Pelosi's #1 Priority? Investigate the GOP Propaganda Machine!

madmusic

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Mon Nov-06-06 03:57 PM
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Pelosi's #1 Priority? Investigate the GOP Propaganda Machine!

Edited on Mon Nov-06-06 04:00 PM by madmusic

The GOP never had honest-to-goodness power. No, their power was always false -- based on fallacies, lies, deceit, twisted symbolism and voter manipulation. It was never real.

Starting when Reagan first struck the http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/F/htmlF/fairnessdoct/fairnessdoct.htm">Fairness Doctrine" by executive order, moving to Newt Gringrich's "Contract with America" and his http://www.propagandacritic.com/articles/examples.newt.html">Language, A Key Mechanism of Control propaganda pamphlet, the Right spun out of control and lied with impunity.

We can easily see the consequences now: the Iraq war based on deceit, the Right's extreme machine effort to taint or deny votes, sometimes even with flagrant dirty tricks that are illegal "robo calls." They may lie and tell the potential voters if they voted in the primary, they do not need to vote now. Or they may pretend to be a Democrat. Or they may lie about voting locations.

Some of it is "free speech" and legal, some is criminal.

So what do we do?

Unlike the Republicans, Democrats trust and respect voters who are informed. Democrats don't even mind losing to an informed vote. Republicans are the opposite. They think voters are stupid and deserve to be manipulated.

What we can do is put the informed voter back into their rightful standing as the centerpiece of American Democracy.

Pelosi should hold hearings on the GOP propaganda machine for a variety of reasons: a) enlighten the voters on who and what to trust, b) remind them they are in control of the government, not the other way around, c) bring attention to the false power of the GOP, and d) implement solutions.

Two obvious and fairly easily implemented solutions might be:

1. Practical logic as part of high school civics classes. Future voters could learn how they might be manipulated with words, symbols and statistics long before they vote. The GOP would hate smarter and more skeptical voters! They prefer voters who vote on faith in the government, even when, or especially when, false.

2) A study on the monopoly of the media by a few corporations. It is time we ask if corporate media and the Right are too cozy.

An investigation of the GOP propaganda machine would accomplish many vital goals, some political, some social. Obviously, the Right would fight this tooth and nail. They don't want to be found out and so that would be one political goal. More important, we have a mass media without checks and balances, so a strong democracy needs informed voters with the proper tools more than ever. It needs voters who can see through propaganda and know it for what it is. In a fast paced sound bite environment, one must already know how to be skeptical and think before believing. There is often too much information to research for truthfulness and not enough time, so logical defensive walls are a healthy first line of defense.

Let's trust the voters again, Speaker Pelosi, and give them the tools to vote with pride. And let's inform the voters exactly who would trick and deceive them and steal elections for false power.

If you agree, DUers, please kick and let's hope the bloggers pick up the ball and run with it. It is time to cut off the Right's propaganda legs. This should be a national issue of the utmost importance. The Right-wing propaganda machine should never again attain false power. Nor should any propaganda machine. Not here, not in America, not where the voter rules the nation. Enough is enough.