Media Obsession with Romney Taxes

Why is the Activist Old Media so obsessed with Mitt Romney’s taxes? 

He has released what is federally required, he has been as transparent as most other presidential candidates, so why the obsession?

The short answer is that as Barack Obama’s #1 SuperPAC, it is the media’s job to do whatever the campaign wants, so they do it. Mark Halpern said as much on the Today Show over the weekend. When asked about the media and the tax return issue, Halpern said, “The media is very susceptible to doing what the Obama campaign wants.” No duh.

But this issue goes much deeper. Talking about tax returns is normally the last thing the media would want to do. Media (especially TV news) is run by consultants who live and die by research. I know what their research says and if you were to list the top 10 campaign issues for 2012, Mitt Romney’s taxes would probably be #11. Jobs, economy, healthcare, American values, silly little issues like these would be at the top of the list. That’s what all the polls say, that’s what the media research says. The media wants us to believe Romney’s taxes are a big deal, so they keep the attention at a fever pitch. If the issue of Romney’s taxes are rising in any polls it’s only because the media has pushed this, not because anybody really cares. When have we ever cared about a candidates taxes? Did we care about John Kerry’s?

You have to know that the electronic media spends millions and millions on research and consultants. They worship the information. It is their bible. They use it to build newscasts around stories that scare women into watching the next newscast, put weather first, last and in the middle, and kill sports.

The media expects us to believe that we are more interested in what Romney has done with his money, than what Obama is doing with ours. They know most American’s could care less about Romney’s tax returns, but they see this as a winning issue for Dear Leader, so they keep pushing it. 

The Activist Old Media is not just doing the Obama bidding here by continuing to bring up Romney’s taxes, they are going counter to what the research says, and counter to what they know people want to hear. 

Further proof that there has never been an American election where the media has been so invested in the outcome.