Monday, October 24, 2016

Trump, Breitbart, and others took down the GOP to build a media empire

There’s a scene in Zero Dark Thirty when the main character, Maya, is asked what she believed the chances were that Osama bin Laden was hiding in the compound where he was later killed. She replied, “100% he’s there. OK, 95%, ’cause I know certainty freaks you guys out, but it’s 100.”

Depending on whether or not your support Donald Trump, you’ll either consider the latest revelations of coordination between Breitbart reporters and Democratic operatives as nothing at all or further proof that Trump has had as his primary goal the formation of his media empire after the election. As someone who views Trump as only slightly less liberal and damaging than Hillary Clinton, it’s clear to me that Breitbart, Drudge Report, Infowars, Gateway Pundit, and other ultra-pro-Trump sites were banking on getting him nominated and then subsequently rising into his empire when he loses.

To one degree or another, they took advantage of their power as “conservative” media to denigrate actual Republicans who had much better chances of beating Clinton like Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. My initial assessment back in January was that their motivation was viewership and money; a Trump nomination and subsequent loss would be an ideal atmosphere for these sites to operate and profit. Dissent drives visitors. Opposition gets page views. At the time, I couldn’t conceive of them selling out completely. Now, I will avoid full-blown accusations (Trump and co. are lawsuit-happy, after all), but it’s fair to say that they all benefit more from a Trump nomination than from any other candidate.

According to Politico’s source:

“He worked directly with Breitbart’s political team on the ground in the primary states to sabotage Marco Rubio & Ted Cruz, and elect Trump as nominee of [the Republican] party,” the source told POLITICO. “[Black] was coordinating with [Breitbart’s] top staff to rabble rouse against Rubio at rallies.”

Working with the Democrats to deliver to them the candidate they wanted to face from the start is despicable. Taking down the Republican Party along the way is even worse, but there’s a silver lining. We get to see who’s on their own side and who’s on America’s side as we build our conservative party. Still, it’s disheartening to those of us who have trusted these sites over the years. It’s a betrayal that goes beyond greed or corruption. This was a truly damaging situation that they’ve created… at least for the rest of us.

It’s a win-win for them. If he is able to win the election, they will be rewarded as the stalwart group who fought the Establishment and accomplished what was once thought to be impossible. If they lose, their places in Trump’s media empire are secured. Either way, they were able to sell out America for the sake of personal gain. It disgusts me, not because they are corrupt (most media is corrupt to some extent) but because they’re going to get away with it.

Now, we can look forward to even more exposure for headlines like this…

Breitbart Headlines

We can expect to see family entertainment looking more like this…

Trump TV

All of this could have been avoided. I don’t completely blame the publications and news outlets that are allegedly involved. It’s our fault as well. We either didn’t see it coming or we didn’t blow the horns loudly enough. Then, there are those who don’t seem to be directly involved but who did nothing to stop it such as Rush Limbaugh, Hugh Hewitt, and a ton of conservative websites who hopped on the Trump Train early but who are likely not part of Trump’s plan. These websites are run by true believers in Trump. That means their not complicit in the conspiracy, but their complicit from lack of discernment.

Can any of this be proven? Nope. It’s all speculation based upon evidence and circumstances that all seem to point in the same direction. Since certainty seems to freak everybody out, I’ll put the chances at 95%. But it’s 100.



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