How To Smear Conservatives
A little warning to the right (and tips-albeit transparent ones) to the left about how to (predictably) smear conservatives by Robert Stacy McCain (to the total angst of the former right-leaning, now full-out lefty, Charles Johnson (Little Green Footballs) who apparently thinks,like a typical lefty, that everyone to the right is *yawn* racist and a homophobe)
Maybe the left can use these tactics when using their "tips" on how to call into conservative radio shows.
Bad Faith – The accusation that conservatives are motivated by bad faith (mala fides) is essential to the Left’s attacks. Stigmatizing and marginalizing conservatives is much easier than debating them. Cogent arguments about policy become unnecessary to advancing the Left’s political agenda if they can dismiss its opponents as racist, sexist, homophobic, etc.
The Ransom Note Method – By carefully selecting “evidence” of bad faith, the Left is able to present a distorted image of its conservative targets. Out-of-context quotes and controversial biographical data are cherry-picked and re-assembled (in the manner of a kidnapper assembling a ransom note) to present the target in the most damning possible light. This method is particularly effective against conservative talk-radio personalities who engage in polemic battle with leftists. This is why Media Matters devotes such enormous resources to monitoring talk radio in hopes of grabbing a 40-second “gotcha” sound-bite.
The ‘Links and Ties’ Method – More than simple guilt-by-association, the Links-and-Ties Method involves presenting a chain of incidental connections to suggest a sympathy of views that does not actually exist. To wit: Target A once spoke at Event B which was sponsored by Group C, co-founded by Person D who once made controversial statement E. By this method, it is implied that Target A actually endorses Statement E.
Telescoping and Telepathy – The actions, statements and associations of a conservative target acquire a trans-temporal permanence in the smear attacks of the Left. Once a target is associated (however incidentally) with controversy, this association can be repeated endlessly as evidence of bad faith, no matter how many years intervene. Furthermore, if the target is associated in Year X with a respectable person or organization that becomes controversial in Year X+5, that association can be cited in Year X+10 as evidence against the target – even if the target had no involvement in the cause of controversy. Finally, all evidence of bad faith accumulated by these methods is presented as indicative of the target’s deepest and unwavering personal convictions, as if the accuser were possessed of telepathic mind-reading abilities.
Deny, Denounce, Repudiate – The key to these attack methods is the presumption of the target’s guilt. The accuser, having carefully selected the evidence to be discussed in the manner of a prosecutor making an indictment, demands that the target deny the accusation, denounce the bad-faith views involved, and repudiate the persons and organizations to whom he has been connected by the links-and-ties method. As anyone who has been targeted by such attacks can attest, it’s rather like being accused in one of Stalin’s infamous Moscow “show trials.”
Repeated successful use of these tactics is tremendously advantageous to the Left, tending to prevent conservatives from cooperating effectively in their opposition to the Left’s agenda. If a target (e.g., Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Andrew Breitbart, et al.) can be isolated and rendered sufficiently “controversial,” other conservatives understandably will become reluctant to associate with that person. Conservatives are made to feel defensive and as a result may become suspicious of their colleagues, overly cautious in their activism, and hesitant to speak out on behalf of fellow conservatives targeted by the Left.It is important to understand that the Left’s use of these methods is systematic and progressive. Once a targeted group or individual has been rendered sufficiently “toxic” by smear tactics, the Left then moves on to other targets, gradually expanding the list of those who have been delegitimized as too controversial for participation in the political mainstream. Conservatives who fail to fight back against these smears are thereby granting the Left the ability to decide who is or is not “mainstream.”There is ultimately no safety in silence. Those who hesitate to defend the Left’s targets today – whether those targets are Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin or James O’Keefe – will regret their caution when they themselves become targets tomorrow. I hope that Mr. Prager will be interested in discussing this subject on his radio program. If not, I hope at least you will forward to him this e-mail from someone he never heard of before.
-Robert Stacy McCain
Maybe the left can use these tactics when using their "tips" on how to call into conservative radio shows.
Bad Faith – The accusation that conservatives are motivated by bad faith (mala fides) is essential to the Left’s attacks. Stigmatizing and marginalizing conservatives is much easier than debating them. Cogent arguments about policy become unnecessary to advancing the Left’s political agenda if they can dismiss its opponents as racist, sexist, homophobic, etc.
The Ransom Note Method – By carefully selecting “evidence” of bad faith, the Left is able to present a distorted image of its conservative targets. Out-of-context quotes and controversial biographical data are cherry-picked and re-assembled (in the manner of a kidnapper assembling a ransom note) to present the target in the most damning possible light. This method is particularly effective against conservative talk-radio personalities who engage in polemic battle with leftists. This is why Media Matters devotes such enormous resources to monitoring talk radio in hopes of grabbing a 40-second “gotcha” sound-bite.
The ‘Links and Ties’ Method – More than simple guilt-by-association, the Links-and-Ties Method involves presenting a chain of incidental connections to suggest a sympathy of views that does not actually exist. To wit: Target A once spoke at Event B which was sponsored by Group C, co-founded by Person D who once made controversial statement E. By this method, it is implied that Target A actually endorses Statement E.
Telescoping and Telepathy – The actions, statements and associations of a conservative target acquire a trans-temporal permanence in the smear attacks of the Left. Once a target is associated (however incidentally) with controversy, this association can be repeated endlessly as evidence of bad faith, no matter how many years intervene. Furthermore, if the target is associated in Year X with a respectable person or organization that becomes controversial in Year X+5, that association can be cited in Year X+10 as evidence against the target – even if the target had no involvement in the cause of controversy. Finally, all evidence of bad faith accumulated by these methods is presented as indicative of the target’s deepest and unwavering personal convictions, as if the accuser were possessed of telepathic mind-reading abilities.
Deny, Denounce, Repudiate – The key to these attack methods is the presumption of the target’s guilt. The accuser, having carefully selected the evidence to be discussed in the manner of a prosecutor making an indictment, demands that the target deny the accusation, denounce the bad-faith views involved, and repudiate the persons and organizations to whom he has been connected by the links-and-ties method. As anyone who has been targeted by such attacks can attest, it’s rather like being accused in one of Stalin’s infamous Moscow “show trials.”
Repeated successful use of these tactics is tremendously advantageous to the Left, tending to prevent conservatives from cooperating effectively in their opposition to the Left’s agenda. If a target (e.g., Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Andrew Breitbart, et al.) can be isolated and rendered sufficiently “controversial,” other conservatives understandably will become reluctant to associate with that person. Conservatives are made to feel defensive and as a result may become suspicious of their colleagues, overly cautious in their activism, and hesitant to speak out on behalf of fellow conservatives targeted by the Left.It is important to understand that the Left’s use of these methods is systematic and progressive. Once a targeted group or individual has been rendered sufficiently “toxic” by smear tactics, the Left then moves on to other targets, gradually expanding the list of those who have been delegitimized as too controversial for participation in the political mainstream. Conservatives who fail to fight back against these smears are thereby granting the Left the ability to decide who is or is not “mainstream.”There is ultimately no safety in silence. Those who hesitate to defend the Left’s targets today – whether those targets are Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin or James O’Keefe – will regret their caution when they themselves become targets tomorrow. I hope that Mr. Prager will be interested in discussing this subject on his radio program. If not, I hope at least you will forward to him this e-mail from someone he never heard of before.
-Robert Stacy McCain
posted by Northern Exposer at 05:48
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home