Katie Pavlich (Townhall.com) – in responding to Brett Baier’s question: “But Katie, for Democrats to call for the translator – the interpreter – how does that stick?” reported – on Fox’s Special Report (7/18/2018):
“Well again, here we have a situation where there are very serious concerns about what happened, and again Democrats go too far in assessing the situation, therefore we can’t actually have a conversation moving forward about what to do to fix the problem. If you put politics aside if you put Russian meddling aside this is now about rebuilding morale inside the Intelligence Community. I had people texting me, who were conservative Republican Trump supporters yesterday saying: “I cannot believe that he went out there in Helsinki and did this to us! We feel betrayed, we feel that we can no longer defend this, how do we even talk about this now?” So if you just put the politics this is about the Commander-in-Chief now having to clean up the mess, not on Capitol Hill, not in the communications shop, but with the people, he is leading inside his Administration!”
Ms. Pavlich seems to be on the social-political Right, and – given she is with Townhall.com – she very likely is social-political Right, yet her answer seems somewhat disingenuous; people – inside the CIA, FBI, NSA and other Federal agencies must understand POTUS Trump disappointment/frustration with those agencies and therefore understand him not giving those agencies a full-throated endorsement… Given the agencies have consistently demonstrated that they are politicized, it seems – in this writer’s opinion (Note: we are retired U.S. Military and Federal Government retiree as well…) – that those on the social-political Right should afford Trump the widest latitude; his problem is with the character of some of the people, in some of the agencies. Bad apples may not spoil the entire bushel, but it certainly makes understandable scrutinizing each and every apple which one may palm…
During our first tour in the USN (initial enlistment was 6 years active duty; we were an apolitical kid; a registered Federalist since Buchanan lost to Bush in 1992) we were oblivious of the words spoken by POTUS Carter and Reagan, but we couldn’t help notice their policies difference; Carter’s Navy was slipshod, overweight, out-of-shape and afflicted with alcoholism and drugs (we were shocked at the open use of drugs)… Shortly after Reagan took office he implemented drug-testing, weight and fitness standards (“Pride and Professionalism” as it was promoted to us…), and the obese and those which failed random drug tests were mustered out. The effect of Reagan’s policies was ubiquitously palpable; sailors – the Navy – seemed to actually find their John Wayne post the implementation of Reagan’s policies… This writer experienced similar observations with subsequent Presidencies, and their policies, vis-à-vis military service and – later in the Federal Government. Generally, the experience (of course it may be, as a conservative, my judgment is inclined to favor things conservative – or things which accord with the U.S. Constitution) – was morale suffered under the policies of Democrats…
It strikes that FOX News tailors it’s reporting and discussions so as to track slightly to the right of accordance with the views acceptable to William Kristol, George Will and company (It seems FOX fears to tack too far from such views lest they are ridiculed by ostensible conservative icons); Will and Kristol – and yes, Charles Krauthammer (and both the Weekly Standard and the National Review) – were considerably more tolerant of Barack Obama using (politicizing) the Federal Law and National Security agencies so as to lie to Americans about policy initiatives e.g., ACA (Obama-care), Iran nuclear agreement, Benghazi, Fast-and-Furious, and the IRS to suppress conservative bloggers, and News outlets… The Press – and the Democratic Party – bent over and grabbed their ankles as Obama abused his Presidential prerogatives in suborning the very agencies – which POTUS Trump ostensibly undermined by a less than full-throated public endorsement – into actions which prima facie appear tyrannical.
The indignities which attended to Obama’s abuse of the Federal Law enforcement and Security agencies – and the American recipients of those agencies politicization – received very little attention – certainly, any attention was not sustained – from those same people which with incessant reflexively pillory POTUS Trump with hate-filled invectives…
Fox News was considerably more tolerant of Obama’s disdain for the United States Constitution, the abuse and manipulation of the Press (Does anyone remember Chris Wallace taking umbrage with Obama having James Rosen under surveillance and on a terror watch list?), the prosecution and jailing of Dinesh D’souza – and of the jailing of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula (the filmmaker scapegoat blamed for the Benghazi attacks), as well as the abuse and disdain of our allies, his refusal to enforce laws he didn’t like (e.g., DOMA) and his incessant lying to advance and sustain policies. Fox reported upon these actions and events, but they were more-or-less mumbled reports; Hannity (and I hate to admit Beck was tough on Obama when he was with Fox) and a number of other commentators where from whence Fox leveled its criticism… Chris Wallace was much more deferential to BHO than he is to Trump; and much more tolerant of Obama’s despotic behavior than Trump’s ‘jay-walking.’
And although Charles Krauthammer – and his friend George Will – eventually voiced tepid disdain for Obama, they initially welcomed him in their homes (after he won the Presidency, before he took the oath-of-office) – they dim-wittingly tacitly agreed to be used by Obama to divide the social-political Right’s intellectual class, so as to minimize resistance, but they never voiced such disdain for Obama as they have each delivered to Trump… Amongst such esteemed gentlemen (One may add Bill Kristol, Jonah Goldberg; Katie Pavlich and Ben Shapiro may – or may not still be never-Trumpers…?) it seems that a ‘well-spoken’ despot is preferable to a gauche Patriot.
It is during such ubiquitous coordinated Press and Government assaults that Fox shows itself to be part of the Mainstream Media. Their evening commentators may tack Right, but the shows which hit the air before Tucker Carlson are only slightly more objective – on issues, such as Trump’s Helsinki press-conference – than CNN.
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