This whole "race" thing is a media creation

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

I am amazed people are so eager for a fight that they'll accept this manufactured media narrative of a racially divided Democratic party.

The content of TV, newspapers and political blogs is not impartial reportage, it is 90% scandal-mongering.

QUESTION: Who is making a big deal about the Martin Luther King comment? Fox news started the ball rolling. (The comments were in a Fox interview which Fox then ran an edited snippet of ad nauseum) The Clinton campaign clarified the remark immediately (within hours) when it became obvious that Fox was having fun with it. The Obama campaign didn't say a word about it until the media forced him to.

The people who "made" the story all happen to not be affiliated with either campaign... Donna Brazille, James Clyburn, etc.

Hillary goes on a show and is asked about it, so she has to comment. Then Obama is asked about whatever she said in response to a question, and he has to respond to the response.

Nobody from either campaign is seeking TV time to talk about this crap. They are going on TV to talk about other things, and the talking heads won't LET them talk about anything substantive.

This is how political "journalism" works, and this is how political journalism has worked forever. Over the years, DU has been a compendium of exposes of media mischief and Republican frames. So why is anybody actually falling for this? Hillary did not disrespect Martin Luther King. And the Obama campaign did not say she did. The conflict is completely manufactured by the media, and by people with personal agenda that, right or wrong, have no connection to either campaign!

[emilyg]

1. Listening to Fox today - I agree.

[ColbertWatcher]

2. Yup.

And people are eating it up because it makes them feel better.

[LuckyLib]

3. And it certainly works to keep folks' eyes off the mess we've made in Iraq,

the economy, health care, etc. Diversionary tactics.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

6. they'll hardly noticed that we invaded Iran

[ColbertWatcher]

14. ...Or that we sold weapons to a "terrorist" nation (Saudi Arabia) n/t

[Barack_America]

21. But those issues are BORING...

...and they make my head hurt just thinking about them. They also don't sell commerical spots, so they're obviously not relevant...

:sarcasm:

[HeraldSquare212]

4. No, Clyburn had an issue with it, too. I don't know much about him,

but he appears to be nobodies fool.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

23. He walked it back the next day, and is officially impartial between Clinton and Obama

Clyburn urged people to use care in talking about the Civil Rights era. I don't think he ever said Hillary had actually said something bad.

[HeraldSquare212]

28. No, he singled out the Clintons

And he left it at a warning instead of endorsing Obama.



http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/063389.php


Representative James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, the highest-ranking African-American in Congress, said he was rethinking his neutral stance in his state’s presidential primary out of disappointment at comments by Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton that he saw as diminishing the historic role of civil rights activists.
Mr. Clyburn, a veteran of the civil rights movement and a power in state Democratic politics, put himself on the sidelines more than a year ago to help secure an early primary for South Carolina, saying he wanted to encourage all candidates to take part. But he said recent remarks by the Clintons that he saw as distorting civil rights history could change his mind.

“We have to be very, very careful about how we speak about that era in American politics,” said Mr. Clyburn, who was shaped by his searing experiences as a youth in the segregated South and his own activism in those days. “It is one thing to run a campaign and be respectful of everyone’s motives and actions, and it is something else to denigrate those. That bothered me a great deal.”

[TwilightZone]

5. It certainly seems like a classic Rove distraction.

It is intended to make sure that we waste inordinate amounts of time bickering about every little minute thing each candidate says instead of discussing the issues or looking at the big picture.

We sure do buy it hook, line, and sinker, too. We look like a bunch of blithering idiots.

[Bumblebee]

7. even if it is, some of us are definitely enablers

[2rth2pwr]

8. You're kidding right?

fox news got the campaigns to go after each other over nothing?

The supporters, including DUers were also controlled by Fox news?


As Clinton said- "Give.. Me.. A.. Break!"

[Barack_America]

13. Edit: Meh. Better to just "ignore" this.

self-delete.

[Occam Bandage]

9. Absolutely it is.

[gateley]

10. But the campaigns themselves have added to the furor.

Shaheen's statement, Jesse Jackson Jr.'s hammering home the "did she cry for Katrina" message.

I agree that much of this is media fabricated, but the campaigns share some responsibility too. They're both playing the race card.

[Traveling_Home]

15. Yes - but the media didn't have to cover it so it's their fault %-)

[gateley]

19. The media does more than cover it -- it exploits and enlarges it.

But I still feel both campaigns are using race, and that leaves a dirty taste in my mouth.

[Bumblebee]

25. I would add Edwards to this mix -- he is stoking the fires right now too

in a very selfish and cynical act, it seems to me.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

26. The media has said it's the only story they'll cover, so Edwards has to get into it or disappear

[Bumblebee]

27. Does not work for me as a justification. What about principles rather

than expediency? Isn't that his motto?

[Barack_America]

11. Designed to sell more commercial spots.

Undoubtedly.

But the Catch-22 is that, in order to get the word out about what the MEDIA is doing, you need the MEDIA.

Shit.

Hopefully, the candidates can set the record straight on this during the debate, where the media can't censor what they say.

[goldcanyonaz]

12. I agree, but this is a dialog that we should have had a long time ago.

This election might seem like it's separating us, but in the end it will bring us together.

The politically correct eggshells that we have been walking on has gone on for far too long.

[Bumblebee]

16. I wish I shared your optimism. Something needs to be done right now --

including, with all due respect, Hillary sending Bill back home (and I like the guy...)

[goldcanyonaz]

17. I understand your sentiment, but this really is a discussion that many have never engaged in.

It's a great discussion, and it brings racial tension to the surface.

Seriously, it's a good thing, perhaps not for you and I, but our children and grand children will only benefit from it.

[Bumblebee]

22. I am all for the discussion to continue -- but it is explosive when not

handled with utmost sensitivity because there are still raw feelings -- understandably -- on both sides, race and gender. Right now there is too much heat and not enough light, and the media is exploiting the heat, and everyone is misquoted/"under"quoted by them to create more. A total vicious cycle -- unless the candidates themselves put a stop to it.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

24. Unfortunately, nothing refereed by the media can be called a discussion.

[Bitwit1234]

18. They want a candidate the republicans can beat.

[Arkansas Granny]

20. Exactly. Corporate media is driven by ratings, not the truth.

Once this kind of garbage hits the media, the candidates are pretty much forced to answer the charges in order to defend themselves and this takes time away from the discussion of the real issues.