In "All the News That's Fit to Bully" (7/9/06), Frank Rich alludes to "the Bush White Houses' most powerful not-so-secret agent in the press itself, the Wall Street Journal editorial page", and how its intellectual dishonesty is being used in the White House campaign to intimidate the press in advance of the elections. I found it ironic and amusing that the column adjacent to Rich's presented evidence of another successful White House penetration of a major newspaper's editorial page, David Brooks' "The Liberal Inquisition", in this case employed in an attempt to discredit and intimidate the internet "netroots" that have been such a thorn in the side of the White House and shoddy journalists.
About the time he was released from legal jeopardy by Fitzgerald, Karl Rove gave a speech decrying the hate-filled liberal blogosphere. As if on command, Brooks now weighs in with a hyperbolic attack on the blogs and netroots in behalf of Joe Lieberman, decrying their alleged, unspeakable, vitriol and hate-mongering, insisting that they seek to impose ideological purity and discipline on the Democrats.
Of course, hate mongering is of little importance to the serious users of the serious, influential blogs. And it is not surprising why Karl Rove wants to intimidate and discredit them, just as he seeks to intimidate the rest of the news media, because the blogs seek out and encourage Democrats who will act like a true opposition party. The Republicans want sheep-like docility in the Democrats. The model is Joe Lieberman, and that explains Brooks' over-the-top attack on the netroots in Lieberman's behalf today.
Just as the White House has a not-so-secret agent in the Wall Street Journal editorial page as Frank Rich has pointed out, it now seems to have infiltrated the New York Times as well, in the person of David Brooks, who gives us Karl Rove's regurgitated talking points. The aim is the same-intimidation and discrediting of all media who stand in their way this electoral year. I believe that in Brooks' case their is an issue of journalistic integrity that the Times must address, as well.