For Hillary Clinton, the hits just keep on coming. The Associated Press, not exactly known for hostility directed at the Clintons, broke the story that “More than half the people outside the government who met with Hillary Clinton while she was secretary of state gave money … to the Clinton Foundation.”. Stacked on top of previous revelations, a rational person would, at the very least, conclude that there was a pay-for-play understanding in effect.
It goes without saying that the right-leaning press is going full-bore on this scandal. But – just how is the Left handling it?
CNN’s front page, screen capped here, is worth a gander. There’s no overt mention of this issue, just one article headline: “The deal with the Clinton Foundation.” That “deal” is worth a read, as a prime example of how to whitewash a scandal. Therein, you’ll find:
- High praise for the Foundation and all its works.
- Assertions that the Foundation is remarkably efficient and effective.
- Assertions that the attacks are coming from the Republicans, structured in a way to make them seem partisan and therefore suspect.
- Acknowledgment that others are covering the story, with an immediate “no smoking gun” dismissal.
- Naming two specific “others” who are covering the story: Wall Street Journal and Fox News. In other words, right-wing partisans.
- Identifying Bernie Sanders as a Dem critic, but naming no one else, and couching his criticism with the qualifier “appearance.”
- A “pooh-poohing” of transparency, as if it’s really not that big a deal.
- Normalizing the behavior by calling foreign donations “common.”
- Noting that there are “various reasons for not disclosing all its donors.”
- Assuring us that steps will be taken should Hillary become President.
- Calling the Clintons “rock stars” of the philanthropic world
CNN’s front page makes no reference to the AP story. Instead, it steers our perception of a different Clinton story, perhaps in an effort to give us something else to talk about. It deflects the Clinton health rumors by using the word “conspiracy” and asking “How healthy is Trump, really?” The Trump bit comes with a picture, of course, to steer the eye towards CNN’s tendentious question. Add to that another fallacious-by-association bit: “Giuliani pushes Clinton health rumors.”
And that’s it for the first-visible portion of the front page of one of the nation’s biggest news organizations, less than 11 weeks before the Presidential election. ‘Nothing to see here, move along, but if you’re really interested, we’ll give you lots of reasons to doubt the latest allegations, and we’ll drop some negative hints about Trump that you can embrace.’
The NY Post’s Michael Goodwin mentioned in his column that one CNN producer calls the organization “Clinton Campaign Headquarters.” CNN is emblematic of what he calls the “complete collapse of American journalism as we know it.” He’s right. The Press has collectively decided that its primary purpose is no longer the reporting of news. Instead, it has decided to change its role from watchdog of the government to shaper of the political landscape. The justifications for this are often of the flavor that Trump is a singular threat to the Republic and must be stopped. There is a loathsome arrogance and condescension in this attitude. Even if you share the sentiment, realize that it’s not the Press’s job to inculcate it into everyone else’s head. This is supposed to be a representative government, not a dictatorship. The Press is supposed to expose shenanigans, not whitewash them on behalf of the autocrats.
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