Posted by
Scottie on Sunday, July 29, 2007 7:38:06 PM
Sockpuppet: v. Using an alternate identity to create the impression that a real discussion is taking place when in fact both sides of the conversation are from the same person. This tactic is often used to praise or defend the master of the sock puppet in internet forums.
There seems to be a lot of discussion about whether or not the Republicans should accept a debate in the YouTube format recently enjoined by the Democrats. I must vote a well considered no. This process may be entertaining, but it doesn’t add anything of substance to the political process. Let me explain how I arrived at this conclusion and see if you agree.
This is really a chance for the MSM to cull through thousands of questions submitted by “normal Americans” and select a set of questions to pose to the candidates. While the actual questions come from the population, the MSM still maintains editorial control over which questions are asked, and which are discarded. In so doing, they’ve created the impression that the questions are not theirs when in effect they really are. It gives the MSM cover to ask questions no journalist would dare soil their hands with while appearing completely neutral. Kind of like using Triumph the Insult Comedy Dog as an intermediary for questions you wouldn’t dare ask yourself. In a sense, the MSM is using the submissions as a proxy for a sock puppet. It gets to control the debate without having to defend the questions asked by attributing them to someone else.
Also, there is no upside to participating. How does one maintain a presidential bearing while engaging a question from a sock puppet? In the last debate, the candidates got to engage with a literal sock puppet on the subject of Global Warming. Even if the puppet is Lambchop, it is impossible to convey a sense of decorum while so engaged. Remember, the MSM is actually in control of the questions, the format only gives the appearance of coming from the hoi polloi. Is there really a Republican alive that trusts the MSM to be objective and fair in its selection of these questions? I would have no problem coming up with a nice round of “Gotcha” questions, nor would you. I’d wager even money that the DailyKos would have a contest for the most obnoxious question submitted. Given the volume of the entries that will be available from the nutroots, and the MSM selecting the questions from this pool, would you put your candidacy on the line? Me neither.
To the taunts that will surely follow from the Left, the reply is a simple question: “Why is it OK for Democrats to refuse to debate in a dignified forum moderated by Fox News, but not OK for Republicans to decline to reenact a media circus? No matter how tough Fox News may have been on the Democrats, they certainly wouldn’t have reduced them to responding to literal and figurative sock puppets.” Why do the Democrats get to decline dignified forums that garner an educated audience, while requiring the Republicans to perform like trained seals in a media Circus Maximus? A YouTube debate for Republicans is a horrible idea. And with the recent experience of the Democrats on vivid display, it would be unbelievably dumb for them to follow suit. Surely they know better than to play along with this thinly veiled sock puppetry of the MSM. If not, they likely don’t have enough political sense to be elected anyway. At least, that’s the way I see it anyway.
Scottie