The Media Is Endangering the American Two-Party System

The media continues to massively and unashamedly publicly favor and support Obama and his policies. They are actively joining in the Obama tactic of trying to marginalize the Republican Party and its opposition to those Obama policies. The latest, and frankly shocking, example of this media position bias came a week ago, provided by CBS News Political Director John Dickerson on Slate.com, in which he advised Mr. Obama to "declare war on the Republican Party" because he "can only cement his legacy if he destroys the GOP." According to Mr Dickerson, if the President "wants to transform American politics, he must go for the throat" and"pulverize" and "his goal should be to delegitimize his opponents." After an avalanche of conservative outrage, Mr. Dickerson tried to back-peddle, saying his piece was "analysis—not advice." Ludicrous. And media bias is not confined to CBS and its Political Director. Mr. Dickerson simply wrote what many of his colleagues are writing or saying on TV in less dramatic,but equally dangerous, terms every day. In the United States, a political action committee ( PAC) is a type of organization that campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives or legislation. At the federal level, an organization becomes a PAC when it receives or spends more than $1,000 for the purpose of influencing a federal election, according to the Federal Election Campaign Act. Clearly, American media are spending huge amounts of in-kind money, also covered by the Act, every day as they continue their unprecedented drumbeat for Obama and against the GOP. Of course, we could not demand that each media entity register as a PAC - that would violate their overriding constitutional right to free speech guaranteed by the First Amendment. BUT - we can demand legislation that requires the media to publish or report on TV every day an accounting of the prior day's content pro or con any elected political official or political party. A simple percentage estimate, made by an independent ombudsman, would do. If we do nothing- if our response is simply to continue to complain about the growing media bias - then we are aiding in the elimination of the two-party system in America.