Press claims Chamber of Commerce story's too "convoluted." Like Whitewater wasn't?

[BootinUp]

Press claims Chamber of Commerce story's too "convoluted." Like Whitewater wasn't?

October 13, 2010 12:21 pm ET by Eric Boehlert

Question: When are allegations of foreign sources funding American elections deemed to be deeply troubling and instantly newsworthy?

Answer: When the money is allegedly flowing to Democrats.

And when are the same type of allegations dismissed as perplexing and unbelievable?

Yep -- when the money benefits Republican candidates.

Last week, ThinkProgress made news by reporting that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, committed to spending tens of millions of dollars blanketing television markets with partisan, anti-Democratic ads this year, “funds its political attack campaign out of its general account, which solicits foreign funding.” In other words, donations gathered from around the world from foreign corporations are being used by the lobbying behemoth to influence elections in America and specifically, to defeat as many Democrats as possible.

That’s big news. Period.

But note how Time’s Mark Halperin, speaking on behalf of “elites,” moved this week to quickly dismiss the Chamber story :

Not only is this issue convoluted and far-fetched, but it also distracts from the issues voters care about, frustrating political insiders and alienating struggling citizens (not that many are following such an offbeat story line).

snip

His only take on the story was to belittle Obama for talking about it. The Chamber is spending more money than God trying to defeat Democrats, and some of that money might be coming from foreign sources (it’s impossible to tell for certain since the Chamber won’t disclose its donor list), but for Halperin, the only take-away is that Obama looks small for defending Democrats against the Chamber’s tidal wave of attacks.

Oh brother.

And here’s the kicker: Halperin is part of the same Beltway press corps that during the Clinton years chased every conceivable harebrained conspiracy theory dreamt up by the Clinton’s right-wing haters. During the `90s, the press preferred it when the Clinton gotcha stories were “convoluted and far-fetched.” That only added to the intrigue and drama.

more at MediaMatters

[CakeGrrl]

1. Lazy RW enablers. It wouldn't be too convoluted if it was bad for Dems. n/t

[The Magistrate]

2. There Is Nothing Convoluted About This, Sir, And Halperin Knows It

The Chamber advocates policies that harm U.S. workers and benefit foreign companies.

The Chamber takes money from foreign companies.

The Chamber buys advertisements to back Republicans who will work against U.S. workers in favor of foreign companies.

One fails to see any 'convolution'....

[flamingdem]

3. GOP - Made in China + India (Not complicated) nt

[UpInArms]

4. Scandals and Lies

March 29, 2002

"If we understand the mechanism and motives of the group mind, it is now possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without their knowing it." - Edward Bernays, a nephew of Sigmund Freud, America's No. 1 Publicist in the 1920's

When is a scandal not a scandal? When a scandal appears to be connected with a member of the Republican Party, it is not reported as a "scandal." Only when a member of the Democratic Party has involvement in anything that broaches the questionable grey area is something "determined" to be a "scandal."

After an eight year-long investigation of William Jefferson and Hillary Clinton was concluded with "no evidence," it is still reported as a "scandal." That $70 million in taxpayer dollars and untold hours were devoted to finding something, anything, to throw at the Clintons has shown that there was nothing to throw. The media (and I mean the major corporate media) still consider it to be a "scandal." One that just won't go away. One that has to be lied about and drummed constantly into the psyche of the American public until something resonates. What is resonating are the words that have been repeated endlessly until almost everyone can recite them verbatim.

But let me tell you what was not a "scandal."

There was no "scandal" when Republican President George Herbert Walker Bush pardoned Caspar Weinberger with an indictment filed against him, thus avoiding any questions regarding the involvement of that same Republican President in the Iran-Contra Affair. There was no "scandal" when a partisan court appointed the highest elected official in this country.

There was no "scandal" when an intern was found dead of mysterious causes in Florida Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough's office. There was no "scandal" when Republican Mayor Philip Giordano of Waterbury, Connecticut was caught and charged as a sexual predator of young girls.

There was no "scandal" when the Republican President George Walker Bush nominated Theodore Olson (investigated for obstruction of justice and lying to Congress during the Superfund investigation) to the office of Solicitor General. There was no "scandal" when Florida Governor Jeb Bush's daughter, Noelle Bush, was charged with felony fraud in obtaining a controlled substance.

There was no "scandal" when Republican President George Walker Bush's daughters, Jenna and Barbara Bush, then 18, were convicted with using illegally obtained and false identification to obtain alcohol. There was no "scandal" when Mark A. Grethen, a Republican activist, nominated for "Republican of the Year" was convicted and is serving a more than 20 year sentence in prison for six counts of sex crimes involving children.

There was no "scandal" when Wendy Gramm, the wife of prominent Republican Senator Phil Gramm, approved illegal partnerships and waived the code of ethics for those partnership formations while on the Board of Directors of Enron. There is no "scandal" when Kenneth "Kenny Boy" Lay (Enron and Lay contributed $2.16 Million to Republicans in the 2000 election cycle) the largest contributor to the sitting Republican President, George Walker Bush, currently being investigated for leading one of the largest American companies, Enron, into bankruptcy following fraudulently filed earnings reports.

There was no "scandal" when Enron was allowed to price-gouge consumers and the sitting Republican President George Walker Bush refused to allow the Federal Energy Regulatory Committee (FERC) to impose price caps to control excess profiteering. There was no "scandal" when the current sitting Republican President George Walker Bush appointed Elliott Abrams (convicted of lying to Congress about the Iran-Contra affair) to the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations.

There was no "scandal" when John Ashcroft, the current Republican Attorney General, spuriously gave a "reprieve" and discontinued the lawfully entered agreement for damages to The Adams Mark Hotel, owned by Fred S. Kummer Jr, a personal friend and $25,700 senatorial campaign contributor, for charges of serious violations of racial discrimination.

There was no "scandal" when key figures, John Negroponte (complicit in the Honduran Death Squads), Richard Armitage (linked to illegal arms transfers and CIA drug-running operations), Otto Reich (propaganda operative), John Poindexter (convicted of conspiracy {obstruction of inquiries and proceedings, false statements, falsification, destruction and removal of documents}; two counts of obstruction of Congress and two counts of false statements) of the Iran-Contra Affair have re-appeared in official governmental positions by appointment by George Walker Bush, the sitting Republican President, the son of the former Republican President, George Herbert Walker Bush, for whom these men worked.

There is no "scandal" when the current Republican Vice President Richard Cheney refuses to release what should be public records of meetings held in the formulation of public policy (The Energy Policy) after being ordered to do so by three Federal Judges (U. S. District Judge Gladys Kessler, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan and U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman). There is no "scandal" when the personal fortune of George Walker Bush, the sitting Republican President, is being bolstered by governmental war contracts to The Carlyle Group, partially owned by his father, former Republican President, George Herbert Walker Bush.

The only exception to this "scandal" rule that you will be able to easily recall is the Watergate scandal presided over by Republican President Richard Milhouse Nixon, who was forced to resign his office in disgrace.

Don't worry about those "scandals," you know the "liberal" major media corporations (Rupert Murdoch of FOX - $30,033 to RNC... AOL/Time Warner/Walter Isaacson of CNN - $6,150 to RNC... GE/Jack Welch of NBC - $160,350 to RNC... Disney/Michael Eisner/ABC - $208,052 to RNC) are surely going to tell you every "scandal" that they want you to know.

They do not want you to remember Republican "scandals." It makes it easier to demonize Democrats. They do not want you to look around. They do not want you to question their version of the news. There are only Democrat "scandals". You can recite them as easily as you can recite the Pledge of Allegiance: Whitewater. The Blue Dress. Chandra Levy. Chappaquiddick. You know the drill.

As citizens of this once great country, we must demand the truth from our media. We must demand the truth from our politicians. We must demand our country back. Each of us, you and I, has that power and the right to make these demands. Call your local television station. Write your representatives. Our voices must be heard. And we must hear the truth.

[OHdem10]

5. What is convuluted about a Business Organization who supports

Republicans, sends Middle Class Jobs overseas, and has
openly run ads against Democrats.

By brazenly stepping the Political Field and lobbing
ads against Democrats, the COC asked to be attacked.

What is so complex about that??? Ignore the Media on this.
They get the paychecks from companies who are members of
COC.