Andrew Sullivan: The Big Lie

[dennis4868]

It seems to me that the last year or so in America's political culture has represented the triumph of untruth. And the untruth was propagated by a deliberate, simple and systemic campaign to kill Obama's presidency in its crib. Emergency measures in a near-unprecedented economic collapse - the bank bailout, the auto-bailout, the stimulus - were described by the right as ideological moves of choice, when they were, in fact, pragmatic moves of necessity. The increasingly effective isolation of Iran's regime - and destruction of its legitimacy from within - was portrayed as a function of Obama's weakness, rather than his strength. The health insurance reform - almost identical to Romney's, to the right of the Clintons in 1993, costed to reduce the deficit, without a public option, and with millions more customers for the insurance and drug companies - was turned into a socialist government take-over.

Every one of these moves could be criticized in many ways. What cannot be done honestly, in my view, is to create a narrative from all of them to describe Obama as an anti-American hyper-leftist, spending the US into oblivion. But since this seems to be the only shred of thinking left on the right (exacerbated by the justified flight of the educated classes from a party that is now openly contemptuous of learning), it became a familiar refrain - pummeled into our heads day and night by talk radio and Fox. If you think I'm exaggerating, try the following thought experiment.

If a black Republican president had come in, helped turn around the banking and auto industries (at a small profit!), insured millions through the private sector while cutting Medicare, overseen a sharp decline in illegal immigration, ramped up the war in Afghanistan, reinstituted pay-as-you go in the Congress, set up a debt commission to offer hard choices for future debt reduction, and seen private sector job growth outstrip the public sector's in a slow but dogged recovery, somehow I don't think that Republican would be regarded as a socialist.

Read the entire editorial here....http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/11/the-rights-accuracy-problem.html

THIS IS WHY THE DEMS LOST THE HOUSE....THE MEDIA RUNS WITH A NARRATIVE THAT THEY GET FROM FOX NEWS AND HATE RADIO.

[EleanorR]

1. spot on

And the million dollar question is, what do we do about it?

[dennis4868]

4. I really don't know....

the conservative establishment has worked over 30 years to gain control over the media.....it's going to take a person with the money of FOX's Murdoch to come out and put up billions of dollars of his own to try to take back the media. Obama and the Dems lost last Tuesday not because of policies differences with the american people but because the voters went into the voting booths thinking that Obama was a racist, marxist, communist, socialist out of control lefty spender who may be a muslim and was not born in the USA. This needs to stop and short of having the funds necessary to stop this, I don't know what else will. The media/the average voter takes their orders from FOX News and HATE RADIO....it's disgusting! It was not this bad just 2 years ago when Obama won the WH.

[lector]

8. ??

The 64 dollar question is How can we do it.

[Cosmocat]

10. Nothing ...

the media is not even making the pretense of calling it fair at this point ...

nothing can be done, other than fight ...

[BrklynLiberal]

2. The RWingnuts OWN the media..for the most part.

They have worked long and hard to gain control of the media..and they have succeeded..with few exceptions.
With every merger.../Comcast taking over NBC/ their power grows..

The main exception that comes to my mind is Pacifica Radio..my local outlet is WBAI

There are some sources on the internet...
but what is considered to be the MSM..radio, tv and newsprint...
is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Conservative Rightwingnuts.

[impik]

3. And "progressives" did a fine job helping them

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

6. Nope. The Blue Dogs were obstructionists with the Republicans.

And that's why over half of them got their asses kicked last week.

[dennis4868]

11. I disagree....

if the media actually reported that THE REPUBLICANS ARE OBSTRUCTING ANY PROGRESS FOR POLITICAL GAIN and we still lost a bunch of seats in the house, I would agree with you. But this did not happen.

[vaberella]

12. I believe it's Blue Dog Dems and the MEDIA (of all walks--that includes the Left)

helped to obstruct change.

[polichick]

15. Yep.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

5. Sully is right, yet again. Never thought I would ever support a conservative as he is,

but he has been the voice of reason on the Right since 2004.

And sadly, even Democrats--even many on DU--believe the crap spewed in the media about how the "Democrats have the majority," and blah, blah, blah...

Way to go, Sully! Brilliant!!

[Recursion]

9. He's an actual, Burkean conservative

I can talk to those guys all day.

[Vinnie From Indy]

7. Sing it loud and proud!

I am glad that it seems more Democrats and Liberals are acknowledging the extremely corrosive effect of right wing hate media. It is without question, IMHO, one of the top three issues confronting all progressives. There is a reason that so many vot GOP - right wing hate radio and FOX NEWS. Anyone that doubts or diminishes the influence of the hate machine is a fool.


Cheers to Sully!

[HughMoran]

13. heh

[donheld]

14. Is Andrew one of us now?

[Enthusiast]

16. Absolutely spot on.

And this media narrative will move the country to the right exacerbating every single problem facing the nation and the world today.