My Media Advice to Conservatives Who Just Won Elections

There will be a lot of people giving a lot of advice to the new Republicans who will be taking office in DC in January. I will give mine.

Have no fear of the activist old media.

They have rendered themselves useless over the last few years.

They have been wrong time and time again. They told us the planet was warming when it was actually cooling. They told us Tea Party activists were racist. They told us Barack Obama would unite us and save us from the Evil Bush (oh ya, they told us Bush was evil.) The list is long and varied and it comes from their agenda, not just from their inability to be accurate.

They do not deserve to be given the implied credit that comes from your presence. Oh, do the interviews—if you have the time–but do not accept their premise when they ask you, “So, what are you going to do to help move over to the other side so that you can show that you are not just another partisan politician?” Tell them the Constitution is not partisan, that’s what you took the Oath to follow and that is not up for debate. Yes, every issue you deal with (other than the superficial issues, like naming the new Post Office) will have a Constitutional connection somewhere.

Never forget that you got elected without their support. They supported your opponent, remember?

But, it’s not just that, it’s much more than that. You have real work to do.

Protecting the border, extending the Bush tax cuts, repealing healthcare, restoring the economy, protecting the Constitution, cutting spending and many more issues important to those who put you in office, listen to those people, not the activists in the old media who will support your opponent next campaign as well—no matter what you do. Don’t worry if the president vetoes everything you do. Let him be the President of No.

Have no fear of the activist old media.

Their business is dying or dead and they have only themselves to blame. They have constantly berated their audience by treating them like children, calling them fools or just flat out telling them lies. Normally I might say here that they should have to earn back your trust, but they don’t want to. It’s clear that they would prefer to die a slow death than admit they were wrong and adjust their agenda. Agenda will always be more important to them than ratings, were it not so; MSNBC and CNN would’ve hired moderate or conservative hosts long ago. They know what gets ratings. They choose not to get them.

LBJ was afraid of the activist old media when he changed his Vietnam policy based on what Walter Cronkite thought. Nothing could be more sad and pathetic than that and America paid a dear price for Johnson’s fear of the media.

Do what Reagan did. Take your message to the people. “Dutch” did it long before there was the internet, Fox News and talk radio was still in its infancy. The internet allows you to explain your position clearly to the voters. Forget that the evening news may not report accurately on your policies, put them out there yourself and spread them virally.

What happened on Tuesday was not just a wave, a trend, or a move to throw out incumbents; it was a rush towards conservative politics and a love of Constitutional values. Never forget that. It also happened contrary to the will of the media.

If you did fear the activist old media and you spent a disproportionate amount of your time trying to gain their favor, get their coverage, or make them happy—fear no more. Be open and honest with them, grant their interview requests and use the moments to be instructive on the Constitution. We must talk Constitutional principles with the media early and often—sure they will edit out what they want and you may get burned—but eventually this message will get through. America is hungry for your message and it must be delivered simply and boldly.

Be respectful and courteous and take all the advice I mentioned above, then focus on the people you have been elected to serve. Consumers of news are caring less and less what the activist old media says. We know their game and their gig is up.

Have no fear of the activist old media.