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So, Dick Durbin dares to tell the truth about Guantanamo and gets slapped down by George W. Bush and his lapdog press. Bad news for the Democrats, right? Not exactly. You see, while the Republican Party and their neo-fascist thugs in the media believe that they can shape reality to their own liking, the pendulum swings both ways; our ADD addled populace may forget about, for instance, the Social Security debacle as soon as you wave a bright shiny object in front of them (“look, a Runaway Bride!”), but believe me when I tell you that the majority of Americans still don’t have a clue who Dick Durbin is, much less what he said. The propensity to bury anything critical of the Bush administration tends to leave stories like Durbin’s shameful retraction in the same boat; the story got nary a mention in my local paper, or even on the news, and there was little talk about it on the major news organization’s web sites. When you talk about the apology, you have to talk about why there’s an apology. Chains. Cruelty. Feces. Rap music. Hair pulling. Torture. There’ll be even less about it in tomorrow’s paper. Better off forgotten.
But there’s one thing that won’t be forgotten, especially in this sound bite age. Guantanamo. That word is starting to creep in to the public consciousness; they know that we’re in the wrong here, but they don’t want to think about it. Our job, and the job of those who represent us, is to keep that word front and center. Dick Durbin backed down, fine. Don’t worry about him. He’s still a Democrat. Don’t crucify him for it. For all we know, Rove’s clandestine operatives put a horse head in his bed. Maybe next time he’ll grow bigger ones, and not back down; we have to let him have his next time.
My point is that the news cycle can work to our advantage as well. Remember Howard Dean and his “white Christian party”? Oh, the media got all in a lather about that, didn’t they? Of course, the average Joe heard the remark and probably chuckled to himself (even the Republicans), because they know it’s true. It’s the sound bite principle again – White Christian Party. There’s nothing wrong with being white or Christian. Heck, we’re a white Christian Party too; we’re also black and brown and Jewish and Buddhist and every color and religion in between, and that’s why we’re different and that’s what the sound bite emphasizes.
The leaders of our party need to do what we here at DU and other progressives on the internet do every day. They need to speak the cold, hard truth in such a way that it gets attention, then hunker down while the media gets their panties in a wad reporting it, then when things die down, go back out and do it again. The right has been doing this for years, whether it’s Fat Bastard in Florida or Anorexic Annie. The difference is that they’re telling outrageous lies and we’re telling outraged truth. We need to keep poking a stick in the hornet’s nest, because it puts them on the defensive, and the public notices. Sooner or later, they’ll get the message.
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