"The first big tear in the right-wing matrix"

[scottxyz]

Digby thinks Schiavo may have ripped the veil from some people's eyes - because, unlike national security, death is something everyone knows about and has opinions about, and anyone could see how much the right-wing media blew it on this one:

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2005_03_27_digbysblog_archive.html#111256235863046739

"Something happened during the Schiavo circus, I think, and it was something significant. But it wasn't that the nation saw that politicians were all a bunch of craven opportunists. They already knew that. It was that the Republican professional class, the libertarians and some common sense types saw FOX News and talk radio as being full of shit for the first time. I have nothing but a handful of anecdotes to back that up, but I think Schiavo may turn out to be the first big tear in the right wing matrix.

"For instance, a conservative doctor of my acquaintance was stunned by the Schiavo matter. This man watches nothing but Fox news and could not believe the anti-intellectual religiosity of their coverage. This is a matter that he knows intimately and he could see clearly that the coverage wasn't "fair and balanced." Indeed, it wasn't true. It's as if a veil fell from his eyes.

"My conservative Rush loving neighbor was heard complaining the his hero didn't know what he was talking about on the Schiavo case. That is a first. This guy is a true believer --- who also has a very sick wife.

"My nurse sister-in-law (also a born again Christian and avid FOX watcher) insisted that all the news be turned off in the house because she couldn't stand the exploitation of the patient or the sideshow outside that hospice. She's very depressed about all this.

"See, the right isn't like us. They think that the so called liberal media is irretrievably biased but believe what they see, read and hear on their own media. We on the left, on the other hand, have no faith in any mainstream media, really, or any alternative media either for that matter. We have developed the habit of culling from various sources and analyzing the information ourselves as best we can. Even then we are very skeptical. Nothing that the media could do would particularly shock or disappoint us. No so with the other side. A fair number of them are actually hurt and bewildered by what they saw in the Schiavo matter.

"...Once people have been shocked like this they don't fully trust again. I think there may be quite a few Republicans who were surprised by the complete abdication of responsible coverage by their own trusted Wurlitzer."

[peacebird]

1. our only hope is that the sheeple wake up....

[yurbud]

2. I hope you are right

I had a similar experience with Rush in the early 90s. I didn't necessarily agree with him, but I thought he at least believed what he was saying. Then when he was talking about the healthcare debate and the practice of health insurance companies turning away people with pre-existing conditions or dropping them from their coverage, he said, "That doesn't make any sense! Why would a business drop a paying customer?" It was obvious he was lying on two fronts. He pretended the practice didn't happen when it was well documented, and he pretended insurance companies had no incentive to drop customers who might actually collect the medical coverage they paid for. Anyone who ever dealt with an insurance company or gone to a doctor knows this.

For most people, it will take a couple of these, though the subsequent ones might not be as dramatic, or they might notice things they didn't if they had happened before like the lies when they are ramping up for Iran.

[blindpig]

11. maybe..............

even here in jesusland a strong majority of the folks I've talked to(customers, not friends)were of the opinion that the woman should have been allowed to die and that the repubs were way out of line.

People have a short attention span, lasting effect will require reinforcement.

[FreedomAngel82]

17. I agree

They'll pretty soon have another story to pump up like this that will get the republicans back on their side once again. I don't know how it will play out for 2006.

[GreenPoet64]

3. I think you are right about the RW trusting their own . . .

FOX news--believing it indeed is factual (although right leaning.) It would be great if "the veil" would fall and great numbers of conservatives would see the truth about FOX--that it is all spin all the time.

I think some democrats have yet to realize how much influence this administration has on the media.

[wabeewoman]

6. Funny but I happened

to watch an older scifi movie the other night. I came into it late but the gist was aliens had taken over the world and were sending out radio signals that made them look like everyone else while planting subliminal messages on the screen saying 'buy', 'watch tv', 'trust' and ectera. They bought off the earth people in power who knew they were aliens but went along for the power and money. In the end, the hero(who was a really bad actor) dies destroying the radio transmittor and the people can see the aliens and the subliminal messages. Not sure how old the movie was but would guess the 70's. However, it reminded me so much of today.

[SheepyMcSheepster]

9. i think the movie you are talking about is "They Live"

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096256/

and that bad actor you mention used to be a pro wrestler.

:silly:

[Melodybe]

13. They Live is one of my favorite scifi movies, I love that it came out on

the eve of the 1988 election. For those who haven't seen it, find it, it is awesome! It is also the inspiration for South Park's cripple fight.

I think that this blogger is correct, one could argue that the media was liberal before the Terri Schiavo case, but now with CNN and MSNBC spouting the reichwing line, they have completely outed themselves.

Thank god for Terri Schiavo, she helped us out the media.

[unhappycamper]

15. that's Right! Rowdy Roddy Piper - forgot about him

and am gonna forget about him again.

[KurtNYC]

21. Consume. Obey. Marry and reproduce.

"I have come to kick ass and chew bubblegum...and I'm all out of bubble gum."

[Atman]

4. I so hope you're right, but I'm not sure I buy it

I have no more solid reasoning to go on than digby does, I just think he's being a bit optimistic. And I am the optimist of optimists, if such a trait can peacefully co-exist with cynicism. But, I've been burned one too many times. I've see so many things happen that should have brought down ANY president, which the corporate media simply ignores. And if the corporate media isn't piping it into the WalMart Nation's living rooms, then how will anyone ever hear anything but the corporate mantra? Many will simply watch Fox and CNN read the scripted WH press release news, and assume they're simply a bit out of touch. In fact, they may come to pride themselves with being out-of-mainstream. But that would never make polite cocktail party conversation, and I'd bet most republicans would simply refuse to admit they've been duped. It's part of the pathology that makes one a hard-core republican. God complexes, and the need to be perfect and right all the time.

Lets hope that this time, at least, digby is right, though!

[FreedomAngel82]

18. I agree

I've noticed that the really hardcore republicans are very stubborn in their mindset and ways. They'll never believe a democrat in anything no matter if it's true or not. If one of their fellow republican friends told them the same thing they'll just brand them as a "libearl loving" person and a traitor.

[Laurab]

31. I wonder though

you're probably right about the hardcore repukes, but how many of them are really "hardcore" ? It's a hopeful sign, at least, because I'm not sure the majority are hardcore repugs. A lot of people in the world, both dems and reps, aren't all that political, and don't pay attention for the most part. Things like this, which they can't avoid paying attention to (God knows, I tried to avoid it), may open their eyes. I think there are probably more moderates than hardcore, I HOPE there are, anyway.

Hopefully the administration will continue screwing up everything they touch, and some of the people who just started paying attention, will continue to pay attention.

One can dream....!

[NewJeffCT]

24. I agree

While I hope digby is right, I've been on DU about 18 months now, and it seems like on a daily basis we have had threats about" "Now the wheels are falling off the Bush Machine / the Rove Machines / the RW media / the Fundie movement / the conservatives vs the neocons / etc, etc, etc.

[undergroundpanther]

5. I am beginning to think

There are two kinds of people in the world,those who can feel love for others,and compassion,care and have a conscience...And people with a conscience can be anyone..who cares.Caring has many kinds of faces and the same result,love..peace,soothing,help,kindness integrity,fairness..ect.


And there are those who can't feel love, have no consience, and can fake caring with a con man's confidence ,an act they put on when it can let them get away with exploiting people more,abusing more people and their trust or getting in positions of power.It has nothing to do with race,religion(per se) class,or anything external about a person.People who have no conscience can look like anyone on the outside,abuse is unnecessary, wherever you find it,there is a perpetrator causing it..


The differences between these two kinds of people is stark.. When people who cannot feel love and have no conscience are compared to those who feel love and have a conscience. But sadly these distinctions between the conscious people and those without a conscience are blurred these days.

A few articles referred to here on DU talked about primates what happened to the community when the alpha males were wiped out.

We will not have peace until the bullies,con men and those with no conscience are gone from this Earth.Because if a person can feel no emotional cost to themselves for the harm he inflicts than what will deter him from abusing others? The law?What if the law is just a game? No threat,just a game to them? What if the people with no consciences are rewriting the laws for those with consciences? (Bush is doing this as we speak torture has a new definition to suit the needs of the sociopaths he works with to take over the world)

The Inuit Indians didn't play games with this serious threat to humanity,they were honest with themselves about the two kinds of people those with conscience/those without a conscience. They killed off sociopaths when one was detected in their community ,with no drama or fanfare,they just observed how well they walked their talk ,and they took care of the problem before the bully became everyones problem.Something we fail to do because we don't trust our own observations enough. The Inuit's definition of a sociopath was those who's mind knows what to do and they do not do it.

Bush is someone,I think the Inuit would have taken fishing with them on the ice floes one day,and came back with fish and a party of 1 less fishermen...

[JohnOneillsMemory]

14. 'No Time For Bullies' is the NYT article. archived so read it a this link:

http://forests.org/articles/reader.asp?linkid=30800
No Time for Bullies: Baboons Retool Their Culture

Source: Copyright 2004, New York Times
Date: April 13, 2004
Byline: NATALIE ANGIER

>snip<

"The report also offers real-world proof of a principle first demonstrated in captive populations of monkeys: that with the right upbringing, diplomacy is infectious. Dr. Frans B. M. de Waal, the director of the Living Links Center at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center of Emory University in Atlanta, has shown that if the normally pugilistic rhesus monkeys are reared with the more conciliatory stumptailed monkeys, the rhesus monkeys learn the value of tolerance, peacemaking and mutual hip-hugging.

[Ganja Ninja]

7. It's about damn time!

They should be shocked. They need to take a good long look at who exactly has influence with their leaders. The point that needs to be made is this. Bush and the GOP leadership listen to no one but the religious right.

They didn't listen to Richard Clarke before or after 9/11. They didn't listen to the intelligence services before going into Iraq. They didn't listen to the head of the Joint Chief's when he told them they would need more troops before going into Iraq. They didn't listen to the UN inspectors. They didn't listen to economists before they doled out their tax cut for the rich. They don't listen to scientists about global warming. They don't listen to doctors about stem cell research. They're not listening to anyone on Social Security.

They don't listen to anyone on anything except the radical religious right. Bush supporters had better start paying attention to who these guys listen to and who they ignore.

[Last Lemming]

8. Let's just point out

hard though it may be (for me, for one) to believe, the majority of people DO see through this. But they trust just enough in the electoral system--and that's where things break down.

Without election fraud we would be debating medicare coverage of heart transplants right now

[tashidelek]

12. it's about time!

scottxyz said:

"We on the left, on the other hand, have no faith in any mainstream media, really, or any alternative media either for that matter. We have developed the habit of culling from various sources and analyzing the information ourselves as best we can. Even then we are very skeptical. Nothing that the media could do would particularly shock or disappoint us. "

VERY ASTUTE OBSERVATION!!!

This may be what saves us in the final analysis.

I also have a few physician/health care worker friends who were VERY shocked by the Schaivo case. Maybe it will help others to WAKE UP!!

[Melynn]

10. Sciavo, high gas prices and the economy going into tank

Is going to sink the neo-thugs. They are starting to go too far for the moderate/conservative suburban SUV crowd that voted for Bush in the last election.

[patrice]

16. My completely apolitical, little "barbie doll" fitness trainer,

whom I've known for almost 10 years, who leads the perfect middle-class life here in "Cupcake Land", and has never had a political opinion about anything, even though I go to class sometimes raging about politics - said to me the other day "Those right to lifers, they're just too nosey. They butt in and tell everyone what to do." When I explored her reactions a little more she also said things about her awareness of the "Christian" cartel being built in the business world (she has her own little partnership and I bet they've run into them around here, because they are quite active in their business building).

[DearAbby]

19. Spoke with my GOP leaning friend this past weekend...

she, did all the talking points about how Michael Schiavo had a woman and should have handed over Terri to her parents...no arguing that, the convict Michael, and sentence Terri mentality...BUT, she did concede that the government had no business in this situation, it was a disgusting family scuabble, and PRIVATE matter.

So in a sense some are waking up. S L O W L Y

[seabeyond]

20. i told sons after election, this will be more painful for bush

supporters than it will us. we are aware. we know what is happening, so wont hurt seeing the truth. all those that fell for the lies, they are going to feel the pain as the awaken

[Toots]

22. I guess I hope you are right although I would not wish my pain on a single

soul. All I want is a decent country to live in and raise my children. A country that is more concerned with people than material possessions. I know in my heart that America has never really been that way but during FDR's time we were much more so than now. He at least cared for the people and saw that they had work if they wanted work. He started reworking the infrastructure (roads, dams, bridges, even cleaning up the countryside. He made work and America flourished. He established the GI Bill and Americans became educated and the middle class became prominent. All of his good work is rapidly being erased for business with absolutely no concern for the American people at all. Not the country it used to be and probably never will be again. Now we are at war with the world and the American people are no more than pawns for the wealthy elite.

[progressoid]

23. Yep - I think we have reached the apex of neocon stupidity and

people are getting weary.

The editor of the Omaha World Herald wrote an editorial last week saying he would change his party affiliation from Repub to Independent. And he did, last Monday.

Appealing to ignorant homophobes may have helped in the short term, but now it's payback time.

[Mr_Spock]

25. Yeah - down with the stupids!

It can't happen quickly enough for me!

[Griffy]

26. AGREED!!! I call it the 2 streams of info, and this DID help people

to see that they are being misled DAILY... thats they step you have to help them with.. and with all the new media coming out with the truth.. direct them to AAR or here or anywhere they can see the facts!

[arikara]

27. I think that the media misjudged and started believing their own

and the chimpistas lies that the right wing fundy "base" are somehow in the majority in the country. I'm very curious to see what will come of that misjudgement. Will the media back off their extremism a bit and be able continue with their successful style of propagandizing? If they don't back off the extreme religion perhaps they risk alieniating the "moderate" repukes.

Interesting times.

[Felix Mala]

28. Sean Hannity was making me sick.

If I'd seen that phony "look of concern"TM of his I was going to go into a PVS.

[AuntiBush]

29. Same here!

Everyone known to me from the other sides are outraged, feeling duped.

They now know. Sadly, now... they know and they're not as liberal minded, meaning they're not as forgiving. Oh no. They've been duped, and they now know it.

You could very well be on to something here.

[LdyGuique]

30. One of the issues that has made the RW uneasy

is the lack of WMDs in Iraq. They are shuffling back and forth from one leg to the other, similar to elephants at a circus. They're uncomfortable because they know that they were sold a bill of goods, lied to egregiously, but now know that they are stuck. We've broken Iraq and must attempt to fix it -- at great cost.

This is milling around in the back of their minds -- like a song that won't go away. Add in the Shaivo case, and another song begins to play simultaneously.

As more and more educated people are let go from their jobs and cannot find a replacement, the issue of outsourcing becomes another song. Few people in this country don't have at least one relative or friend whom they know to be "good workers" who cannot find a job to replace the one that went overseas. Another song begins to play.

The statistics on Roman Catholics in the U.S. who support at least birth control, if not abortion, are causing a second look at the fundie explosion into their lives. American Catholics are far more "liberal" than the Church's stance -- which means they are far more liberal than the fundies' stance, too. Whispers of another song beings.

The entire illegal immigration issue with the Minutemen is partially a political ploy to force the government to do something. The administration is running those "public service" ads with children asking about how to meet up in case of a terrorist attack -- yet, the government has done nothing to secure our borders. This will become a song.

Let doubt enter a mind, and it's just a matter of time before other doubts surface. All of these songs will coalesce into a revulsion -- similar to what happened to LBJ with the Dems.