At the Accuracy in Media conference, “ObamaNation: A Day of Truth,” former congressman and Federal prosecutor Artur Davis had high praise for former President Ronald Reagan, saying that “Reagan took liberty and freedom, which are very imaginative concepts, and he gave them a power they had never had before.”
Davis is a four-term member of the House of Representatives from Alabama, where he represented the 7th District as a Democrat from 2003-2010. He was viewed as a rising star in the House, and named in 2008 by Esquire magazine as one of the “Ten Best Congressmen in America.” He was the first congressman to endorse Barack Obama for president, and even seconded his nomination in 2008. But he has since switched to the Republican Party, and even spoke at their convention in August. Davis is now a columnist and commentator across a wide media spectrum: He contributes to Politico and National Review, among others. He is a Current Fellow at Harvard’s prestigious Institute of Politics, and is an attorney in Washington, D.C.
In recent remarks to an AIM conference, “ObamaNation: A Day of Truth,” former Democratic pollster and analyst Pat Caddell said, “I think we’re at the most dangerous time in our political history in terms of the balance of power in the role that the media plays in whether or not we maintain a free democracy.” Caddell noted that while First Amendment protections were originally provided to the press so they would protect the liberty and freedom of the public from “organized governmental power,” they had clearly relinquished the role of impartial news providers.
Nowhere was this more evident than during the tragic death of a U.S. ambassador in Libya that was lied about for nine days, because the press and the administration did not want to admit it was a terrorist attack.
“We’ve had nine days of lies over what happened because they can’t dare say it’s a terrorist attack, and the press won’t push this,” said Caddell. “Yesterday there was not a single piece in The New York Times over the question of Libya. Twenty American embassies, yesterday, are under attack. None of that is on the national news. None of it is being pressed in the papers.”
Caddell added that it is one thing for the news to have a biased view, but “It is another thing to specifically decide that you will not tell the American people information they have a right to know.”
At the AIM conference in September, “ObamaNation: A Day of Truth, Richard Benedetto gave a speech titled “How the Media are Impacting the Election”.
Benedetto is a former White House correspondent, USA TODAY, political columnist, and adjunct professor at American University.
“If you’ve got a cause, go to work for the cause; don’t go to work in the newspaper business.”