CBS: Fox sued over election falsehoods
Dominion Voting Systems has filed a civil defamation lawsuit against Fox News claiming that the organization and its commentators knowingly published false information about Dominion. During the process of discovery, several instances during depositions have revealed that employees knew they were repeating falsehoods. Rupert Murdoch, chairman of the organization that owns Fox News, made a statement that acknowledged that several employees knowingly promoted Trump’s lies. He has separately indicated that he will not be endorsing Trump this time. He disclaimed any personal responsibility, which implies he might be trying to throw one of his children under the bus. I’m not a lawyer, and I will not comment on the case per se.
Politics involves more than just politicians. It also includes lobbyists, advocacy groups, wealthy donors, corporations, demonstrators, and media who try to influence legislation. Fox News flew high during the Trump administration using its high profile and ratings to justify ad rates. Even after he left office, they were the primary media platform for him and his policies.
Over time, advertisers fled Fox News and viewers also fled to other more extreme right-wing media. The legal liability problems of Fox News don’t correlate that MSNBC’s ratings necessarily will improve. But the seemingly invincible spokesperson for the radical right is fading in political power and profitability. Other TV media profited from the controversies Trump’s false statements prompted. That’s why he enjoyed throwing the bomb shells and baiting the media. He was a master manipulator, and they jumped for it every time. All he wanted was attention. The facts or policies didn’t matter. Chaos sells, just like murder and mayhem get the headlines.
But the political balance of power is shifting as evidenced that the new Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy is playing nice with the Democratic minority. He needs them to counter some of the extremists within his own party. That is an interesting reversal, considering the struggle he had getting elected. I don’t think that implies any sweetheart bipartisanship in the coming session of Congress. Biden got most of what he wanted from the Democrats, but he’s still willing to play the game of compromise. The recent big dollar legislation won’t play out for several years, and some Republicans already are starting to squawk about Ukraine.
It is too early to project if any of these situations will have any impact on the 2024 primaries, where there will be a lot of candidates running in both parties. We still have a full year to consider that. I just wish we had a 3-month limitation on campaigns. Not only to reduce the exorbitant cost of elections, but also to limit the endless ads both in print and on TV. The TV networks probably would never allow it. They get more money from political ads than drug ads.
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