Going After Benedict
The MSM has already begun to attempt to form public opinion regarding the new pope, but I think they will be disappointed in their efforts. The N&O reacted in form with a front-page article quoting an authoritative source - Jose Silvano, a travel agent from Brazil - who said Ratzinger was "the right pope for the cardinals, but not for the people."
They followed with 2 articles inside the paper from the AP. One outlined all of the liberal criticisms of the new pope and the other headline ran "Developing world disappointed, stoic." If this is the objective reporting the pope will receive on day 1, imagine how the MSM will try to portray him in year 2.
So why this reaction from the liberals? I don't think the MSM would have formulated these talking points 20, or even 10 years ago. At that time the Catholic vote was strongly Democratic, so liberal leaders were averse to challenging the conservative nature of Catholicism. But now Catholics have recognized that their religious, social and cultural beliefs fit more comfortably into the Republican Party, and they have abandoned the Dems and the MSM as hopelessly out of touch with their those beliefs.
So now it benefits the MSM to portray the Catholic Church as badly fractured over the choice of this new pope. Their hope is that "liberal" Catholics will break away, if not from the church than at least from the new Catholic Republican voting bloc. As with most MSM/Democrat efforts in this regard, I think their efforts will fail.
They followed with 2 articles inside the paper from the AP. One outlined all of the liberal criticisms of the new pope and the other headline ran "Developing world disappointed, stoic." If this is the objective reporting the pope will receive on day 1, imagine how the MSM will try to portray him in year 2.
So why this reaction from the liberals? I don't think the MSM would have formulated these talking points 20, or even 10 years ago. At that time the Catholic vote was strongly Democratic, so liberal leaders were averse to challenging the conservative nature of Catholicism. But now Catholics have recognized that their religious, social and cultural beliefs fit more comfortably into the Republican Party, and they have abandoned the Dems and the MSM as hopelessly out of touch with their those beliefs.
So now it benefits the MSM to portray the Catholic Church as badly fractured over the choice of this new pope. Their hope is that "liberal" Catholics will break away, if not from the church than at least from the new Catholic Republican voting bloc. As with most MSM/Democrat efforts in this regard, I think their efforts will fail.
posted by SCP at 6:40 AM
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