STEWART: We poisoned that brand. Just out of curiosity, let me ask you a question, and I mean this sincerely. How do you poison a cyanide factory? But see, the little game that they play here is, the only reason the right looks bad is that these guys are unfair liars to us. […] My points is, we don’t like. We don’t distort. We actually have a fellow who works in the building who uses every fiber of his being to prevent us from doing so, that moral bastard. [..] The point is on the right, pretending that our truthfulness is what’s really important to them, which ironically is not true. What matters to the right is discrediting anything that they believe harms their side. That’s their prime directive.
If there’s one thing Conservatives HATE- especially those in the print and visual media- it’s being fact-checked and being called out for their unadulterated hyper-partisan bullshit. They’ve collectively hated Jon Stewart for focusing on them for years…which he wouldn’t have done had they not made themselves such delicious targets. Telling the truth is boring; if Conservatives in the media had focused on that instead of spreading propaganda and Right-wing talking points, Stewart would have moved onto something funny. As it was, they determined it was in their best interest to hold Stewart accountable for being “mean” to them and demand that he leave them alone. That Stewart didn’t is a credit to his commitment to truth-telling…and his keen eye for hilarious bullshit passed off as news and informed commentary.
Megyn Kelly dissed Stewart for not being “a force for good.”. Rich Lowry whined that Stewart was mean to Conservatives. Other Conservatives have dinged him for presenting mean-spirited personal attacks unsupported by actual…you know, evidence. That they almost uniformly provide no examples or evidence to support their claims is apropos of nothing. For most Conservative pundits, the mere fact that words tumble from their lips ipso facto imbues them with the patina of truth and righteousness. They talk, ergo they’re relevant.
What matters to the Right is discrediting ANYTHING that they believe discredits their side. That’s their Prime Directive…and unlike Captain Kirk, they f——-g stick with the Prime Directive. They don’t just drop the protocol any time they feel like humping a green girl in a unitard. Look, this mission drives their attack on all the institutions that form the foundation of the country they purport to love so dearly.
The truth is that isn’t about the truth. It never has been for the Fright-wing media. Their obsessive attempts to dumb every aspect of life down to a two-dimensional ideological litmus test has nothing to do with speaking the truth…except as their talking points define it. More than anything, their efforts are about dividing and conquering- splitting Americans into two camps: evil, nasty, blood-sucking, America hating Liberals and virtuous, righteous, patriotic, defender of all that’s good, right, and holy Conservatives. Nothing quite like creating a stark contrast, eh?
Conservatives have nothing to offer except anger, division, propaganda, and unfounded personal accusations. There’s a reason you don’t see Fox News pundits backing up their claims with evidence…they can’t use what they don’t have. Instead, by sowing anger, outrage, and division, they can get their viewers, most of whom employ FNC as their sole source of news and information, to react instead of think. When you can generate anger and righteous outrage, you don’t have to work very hard to convince those predisposed to being on your side of the “truth.” They want to believe what you feed them is the truth, and any attempt to convince them otherwise will be soft-pedaled as just so much Liberal propaganda.
The sad reality is that Conservative pundits, particularly those who call Fox News Channel home, don’t give a damn about the truth, because to them the “truth” is whatever advances their narrative (and with it lines their pockets). It’s whatever can be used to convince the American Sheeple that all that’s wrong with America today is the fault of Liberals who wish for nothing more than to destroy this country. That they can point to nothing that supports their assertions of Liberal malfeasance is neither here nor there. Their viewers believe it to be true; ergo, it becomes the truth, and no amount of evidence to their contrary will be sufficient to shake the righteousness and steadfastness of their convictions.
Conservatives don’t care about education or our public schools. They despise critical thinking, because those who think critically can ask uncomfortable questions they likely won’t be able to answer by screaming, “BECAUSE…LIBERALS!!!!” They don’t care about the middle class, or the environment, or the economy, or most anything else that doesn’t advance their narrative and pad their bank account. If they have to lob a few unfounded personal attacks at the President or other Liberals…well, that’s just the price of freedumb, knowhutimean??
I have a feeling the denizens of Bullshit Mountain will miss Jon Stewart., because they’ll have to find someone else to hold up as a Liberal bogeyman. Oh, well…there’s always Rachel Maddow.
