Ask Yourself... - Democratic Underground

The Doctor.

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Fri Apr-25-08 05:41 PM
Original message

Ask Yourself...

Here we are mired in a decidedly protracted presidential primary contest whose daily droppings are the dietary staple of the corporate media. The relentless 24 hour loop of polished and regurgitated (in that order) bytes are force-fed into the non-reciprocal TV viewing audience’s psyche like so many pre-digested grubs stuffed down a chick’s craw. (That reminds me… I skipped lunch today)
Like baby chicks, the vast majority of the viewing audience swallows the cud whole… only to find ways to spew it out later onto the internet and about our communities in the hopes of converting others to their special diet.

Had enough?

Well, perhaps I maybe mistaken, but we here on DU have been wise to this ‘circular digestion’ process the Corporate Media has forcibly grafted onto the infosphere. We have watched for years as the M$M has sold out the American people out to the interests of its’ corporate masters. We’ve been sold an illegal war based on lies, we’ve been told we don’t need all those ‘pesky’ rights, we’ve been kept in the dark over some of the greatest abuses of power, and all because the Corporate Media has a vested interest in keeping us uninformed and properly manipulated so that the corporate masters can profit every quarter.
I don’t think I have to go into any more details here on this site, we all know the score, and I think we all have had ‘quite’ enough.

So there we were in the first stages of the primary, watching with eyes wide open as the Media did its’ level best to sideline the democratic candidates that could threaten their interests. Kucinich was easy, just ask the right (wrong) questions, limit his speaking time, make sure no one knew how powerful his ideas were, and paint him in caricature. *Poof!*

One threat down.

Edwards was a little trickier. The cameras loved him, he was easy and pleasant to listen to, and he cared as much as any of the other candidates about We The People. That was the problem. Limiting his face time just wouldn’t be enough. He was brushing off attacks on his wealth and success with effortless grace, he was already taking 7% overall exposure and turning it into very high favorable ratings. That simply could not stand. So how to deal with him?

They had to fill the spotlight and create a head-to-head race between two other candidates in order to force him out of the story. It worked. Problem solved.

Two threats down.

Now here we are, and the media has not suddenly done an about-face and decided to become, *ahem*… fair or balanced.

Do we believe that just because the media is gleefully skewering the candidates for every minor foible, that they are ‘doing the job of journalism’? I truly hope that there is no one on DU that is even remotely that naïve. Throwing dirt at candidates is a staple of the sensationalist broadcasting meant to distract from substantive issues. We’ve known that for a while. Do we believe that the M$M is unaware of the record turnout and registration of Democratic voters that spells “D-O-O-M” for McCain and Republicans this fall? Do we think that the media has not selected the candidate they believe will ultimately be more profitable to their corporate masters should the Democratic nominee succeed in defeating Grandpa McCain in November?

Of course not.

Now the interesting part;

“How does one determine which candidate the media, and by incestuous, indirect extension, the Republicans, is trying to push on the Democrats in the interest of forwarding their agenda?”

ASK yourself…

“Which candidate has the RW singled out most to attack?”

“Why does the Media continue to insist this is a ‘close race’?”

“If the numbers were entirely reversed, wouldn't we have our candidate by now?”

“Why does the Media rarely discuss exactly what it would take for the gap between the candidates to close?”

“Why is Rush Limbaugh telling Republicans to ‘help’ one candidate stay in the race?”

“Why are DUers posting excerpts from Newsmax, CNS news, Newsbusters, and other notoriously right-wing sites in support of one candidate over another?”

Now, many of those can be answered with the simple explanations involving ratings and the joy that fills Republicans every time blows are exchanged between the candidates, but those don’t explain why we let them get away with it. If you’ve found yourself aligned with those interests who are bound and determined to keep this fight going, you should ask yourself;

“Who am I really helping?”

Most importantly, if from all of the above, even though I haven’t pointed out which candidate falls into these categories directly, you know who it’s about, maybe you should ask yourself;

“Why am I aligned with the Media’s interests, and am I letting myself be fooled again?”

The corporations are very interested in seeing their deregulated status go unchallenged, NAFTA go untouched, and the status quo remain intact. One Democratic candidate is more likely to leave those as is, and they know it.

So ask yourself;

“Can we afford to take the chance that the media’s pick is in the best interest of We The People after all they have done to deceive us?”

One honest answer is all it would take, then we can collectively flip the bird at the media and give them a President they won’t be happy with.

Because we all know that's what we need.