The Massachusetts media rescue plan

In addition, a GOP victory would likely mean the defeat of healthcare reform, a humiliation that could weaken the presidency of Barrack Obama or at the very least fire up the Republican steamrollers as they try and flatten the Democrats in November. Right now a Republican takeover in either house of Congress looks highly unlikely. But then, so did the possibility of the Democrats blowing the Massachusetts special election.

For TV stations, it’s all good. The higher stakes mean wall-to-wall campaign ads … paid advertising. For that matter, all media will benefit, even the newspapers that are left.

Maybe those few in their management who actually know how to run a business need to sit down and hammer out a rescue plan that takes advantage of both parties’ abilities to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Perhaps they can put procedures in place that turn the most ho-hum election into a win-at-all-cost fight to the death.

They don’t even have to wait for that. Any issue, any piece of legislation, no how matter how mundane, can be promoted as a matter of crisis proportions that requires big spending from the special interest groups. Yes indeedy, “There’s gold in them-thar bills!”

It also means that all of us in the “Blah-Blah-Blah” business have something to talk about between commercials, which gives credence to Teddy Kennedy’s older brother John’s contention that “A rising tide lifts all boats.”

So media moguls: Stop with all the hand-wringing. We can always count on the ineptitude of those in politics and government. They can and will mishandle everything.

Come to think of it, maybe they also have a script. Could it be they too have gotten together — that all these showdowns they create are by design so they always have jobs and big salaries?

What other explanation could there be for what’s happening now in Massachusetts?

Visit Mr. Franken’s website at www.bobfranken.tv.