Might Be Setting Themselves Up For A Monumental Backfire

I don't know about you, but I really don't like the MSM crowing about how they think I'm going to vote and who they think is going to win before the election is even held. That reason alone is enough to make me go out and vote GOP, even though I think they're a bunch of ineffective, corrupt, milquetoast, afraid-of-their-own-shadows morons who badly need to be taught a lesson. But those who count their chickens before they've hatched need to be taught an even bigger lesson. If I can't be happy voting for the GOP, at least I can be happy sticking it to the MSM suckdogs.

That little reflection was prompted by this Dr. Sanity piece.

excerpts:

This week on The Sanity Squad podcast, Siggy, Neo, Shrink, and I discussed the increasingly prevalent phenomenon of "news" stories whose only purpose seems to be to proclaim loudly and almost hysterically (ok, I added the latter adverb) that there is absolutely, positively NO WAY that the GOP can win in November's elections; or a variation on that theme to the effect that the Republicans are hopelessly conflicted with each other and that various and assorted groups of them will actually vote for...you got it!...Democrats in the coming election!

Sample headlines from just this week (all purporting to be "news" as opposed to opinion):

[Many headlines to the effect that the GOP is going to get bulldozed]

And, of course, there is also setting up the fall-guys, should the GOP pull it out come November:

In Close Races, GOP Holds Advantage of Funds (WashPost) - subtext: the only reason the GOP could win these races is because of [evil] money money money. Issues have nothing to do with it.

Funding Constrains Democrats (WashPost) - other wise they would WIN!

Moderates in Kansas Decide They're Not in GOP Anymore (WashPost)

New Laws and Machines May Spell Voting Woes NYT

And, of course, concerned Democrats are already beginning to question the security of electronic voting (see here, for example) - we all know that those evil Republicans would surely stoop to election fraud; nevermind that we demanded electronic voting so that they couldn't cheat and not count the chads....

Now, the above was just a sampling that I obtained over the last few days from Memeorandum, and doesn't even count all the giddy lefty bloggers who are busily going about counting their chickens before they are hatched; and who cite wildly erratic polls as if they were absolute objective reality.

Having been a psychiatrist for quite some time; and having specialized in dealing with the masters of emotional manipulation in the personality disordered realm, I can say without any doubt that I know when I am being manipulated.

And the manipulation of this "news"--i.e., the artful and deliberate managing of what are purported to be objective "facts" by the news media--has gone into hyperdrive as the November midterm elections approach.

Can you guess the purpose of this manipulation? There are actually two purposes. The first sets up a clear expectation in the minds of the American population:

There is no way that Republicans can hold onto the House or the Senate. Everyone is abandoning ship. The Republicans are in complete disarray. The polls clearly demonstrate that Republicans are going to lose bigtime.

The second purpose is to deliver the fall-guy and establish blame in advance in case the reality on November 7, 2006 does not go the way the MSM (and the Democrats) planned.

Those RICH Republicans can only win if they spend more money than the POOR Democrats (who by the way, are just like Joe Sixpack and have to struggle every day with money woes because the evil [rich] Republicans only support the rich and oppress the poor; nevermind about millionaires Soros, Kennedy, Kerry, etc. etc. and most of the Hollywood elite who support Dems--they don't count). Oh, and the other reason that Republicans might win is if they CHEAT.

...

All good poltical theater--in fact, all good political manipulation-- like the above, requires setting up at the beginning of the play the good guys and the bad guys, so that by the climax and denoument the moral of the story is clear. We have been set up for one of two endings in [this drama]:

NOVEMBER ELECTION DRAMA:
Ending #1: The virtuous Democrats have defeated the evil GOP who tried every despicable method in their arsenal as they attempted to thwart the rightful return to power of the Democrats. Good has triumphed over Evil at long last.

Ending #2: The virtuous Democrats were robbed by the evil GOP who used (gasp!) filthy lucre to buy their way to another undeserved victory; and, the Republicans also blatantly cheated and stole the election from the rightful winners. Virtue and Goodness cannot succeed where there is Evil and Corruption.

...

Possibly, there are other acceptable endings for the authors of this little play; but you can count on one common theme : The Bush Administration, Republicans, and/or the U.S. are always--always--the bad guys.

And one overriding plotline: The world, sadly out of kilter; and America, at the beginning of its end, will only be rescued and set back on its proper path when Democrats (read: the political left) regain their rightful place in the hallowed halls of political power.

THE END
(roll credits and...thunderous applause!)

The next day, the MSM will be sure to feature the rave reviews.

See the whole piece for links, as well as parallels to how the MSM is starting to spin that the US picking on poor widdle North Korea.