Blaming the Antiwar Messengers

[dweller]

by Norman Solomon

The surge of antiwar voices in U.S. media this month has coincided with new lows in public approval for what
pollsters call President Bush’s “handling” of the Iraq war. After more than two years of a military occupation that was
supposed to be a breeze after a cakewalk into Baghdad, the war has become a clear PR loser. But an unpopular war
can continue for a long time -- and one big reason is that the military-industrial-media complex often finds ways to
blunt the effectiveness of its most prominent opponents.

Right now, the pro-war propaganda arsenal of the world’s only superpower is drawing a bead on Cindy Sheehan, who
now symbolizes the USA’s antiwar grief. She is a moving target, very difficult to hit. But right-wing media
sharpshooters are sure to keep trying.

The Bush administration’s top officials must be counting the days until the end of the presidential vacation brings to
a close the Crawford standoff between Camp Casey and Camp Carnage. But media assaults on Cindy Sheehan are
just in early stages.

While the president mouths respectful platitudes about the grieving mother, his henchmen are sharpening their
media knives and starting to slash. Pro-Bush media hit squads are busily spreading the notions that Sheehan is a
dupe of radicals, naive and/or nutty. But the most promising avenue of attack is likely to be the one sketched out by
Fox News Channel eminence Bill O’Reilly on Aug. 9, when he declared that Cindy Sheehan bears some
responsibility for “other American families who have lost sons and daughters in Iraq who feel that this kind of behavior
borders on treasonous.”

That sort of demagoguery is on tap for the duration of the war. Military families will be recruited for media
appearances to dispute the patriotism of antiwar activists -- especially those who speak as relatives of American
soldiers and shatter media stereotypes by publicly urging withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0817-34.htm

dp

[The_Casual_Observer]

1. "That sort of demagoguery is on tap for the duration of the war"

We lived through all of this already during Vietnam. They don't learn do they?

[SledDriver]

2. More like...

..."new lows in public approval for what pollsters call 'President' Bush."

[loudsue]

3. Won't help the media ratings, either. The internet takes its place.

Nobody but the already drunk-on-Kool-Aid crowd is going to bother to listen to them anyway!

A little blog-induced advertiser boycott here, a little e-mail battle to the editors/producers there...we can make their life HELL. They'll think they ran into a mound of fire ants, or bumped their heads on a hive of killer bees.

We're not going away this time. Last time we had war protests, we didn't finish the job, and put the corporations off the "human" list. The corporate structure has pushed this country to the edge, in every way, but most especially through lobbying for their own special interests, and buying, not only the politicians, but the VOTING MACHINES that CHOOSE the politicians. The whole structure has to change, and the laws have to change.

Runaway corporate greed, and the idiots the corporations got elected, is what got us into this war. They are killing more and more of our citizens -- and citizens around the globe! -- just for sport these days. They have not only QUIT providing decent pay and working conditions, they're taking our JOBS and shipping them to someone else in another country, while WE pay taxes to support them. They've managed to get laws passed that thwart competition, or a level playing field, so the American Dream is no longer possible without having to grease some slippery palm, kiss some big corporate ass to get them to play fair, or sell your soul.

We're in a huge mess in this country right now, and we either get enlightened and pull together, as a people, pretty darned quick, or we're going down that dark tube.

:kick: