As they seek to discredit Republican presidential front-runner Ben Carson, the media's new mantra is "Black Lies Matter." But when it comes to Hillary Clinton's years of documented fabrications, their approach is more like "White Lies Don't Matter."
The media have looked into Ben Carson's past more in two months than they have in nine years with Barack Obama or even longer with Hillary Clinton. Why? They very much fear Ben Carson, a black conservative Republican.
Ron HartDemocrats have made a political living by dividing voters into buckets of "victims," based either on sexual orientation, gender or - mostly - race. If blacks leave the cult of victimization and the Democratic plantation of dependency (food, housing, work, education), all the Dems would be left with are schoolteachers, media elites, members of public sector unions, vapid Hollywood stars and soft New York liberals who feel guilty about their inherited money.
Carson scares Democrats. Their biggest fear is nondependent, free-thinking, African-American conservatives. If they don't undermine them to silence them, the Dems might have to compete on ideas and their results to keep the black vote. Nothing concerns liberals more than an educated, resourceful, thoughtful black voter who starts questioning them and why they have a lock on the African-American vote. When one leaves the plantation, he must be made an example of so others will fall back in line. It's in the "Plantation Owner's Handbook."
Carson perplexes the media. For example, he has been having a hard time convincing folks that he actually did try to stab someone. Yes, that is the kind of presidential race we have today: Candidates have to prove they tried to kill someone; their word is not good enough. Carson says that, as a kid, he once pulled a knife when someone would not change the radio station to one he wanted. To be fair, you still have to do that today if you want to watch Fox News in the Detroit public school system.
Politico did a hatchet job article on Carson, one it later amended, but it started the onslaught. Knowing that much of Carson's appeal is his inspirational biography and his honesty, Politico took aim at that, disputing semantics in his bio and saying that a few anecdotes he told about incidents from 40 years ago could not be confirmed.
Granted, being near the top of the GOP field invites extreme media scrutiny. Moreover, being a novice to politics (which is part of his appeal), Carson is not used to such hazing. How he reacts will test his ability to maintain his position in the polls.
The media and late-night TV hosts have made fun of him in ways they never have with Obama. Pointing to his mild demeanor, they say, "He slept his way to the top of the Iowa polls."
Carson's religious beliefs also bother the secular Left. He did point out his differences with Donald Trump on religion. The good doctor actually reads the Bible. Trump once skimmed the Bible, didn't see his name in it and immediately put the book down. Carson's religious-based hard line on gay marriage troubles the Left as well. He justified his view that homosexuality is a learned behavior by pointing out that men often go into prison straight and come out gay. But to be fair, the same can be said of a Restoration Hardware store.
There is good news in the way he has handled the media's bias: Other GOP candidates are now starting to call out the leftist media on it. CNBC was lambasted for partisan pettiness in its debate. The second GOP debate scheduled on NBC was canceled by the Republicans as a result of the CNBC debacle. Aside from NBC already declaring Hillary Clinton the winner of its previously scheduled February 2016 GOP debate, Republicans felt the trajectory of the mean questioning was not going to do them any favors. Smart move.
So this whole Ben Carson-versus-the-media thing is playing out in perfect symmetry. Carson, an evangelical who does not believe in evolution, is pitted against an intransigently biased media - which is supporting his viewpoint.
Contact Ron Hart at Ron@RonaldHart.com.