Anderson quotes an interview that Howard Kurtz, the Washington Post's media critic, conducted with Lawrence O'Donnell, a political analyst and screenwriter for 'The West Wing,' in which O'Donnell said, 'You'll never, ever get the Republican TV show.' Anderson and O'Donnell imply that this has something to do with politics, but isn't it more likely a question of ratings? Would anybody, even a conservative fan of 'South Park' -- especially a conservative fan of 'South Park' -- want to watch a sitcom about churchgoing parents with two children who lead an uneventful life and make regular donations to the Fraternal Order of Police?
Say what? Only Democrats can lead disorderly and dramatic lives? West Wing could never get an audience with a Republican administration, because Republicans can't have political or moral dilemmas? Republicans can only be Ozzie and Harriet, everybody knows that. Does this reviewer mean to say what she is implying here?
The fact that Republicans got into office despite the obvious media bias towards Democrats isn't proof of the non-existence of liberal bullies - it's a sign of major disconnect between the media elite and the majority of the country, something that the meteoric rise of talk radio and Fox News might have signalled, if this woman had the slightest clue.
It's not too much of a stretch to hypothesize that liberals have become more bullying and more self-righteous precisely because they have felt their power slipping. They are outraged at being tossed into the marketplace of ideas and told to compete, and without the advantages of office either. |
