NC Campaign 2012: Our stupid, biased mainstream news media
We’ve got record unemployment, an economy in the tank, underperforming public schools, crime problems, and rampant corruption in Raleigh. The mainstream media gets all three main Democrat gubernatorial candidates together, and what do they come away with? Commentary on a FLORIDA shooting:
The Trayvon Martin case has made its way into the Democratic primary for governor.
At two events Saturday in eastern North Carolina, the three major Democratic candidates were asked for their thoughts on the case. The questions caught the candidates — who were all together for one of the first times this campaign season — off guard.
At the first forum, Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton said he needed more information before making a judgement call but later went the furthest in his comments. “The lieutenant governor believes that Mr. Zimmerman seemed to have acted recklessly even in accordance with Florida’s law,” Dalton spokesman Pearse Edwards said Monday. “If what he’s heard is true, Mr. Zimmerman should be prosecuted.”
Heard from whom? MSNBC? Al Sharpton and Spike Lee? Is Walter Dalton a sworn Florida law enforcement officer investigating this case? *Sigh.* READ ON:
Martin was shot and killed by a neighborhood watch captain Feb. 26 as he walked home from a convenience store through a gated community in Sanford, Fla. The shooter, George Zimmerman, 28, told police he acted in self-defense. No charges have been filed.
Former Congressman Bob Etheridge said he would seek a grand jury investigation. “If the facts are as I now know them to be, I would instruct my legal counsel to contact the local district attorney to determine if there is any reason why this issue should not be taken to the grand jury,” he said in a statement. If a grand jury … determines there is enough evidence for full prosecution, the suspect should be arrested and justice be served. It is also imperative that the citizens of our state believe in the integrity and fairness of our criminal justice system.”
“Integrity and Fairness.” Absolutely, Boom Boom. While that grand jury is impaneled, perhaps they should look at a certain piece of videotape of a certain scuffle on a Washington DC sidewalk circa 2010. Read On:
In a statement, state Rep. Bill Faison didn’t weigh in directly on the circumstances of the case. “The Trayvon Martin case demands attention, a prompt and thorough investigation, and communication with the public,” he said. “Certainly discrimination still exists in our society and we must ensure that all people are protected.”
Asked to comment on the case, Republican Pat McCrory said he didn’t know enough about the facts to form an opinion. “As a Mayor of 14 years I learned that politicians should allow the judicial system to work and get all the facts before inserting opinions, which in turn could jeopardize the legal process,” he said. “This is a terrible tragedy and we mourn the loss of a young life.”
(I still don’t understand what Pat McCrory was doing in the midst of a Democrat candidate forum. )
Pat gave a pretty good answer, until he got to those last 9 words I’ve highlighted in green. If I was advising Pat, I would have stuck a period at the end of the word tragedy. My version would have read like this:
This is a terrible tragedy. You know what else is a terrible tragedy? What Bev, Basnight, and Black have done to this great state. We are running for governor of North Carolina, and should leave Florida criminal investigations to Florida law enforcement. ”
If this question originated with the news media, it is clearly a tactic to inject race into the campaign to distract from the economic disaster fomented by the mainstream media’s masters in the NCDP. If it came from an audience member, it is still the fault of the mainstream media — for ignoring issues facing North Carolina and trying to whip up racial animosity by distorting this Florida story in its reporting to the public.
The only thing more annoying than another ad nauseum reference to “mainstream media” is a premise that any discussion of race is somehow a liberal conspiracy to embarrass or shame Southern conservatism. The Trayvon Martin shooting is on the minds of Americans throughout the country, not just in FL, and is clearly a topic worthy of discussion for any candidate who may be considered for public office. Yes, discussion of this matter may touch a nerve among conservatives who would rather not talk about the scourge of guns in America’s cities or the economic and racial divisions that continue to pit Americans against one another, but it is irresponsible to blame the question for an answer that some would rather not face. That being said, the question could have been asked in a better way, such as “What does America’s interest in the Trayvon Martin shooting mean to you, your candidacy, or the policies you may pursue as governor?”