With apologies to the producers and directors of the cartoon movie hit “Despicable Me”, the label “Despicable Them” aptly applies to politicians in general, but to Leftist politicians in particular. As always, it’s a question of degree. The degree to which the Democrat leadership (note I say leadership, not ALL Democrats) exhibits despicable behavior and spews despicable rhetoric dwarfs, as Jupiter dwarfs the Earth, anything the Republican leadership has done or said.
Examples abound but probably the best one is that of Nancy Pelosi ceremoniously ripping the State of the Union speech in half and claiming it was all lies. As regards despicable rhetoric: Chuck Schumer, Adam Schiff, Jerry Nadler, Bill deBlasio, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Maxine Waters, Sheila Jackson Lee, Louis Farrakhan, Al Sharpton, Linda Sarsour…the list of those with verbal diarrhea goes on and on. Every time any of these people open their mouths, nothing but despicable falsehoods and bile emerge.
How do they get away with this? Edmund Burke had the answer: The Fourth Estate. In Thomas Carlyle’s book On Heroes and Hero Worship he attributes to Burke: “Burke said there were Three Estates in Parliament; but, in the Reporters’ Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important far than they all.”[i] He was of course referring to the Press, or in today’s language, the “Media”.
The term “fourth estate” and “fourth branch” are both used to describe what used to be journalism, which clearly doesn’t exist anymore. Someone I know with a degree in Journalism from Columbia University, arguably the pre-eminent journalism school in the country, grudgingly admits that the principles taught there are violated continuously.
Fourth Estate as a term is meant to emphasize the independence of the Media, while the related term “Fourth Branch” suggests the Media is an extension of the government. In my opinion, it’s hardly the latter, but the Media’s ability to influence (i.e. brainwash) inattentive or non-critical-thinking minds is obvious. Abandonment of journalistic principles such as three-source corroboration or the vetting of sources to ensure reliability, coupled with the power of the internet to broadcast the most salacious lies and twisted arguments, has fostered an environment where despicable behavior and rhetoric thrives.
Given that the professional Media is predominantly Leftist, as are the indolent with too much time on their hands to do anything productive but tweet and post (I hasten to defend that the reason I have the time is that I’m retired after working hard for fifty years), the Left are provided with overwhelming covering fire. The saturated with Leftist garbage airwaves thus leave little room for any reasonable debate or reflection. That same cover gives impunity to the most despicable, even immoral Leftist behavior in both the commercial as well as political realms.
The Left is guilty too of what I think is one of the most despicable behaviors: Projection. Albeit in its weak-mindedness much of the Left doesn’t even see it, or its hypocrisy, it’s axiomatic that if they are whining about something, accusing the Right of something, falsely claiming credit for or denying culpability for something, it is precisely what they are guilty of. Just today Chuck Schumer sent a letter decrying Attorney General William Barr’s throwing of the BS flag on the Roger Stone sentencing. Said the spotlight-hog/grandstander/demagogue Schumer: “This situation has all the indicia of improper political interference in a criminal prosecution.” Sure, and the Left has NEVER improperly interfered in a criminal prosecution…Schumer’s statement is stupid as the President and Attorney General are empowered to intervene ex officio, and the public knows damn well the prosecutors are piling on a Trump ally. (But put a microphone and a spotlight within a hundred miles of Schumer and he will RUN to it!).
Projection.
Thank God we now have pro-justice leaders like Barr who are
willing to wade into the Swamp with a flame-thrower to destroy the truly despicable,
poisonous rot of the Left that has festered for so many years.
[i] Wikipedia: article – “Fourth Estate”
