The Bias Towards Democrat Primaries
by Patrick Ruffini :: February 11th, 2007 12:37 pmWatching MTP this morning, it seems fairly apparent to me that the Democratic nomination fight will eat up two thirds or more of the media’s 2008 coverage over the next year. This despite the fact that the outcome of the Republican nomination seems to be more in doubt than the Democratic one, and the GOP has no shortage of accomplished national figures running.
This is a way for the media to show its bias without being ideological. They will simply deign Hillary vs. Obama vs. Edwards to be more newsworthy, and go from there. This is because the media approaches Democratic primaries more as participants than as spectators. Coaxing Hillary to renounce her pro-war vote, as happened on the roundtable this morning, is the perfect example of this phenomenon in action.
I am trying to fully game out the implications of this, but don’t be surprised to see these storylines emerge. First, the Democrats will be seen as generating more grassroots energy than the Republicans, whose voters will be framed as subdued and unmotivated. The story on Obama’s crowds is just the beginning. The media will overstate Democratic enthusiasm because they think Democratic primaries are more interesting.
And second: The Democratic nominee will be portrayed as the heroic victor in an epic saga that pitted the “first” woman and minority candidates against each other, with a proven smooth-talker thrown in the mix.
Tagged: 2008 
barack obama hillary clinton john edwards media bias
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Yeah, I think your analysis is right on. The MSM has become truly sickening in their overt Democrat bias. The numbers I saw from 2004 indicated that 86% of national political reporters voted for Kerry. No surprise.
Of course, we all know what Rather and CBS tried to do. Nothing we say seems to affect their bias. Their 24/7 coverage of Republican “corruption” before the last election was to say the least, memorable. The NYTs and WaPo have become open front page advocates for the liberals’ positions. The big networks and CNN continue to pile on.
Patrick, wouldn’t you think that CBS, or some network, stuck with declining ratings might consider giving the GOP some access? I don’t even mean moving Right; just allow a Republican point of view some air time.
Where are the stockholders?
I agree, and I agree that the media is biased to the left. But, even with that, I think that as of now, the Dem primary is simply more interesting than the GOP primary.
The dems just won Congress, the GOP is mired with an unpopular President and an unpopular war.
Up until recently, the GOP frontrunner was a 70 yr old man, best known for his involvement in an unpopular war 40 years ago and his adamant support for increasing our involvement in the current unpopular war.
The other GOP leaders were a 1 term Governor that no one knows anything about who most likely would have gotten trounced had he not abandoned his reelection bid for the Presidency and a Mayor who is seemingly on the opposite side of just about every social issue that the GOP base cares about, but does seem to be supportive of the war on terror and an agressive foreign policy, but who up until recently wasn’t really taken seriously.
The dems have race and youth in Obama and in Hillary they have the most famous woman in American politics, a woman who’s been on the national scene for 15 years, and who would make history as the first woman President, and not only that, but she’s married to a former President who was the most scandal ridden President in history and was impeached!
Simply from an objective point of view, the dem primary is more exciting than the GOP primary, at least for the moment.
The incessant whining about unfair treatment in the media has got to stop. It’s beyond pathetic. Besides a more compelling Dem primary storyline, McCain hasn’t declared yet and Romney and Giuliani only recently did. Watch your FOX and shut it.
“Watching MTP this morning, it seems fairly apparent to me that the Democratic nomination fight will eat up two thirds or more of the media’s 2008 coverage over the next year.”
Indeed. But I don’t really know if this enhanced scrutiny of their campaigns really is positive for the Dems. It seems to me that some Republican candidates actually might enjoy flying under the radar for some time, especially the front runners, like Giuliani…
Gray: I wouldn’t call the MSM’s coverage of Democrats “enhanced scrutiny”. It’s more like enhanced butt-kissing.
[…] Ruffini predicts, Strong observes, Hubbard synthesizes Patrick Ruffini makes a prediction about media bias: Watching MTP [Meet the Press] this morning, it seems fairly apparent to me that the Democratic nomination fight will eat up two thirds or more of the media’s 2008 coverage over the next year. This despite the fact that the outcome of the Republican nomination seems to be more in doubt than the Democratic one, and the GOP has no shortage of accomplished national figures running. […]
[…] On Sunday, Patrick Ruffini, paid by Hizzoner, made the argument that the Democratic primary may get 2/3rds of the media coverage. This would make it harder for 2nd-tier candidates to "pop" into the first tier. This would favor the people that the press take seriously, which, right now, seems to be John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, and Sam Brownback. […]
[…] On Sunday, Patrick Ruffini, paid by Hizzoner, made the argument that the Democratic primary may get 2/3rds of the media coverage. This would make it harder for 2nd-tier candidates to "pop" into the first tier. This would favor the people that the press take seriously, which, right now, seems to be John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, and Sam Brownback. […]
[…] What’s the environment like in 2007? In February I made the following prediction: Watching MTP this morning, it seems fairly apparent to me that the Democratic nomination fight will eat up two thirds or more of the media’s 2008 coverage over the next year. This despite the fact that the outcome of the Republican nomination seems to be more in doubt than the Democratic one, and the GOP has no shortage of accomplished national figures running. … […]