Arianna Huffington: Probing A Political Paradox - Why The Discredited Right Still Sets The Agenda

[Hissyspit]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/probing-a-political-parad_b_99038.html

Probing a Political Paradox: Why the Discredited Right Still Sets the Agenda and Dominates the Debate
Posted April 28, 2008 | 04:14 PM (EST)

It's a paradox: the political center has clearly shifted; what used to be considered "left wing" positions have now become part of the mainstream, and the views of the Right are now at odds with the majority of the American public -- and with reality.

Yet, despite this seismic shift -- grossly underreported by the media -- the Right remains as powerful as ever when it comes to setting the national agenda and dominating the national debate.

Think about it: on Iraq and the exercise of American power, on economic fairness, on corporate responsibility, on the environment and climate change, on the universal right to healthcare, the progressive policies and positions long championed by the left have moved from union halls and MoveOn emails to the sidewalks, backyards, and kitchen tables of Main Street, USA.

Nevertheless, the traditional media -- and most politicians -- continue to insist on looking at every issue through a right vs left frame, then assume the answer is found by splitting the difference.

- snip -

And I concluded that there are three main areas to look at, not only to help us understand how we got in the mess we're in, but also to help us get out: the media, the role of fear in our politics, and the failure of political leadership.

These three factors have combined to allow the lunatic fringe that has taken over the Right to hijack our country, our democracy, and our Constitution. So that 28 percent of the population that continues to support George W. Bush no matter how many bodies pile up in Iraq, how many jobs disappear overseas, how many For Sale signs go up on their block, or how high gas prices get, continues to dominate our politics.

Let's take them one by one, starting with the media which remains hopelessly addicted to the false belief that in order to be fair and balanced every story needs to be given the "on the one hand... and on the other" treatment. But not every story has two sides -- and the truth is often to be found not in the middle but solidly on one side or the other.

The earth is not flat. Global warming is a fact. Evolution is a fact -- sorry Mike Huckabee. And not even Republicans still believe in the unfettered, free market. Look how they rushed to Big Government to save their beloved Bear Sterns.

Nor are there two sides to the proposition that Iraq is our generation's greatest foreign policy disaster. It is. Period. Full stop. Yet the same media that enabled the administration to sell us the multi-trillion dollar war are -- nearly six years later -- still pushing the Right's line that "the surge is working." Green Zone bombardments be damned.

Indeed, we are in the sixth year of an unnecessary and immoral war that has cost tens of thousands of lives, globally discredited the United States and has left us all less safe than the day Shock and Awe began. But the media are still debating the war's "progress," and describing the state of Iraq as "a mixed bag" -- which is a little bit like going to the doctor and having him tell you that you have a brain tumor but your acne has cleared, and you considering the diagnosis "a mixed bag."

What is behind the media's lapdog devotion to the messages and framing of the Right? It's a combination of self-loathing and abject fear. The media wear their dread like a cheap aftershave. The broadcast networks and the cable news channels live in mortal fear of a dip in the ratings, and newspapers are constantly checking their pulse -- convinced by their deteriorating profits and market share that the end is near. So they continue to offer the views of the newly marooned Right more than equal time.

- snip -

The dynamic between the dithering Democrats and the reality-be-damned Republican Right calls to mind that great line from Yeats: "The best lack all conviction, while the worst/Are full of passionate intensity."

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[Richard Steele]

1. K&R

[KoKo]

2. Good read....and check out this comment on her article from the site:

outnow See Profile I'm a Fan of outnow

Arianna,

The left has now been able to redefine itself in America. Sometimes it takes a crisis such as an illegal war or a depression. This time we have both. I would predict that either the right will finally declare a dictatorship or that the minimum wage will be increased by three cents of the left wins - just kidding about the three cents. Seriously, the aims of the left are far to moderate. The left has to re-create itself to regulate the capitalism that is the engine of wealth. This force must be moderated in order to keep from destroying itself with monopolies and unrestricted greed.

The right has somehow turned the abortion issue into a theme that Christ was a free market capitalist who hated the poor and supported tax cuts for the wealthy to help Caesar's rich and wealthy patrons.

The left has allowed the right wing "think tanks" to turn the constitution and Christianity on their heads by preaching that free markets bring democracy and democracy brings peace and freedom.

The left has too divorce itself from those within the party who think that business and labor/consumer issues can be jointly decided in the best interest of all. Unfortunately, this is not the case. If you owned a gold mine would you want to close it down for worker safety, for example? Would you not want to reduce those expensive labor costs to pocket more profit? The left must confront this dialectical reality or perish.

[nashville_brook]

3. it's a paradox b/c Arianna assumes it's a fair game. "the media" isn't just dumb or fearful...

they're bought and paid for.

[blondeatlast]

4. The TAX-EXEMPT "think tanks" (often aligned with universities as well) have got to go.

I remember even that a DU admin disagrees vehemently with me on this, but no matter. Either tax the bastards or do away with them entirely.

Word, Arianna!

[KakistocracyHater]

5. Media is owned by Country Club Class

gives only the Ebenezer Factory Owner point of view. Telecom Dereg Act of 1996 helped them out quite nicely, now their beautiful minds are rarely bothered.

[Warpy]

6. She gets the gold star.

If the corrupt corporate press didn't mouth White House talking points like they were graven in stone and passed down through the ages, we wouldn't have the discredited right wing setting the agenda.

We need to find a way to bypass an increasingly useless official fourth estate. The net is a good start, but we need to start concentrating on the folks who don't have computers.

We're going to have to start printing things up and posting them in public toilets, on grocery bulletin boards, stuffed into mass market magazines, anywhere we think people will find and read them.

[lonestarnot]

12. Cheap easy way to do that. Then you don't have to worry about whether or not they will be found.

[samsingh]

7. people are afraid of the waco fridge right

the right makes things up and we're too afraid to challenge them

[samsingh]

8. is mccain going to denounce pat robertson and bill o rielly

[Proud Liberal Dem]

10. Yeats' quote pretty much sums up my thinking

Unfortunately.

Hopefully, the "center" can hold.:scared:

[Johonny]

9. It's very depressing when Dems can't even set the agenda

for their own debates. Why do the Dems allow RW set the agenda for the topics in their own primary debates?

[DeepModem Mom]

11. K&R

[bemildred]

13. Money talks.

In the USA, it's the only speaker allowed.