Banana Republicans Plan Smear Campaign Against Media

The Banana Republicans are working from the Putin Playbook:

A loose network of conservative operatives allied with the White House is pursuing what they say will be an aggressive operation to discredit news organizations deemed hostile to President Trump by publicizing damaging information about journalists.

It is the latest step in a long-running effort by Mr. Trump and his allies to undercut the influence of legitimate news reporting. Four people familiar with the operation described how it works, asserting that it has compiled dossiers of potentially embarrassing social media posts and other public statements by hundreds of people who work at some of the country’s most prominent news organizations.

The group has already released information about journalists at CNN, The Washington Post and The New York Times — three outlets that have aggressively investigated Mr. Trump — in response to reporting or commentary that the White House’s allies consider unfair to Mr. Trump and his team or harmful to his re-election prospects.

The article indicates at least some of the news outlets are not going to be "intimidated or silenced" by the blatant bullying and extortionist tactics.  We're not as sanguine, given the exquisite sensitivity of corporate media to, um, "bad press."  What the Banana Republicans hope to accomplish, with the assistance of the White (Supremacist) House, the Republican National Committee and the miasma of right- wing media hustlers, is to catapult bullshit far and wide to put critics of the Very Stable Genius off balance and to influence, however marginally, the way they cover this existential threat to our nation.  It's concerning that it might not take much pressure for them to accomplish at least part of their objectives. (Oh, and we should mention one of the prime instigators is close with dimwitted spawn and Russia's other useful idiot, Don, Jr.)

Pardon us for citing the prescient Masha Gessen once again:

The national press is likely to be among the first institutional victims of Trumpism. There is no law that requires the presidential administration to hold daily briefings [Ed.-- already come true], none that guarantees media access to the White House [Ed. -- they're selectively working on that]. Many journalists may soon face a dilemma long familiar to those of us who have worked under autocracies: fall in line or forfeit access. There is no good solution (even if there is a right answer), for journalism is difficult and sometimes impossible without access to information.

Running an organized smear campaign against outlets or reporters deemed hostile to the creeping authoritarianism of the Trump regime is taking the abnormality of the times up a few notches. The right- wing wurlitzer has its familiar target, but it's apparently preparing to wage a scorched earth fight, and this is likely just one battleground.

It's never alarmist these days to say the fate of our democracy is at stake.

BONUS:  Steve M. at No More Mister Nice Blog isn't impressed with the group's efforts so far, and doesn't expect them to make much of a ripple.  We hope he's right.