When we voiced our very real concerns about Bush's abominable policies...

and though were were pretty well on target and correct in our assessments and warnings, were were largely ignored by the media, or dismissed as nothing more than "Bush haters".
But right wing loonies can spew they most deceitful, illogical, hateful and just plain stupid crap at Obama, and they become the MAIN story in the Press.
Do I have that about right.

"SO".

the media makes the protesters the story, just like they DID NOT report on the Iraq War protests, we DO NOT GET A REAL HEALTH CARE BILL!!.
Is that a big enough SO for you.

tell you if asked the same question. They have the platform and they are using it - and they don't care about fairness.

We're not on an even playing field and we have scruples and as a result we're getting beat. We're getting beat by the Repugs, the RW crazies and the media.

We either keep the moral high ground or we stoop to their tactics.

Right now though if you complain - they will say what Cheney said - and that is - "SO".

quite a while now and have not been able to hold the Congress for the GOP, plus a white war hero got his butt kicked in the presidential contest in 2008.

Also a case could be made for Al and John as winners of their respective presidential races.

If you total the number of people who listen to Limbaugh every day, I'm thinking it isn't enough to significantly reverse voters' choices for Congress or the White House. If it were, Barack Obama would not be where he is.

Progressives don't have the idle time to tune in to Rush Limbaugh so he can stoke their resentment because progressives have lives.

I'm talking about CBS, NBC, ABC, etc.. making the town hall protesters and right wing opposition THE story about health care. Rather than explaining what's really going on.
If you need any more evidence, just look how they are falling all over themselves to cover the idiots who are upset about Obama's school speech this week.

I get the pervasive problem. I'm just saying that it isn't having the impact on how voters vote.

health care reform and the public option are going, it's having a great impact on policy.
Again I'm talking about MSM. NOT Fox and RW talk.
It's the MSM that is shaping this story around the teabaggers and town hall protesters.
Look how much time is devoted to the silly "death panel" garbage.

and that the health care initiative will sanction a strong public option.

I don't think the case can be sustained to the voters -- no matter what goes on on tv -- that they would be less well off WITH a public option than without one, and polling indicates a fat majority do support the public option.

TV revenues include big %s from Big Pharma. There is a vested interest against reform, as reform would mean that their unchecked margins of profit would be under scrutiny and in jeopardy of reduction.

and yet they have been able to beat back public health care every time.

now than it has ever been.

There are the shriekers and disruptors at the town meetings, yes, and they are getting a disproportionate coverage in the media, but someone's grandmother or someone's child faces illness and that grievous need is not met by paid shitheads screaming at town gatherings.

I say if the corporate health entities cheat, as they always have, we push harder and make them feel it.

much "Compromise" Obama is willing to accept.

that voters have other fish to fry.

McCain went straight for the heart of the "patriot," and flashed his war creds but was outfoxed by Chairman Dean's 50-state full-court press.

loaded - excuse? "because the right is in power". Now the left is in power (supposedly) and the news shows are right loaded - the excuse? "because we need to give voice to the minority party".

The system is rigged toward $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$/corporate right. We have hardly any voice at all.

The screamers on the right are more entertaining than the protesters on the left.

Modern television "journalism" is nothing more than an extension of "reality television". It's all in the editing and drama.

Left wing protesters just don't bring the drama that the rightwingnutz bring.

The book, "What Liberal Media?," by Eric Alterman www.whatliberalmedia.com , details the concerted effort of right wing support groups and think tanks to move the national dialogue to the right, after losing the supreme court nomination of Judge Bork.

It has not been a vague desire to move the national dialogue-- it has been systematic and relentless. Right wing foundations funding various methods of moving our discussions-- from rapid fire talking point distribution to conservative politicians and media stars, to media ownership, to cultivating religious conservatives.

One of the most prevalent techniques has been "working the refs"-- accuse the media of being liberal so that to prove themselves to be "balanced" they'll move to the right. That technique has been so successful that some conservatives still accuse the media of being liberal. Many have made objective reporting of atrocities or any news that reflects badly on the USA seem liberal.

Like the poster says, even though we and millions of others around the globe were correct in opposing the US war ON Iraq, the country zoomed ahead into its devastating Shock & Awe, with banner headlines and glorification on most of the TV news. That is not a liberal press. That is wholly-owned subsidiaries of right wing conglomerates.

I remember our so-called liberal media hounding Democratic President Jimmy Carter with 90-pt type on newspaper front pages for every day that our hostages remained in captivity-- 172 days, 173 days, etc. But funny how all of them didn't bother posting the numbers for our "number one enemy" OBL remaining at large during the Republican regime of Bush and Cheney. Even though W bragged about getting him "dead or alive."

A "liberal mass media" would have called for the impeachment of the Bush Cheney regime numerous times-- once we found there were no WMD, once Abu Ghraib abuses came to light, once some of the abundant war profiteering of Halliburton and their ilk was discovered.

We have liberal alternative media but our TV and most radio news media which a lot of stressed out hard working people get their news from, are dominated by right wing or center-right views, with a couple of liberal shows tossed into the 80/20 mix for "balance." I'm just glad the younger generations get more news from the alternative media these days. Thank goodness.

I'm very glad we have the alternative media but feel so sad that most TV news chatter has gone so far to the right. Conservatives recognized that seeing raw footage from Vietnam influenced more people to oppose the war, so they increased their control of major broadcast networks and managed war time news more "effectively" for their goals, glorifying the USA's weaponry and strength. They recognized that the draft also increased opposition to the war so they began a reckless privatization of military support services that has cost us far more (in terms of national reputation and funding) than doing those services in house-- the latest example being the contractors hired to protect the Kabul embassy, when Marines used to do that job very well.

For an interesting look into professional right wing PR, "Blinded by the Right," by David Brock, takes you inside the Clinton years, when Republicans also worked overtime to smear him. Brock was a paid right wing propagandist who describes the various campaigns at work to destroy the Clinton administration. A good DVD on this subject is "The Hunting of the President/ The Ten Year Campaign to Destroy Bill Clinton." http://www.thehuntingofthepresident.com/ .

Having seen the professional teams at work smearing Bill Clinton, one would think more famous journalists and star reporters would be exposing the professional right wing groups stirring up fear and hatred to get seniors to storm town halls to oppose government healthcare, even as Medicare recipients. Yet most popular broadcast news sources are reporting the fear of reform as "genuine grass roots" sentiment, pretending it is more widespread than it really is.

to the nation.- I'm trying to take every opportunity to point out this ugly elephant sitting on the chest of our nation.

If people are confronted with the reality of how BAD the right wing is really getting, and they STILL make the choice to support them, then we are in for a very bad time- but at least we'll know who's who.


It's not easy to be a bigot and behave badly when you are being called out on it publicly-

Let's come up with some effective ways of exposing this.

:hi:

You have it EXACTLY right.