Do conservative pundits believe what the say?

[yurbud]

In light of Armstrong Williams payola case and the hypocrisy of his homosexual sexual harassment cases, and the hypocrisy of Rush Limbaugh, Bill Bennett, and Bill O'Reilly, do they really believe what they say or say whatever they're paid to say whether they think it's true or not?

[Trajan]

1. As long as someone pays them .....

[liberal N proud]

2. IMO: They are told what they will say in order to have a job.

The reason Brokaw and Rather are no longer on the air is because their integrity would not allow them to lie on the air any longer and they have been kept on the news staff so they are tied by legal bonds to the company and will not come out and say the real reason why the "retired"
The company or more over the GOP machine behind the companies that own the media are controlling the news content and will not allow any journalist to speak out against the regime.

[Jade Fox]

3. Its all about money....

and careerism.

They'd say the moon was made of green cheese if the paycheck was big
enough.

[Osamasux]

4. Most truly believe in their cause.

They spew that crap as arguments to make a point, but do not believe their own daily drivel. They stay on message with an eye on the prize. It is a pure 'ends justify the means' argument with them.

[acmavm]

5. American mainstream media is totally irrelavent. They did it to themselves

If they had any idea what an international joke they have become, and if they had a shred of dignity to hold onto, they'd never be heard from again.

Krugman, Herbert, and sometimes Dowd for the NYT (but generally its just a pandering rag), and some writers for papers in Boston, Baltimore, and the eastern smaller newspapers still have some credibility. And then there's what I perceive as the most honorable newspaper in the country, The Crawford Iconoclast. But as a general rule, the media is shit.

What pisses me off maybe more than anything is their arrogance in thinking that if they something is true or false, people like me are so stupid that we're really supposed to take their word for what ever shit they're trying to pull, no matter what. Things like there's a snowball's chance in hell that Iraq is gonna get better, the economy's improving, employment is down, etc. The media starts lying like that and they honestly believe that everyone is too stupid to believe their own eyes, doubt their own experiences, just because some doofus on tv or in the WP or NYT says so. I think that what I'm trying so hard to say is that their arrogance is compounded by their ignorance and cowardliness.

[Deja Q]

6. There's no speculation required. The obvious is all that matters:

They don't do what they tell us to do. They often do the opposite.

Why people still give them credibility is beyond me.

[durutti]

7. Some do and some don't.

But for the most part, I would say they don't.

[Undercover Owl]

8. "do as I say, not as I do"

Plus, they really seem to relish being a$$holes.