Thursday, August 9, 2018

Hypocrisy Alert: 43% of GOP say Trump should be allowed to shut down media

POTUS continues to call news organizations that report false, disagreeable or negative things about him as "fake news." He's right in many instances--the left hates him and most mainstream news outlets are left-leaning and no longer report the news but provide consumers of news with opinions. That isn't fake, it's slanted.

But Trump has gone so far as to call journalists the "enemies of the American people." That, folks, is fake news.

The press often lies by omission and slants their take in accordance with their political views, but that's actually their right, whether it's right or wrong to do so. A flat out lie is not what I'm talking about--omitting something is unethical, but it isn't the same thing as a lie.

Sadly, in an Ipsos survey reported on by the Daily Beast, 43 percent of Republicans now say he "should have the authority to close news outlets engaged in bad behavior."

Bad behavior? Isn't that kind of the same idea as hate speech? Aren't conservatives and other staunch constitutionalists upset over social media giants banning conspiracy theorist Alex Jones? As much as he sucks as a human being, he has the right to say whatever he wants as long as he doesn't call for violence or do anything vile regarding children.

The Ipsos survey resulted in only 36 percent of GOP voters disagreeing with the notion that Trump should have the authority to close news outlets he believes engage in "bad behavior."

When asked whether Trump should close down specific organizations such as CNN, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, 23 percent said he should and 49 percent did not.

The survey also showed that overall, Republicans were likely to dislike the media more than Democrats.

Gee, I wonder why when they ask hard-hitting questions like: "What's your favorite color, Mr. Obama?" or "Does your awesomeness ever get in the way of your boyish good looks, Mr. Obama?"

Forty-eight percent in the survey said they believe the "news media is the enemy of the American people." Only 28 percent disagreed.

One statistic that's hard to dispute is the one whereby nearly four out of five (79 percent) believe "the mainstream media treats President Trump unfairly."

Show me one instance where they erred on the side of Trump rather than against him.

Trump has referred to US libel laws "a sham and a disgrace," and often says that journalists lie and make up sources, and they knowingly report false information to make him look bad.

The danger to these claims is to a free press, and that becomes a danger to freedom.

Speaking of free, it's the free market that can put so-called fake news in check. If you don't believe a source of news, don't support it. If it can be proven they are intentionally lying, that's when libel laws should kick in.

"The Fake News hates me saying that they are the Enemy of the People only because they know it's TRUE. I am providing a great service by explaining this to the American People. They purposely cause great division & distrust. They can also cause War! They are very dangerous & sick!" he tweeted on Sunday.

If you believe all of those claims, then you're simply believing in the other fake news, and that's just as dangerous as the claims Trump is making.

Dictatorships usually censor the media and have it support their own agenda.

I may hate MSNBC and despise CNN, but I don't want them muzzled any more than I want the idiot Alex Jones muzzled.

There is a saying that liberals hates it when conservatives talk. And conservatives want liberals to keep talking.

According to the survey, it isn't only the GOP who think POTUS should have the power to shut up the media. Twelve percent of Democrats and 21 percent of Independents agree that "the president should have the authority to close news outlets engaged in bad behavior."

Proof that the average IQ is around 100, and our schools are teaching to the low end.

On a positive note, 74 percent of Democrats and 55 percent of Independents disagreed with the statement. However, 12 percent of Democrats and 26 percent Independents agree "the news media is the enemy of the American people," and 74 percent Dems and 50 percent Independents disagreed.

Overall, 57 percent of all surveyed believe the news media and reporters are "necessary to keep the Trump administration honest," including 39 percent plurality of Republicans.

It's just too bad the media didn't do that with the Obama administration nor would they have been likely to have kept the Hillary Clinton administration honest had she won. [God forbid.]

A large majority, 85 percent, rightfully believe that "freedom of the press is essential for American democracy" compared to 4 percent who stupidly oppose that statement.

A recent Gallup poll showed that 41 percent of voters approve of the job Trump is doing while 54 percent wouldn't approve of him if he cured cancer and brought us world peace. They'd say he put a lot of doctors out of work and he only created world peace because he's a racist and to stroke his ego.

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