BBC News piling on: The "failure" of the "American left"

[WildEyedLiberal]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4747254.stm

I was incredibly disappointed in this piece. BBC is great for cold hard news, but this just demonstrates to me the complete inability of foreign op-eds to understand American politics.

The author falls into the tired old canard of "Democrats don't have a message" and even goes so far as to say that the "American left" is obsolete, implying that current technology favors - what? - Bush? Republicans?

This could have been a hard-hitting piece from an outsider critiquing the abject failure of the American news media to present anything resembling balance. Instead, it's a snarky pile-on by someone more interested in clever barbs than analyzing our politics.

Some days you just wanna say fuck it. :grr:

[karynnj]

1. That has to be one of the dumbest puff pieces I ever saw

Analyzing the world via random bumper stickers seen - how pathetic!

[sandnsea]

2. There is a vague point in there

I think the only place you can find a Democratic message is on bumper stickers is a pretty accurate statement. It's certainly about the only place you can find a left-leaning-to-Green message, that and a few teevee pundits who fail to identify themselves as left-leaning-to-Green. We don't have any other medium, not news, not newspapers, not network programming. We've just started getting a little bit into movies again, thanks to Clooney.

And it is true that the message is muddled. Did anyone read Juan Cole today? He says the peace movement needs to say something more than "out now", provide a strategy to ending the war. Then lays out the Kerry strategy from 2003.

So while it's a bit of a bizarre approach to US politics, there are a few grains of truth in there. Although it would be nice if just once in a while one of these people would debate the credibility of the different views of the Democratic Party instead of just bashing us for not lining up the way the right does.

[JI7]

3. it's full of snark

seems more like he had the conclusion decided and just added a bunch of snark to back it up.

but here is an important point about American politics. the last two Presidential elections were very close unlike the 70's and 80's when we lose by landslides. (with the exception of Carter in 76 which was also close).

considering the media has gotten far worse but our elections closer does not point to the American left being obsolete.

just imagine if the media wasn't whoring for the Republicans. i don't even expect them to be liberal. just report the truth, the facts. just report important news about what is going on in this country, in the world.

[rockymountaindem]

4. Studying in a foreign country, I'm of mixed feelings about this stuff

Here in Canada, I've obviously spoken with many Canadians about US politics. Canadians try to follow our politics from what I can tell. A lot of them say our politics are more interesting than Canadian politics. I guess that's because there's always something going on, whereas in Canada they don't have a lot of elections, and when they do roll around they only get to vote for one party, not a bunch of candidates for different positions. One Canadaian, upon seeing Mayor Menino of Boston on TV with a (D) next to his name, was very surprised to learn that mayoral elections in the US are party affairs. In Canada they are non-partisan.

There are a lot of Canadians who know a great deal about US politics. A lot more than I know about Canadian politics, that's for sure. On the other hand, there's a lot of plain old ignorance, and they're not shy about offering their analysis even if it's totally wrong.

As for students from Europe and elsewhere, most of them don't take much of an interest in US domestic politics, but I've found the ones who do are pretty knowledgeable. One of my friends, from Bulgaria, was confused about which party was conservative and which was liberal in the US. After I told him the Dems. are the liberal party, he had an epiphany and said "Why don't you Americans just vote for them all the time? Every time you have a liberal President your GDP goes way up, your foreign influence goes way up..."

I kinda laughed and cried at the same time there. I mean, if it's that obvious to some 20 year old dude from Bulgaria who's never been to the States...

[beachmom]

5. Well, now what am I going to do about foreign news, WEL?

After that awful Economist op-ed piece, you told me the BBC website was a great place to go for international news and such. But this piece doesn't seem to have anything to do with reality, other than the fact that the Dems are out of power. What's up with this piling on to the opposition party? When do our views get to be heard other than of liberal radio or liberal websites?

Is there nowhere safe to go in the MSM, even foreign outlets?

[WildEyedLiberal]

8. It is a good site for cold hard news

Why they featured this moronic and ill-thought out opinion piece on their front page is completely beyond me.

In answer to your last question, I'm starting to think not.

[Mass]

6. INSIDE THE BELTWAY PERSPECTIVE.

Nothing to do with the fact that this is a British newspaper. For all we know, the reporter could be American.

We see this crap every other day in the NYT, the Washington Post, or even more left wing newspapers. This is a pure insider article.

Please, let us get rid of these insiders.

For the rest, I agree with you, but this is definitively an American article written by somebody from inside the Beltway, no need to be snarky on these poor foreigners. This is pure American crap.

I have read the same stuff during the campaign in French newspapers. These reporters are only seeing the same people our reporters are seeing and reporting the same thing. Why do you want them to do an investigative piece on what the Dems are thinking. At best they do not care.

We should be mad when OUR reporters do that. I really do not care when the BBC or Le Monde do it. It is irrelevant.

[WildEyedLiberal]

7. I think it's the point that our reporters DON'T do it

I bookmark BBC News precisely because they show me real international news, not idiotic fluff pieces like "Natalee Holloway: Day 378" or whatever, like CNN and every other American media outlet is apt to do. So imagine my anger when I check BBC and see this bullshit. The point is, when BBC starts posting this crap, where is my last safe refuge for real news that isn't willing to print the same tired crap that American "political correspondents" print? If it's invading BBC News too, where the hell can anyone read any news and not be subjected to this pro-status quo/anti-liberal propaganda?

[Dr Ron]

9. Replied in post at Democratic Daily

http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=2065

I also reposted it here in the forum.