The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Who Is Brent Budowsky, and Why Should Anybody Care What He Thinks?

Posted on | April 2, 2010 | 6 Comments

To answer the first question, Budowsky is a former Democratic Capitol Hill aide, but I don’t know that there is any valid answer to the second question, as Budowsky slags Matt Drudge in The Hill:

Let me suggest here that Drudge’s power may turn out to be more of a curse than a blessing for Republicans and conservatives because in my view, it fosters delusions that can lead to defeat. Recently a Gallup poll, of course highlighted on Drudge, found that Obama’s numbers had (then) turned more unfavorable than favorable. This has (now) dramatically changed, unreported by Drudge, with Obama’s favorables now well above his unfavorables. The generic Democratic vote is leading the generic Republican vote in the last Gallup congressional election survey.The healthcare bill has passed and the president’s polls have moved up. Democratic numbers have crept up. Media focus on right-wing death threats is alienating political independents and motivating the Democratic base. But readers of Matt Drudge, listeners to Rush Limbaugh and viewers of Glenn Beck are being fed a false dose of Republican triumphalism and a megaphone for what a majority of voters might see as extremism that is both delusional and politically damaging to Republicans. . . .

Yadda, yadda, yadda. Budowsky sitting around whining about what’s on Drudge (or Limbaugh or Beck) is like conservatives who sit around whining about what’s in the MSM — except that (a) the MSM reach a much larger audience, and (b) the MSM pretend to be neutral.

Of course, Drudge doesn’t declare a partisan bias up front, he just links headlines. I don’t think he is selective about linkage in the way that Budowsky claims, but even if he were, so what? He’s one guy with a Web site. There is more news in the world than is linked by Matt Drudge, and if Budowsky is obsessed with Drudge, whose fault is that?

Category: Media Bias

Comments

6 Responses to “Who Is Brent Budowsky, and Why Should Anybody Care What He Thinks?”

  1. William
    April 2nd, 2010 @ 5:09 pm

    News always favors Conservatives, cause we think and don’t feel.

    We let facts like the murder of ranchers in Arizona whose greatest crime was trying to help illegals color our opinions.

    We understand why having a wacky healthcare system will only lead to abuse and not rainbows: because if you give free reins to the people who have nothing else to do but watch tv, eat fast food, and visit their doctor “friend,” then it doesn’t matter if you truly do “help” some other people: it’s all going to explode.

    In these ways and a thousand others, the dude’s right. Just linking to news will always hurt a Lib’s chances.

  2. William
    April 2nd, 2010 @ 12:09 pm

    News always favors Conservatives, cause we think and don’t feel.

    We let facts like the murder of ranchers in Arizona whose greatest crime was trying to help illegals color our opinions.

    We understand why having a wacky healthcare system will only lead to abuse and not rainbows: because if you give free reins to the people who have nothing else to do but watch tv, eat fast food, and visit their doctor “friend,” then it doesn’t matter if you truly do “help” some other people: it’s all going to explode.

    In these ways and a thousand others, the dude’s right. Just linking to news will always hurt a Lib’s chances.

  3. TW
    April 2nd, 2010 @ 6:34 pm

    Wow, Mr. Budowsky is so 1997, but what can you expect from an insider’s rag like the Hill? They count votes and listen to the whispers and whining of congressional staffers. I expect this is some sort of pep talk for staff members expecting a good routing this Nov. What Budowksy fails to understand is that Drudge is one of many conservative leaning aggregate sites. If Drudge goes away, there are plenty of sites to take its place. He also fails to understand that not all of us have the luxury of listening to every word from Limbaugh. If Budowsky and his pals continue to play the same old, tired boring tune, they’re in for a rude awakening.

  4. TW
    April 2nd, 2010 @ 1:34 pm

    Wow, Mr. Budowsky is so 1997, but what can you expect from an insider’s rag like the Hill? They count votes and listen to the whispers and whining of congressional staffers. I expect this is some sort of pep talk for staff members expecting a good routing this Nov. What Budowksy fails to understand is that Drudge is one of many conservative leaning aggregate sites. If Drudge goes away, there are plenty of sites to take its place. He also fails to understand that not all of us have the luxury of listening to every word from Limbaugh. If Budowsky and his pals continue to play the same old, tired boring tune, they’re in for a rude awakening.

  5. Estragon
    April 3rd, 2010 @ 8:46 am

    Check out his other recent entries at The Hill. Budowsky is a leftist hack, an Obama shill. His column headers could be the titles of recent DNC talking point memos. No wonder The Hill isn’t immune to the decline being experienced by Old Media generally . . .

    After his piece, the polling numbers in multiple polls have not only returned to pre-passage levels, but Obama and HCR’s approval has actually declined. Budowsky selects a single outlier poll, which itself only showed a temporary bounce, and complains it wasn’t given more attention.

    The subsequent polling, however, confirms any decision by Drudge to ignore it. Where is Budowsky’s follow-up column?

  6. Estragon
    April 3rd, 2010 @ 3:46 am

    Check out his other recent entries at The Hill. Budowsky is a leftist hack, an Obama shill. His column headers could be the titles of recent DNC talking point memos. No wonder The Hill isn’t immune to the decline being experienced by Old Media generally . . .

    After his piece, the polling numbers in multiple polls have not only returned to pre-passage levels, but Obama and HCR’s approval has actually declined. Budowsky selects a single outlier poll, which itself only showed a temporary bounce, and complains it wasn’t given more attention.

    The subsequent polling, however, confirms any decision by Drudge to ignore it. Where is Budowsky’s follow-up column?