On Wednesday, Ace of Spades spoke quite elegantly for those of us who abhor the whole idea of boycotts against speech we do not like but also have come to realize that the continuation of this Mighty Fine Principle is a suicide pact. Using boycotts against speech they disagree with, the Left (primarily the Soros/Clinton organization Media Matters) has already had Glenn Beck removed from Fox News, taken out Bill O’Reilly (and by extension the entire Fox News brand) and nearly took out Rush Limbaugh a few years ago.
The Left’s goal is as simple as it is sinister; to bully and intimidate advertisers who sponsor right-leaning voices into dropping their support. Obviously, without advertisers, the television and/or radio shows die, and with them, by design, do all voices competing with mainstream media narratives designed to destroy anyone who opposes globalism and centralized nanny-statism.
Last week Sean Hannity was targeted over his opinion on the Seth Rich issue. But just as weak-kneed advertisers began to flee Hannity’s Fox News program, a group of conservatives finally had enough — namely Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center, and a new group called Media Equalizer.
Fighting fire with fire — because we have been left with no other choice — these groups have already launched highly-organized campaigns to threaten boycotts against advertisers who sponsor all of these Hate Programs on CNN and MSNBC, these shows devoted 24/7 to destroying President Trump with wild-eyed conspiracies.
“[W]e will be publicly listing the advertisers of these programs and asking them to defend their decision to continue airing ads on these shows,” Bozell said in his statement. “Every time one of their on-air personalities go beyond political commentary and engage in smear and hate, we are going to unleash an army of activists to contact these advertisers by phone and through social media to ask them why they are advertising on programs that are so biased, repulsive and morally bankrupt.”
Aping tactics well-honed by Media Matters, Media Equalizer has already assembled a list of advertisers that support MSNBC conspiracy theorist Rachel Maddow. “Coming next,” the site promises, are “Morning Joe, Brian Stelter, Stephen Colbert, Michael Smerconish, Don Lemon, Lawrence O’Donnell, Anderson Cooper, George Stephanopolous, and more!”
“More!” should definitely include Jake — Golden Showers — Tapper, who had no problem donning his Sanctimony Cape as a means to destroy Bill O’Reilly based only on disputed allegations.
What’s good for the goose is good for the Fake Journalist, right?
Thus far, this fire with fire approach appears to be working. After CNN star Kathy Griffin released an ISIS-inspired photo of her holding up President Trump’s severed head, other than rote comments claiming to be disgusted by her behavior, the left-wing cable news network did nothing. The Internet responded by targeting CNN’s advertisers and it was only after the security company ADT said it was pulling its ads that CNN finally fired Griffin.
Also, rather than sit on their hands and wait for Hannity’s career to be systematically dismantled, his legions of fans started contacting the advertisers who withdrew from his show. One advertiser, USAA, finally relented and returned. There are more than a half-dozen still holding out but my guess is that this pushback will make any other advertiser think twice before caving to the Media Matters Mob.
I want to live in a society where a Kathy Griffin can do something stupid and repugnant and not lose her entire career. I really do.
I want to live in a society where someone (on the Left or Right) can say something terrible, apologize, and then go on with their life. I really do.
Unfortunately, the Left and the mainstream media disagree, and to prove it they have launched scorched earth campaigns against everyone from rodeo clowns to college speakers to the number one star of cable news (O’Reilly) — and they all went down.
This has to stop, and the only way to stop it is to start fighting back in a war we did not start.
Ace:
It is imperative we begin emulating the left in its tactics.
A couple of years ago, I suggested a completely different strategy: I wanted to pursue a kinder path. I wanted an end to the speech wars and social media mobs and boycotts and all the rest of it.
But that path has been tried, and it has failed. Passive resistance — moral resistance — can only work when dealing with opponents with morality and honor, or who, at least, see you as more than subhuman.
Gandhi’s tactics would not have worked had India been colonized by, say, China.
Many on the right, or even liberals who lean to the left but who still hold to classic liberal traditions, have called, endlessly, for an end to the Speech Wars.
That failed.
In the immortal words of the legendary philosopher James Dalton, “I want you to be nice … until it’s time … to not be nice.”
And according to my watch, it is time to not be nice.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.