{"id":741,"date":"2008-01-06T14:32:14","date_gmt":"2008-01-06T22:32:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=741"},"modified":"2008-01-13T15:31:11","modified_gmt":"2008-01-13T23:31:11","slug":"why-is-the-edwards-surge-not-a-headline-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=741","title":{"rendered":"Why Is The Edwards Surge Not A Headline Story?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A picture sometimes really is worth a thousand words…<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

Rassmussen conducts a daily national tracking poll<\/a> of all presidential candidates. The latest shows John Edwards picking up significantly more support, since the beginning of the year, than any candidate of either party.<\/p>\n

The percent change for Republicans is: Huckabee 18.8% \/ Giuliani 13.3% \/ McCain 11.8% \/ Thompson 8.3% \/ Romney -6.3%.<\/p>\n

So why isn’t this news?<\/p>\n

Because some networks are more interested in trivialities<\/a> than substance:
\n[Chris]Wallace asked a total of five questions, three of which concerned Edwards’ non-appearance on the network.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Because some candidates are unafraid of taking on the media<\/a>:
\nEdwards continues to solidify his position as the candidate most committed to media reform and supportive of efforts to rollback consolidation. He has spoken out on many occasions on the need for independence and diversity in the press and he has been a leading voice of opposition to the FCC’s policy of weakening regulations on ownership caps.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Because the media’s pack mentality<\/a> kicks into high gear when it gets defensive:
\nThey are ultimately afraid that the populist appeal of a movement that truly seeks to bring economic opportunity to every citizen, instead of just the elite, could catch on. That’s why it has to be strangled in the cradle of a candidate who is running third in national polls. The risk extends beyond Edwards himself. If voters responded positively to the issue, the other candidates would adopt it. So even if Edwards does not become a contender, the issue stays on the table.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Because media conglomerates make billions<\/a> from their political connections:
\nThere doesn’t seem to be an end in sight for the profligate spending on political ads and events. These expenditures are sponsored, for the most part, by mega-corporations with interests in the outcome of the elections.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

And because sticking your neck out to curtail media abuse<\/a> can attract some freshly sharpened axes:
\nResponding to the FCC’s proposed new rules for media ownership, John Edwards has written a letter addressed to Commission chairman Kevin Martin. Like his predecessor Michael Powell (Colin’s boy), Martin has drafted a set of rules aimed at advancing the interests of Big Media conglomerates and permitting them to get even bigger and more powerful.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

And now the media fails to report the strongest surge of support of any candidate. What a surprise. However, it is important that we do not become sullen and defeatist. We cannot allow the media establishment to lead our nation around by its nose. Just because they have an immense quantity of old-world firepower is no reason to surrender to them. We have new weapons that give us more power than they imagine. The very fact that Edwards’ support has accelerated despite the media resistance, is evidence that the people’s message can be heard over the din of propagandists. We only need to keep our voices and our spirits up.<\/p>\n

While the circumstances related above are specific to the campaign of John Edwards, it could (and will) apply to any candidate with the courage to take on entrenched media institutions. So even if Edwards is not your candidate, this is still your fight because your candidate will be next.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A picture sometimes really is worth a thousand words… Rassmussen conducts a daily national tracking poll of all presidential candidates. The latest shows John Edwards picking up significantly more support, since the beginning of the year, than any candidate of either party. The percent change for Republicans is: Huckabee 18.8% \/ Giuliani 13.3% \/ McCain […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[152,1],"tags":[183,31,137],"class_list":["post-741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-election","category-general","tag-barack-obama","tag-hillary-clinton","tag-john-edwards"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Ijg-bX","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":651,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=651","url_meta":{"origin":741,"position":0},"title":"John Edwards’ Letter To The FCC","author":"Mark NC","date":"10\/20\/2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Responding to the FCC's proposed new rules for media ownership, John Edwards has written a letter addressed to Commission chairman Kevin Martin. Like his predecessor Michael Powell (Colin's boy), Martin has drafted a set of rules aimed at advancing the interests of Big Media conglomerates and permitting them to get\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Big Media"","block_context":{"text":"Big Media","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":456,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=456","url_meta":{"origin":741,"position":1},"title":"Media Gangs Up On John Edwards","author":"Mark NC","date":"6\/1\/2007","format":false,"excerpt":"In the past couple of weeks, the press has taken a decidedly negative turn on John Edwards. The ferocity of the attacks and the diversity of their origin is curious, to say the least. Their obsession with housing and haircuts and speaking fees has become all-consuming. This media phenomenon was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":715,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=715","url_meta":{"origin":741,"position":2},"title":"TVNewser Completes Its Descent Into Tabloid Drudgery","author":"Mark NC","date":"12\/20\/2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Last night on the CBS Evening News, Katie Couric presented another in her series of Primary Questions to the candidates for president of both parties. The question for this installment dealt with marital fidelity and whether it should be a determinative factor when deciding for whom to vote. This question,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":713,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=713","url_meta":{"origin":741,"position":3},"title":"Bill O’Reilly’s Fair And Balanced Presidential Poll","author":"Mark NC","date":"12\/19\/2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Bill O'Reilly is currently polling his audience on the presidential candidates. He has completed a survey on the Republican field in which Mike Huckabee prevailed over Giuliani and Romney. Now it's the Democrats turn. The poll includes only Clinton, Obama and Edwards. Needless to say, this poll will have absolutely\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Election"","block_context":{"text":"Election","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=152"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":758,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=758","url_meta":{"origin":741,"position":4},"title":"Today’s The Day John Edwards Grabs The Gold","author":"Mark NC","date":"1\/18\/2008","format":false,"excerpt":"A little less than a week ago, it occurred to me that something was wrong. Something was wrong with the veneration of pundits best known for their failure to deduce anything correctly. Something was wrong with the media deciding who is a viable candidate and when an election is over.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Big Media"","block_context":{"text":"Big Media","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":544,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=544","url_meta":{"origin":741,"position":5},"title":"John Edwards Takes On The Media","author":"Mark NC","date":"8\/2\/2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Now he's done it. John Edwards has unleashed the hounds of hell and will face certain and swift punishment for his petulance. By daring to tell the truth about the risks posed by runaway media consolidation, Edwards now must keep an alert eye over both shoulders. From his web site:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Big Media"","block_context":{"text":"Big Media","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/741\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}