Hey National Media …
Are there any Rising Republican Stars?
By HARRY HURLEY
Political Columnist
The Hurley Line:
I have been tracking this phenomenon for more than 30 years. The national media, which consists of about 90 percent pro-Democrat members has employed a very effective technique that most people would not typically notice. But, you should!
The national media, which has essentially become a Democratic Super PAC and now regularly and blatantly support their fellow Democratic candidates in almost every way.
Consider the following strategy. The Democrat media creates media sensations out of thin air; turning young Democrats into quote “rising stars” and household names.
Here’s a few “rising stars” over the past several years: Barack Obama, Robert “Beto” O’Rourke, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Stacy Abrams, the former candidate for Governor of Georgia, South Bend Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Joe Kennedy III, Ruben Gallego, Seth Moulton, Joaquin Castro, Hakeem Jeffries, to name just a few. There’s many more.
Regarding Buttigieg (37), he’s barely old enough to qualify to run for President of the United States. He is a former Naval intelligence officer. I thank him for his honorable service. He’s been a local Mayor since 2012.
If you’re being honest, his resume is very thin. Yet, the media adores him every way. He has been provided with hundreds of thousands of dollars (if not millions) in “free” gushing publicity, thinly disguised as news reporting.
Can you name even one Republican over the past 30 years that has been given the “rising star” treatment? I’ve tried. You can’t. Because it just doesn’t exist. Even when then young United States Senator Dan Quayle was selected by President George H.W. Bush to be his Vice Presidential running mate in 1988; He was not only NOT given the “rising star” treatment, the media savaged him on a daily basis.
He was so brutally attacked by the national media, that they succeeded in ruining him. There was no way that the media was going to allow a young Republican to be on a national scene of relevance for 30 or more years.
When Quayle became the 44th Vice President in American history, he was only 45 years old. He had been a member of the House of Representatives from 1977 to 1981 and a United States Senator from 1981 to 1989. And, Vice President from 1989 to 1993.
Compare Quayle’s record to Obama’s. It’s a joke. It’s not even close. Quayle’s experience was significantly beyond Obama’s. Quayle was never once called a “rising star.” They even blamed Quayle for spelling “potato” wrong, when he actually corrected the misspelled word, when the cue card had it spelled with an “e” at the end. It was a teacher who got it wrong.
Yet, the media relentlessly tagged Quayle with this to make him look stupid. They made him childlike when he debated Texas Senator Lloyd Benson. No doubt, you remember: “Senator, I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. And, you, Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy.”
Again, the national media crushed Quayle by pushing this quip on an overtime basis. This was provided so much market saturation free national media publicity that it has become a part of political lexicon. It has been used to eviscerate politicians and others and embarrass them that they think too well of themselves.
You may also recall that Quayle took issue with the television program Murphy Brown. Quayle blamed the violence in America and a decline in values to the single-Mother character portrayed on “Murphy Brown.” Of course, the media again regularly savaged Quayle about this.
The media desperately attempted to disqualify President Bush by regularly questioning his selection of Quayle and called Bush’s judgment into question. Do recall the media ever questioning Obama’s ridiculously thin resume?
Despite all of the unfair attacks, the Bush-Quayle ticket won big against Michael Dukakis and Benson; winning the popular vote by a margin of 53-46 percent. They won 40 states and 426 Electoral votes. It was a landslide.
Quayle ran for President, seeking the Republican nomination in 2000, but, never stood a chance. The media had wildly succeeded in taking a man of significant accomplishment and making him look like a lightweight.
In 2008, the media took an actual lightweight like Obama and snookered enough of the the American electorate to believe that Obama was a man of accomplishment, substance and experience.
Do you remember how the national media treated Sarah Palin in 2012. Again, they rolled out the same scam that she’s dumb, etc. They picked on her wardrobe and criticized who/how it was paid for.
Can you imagine a Democrat woman being treated like Palin. Again, here was a young, beautiful, smart Republican woman, who could have been on the nation scene for 30 years. No way were they going to let that happen.
The media systematically set about destroying Palin. They criticized any and every thing that she said or did. Palin pushed back hard against the media. But, their relentless tactics worked. They effectively destroyed Palin. They were willing to attack her children. Even her then young son, Trig.
It reminds us a lot of how the media attacks President Donald Trump’s children. The media also attacked the Bush twins; But, note, the media never once attacked Amy Carter, Chelsea Clinton of the Obama Daughters.
I have had a rule for my entire career to never attack the young children of our Presidents. It’s the right thing to do. The Democrats, however, don’t play it this way. They have even attacked young Barron Trump.
Like an endangered species; let’s all band together in search of young, rising Republican stars. Do they exist? Have they ever existed? Can you find one? Let me know.
Harry Hurley is the president of Harry Hurley Consulting and Communications, LLC. He hosts the daily talk radio program “Hurley in the Morning” 6-10 a.m., weekdays on Townsquare Media, WPG Talk Radio 104.1 FM & 1450 AM, where he also serves as the senior programming consultant. Harry was elected to both the Philadelphia (2013) and New Jersey (2015) Radio Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Harry Hurley has also been selected (2015-2018) as one of the Top 100 Most Important Talk Radio Hosts in America by Talkers Magazine. Hurley is the inaugural recipient of the New Jersey Broadcasters Association “Broadcaster of the Year” (2019). Hurley is also performing national fill-in, on-air talent work for FOX News Radio on their nationally syndicated platforms. He has hosted various programs for local television and is the editor and publisher of his news and information website,www.harryhurley.com. Send comments to HarryHurley@aol.com
