Cable conservatives: CT Senate primary "could be the death of the Democratic Party"; Dems "are totally losing their soul"; the "Democratic approach to our enemies in the world ... is essentially appeasement"
Summary: Numerous conservative figures on cable TV news have made dire predictions for the Democratic Party if Greenwich businessman Ned Lamont defeats incumbent Sen. Joe Lieberman in the August 8 Connecticut Democratic Senate primary.
In commenting on the August 8 Connecticut Democratic Senate primary between Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman and Greenwich businessman Ned Lamont, various conservative cable news figures offered dire prognoses for the Democratic Party.
CNN Headline News host Glenn Beck claimed that a Lamont win in the primary "could be the death of the Democratic Party," and asked: "Is the Democratic Party really becoming the party of Michael Moore?" and "You can't count on people to vote for you when you're this out of touch, can you?"
Fox News host Sean Hannity claimed that a Lamont victory would show that Democrats "are totally losing their soul." Also on Fox News, Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer claimed that the primary demonstrates that the "Democratic approach to our enemies in the world ... is essentially appeasement."
While Media Matters for America does not -- and cannot -- take a position on the Connecticut primary, these comments nonetheless play into some of the false storylines pervading the media coverage of the 2006 midterm elections -- including that it is a "fringe" position to believe that the United States should plan for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, even though this view is held by the majority of Americans.
Beck's comments were met with complete agreement by guest Bill Whalen, a research fellow at the conservative Hoover Institution, who claimed that the Democratic Party is "becoming the party of a circular firing squad."
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http://mediamatters.org/items/200608080003