That Old Black Magic
by David Samuel McCalmont
That Old Black Magic Called the Media
It's hard to say just when Ted Turner's reimagining of the American news cycle – Cable News Network (CNN) – went from being a nominally liberal (but fair and objective) purveyor of news and commentary to the shrill, bombastic, thin-skinned, and intolerant mouthpiece of the far left that it has become. Both CNN and USA Today were hatched in the 1980s and expanded consumers' horizons in the Ronald Reagan heydays. They both filled needs and a cultural/political vacuum. USA Today, in my opinion actually supported President Reagan often in its early days.
I traveled a lot in those days and having a newspaper available in print that mostly read the same everywhere was another robust form of unity that underscored the solidarity of a vast and growing nation. In the same vein, CNN much more than the troika of national news (NBC, ABC, CBS) brought a sameness to the national conversation while initially operating behind a firewall between its news organization and its plethora of commentators filling the many hours of the day not available to the national broadcasters subject to F.C.C. regulations.
Oh, What a Spin that They’re In
The seminal event which propelled CNN into its never-ending tailspin away from being an objective news organization serving the wider public to becoming the current-day's house organ for Democrat Party and far-left causes was the 2000 presidential election. From the time of Al Gore's official challenge to the system's choosing a Republican (George W. Bush) the winner, through the U.S. Supreme Court on stark political grounds upholding the Electoral College's edict that Bush legally and legitimately beat Gore, to this day, the Democrat Party has denied and sought legal relief from every major national Republican victory. The politics of projection are at work here. Democrats, and their mouthpieces at work in places like CNN, accuse Republicans, particularly M.A.G.A. purists, of being election deniers, when in fact it's far more likely that Democrats seek lawfare means (not to mention outright fraud) to deprive their enemies of victory through the legitimate democratic process.
Lovin’ the Spin that They’re In
This now brings us to CNN in 2024 as the sponsor at least of the first debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. After 41 months of unprecedented catastrophes, ranging from the humiliating withdrawal in Afghanistan, a nation-destroying open-borders policy, running the monetary printing presses 24/7 which has resulted in most people considering a night out at McDonald's a luxury and funding a forever war in faraway Ukraine while holding back vital munitions from a trusted Middle East ally in its hour of need, Joe Biden might have finally done our country a favor by killing off the repulsive Commission on Presidential Debates.
When That Elevator Starts Its Ride
One day, corporate media was telling us how slam-dunk Biden's reelection was. The next day, in a dialectical turn-about, Biden's handlers proved that notion a lie by accepting an offer from far-left CNN to host a debate with Donald Trump on June 27, 2024 (when a third of the nation will be on vacation). By going with CNN, Biden is effectively telling the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) to take a long walk on a short pier. This is not only glorious, but long overdue. MAGA Republicans would much prefer the far-left super P.A.C. otherwise known as CNN to the CPD.
Down and Down They Go
Here's why! Political insiders have been aware for ages how the CPD has rigged its "respectable" debates to favor the Democrat presidential candidate. Nevertheless, the CPD still carries an unearned imprimatur of legitimacy with too much of the Republican Party. In turn, this unearned respect legitimizes the tripwires the CPD's left-wing moderators set up for Republicans. Meanwhile, CNN enjoys no such aura of respect from Republicans and independents. Nor does proposed moderator Jake "The Election Meddler" Tapper. Want to know why? With a nod to Breitbart News, here's why:
‘Round and ‘Round They Go
Russia Collusion Hoax; Hands Up, Don't Shoot Hoax; Jussie Smollett Hoax; Covington KKKids Hoax; “Very Fine People” Hoax; Seven-Hour Gap Hoax; Russian Bounties Hoax; Trump Trashes Troops Hoax; Policemen Killed At Mostly Peaceful J/6 Protest Hoax; Rittenhouse Hoax; Eating While Black Hoax; Border Agents Beating Illegals Hoax; NASCAR Noose Hoax; Georgia Jim Crow 2.0 Hoax; Trump Assaulted Secret Service Agents, Grabbed Steering Wheel Of Beast Hoax; MAGA Assaulted Paul Pelosi Hoax; COVID Lab Leak Theory is Racist Hoax; Hunter Biden's laptop Is Russian Disinformation Hoax; Joe Biden Will Never Ban Gas Stoves Hoax; COVID Deaths Over-Counted a Conspiracy Theory Hoax; Mass Graves Of Native Children In Canada Hoax; Trump Killed All The Fish Hoax; Trump Told People To Drink Bleach Hoax; Hamas Hospital Hoax; If Reelected, Trump Will Execute People Hoax; The Alfa Bank Hoax; Libs Of TikTok Murdered Non-Binary Teen Hoax; The Aaron Rodgers Sandy Hook-Truther Hoax; and the “There Will Be a Blood Bath” Hoax.
He's The Liar We’ve Been Waiting For
As for Jake Tapper, most people conclude that he's a pompous serial liar, hypocrite, and conspiracy theorist. He's a fake news anchor who bragged about refusing to book on his basement-rated show those who questioned the 2020 election, even after he spent years questioning the 2016 election with his Russia Collusion Hoax. Proven serial liar Democrat Adam Schiff is a regular on his program.
That in itself says everything.
Jake Tapper hates Donald Trump so much that to humiliate the man, Tapper has devoted portions of his not-much-viewed show to the subject of Trump's penis. There is no sheen of respectability or professionalism around Jake Tapper.
Everyone knows Tapper will rig the debate in favor of Biden.
Everyone knows Tapper isn't interested in truth or fairness.
Everyone knows he's especially not interested in helping the American people make an informed decision. Tapper's wealth and status is directly connected to a Biden/Democrat victory in November.
Ironically, that helps Trump. If Trump loses the first debate, everyone will know it was rigged. If he wins the debate, the public will be impressed at how he overcame a moderator so bitter, partisan, grasping and dishonest that he's obsessed with Trump's penis.
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I’m writing this on the 148th anniversary of "Custer's Last Stand." Hope it's happier for you than it was for him!
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I will be traveling Thursday and miss the live spectacle. It will do nothing to change my impression on either Trump, Biden or CNN. Any voter who is looking for help in deciding who to vote for in November must be as confused and blind as Biden.
LOL - "Everyone knows Jake Tapper will rig the debate in favor of Trump" "Ironically that helps Trump"
This is a false dichotomy or a logical fallacy. There is no way that the format of this debate is going to help Trump. In fact, what it really shows is that Trump is not the great dealmaker or negotiator-extraordinaire he claims to be. He got taken to the cleaners by the Biden team. This is the most favorable format that Biden could have hoped for.