How The Media Helped The GOP Sell Their Fear-Based Appeal - MediaMatters

[Bill USA]

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/11/03/how-the-media-helped-the-gop-sell-their-fear-ba/201423

Forget the issues. Let's talk about fear and anger.

That message, coming out of a CNN interview with Vice President Joe Biden, perfectly captures the media's role in the 2014 midterm elections.

Biden and Gloria Borger, CNN's chief political analyst, discussed the VP's future political ambitions and his take on whether the 2014 midterms will shift the balance of power in Washington in an interview that aired this morning.

[div class="excerpt" style="border:1px solid #000000;"]"If you look at every single major issue in this campaign, the American public agree with our position," Biden said, "from federal support for infrastructure to minimum wage to marriage equality."

Biden is right, and the numbers are staggering. Seventy percent of Americans support increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, according to the results of a CBS News/New York Times poll from September. When Gallup asked whether voters would be more likely to support candidates who want to spend federal government money on infrastructure repairs, 72 percent said they would. Polling from ABCNews/Washington Post, The New York Times/CBS News, and McClatchy-Marist all shows majority support for marriage equality. Add universal background checks and federal action to combat climate change to the growing list of progressive issues backed by large majorities of the electorate.

"But wait a minute," Borger injected:

[div class="excerpt" style="border:1px solid #000000;"]Our polls show voters are angry, they're fearful, they're frustrated. Not only about domestic policy, like the roll out of the president's health care reform, but also on the handling of Ebola and ISIS. So the question is how do you fix that?

It's true that a recent CNN poll found that voters are scared and angry -- when they are asked by pollsters how scared and angry they are. That poll, incidentally, didn't ask what issues matter most to voters. All of this feeds right into the GOP electoral strategy of using fear-based appeals to sway voters.
(more)

[Independent_Liberal]

1. I agree the media is a major part of the problem. nt

[Bill USA]

3. whenever I hear them tally th amount of money spent by parties for political advertizements I always

wonder - what if the value of all that free GOP echo chamber 'news' show pieces either criticizing Dems, Obama, or especially the hostile interviews of Democrats. It's got to be worth in the hundreds of millions of dollars each year. THis has been going on since Obama enterred the WH. Ever since Obama was elected the word 'filibuster' seems to be verboten on M$M (television). That conveniently rules out any reporting on the fact that the GOP has set records for filibustering during Obama's administration.

THe Corporate/GOP managed M$M has to be the largest contributor to the GOP.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

2. This...

Quote: Our polls show voters are angry, they're fearful, they're frustrated. Not only about domestic policy, like the roll out of the president's health care reform, but also on the handling of Ebola and ISIS. So the question is how do you fix that?

"The handling of Ebola and ISIS"? I don't understand. How are these crises under the president's control? He can't stop ISIS from beheading people. And if he doesn't rush into war, the corporate media complains that he's being indecisive. But if he goes to war, the left is angry and the corporate media shouts Republican talking points about how he's going to war without congressional authority.

And Ebola? The president controls this disease? He has control over how LOCAL hospitals have responded to it? This, even though the number if fatalities in this country so far is 1, which could have been avoided, by the way?

I understand the ACA website rollout, but that has been fixed and we are now experiencing successes. Why are they still focused on that bullshit when people are actually benefitting from the ACA?

Geez, no wonder the Democrats lost. This interview is so incredibly biased. I'm surprised Joe didn't get up and walk out of there.