Neas takes on Armstrong Williams

People for the American Way president Ralph Neas has thrown down the gauntlet at the feet of Armstrong Williams. Williams, who contracted with Ketchum Public Relations for $240,000 to promote the “No Child Left Behind” Act for the Bush Administration on his television show has been the subject of media stories and speculation which, of course, has attracted Neas like a shark to blood in the water. Neas has now challenged Williams to “give the money back."

Interesting theory, coming from Mr. Neas, particularly if one examines the funders that write checks to the People for the American Way coffers. A casual glance at a recent PFAW annual report shows that CBS, NBC and even the New York Times company generously gave to PFAW. So did many media parent companies such as Viacom, Sony and many, many others.

In all of the stories at CBS, NBC, the New York Times, etc., in which Ralph Neas or his organization were quoted, I do not recall any disclosure of their financial relationship. In particular, there didn’t seem to be the aforementioned disclosure during the numerous articles and stories presented on the President’s judicial nominees in which Mr. Neas was given pretty much free reign to do as much damage to the nomination as suited his fancy.

Before Ralph Neas can demand that Armstrong William return his payments, Neas must first return his payments from media outlets that quoted him without even a hint of a disclosure. Even in a tiny font.

The bottom line here has very little to do with contracts or legislation and a lot more to do with the fact that it was not a liberal left wing agenda that was being touted in the media. The salt in the wound was that it was a black conservative delivering the message. Right or wrong, and there certainly are questions about disclosure issues for Mr. Williams, the left hardly has clean hands here.

It should be noted that Williams is not a reporter without a bias, he is a pundit with an opinion. The media outlets that have written checks to PFAW are as opinionated as Armstrong Williams but engage in the fiction that they are objective, impartial, unbiased purveyors of news and information. Balderdash.

Last time I checked, National Public Radio, in all of its liberal glory, is paid for by taxpayer dollars. There are lots of things promoted on NPR that do not tickle my conservative whims. Don’t even get me started on PBS and their Bolshevik agenda, also paid for by my tax dollars.

And if the red states truly knew how much of their tax dollars were going to the most liberal of liberal organizations to promote everything from abortion to homosexuality to wacky disproven environmentalist junk science, the red states would turn crimson. But merely whisper the word “abstinence” in a liberal’s presence whose salary is dependent upon some obscure Department of Health and Human Services money stream and watch his head explode at the mere thought of a condom-less foreign aid program.

One of the best organizations in Washington DC is Citizens Against Government Waste. Every year, they release a “Pig Book” which discloses the truly astoundingly stupid and wasteful projects our bloated government churns out. Its website makes for good, if not terribly disturbing reading.

None of that pork that is dealt to leftist media outlets and organizations seems to bother Ralph Neas. So long as the liberal agenda is well-oiled with cash, be it from the government or private companies, Neas and his liberal friends don’t seem to have any heartburn. But if a conservative agenda item is promoted, whole cases of Maalox are needed by the outraged leftist cabal.

The left has fed at the federal trough for so long it should be knee-slappingly laughable to hear any complaints from them about agendas and taxpayer dollars. As for Mr. Neas and his "demands" – fundraiser, divest thyself.