Media: The Democrat Enforcer

The novel The Godfather tells the story of a Mafia don or boss, Vito Corleone, and how he runs "the business." One of the most famous lines from the movie is the Godfather explaining how he'll prevail, how he'll get what he asks for: "I'll make him an offer he can't refuse." One such offer is made to a big band leader who won't release Vito's godson from a contract: $10,000 to sign the release. When the offer's refused, Vito goes back to the band leader with his enforcer, Luca Brasi. Luca holds a gun to the man's head, and Vito explains that either his brains or his signature will be on the contract.

The media are the Democrats' Luca Brasi, the #MeToo movement the gun. Democrats have repeatedly warned the GOP not to confirm Judge Kavanaugh, but Republicans aren't getting the message. Send in the muscle. Dr. Christine Blasey Ford steps forward to say she was attacked by Kavanaugh at a drunken episode somewhere, sometime, somehow. Dr. Ford claims that 36 years ago or thereabouts, she was assaulted by two boys, who, stumbling drunk, jumped on top of her and tried to undress her. One horrifying detail is that one boy (Judge Kavanaugh) covered her mouth so no one could hear her scream. On its face, the charge is ludicrous. Judge Kavanaugh is a sterling example of a decent, honorable man. He coaches his girl's soccer team, feeds the homeless in his spare time, and has spent a lifetime building his impeccable reputation. Yet this woman wants us to believe he attacked her in a drunken mêlée. To accuse Judge Kavanaugh of being wildly drunk and attacking this woman is like accusing Mother Teresa of stealing from the poor before she became a nun – though I'm sure that if Mother Teresa had been nominated for the Supreme Court, she'd have had to prove she'd never taken bread from emaciated children. With the charge levied, the media pounce on this story as a means to bludgeon the president and Judge Kavanaugh into submission. Every headline, cable show, and news outlet features indignant senators railing against "old white men" picking on this woman, "blaming the victim," "bullying her." Ironically, the real victim here is Judge Kavanaugh. Whether or not Dr. Ford ever suffered this attack, it wasn't by Kavanaugh. His high school classmates can't even remember seeing him drunk, much less aggressive. No one wants Luca Brasi at his doorstep, so all of these people tout the seriousness of the charge, the victim's right to be heard. And by God, no one had better grill her for details that could cast doubt on her story. Media continually step up their game. Afraid that "almost molested" won't carry the day, they work in the word "rape" as often as possible. They couch it in "attempted," knowing that even the alleged incident never came close to rape. But see what they do here: get me and others to defend against the escalated charges, to argue that it wasn't really rape, thereby indirectly validating the alleged crime. Media are able to control the attack narrative because we, unsuspecting viewers, allowed them into our homes, delegated them the authority to filter and deliver our news. They're now all-powerful. In another scene from The Godfather, a Hollywood producer, Jack Woltz, refuses to cast Vito's godson in his movie. The next morning, Woltz wakes to bloody sheets, the severed head of his prized horse in the bed next to him. Media also send warnings to anyone thinking about opposing them. One example is Matt Lauer. After he asked Hillary Clinton hard questions about her private server in the "Commander-in-Chief Forum," months later, Lauer was accused of sexual misconduct, a charge that cost him his career and reputation. The left leaves a trail of destruction for their enemies: Corey Lewandowski now labeled a bully, Judge Roy Moore among those too damaged by media to even defend, careers torched, reputations in ashes. The message: Those who step out of line will pay – not with brass knuckles and billy clubs, but with accusers who can't be doubted and must be believed, no matter how outrageous the charge. Whether or not the event actually happened, the coverage is the same. Politicians and news and cable hosts lecture us on the severity, the horror of whatever. They repeat identical talking points over and over, tyrannize audiences with interminable coverage of the beating. Waterboarding could not be more torture than these screeching, hateful liberals lecturing us on how we "must" think and act. Sadly, too many conservatives join the pile-on. Due to their abject terror of the enforcer, Republicans and conservatives actually echo the left's talking points. Sean Hannity repeatedly says "this is a serious charge" and "she must be heard" while furtively looking over his shoulder for Luca to step out of the shadows with a tire iron. We can't expect congressional Republicans to stop the madness; they're cowering in chamber corners, pleading with the mob not to dismember them. It's a protection racket, an extortion scheme not at all different from the shop-owner who pays the mob $100 a week to protect the shop from destruction, his family from harm. People are willing to pay to be left alone, not to be attacked. So it is with Republicans: either they stand down or they're next. Then they will be the poor saps facing an accuser who must be believed, who can't be challenged, who will have groups making ads to condemn the accused, 24-7 media confirmation of the alleged crime, and an accuser who's off-limits. So they allow the media to hammer home the charges until everyone in this country is aware of the accusations. They let Dr. Ford set up all parameters of when she'll speak, if ever. Senator Grassley sets a deadline, then postpones it again and again because Dr. Ford is scared, she can't fly, she's trying to think, OK? Whether Judge Kavanaugh's confirmed or not, Senate leaders have allowed his reputation to be sullied, the only black mark on a great man's record. They've let media broadcast this travesty for more than a week – wall-to-wall coverage of the smear. But Congress doesn't really have a choice. The enforcer is waiting for these congressmen to make the wrong move. Either they cave to Dr. Ford's every demand or they face a brutal media campaign that could cost them the majority in upcoming midterms. It's an offer they can't refuse.