Pat Caddell Says: Media Have Become ‘Enemy of the American People’

by ROGER ARONOFF September 29, 2012

In remarks to the AIM conference, "ObamaNation: A Day of Truth," on September 21^st, 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 covered up for nine days because the press and the administration did not want to admit it was a terrorist attack.

"We've had nine day 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."

He closed his talk with these words: "The press's job is to stand in the ramparts and protect the liberty and freedom of all of us from a government and from organized governmental power.  When they desert those ramparts and go to serve-to decide that they will now become an active participants-when they decide that their job is not simply to tell you who you may vote for, and who you may not, but, worse-and this is the danger of the last two weeks-what truth that you may know, as an American, and what truth you are not allowed to know, they have, then, made themselves a fundamental threat to the democracy, and, in my opinion, made themselves the enemy of the American people.  And it is a threat to the very future of this country if...we allow this stuff to go on, and...we've crossed a whole new and frightening slide on the slippery slope this last two weeks, and it needs to be talked about." 

You can watch highlights of his talk here: