Tuesday, May 27, 2003

Broderization

Atrios hits on something that has been a pet peeve of mine for quite some time:
It's clear that the infamous Dean Broder is Dean of nothing more than an ethically challenged press and the Moron-Americans that dominate our discourse. Suddenly he discovers that maybe the 5 year plan of Dear Leader might actually cause a bit of pain and suffering. Well, at least Bush didn't wear Earth tones you useless relic.
David Broder represents an institutional form of journalism that believes that it is more important for journalists to keep the system from falling apart than it is to uncover the truth. For example, in 2000, regardless of who he thought was the legitimate victory in the election, he would never say outright say it was Gore. He wouldn't say it because he knows that the Republicans would bring more chaos to the institutions of government if their man did not get into power. So he was willing to let them have it for the sake of the unity of the country. Bah! This is the same kind of paternalistic attitude that suggests that it was better for the country that Ford pardon Nixon because having him go on trial would have torn this country further apart (profiles in courage my ass!) No, you idiots. Putting Nixon on trial would have proven to all Americans, and the rest of the world, that we mean it when we say that all of us are equal before the eyes of the law. Broder is what happens when journalists become part of the systems of power instead of just reporters on its machinations. They become the enablers of that system, its courtiers, more interested in keeping the illusion of a well-ordered system running than in pointing out the faults that will inevitably bring it crashing to the ground. Broder and his ilk are a sickness on the body politic and the sooner they are removed from positions of influence the sooner this country will be able to restore some of its greatness.

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