Manufactured Outrage

All the recent flap in the media about President Obama's religious affiliation and the proposed mosque near Ground Zero is nothing but manufactured outrage to distract America from real societal problems. Where's the media coverage of unemployment of nearly 10% nationwide, and the lack of political will to do anything about it? Or that Wall Street is using the stimulus money to pay CEOs and shareholder dividends and artificially inflate stock prices rather than help America's struggling economy? It's a sad commentary on our society and its priorities when real news is ignored in favor of this kind of rabble-rousing.

More impressive still that so many have played along (or been led along, take your pick).

That still buy into what the media is feeding them on many issues. You see it daily with the outrage over misleading headlines. Headline "headline Obama wants to kill people" real story obama wants to provide funding for low income families funerals. It doesn't really matter what the details are its all about the gotcha headline.

in a terrible sort of way. ;)

If the mosque/community center complies with zoning and building codes, the government can't stop it even if 99% of the people don't like it.

If NYC didn't want a church/mosque/community center in that location, it would have been easy to zone it in a way that restricted it to residential, business, commercial or other such use. Since they didn't do that they can't come in now and say, "Well sure you have complied with all our laws and regulations, but you can't build THAT here." Lawyers would have lots of fun with such an arbitrary government exercise of power.

hook, line and sinker! LOL!! Not once or twice but EVERY SINGLE TIME!! LOL!!

The media is 99.9% radical right-wing, so this is not really skillful at all

Instead of reporting facts they cover the mud slinging.

other than obstructionism for the current unemployment mess or how to fix it, so they change the topic. They can't bring up idiot son.
What's worrisome is they do it so well. x(

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=433&topic_id=414224

A Telling Change of Tune
Jonathan Singer


As conservatives delight in the debate over the placement of an Islamic cultural center in lower Manhattan, listen to what they aren't saying as much as you listen to what they are saying. For all of the over-the-top rhetoric -- and there is a great deal of it -- the implicit admission of this effort to score political points on the issue of terror speaks loudly.

While the right talks terror, they're not talking the economy. Common wisdom would hold that at a time of high unemployment, high deficits and low consumer confidence, the party out of power should be able to clean up on the issue of the economy (think 1992, 1982, and 1958; or 1932, for that matter).

The problem is, though, that for all the economic woes facing the country, the issue simply has not been sufficiently potent for the GOP. Yes, Barack Obama's approval rating on the issue of the economy is in the tank, with just 38 percent voicing approval and a whopping 59 percent voicing disapproval, according to the latest numbers from Gallup. Yet when asked who they trust more to handle the economy, Republicans don't significantly outpace the President (besting him by a single point, 42 percent to 41 percent, according to Quinnipiac polling) and they actually trail congressional Democrats (by a 43 percent to 39 percent margin, per Time's latest polling).

The main reason for this, of course, is quite simple: George W. Bush. When asked by Quinnipiac who is to blame for the current condition of the U.S. economy overwhelmingly states Bush over Obama (53 percent to 25 percent). When asked by Pew and National Journal whether it would be better to follow the economic policies of the Bush administration or the Obama administration going forward, 46 percent backed the current President while just 29 percent backed his predecessor.

But it is not just about George W. Bush. The Republicans continue to stake out the wrong position on the economy. When CNN polled on the recent state aid package to save thousands of jobs around the country -- legislation opposed by all but two Republican Senators and all but two House Republicans -- fully 60 percent of respondents backed the bill. A mere 30 percent of Americans agree with the Republicans' stance of extending the Bush tax cuts for everyone, rather than repealing either all of the tax cuts or just those for high income earners (per Pew/National Journal polling).

With Republicans failing to capitalize on the weakness of the economy, it's little wonder the right is trying to turn the country's focus away from economics and towards terror. But considering that poll after poll this year has shown Americans care much more about the economy than about any other topic, it's far from clear to me that this change of tune is going to pay political dividends for conservatives.

lambasted Reagan, and was annihilated by the DLC

only left-wing policies would address and fix unemployment, Wall Street bailouts, corruption, etc.; neoliberals may give fiery speeches, but they're really on the same side as the GOP that they shriek will "destroy Murka" if we don't prevent those boogeymen from winning. Therefore, any policy that looks good will have a nasty sting in its tail: insurance and pharma subsidies are reverse poison pills to get mandates, "end of combat operations" a mask for the 50K remaining until Iraq tries to use Iraqi oil to help Iraqis

that's why the Loyalist Brigades' "lists of accomplishments" are disregarded: lefties know that most of the big items on them are not what they're advertised as being

It will all suddenly fall off the radar after the elections. Wait and see.

on all the people whose lives have been devastated in this economy.