “negative campaigning” (defined as telling the truth about Democrats) is taking the low road?

Why, yes it is!

So what’s the headline news in today’s Virginian Pilot?

Senate candidates' staffers look for that 'macaca' moment.

And why is that, boys and girls? The writer, Austin Wright, explains:

Two years ago, former U.S. Sen. George Allen looked into a video camera and doomed his re-election bid. This year, the campaigns for Jim Gilmore and Mark Warner are tracking each other, ready for any slip-ups.

Actually, Austin Wright is being – as they say – disingenuous. That’s the term polite use when they don’t want to say that someone is lying. You see, it wasn’t Allen’s use of a term that no one had ever heard of and that no one with any sense believed was a racial slur that doomed Allen’s campaign. It was the fact that the Virginian Pilot, the Washington Post and the rest of the Drive-by-media used the term to brand Allen as a racist. Dozens of stories followed to cement that image in the public’s mind.

The Drive-by-media was in the tank for James Webb and decided that “negative campaigning” was perfectly fine as a way of torpedoing George Allen and they led the charge with gusto. All of the things that we are not allowed to talk about with Messiah Obama were trotted out with the good offices of the Drive-by-media to destroy the reputation of George Allen.

So what is the Virginian Pilot celebrating? Why, the use of video cameras to as a way of creating cutting edge negative campaign fodder. And why is the Pilot doing it? Because thanks to the Pilot and the Drive-by-media, we have proof that it works.

Except when it’s applied to Messiah Obama because the Drive-by-media tells us what we are allowed to criticize and what we are not … otherwise we’re racist running dogs of capitalism.

Rush Limbaugh has a list, and it keeps growing.

RUSH: With Obama we started out, we couldn't talk about his big ears 'cause that made him nervous. We've gone from that to this: Not only can we not mention his ears...

We can't talk about his mother.

We can't talk about his father.

We can't talk about his grandmother unless he does, brings her up as a "typical white person."

We can't talk about his wife, can't talk about his preacher, can't talk about his terrorist friends, can't talk about his voting record, can't talk about his religion.

We can't talk about appeasement.

We can't talk about color; we can't talk about lack of color.

We can't talk about race. We can't talk about bombers and mobsters who are his friends. We can't talk about schooling. We can't talk about his name, "Hussein."

We can't talk about his lack of experience. Can't talk about his income. Can't talk about his flag pin.

This started out we can't call him a liberal.

It started out we just couldn't talk about his ears.

Now we can't say anything about him.

So negative campaigning is a bad thing, dragging up the past, what your handlers do and who financed your rise in the political world is not to be discussed, except when it’s aided and abetted by the Drive-by-media. Then it’s a free press at work.

No Negativity, No News Coverage

Bill Hobbs notes that the news media don't focus on positive campaigning, only on negative campaigning. Like a pervert, the media lifts a girl's dress and shouts outrage by pointing out her underwear.

In Virginia, the "macaca" campaign which defined the race between Senator Allen and challenger Webb, was entirely the production of the Washington Post and then amplified by the rest of the MSM. That fact, and that alone has led to one of the most mean-spirited campaigns in memory and it can be laid at the door of the "prestige" mainstream media.

From Bill's article:

What portion of campaign ads in presidential campaigns did you find were negative?
Over the last 44 years there has been an increase in negativity. But it's basically a 50-50 divide. But if you were to listen to coverage of campaigns you'd think you only get negative ads.
...reflects directly on The Tennessean and the rest of the Nashville news media, which seem to be covering only those races this election year in which one or both sides are launching negative ads.

There's the Corker-Ford race for the U.S. Senate, of course. Also, the media has covered the 17th District state Senate race, where the attack ads are flying between incumbent Sen. Mae Beavers and former Sen. Bob Rochelle. The media also has covered the 23rd district state Senate race, where well-funded Democratic nominee Mary Parker has launched a vicious and false attack ad against Republican nominee Jack Johnson.

But the media ignores the 21st district state Senate race between 36-year-incumbent state Sen. Doug Henry, the Democrat, and Republican challenger Bob Krumm, in which there have been no attack ads and nothing but civility between the two sides.

Why? Is it because the media believes Henry unlikely to lose? Then why do they care about the 23rd district race between Johnson and Parker? The 23rd district, after all, is heavily Republican and Johnson, the GOP nominee, is the heavy favorite. The 21st district, where political newcomer Krumm, 40, is taking on 80-year-old Sen. Henry, who was elected in 1970 before thousands of district's residents were even born, is much more evenly split between Democrats and Republicans.

And this morning, the Virginian Pilot's front page morphed into their editorial page with the headline article. It's a puff piece about Jim Webb, the candidate they endoresed on their editorial page a few days ago. We are invited to go to their on-line issue to find out about Senator Allen.

New Scandal Rocks Allen Campaign

From John Semmens at the azconservative.com

Republican Senator George Allen’s campaign for reelection was dealt what many in the media are calling a “death blow” when a former classmate came forward to reveal sordid details from Allen’s past.

In a new television ad paid for by the “Webb for Senate” campaign, Albie Wyner, a pre-school classmate of Allen’s at the Mary Moppet Day School of Fairfax Virginia revealed that during a particularly tense playground confrontation in 1955, Allen called him an inappropriate name. “I remember we were playing tag,” Wyner said. “Georgie tagged me and said I was it. I didn’t want to be it. So, I slapped him. He called me a ‘pooh-pooh head.’ I started to cry. I was so humiliated. I told the teacher, but she was a Republican and wouldn’t do anything. George Allen ruined my life. Don’t let him ruin yours. Vote for James Webb for U.S. Senate.”

Reached for comment, Allen said he did not recall the incident. “I was in pre-school 50 years ago,” said Allen. “I don’t remember who was in my class, much less what may have happened on any given day.”

Webb characterized Allen’s memory lapse as “awfully convenient.” “A man who forgets so easily isn’t someone the voters should trust to be their senator,” Webb said. “The indifference to suffering demonstrated by this incident is indicative of the heartless nature of the Republicans when it comes to human rights. I only hope that the message gets through to enough Virginia voters in time.”