On Saturday night’s episode of Fox News’ Beltway Boys, co-host Mort Kondracke blasted the decision by the Nevada Democratic Party to pull out of a Fox News-sponsored presidential debate.
Kondracke said, “This tells you a lot about what Moveon.org, Daily Kos kind of left-wing liberals are all about. I mean they are not about free speech and free debate.” He added, “This is junior grade Stalinism on their part.” Defending his network, Kondracke claimed, “If Fox was embarrassingly right wing or something like that, it would be plain for all to see.” Watch it:
Indeed, the heart of the problem is Fox’s propensity to be “embarrassingly right wing.”
As Atrios has said, “The problem with Fox isn’t that it’s conservative, it’s that it’s basically a propaganda outlet” for right-wing partisans. Matt Stoller added that the Fox News audience is not the issue, “the problem that we have is that allowing Fox News to singlehandedly host the debate gives that channel the legitimacy of claiming to be a real news source.” And the more deference Fox is given as “a ‘serious’ news operation,” notes Markos, the greater platform it has to peddle unfounded smears against the left.
By refusing to engage these substantive concerns, tonight’s Beltway Boys segment helped prove the point.
(HT: Newshounds)
Transcript:
KONDRACKE: Now this tells you a lot. Fox or no Fox, this tells you a lot about what the Moveon.org, Daily Kos kind of left-wing liberals are all about. I mean they are not about free speech and free debate. If Fox, you know, was embarrassingly right wing or something like that, it would be plain for all to see. They just want to stop at any of their — any Democrats from participating in this because it is a Fox thing, and they’re willing to intimidate them to do it. This is junior grade Stalinism on their part.
BARNES: Stalin?
KONDRACKE: Stalin.
BARNES: Alright, I agree.
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