Sirota - Democratic Idiots & the Parroting of Right-Wing Lies

[realFedUp]

http://www.workingforchange.com/blog/index.cfm?mode=entry&entry=A491DB39-B736-4714-A37B0A6806852C72

Democratic Idiots & the Parroting of Right-Wing Lies

Earlier this week, I chastised writer Ari Melber for his piece in the right-wing New York Post. Now we see just how the GOP spin machine uses people like Melber to perpetuate its most dishonest lies.

To review, Melber claims to be "progressive," yet had the Rupert-Murdoch-owned paper publish his piece that vomited up all the typical dishonest GOP stereotypes about Democrats and national security. And they were dishonest: As Ken Almquist shows on his blog (link below), Melber deliberately misrepresented the polling numbers that his entire article relies on.

But the sheer lying isn't what's interesting about this - it's the exposure of the right-wing spin machine that is noteworthy. You see, the GOP feeds off of people who purport to represent progressives and Democrats, yet who carry the right-wing's most shameful lies/stereotypes. After all, conservatives have an entire infrastructure to get the criticism as far and wide as possible. It's why Melber's piece has now gone from the right-wing New York Post, to a prominent place in the fringe-conservative Washington Times today.

This is exactly how it's supposed to work for the GOP: they grab someone who calls themselves "liberal" or "progressive" (usually from a place like the New Republic). This person usually has little - if any - political experience in the real world outside of the Beltway, and is really only interested in promoting their name at the expense of others. Then they get that idiot to validate dishonest right-wing lies in the media. Finally, the GOP then cites that self-proclaimed "liberal"/"progressive" as proof that the their dishonest stereotypes are actually true, no matter how factually inaccurate. It's a brilliant machine, actually - but it is pathetic that so many people in the insulated Washington, D.C. Democratic Establishment play along.


Sources:
Earlier post on the piece in the NY Post:
http://www.davidsirota.com/2005/06/democrats-self-promoting-sellouts.html
Presentation of poll numbers in the NY Post piece was dishonest:
http://kalmquist.blogspot.com/2005/06/sirota-and-melber-on-national-security.html
NY Post piece now used in the Washington Times:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20050621-120330-6202r.htm

[DemNoir]

1. Let's not forget

DU plays a vital role in the right wing spin machine.

There is no better forum for the echoing and amplification of far right talking points.

Useful idiots abound.

[KoKo]

3. I think your comment demeans DU and those who participate here.

Anyone spewing RW lies is usually dealt promptly. This is a discussion board but there are forums and chat rooms all over the internet that are better vehicles for RW Talking points than DU which you have singled out saying "useful idiots abound."

[realFedUp]

4. I think it's fair to say on a given day every POV is spun,

torn apart and rehashed on DU....a true democratic
process.
Representatives, columnists etc. who we have
called liberal, progressive or just not Republicans
have been called on the mat from time to time for comments or actions
that aren't true or just.

Yesterday Daley was called on the mat for reacting
emotionally, not intelligently to Durbin's remarks
about the torture policies of the Bush administration
at Gitmo and other "jails" around the world.

Lieberman says he support McCain for Prez in '08...
Biden votes with the credit card companies instead
of people...

We aren't going to be sheeple just because they
call themselves Democrats.

[Inland]

2. AMEN! If there were some sort of united democratic voice, however,

then they couldn't just pull out a self-appointed "democrat" or "liberal" and assert that his view was just as legit as, say, Biden's.