Fox News Fielding GOP Candidates For 2014: Pinheads On Parade

The 2012 presidential election cycle saw an unprecedented exploitation of the media by Fox News. The network employed numerous on-air hosts and contributors who were also prospective candidates for the Republican nomination for president. These included Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Mike Huckabee, John Bolton, and Donald Trump. That relationship was wholly unethical by any standard, but Fox refused to comply with the professional standards that any credible news enterprise would maintain.

Now that 2012 is behind us, Fox has begun their campaigning for the next election cycle in 2014. Already at the gate are two Fox News employees who have indicated their interest in running for the senate. Geraldo Rivera announced that he is “truly considering” a run for the GOP nomination for senate in New Jersey. Keith Ablow reported on air his intention to seek the seat in Massachusetts. Setting aside momentarily the ethics dilemma this creates for Fox, these particular candidates would be a boon for professional comedians everywhere.

Geraldo RiveraGeraldo is best known for hosting an epically anti-climactic television spectacle to reveal the contents of Al Capone’s secret safe. After a two hour long buildup it turned out that the safe was empty. Geraldo also hosted a syndicated talk show that featured America’s low-life engaging in televised slap-fights. More recently he caused a stir by saying that “I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman was.” Geraldo later both apologized for, and defended the statement.

Keith AblowKeith Ablow is the disreputable psychiatric analyst Fox employs to make absurd and insulting diagnoses of Obama and other enemies of Fox. In the course of his practice, Ablow has praised marital infidelity as evidence of strong moral character that would enhance America’s leadership. He has suggested that the children of gay parents are at risk of sexual abuse. And he frequently offers public diagnoses of the President and others in violation of the American Psychiatric Association’s code of ethics.

The qualifications of these Fox/Tea Party candidates are embarrassingly sub-par. They would have to rise significantly to be considered mediocre. These hacks have nothing to recommend them as legislators, thinkers, or public servants. All of this makes them perfect candidates for the radically dimwitted right-wingers who watch Fox.

However, for Fox to permit their punditry to toy with electoral politics and remain on the air is an affront to the profession of journalism. Fox is effectively donating valuable airtime to promote their candidacies and the platforms they espouse. What’s more, Fox cannot possibly cover them fairly because their colleagues would be afraid to criticize them for fear of retribution from the executive suites. Roger Ailes has publicly admonished his staff to refrain from “shooting in the tent,” which would make impartial analysis impossible.

This is likely just the beginning. There may be additional announcements of Foxies who think they are poised for positions of power due to the notoriety they get from being on Fox. They may be sorely disappointed. None of the candidates above got anywhere during a year when many people thought the president was vulnerable and Fox was riding high in the ratings. Now that Obama was reelected with a substantial majority and Fox has taken a devastating hit in the ratings, it would be far more difficult for their candidates to make a mark, particularly when they are as insipid as these two.

Still, for the sake of the well being of America’s comedians, we must hold out hope that Steve Doocy or Eric Bolling or Gretchen Carlson will throw their tri-corner hats into the ring. With Sarah Palin and Dick Morris off the air there is a severe drought of comic relief. So, please, won’t somebody think of the comedians?

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5 thoughts on “Fox News Fielding GOP Candidates For 2014: Pinheads On Parade

  1. ” All of this makes them perfect candidates for the radically dimwitted right-wingers who watch Fox.”
    And so the name calling continues – Delu, any comment to defend??
    It’s always good to see a respectful discussion of differences, isn’t it? Fox news may deserve the criticisms you note here and in practically every other article, but do those who choose to watch Fox deserve your insults?

    • The question I think would be “any comment against that “name calling”” as you put it? Because you’ve labeled it as name calling while ignoring the obvious as usual: there are good reasons why one would be led to believe that viewers who accept the things the people listed above say and do are indeed “radically dimwitted”, because the things those people say and do are so rabidly partisan and often lacking in common sense and logic that it’s only fair to assume that those who hang on to their words and accept them as truth are indeed radically dimwitted partisans.

      Given also that some the Fox viewers in question have actually lived up to those names (and I’ve witnessed examples of these personally), it would rather be like calling a spade a spade now would it? Granted it’s a sweeping statement, then again such a statement is somewhat justified when you consider that those not deserving of such “name calling” would not watch these guys and believe them in the first place. It’s rather the same problem with the tea party being called racist even though not everyone in that group have racist beliefs. This is due to the group as a whole not seriously rejecting the racist slant that racists adopt (which attracts racists), that pretty much puts them in a position of tolerance (at the very least) of racist ideology and causes those under their umbrella to all be painted by the same broad brush.

      If you have such issues against such “name calling”, tell you what, why don’t you try to justify why those who listen to these people and believe in them are not deserving of such names because those guys are actually people worth listening to? The justification AGAINST any rational non partisan person believing in their message has already been laid out above in the form of what these guys have said/done on air. Start from there and show how this is not the case.

      • Boy, you folks really are off the reservation. You are very good at justifying your own bad behavior while feeling very confident in railing against everyone else – and you wonder why I keep up the hypocrisy criticism – many of you are and proudly willing to continue. You are sooooo enlightened.

      • I should be clear – the reservation of which I speak is the one normal people occupy who understand the definition of hypocrite – you definitely remain on the leftist reservation so I guess you’re perfectly at home.

        • “…do those who choose to watch Fox deserve your insults?”

          Yep. And they are particularly applicable to you. You are an incorrigible whiner who is incapable of responding to the substance of any argument so you wail about your feelings getting hurt. Why can’t you ever stay on topic and make a coherent response to what I’ve written? Because you are radically dimwitted and you don’t even care about the issue being discussed. You just come here to bitch. And I only let you continue to do it because you are such a great example of the vacancy of right-wing thinking. Thanks for that.

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