Bravo, Daniel Snyder. Bravo!
The Washington Redskins owner can’t deliver his fans a Super Bowl trophy, but he has provided his countrymen a public service far more valuable — the template for how to beat the lamestream media at its own game.
Pay attention inside the beltway, Republicans. I’m about to offer you some advice far better than what you typically get from your battalion of bratty, losing-is-in-their-DNA consultants. And at far less the cost.
Several months ago, the lamestream media was looking for another empty calorie story to feed the idiocracy, rather than reporting on IRS tyranny, Benghazi, President Obama’s declining poll numbers, and everything else that doesn’t line up with their preferred narrative. They tried not one, but two marginal pro athletes coming out as homosexual and that didn’t work. If anything, they created a backlash that made the jobs of those players even tougher. So once the Michael Sam saga petered out, they decided their next faux crusade would be the long-time nickname of Washington, D.C.’s NFL franchise.
This story looked like a can’t-miss prospect. It was in their own backyard, so they controlled the Overton Window. It allowed them to deal the race card from the bottom of the deck, which is one of their most trusted tactics. And it went after the NFL at a time the league was already under siege for player safety, and is now even more embattled over its cavalier treatment of domestic violence.
But a funny thing happened after the lamestream media issued their fatwa against the Redskins, and tried the same playbook on Mr. Snyder that’s worked so successfully on feckless beltway Republicans for so many years.
They came up against a rarity inside our nation’s capitol — an alpha male.
Passive-aggressive might help you become speaker of the house, where the Peter Principle reigns supreme, but it doesn’t make you a billionaire tycoon. Thus, the tolerance mob finally ran into someone far more ruthless than they, who also happens to have a pot of gold at the end of his rainbow.
Mr. Snyder out-witted, out-played, and out-spent the lamestream media in this variation of the popular reality show “Survivor.” He confronted them on their own turf, beat them in social media, and even put up his own human shields with Native American ties to counteract the lamestream media’s victimology meme. In short, by playing to win and not just lose slower (as most Republicans in Washington do), Mr. Snyder introduced these wannabe cultural Marxists to big boy football. Otherwise known as the real world, where you have to earn the approval of customers — not just your pack-mentality peers. Where you actually have to be better than your competitors to make a buck — not just a subsidy living off someone else’s success.
As a result of being on the receiving end of its own bullying for a change, a lamestream media used to gutless Republicans assuming the position at the first sign of confrontation has learned that it ain’t no fun when the rabbit’s got the gun. Now they’re reeling and devolving into self-parody in a desperate attempt to salvage relevance.
Like former N.Y. Giants quarterback-turned-broadcaster Phil Simms refusing to call the Redskins by their name on the air last week. Mr. Simms is way late to the pity party, but give him credit for mounting a last-minute courageous bid to make sure he’s still on his politically-correct peers’ Winter Solstice Card list nonetheless. Mr. Simms was widely mocked on social media for his phony outrage, but I’m sure he’ll be the star of a Christine Brennan column and nominated for an ESPY to make up for it.
Mr. Snyder’s successful counter-offensive proves yet again the lamestream media influences almost no one outside the elites entrenched in the 202 and 212 area codes. It seems the more sanctimonious the lamestream media becomes, the more popular the Redskins nickname becomes.
A recent poll by Sports Illustrated found 79 percent of Americans approved of the use of “Redskins” and don’t want it changed. Given those numbers, “Redskins” might be the only popular name inside the beltway these days. On the other hand, trust in the lamestream media is at an all-time low according to Gallup.
Mr. Snyder called the lamestream media’s bluff, and then doubled-down and took his case to the people. You hear that, GOP? Now Mr. Snyder can call his pro football team “Global Warming” or “Gun Control” if he wants. Two more terms the lamestream media is not having much luck with these days.
(Steve Deace is a nationally-syndicated talk show host and also the author of the new book “Rules for Patriots: How Conservatives Can Win Again.” You can “like” him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @SteveDeaceShow.)
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