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Mass

(27,315 posts)
Fri Oct 23, 2015, 02:08 PM Oct 2015

We need a media that informs us on issues, not on the horse race.

Hillary is up. Hillary is down. Bush cuts his staff! Trump has a hat! Rubio drinks water! Rubio has more money than Bush! No, he has less!

What do these people believe in? What do they support? Apparently, we do not need to know! This is a serious problem with our democracy! At this point, we are probably choosing the winner of American Idol with more care than our president!

Sorry, but with this, I am not sure we can still call ourselves a democracy!

Sure, how much money a candidate has is important! How well they perform a few months before the first primary may be important! But history tells us that it is not THAT important! Otherwise, Kerry would not have been the nominee in 2004, McCain and Obama in 2008, or Romney in 2012.

Covering the hearings was useful because it informs us about Hillary Clinton, and shows she is a formidable candidate and will be if she wins a formidable president. She may not be my favorite candidate, but I have no doubt she would be solid.

But I can live without the different reports of lazy and incompetent reporters from Bloomberg (including, but not limited to Halperin and Weigel), the Washington Post, or the Times about who is up and who is down, and a little more about character and positions on issues. Right now, I have very little idea about what the various candidates are offering, and I follow politics. How are people supposed to know, and if they do not know, what does their vote on polls mean anyway!

Sorry for the rant, but I think the coverage of this election is a problem for democracy!

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randys1

(16,286 posts)
1. They are not allowed to. If your average American, especially your average bagger
Fri Oct 23, 2015, 02:10 PM
Oct 2015

knew how badly the rich were fucking them, we might actually accomplish something, therefore they never will

Gregorian

(23,867 posts)
9. That is such a perfect description of our dilemma.
Fri Oct 23, 2015, 02:31 PM
Oct 2015

Perfectly stated. And with brevity I can only dream of.

It seems people already know this. That's what bothers me. What was his name in Network? "I'm mad as hell!"...

blm

(112,919 posts)
3. Been that way since the 80s, and worsening in every election cycle since.
Fri Oct 23, 2015, 02:12 PM
Oct 2015

What changed? Poppy Bush - Rev Moon - Rupert Murdoch.

Response to Mass (Original post)

spanone

(135,632 posts)
6. the news is no better than the worse reality show...the media would go 24/7 kardashian if they could
Fri Oct 23, 2015, 02:15 PM
Oct 2015

Throd

(7,208 posts)
7. The purpose of mainstream media is not to inform, but to make $$$ for their owners.
Fri Oct 23, 2015, 02:19 PM
Oct 2015

The information is available, but you have to care enough to look for it.

upaloopa

(11,417 posts)
8. I don't need the MSM to tell me what Hillary's
Fri Oct 23, 2015, 02:21 PM
Oct 2015

stand on issues is. She has been telling us for months now.
Also if you don't like her you have your own idea of where she stands on the issues.
The league of women voters usually puts out information on candidates. Emily's list and a few others also.
Again if you don't like the candidate nothing anyone says positive about them matters.
I have listened to Bernie on Thom Hartman's show for years. I doubt the MSM can tell me any more than he has.

PatrickforO

(14,516 posts)
10. Keeping us in ignorance is no accident. The 'horse race' is nothing more than a shiny
Fri Oct 23, 2015, 02:47 PM
Oct 2015

object, meant to draw our attention and interest away from the fact that the establishment wings of both parties support Wall Street bankers, the military industrial complex, and the neoliberal capitalist model.

The happy thing, the only thing that is saving us, I think, is social media. The people are always going to be at a disadvantage against these monied interests. And we must remember that they are smart, powerful and relentless. They put out their propaganda message 24/7 through all the corporate-owned mass media.

What do we have? Our minds, and our native curiosity. And, we have the internet, which places the knowledge of the world at our fingertips. And the only real 'freedom' we have? Our ability to think things through for ourselves.

I'm not sure where I got this advice, but it is very good advice: When someone says, 'well we need to do THIS,' follow the money. If you understand where the money to make THIS happen comes from and where it goes, then no matter what the propaganda organs SAY, you will understand who benefits and how it will affect you and your family.

An everyday example: in my state there is a huge pent-up demand for condominiums as growing numbers of Baby Boomers are downsizing from their suburban homes. Developers are going to the state legislature under the guise of 'removing onerous regulation.' What this actually means is that the developers want to remove liability regulations on the quality of their work. So, if they build a condo complex and it falls down around the ears of the residents because of shoddy construction practices, what they want is to NOT be held liable for this. But the media never TELLS you this; it never even mentions it. You must find out for yourself.

This, then - finding out for yourself and then thinking it through, is yours, mine and everyone's responsibility as citizens of a republic. We supposedly have a representative democracy where those we elect ostensibly look out for our interests, but the American people have become lazy and ignorant, partly - or mostly - because of this constant propaganda. So we sit around saying, 'well, the media should tell us this,' while at the same time forgetting who the media actually serves.

To find out what the candidates want, where they stand on issues, and what specific policies they want to implement is hard, true, but it is possible.
1. First, look at their websites. Look at where they say they stand on these issues.
2. Then look at their records in office. How have they voted? What have they done?
3. Compare their actions with their words. If the actions and words match, then you're in business.
4. If the actions and words don't match, toss out the words and look only at the actions.
5. Ask yourself if you agree with the actions; how did they benefit you? And if not you, whom did they ACTUALLY benefit?
6. Then look at where the candidates are getting their money. This will tell you what you need to know about each candidate.

A quick recommendation from me? www.berniesanders.com. Speaking personally, my own opinion, I agree with what Bernie says he wants to do. Bernie has a pretty successful 40 year record of trying to put those things in place. And, his money is coming only from small donations from supporters, NOT super PACS. That's why I have chosen to support Bernie.

Response to PatrickforO (Reply #10)

donna123

(182 posts)
12. Too many in the media are enamored with themselves
Fri Oct 23, 2015, 08:39 PM
Oct 2015

and they all seem to listen to one another and then just repeat what they hear and they have the same talking heads on, not just on one network but the same people are on two or three networks or radio and some network so there are really very few voices heard. The same people are on CNN and Bill Maher, then on MSNBC and CNN, etc. In some ways, I think it is good that the American public does not pay much attention to the news. I am very happy to see HRC getting good press but I don't understand why all the networks seem to keep showing on TV are the republican buffoons rather than her. I also don't agree with their assessment that her campaign was lagging or dropping, the way they put it she was facing disaster. Gimme a break! Most people are not paying attention, in my opinion, most people think she's the only sane choice in this freak show field (I'm talking about the repub field) and they aren't paying attention to how the media was practically saying her campaign was dead. The media want to build things up, try to create suspense, oh look Hillary is losing in polls! oh look Hillary's campaign is dull, look at Trump and how entertaining he is! and it's all bullshit and I feel like they are the only ones buying into what they say. It's ridiculous. They live in their own world. I like some on MSNBC like Chris Hayes who I think has a lot of integrity but good lord, the way some on there were going on like they think Bernie is going to win the nomination, please. I like Bernie Sanders, but I feel his campaign is more about putting the media spotlight on certain issues he feels passionately about, the income gap, how wall street needs to be held accountable which I totally agree with and which needs more attention, than about him actually wanting to be president. My response to this post may be a bit tangential but needed to get this off my chest.

Mass

(27,315 posts)
13. Another article full of the same crap...
Sat Oct 24, 2015, 10:57 AM
Oct 2015
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/bush-campaign-downsizes-in-the-face-of-trump-strength/2015/10/23/4908181e-79a9-11e5-a958-d889faf561dc_story.html

Note, the article is another pile of crap,dealing with issues which do not matter. Bush has still plenty of money and is doing the right thing.

This said, the real question is whether he has a message that can resonate for the GOP voters. But of course, this would mean working hard to write an article about issues and characters, way to hard for the idiots that fill the reporter's bullpen these days.

And of course, pretty much every negative quote is anonymous. LOL.

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