|
Our totally Orwellian media, and what the Republicans should say about it
Mitt Romney says in a speech in Israel that Muslims and Palestinians have a different culture from Israel, and that this Muslim culture is not geared toward productivity and success as is Israel’s. The media go into a frenzy. The main story in the U.S., pushing aside all other news, becomes: Romney has made a “huge gaffe.” He is “not ready for prime time.” He is “unprepared for leadership.” Romney says in a private speech to donors that Democratic voters are more dependent on government and therefore more pro-big government than Republican voters. The media go into a frenzy. The main story in the country, pushing aside all other news, including the Muslim world in flames, becomes: Romney has made a “huge gaffe.” He is “not ready for prime time.” He is “unprepared for leadership.” Romney says in a speech that two plus two equals four. The media go wild. The main story in the country becomes: Romney has made a “huge gaffe.” He is “not ready for prime time.” He is “unprepared for leadership.” Now there are many things to say about this astonishing state of affairs. I will just say one of them. Romney and the Republicans need to campaign against the media as much as against the Democrats. They need to make the mind-controlling, lying, Soviet-like media a major issue of the campaign. They need to show how the media control us, how they shape perceptions according to their agenda. The Republicans must show how the media seek to marginalize and silence all non-Democratic, non-liberal positions, and that this is totally unacceptable. If the Republicans and Romney are not aware of this horrible state of affairs, and if they decline to expose and attack it, what good are they? Do they oppose rule by Orwellian media, or not? Also: the Republicans, Romney in particular, must stop going like a bull to the slaughter to “debates” run by the liberal media. They must insist on debates that are run by non-liberals. If Romney and the Republicans would do these things, they could win the election.
(Note: Given my criticisms of the fallacious phrase used so often in today’s politics, “So-and-so must do something,” which implies that the speaker is issuing a command or ultimatum to So-and-so that the speaker is not in fact issuing, let me clarify my meaning here. When I say that Republicans “must” do this, I am not implying that I am going to compel them to do it. I simply mean that if they want to win the election instead of lose it, this is what they must do.) Email entry |