I've been a registered user on Kos for a long time, came here back in the Deaniac days, and before I start this rant, let me just say I love this community. It's an amazing place, full of incredibly thoughtful diaries and truly caring individuals. That having been said...
What the hell is wrong with you? Yes, you--all of you.
Why, why would you start your day watching Morning Joe, Asshat Extraordinaire? A 7:00 am root canal or colonoscopy would be more pleasant. Do you want to be upset and torqued for the rest of the day over the pile of BS that man is vomiting through your TV screen?
Why, why would you spend 2 seconds, let alone 2 hours, with Wolf Blitzer? Wasn't there a seminar on curing nail fungus you could go to instead?
Why, why would you repeat, under any circumstances, a word that comes out of Chris Matthew's mouth? I mean, damn, America's Next Top Model has more depth than Hardball.
And here's the most important one:
Why, why oh why do you think anything in the traditional media is worth time, energy, emotional investment or willing suspension of disbelief? In the last 48 hours I've seen at least 2 diaries an hour bemoaning how Clinton is going to steal this election and the convention will be brokered and the supers need to act now and how Obama needs to to do [fill in blank] to re-energize his campaign, as though somehow Pennsylvania changed everything. Now where the hell would that idea have come from?
for the purposes of this rant, the traditional media is cable news
OF COURSE they're lying. They're all lying. They're framing the national discourse, for God's sake, they can't be bothered with pesky things like facts. It is their job to create memes and frames. The days of reporting and journalism on television, with few, if any, exceptions, are gone. Those guys on TV? Look closely..why, yes, that IS a leash around his/her neck. And if you follow the leash? Hmmm...only 6 corporations at the end of that leash: Time Warner, Disney, News Corporation, Bertelsmann, Viacom, and NBC.
Everything you see on the "news" is designed to sap your will, make you doubt your candidate, and give up. 20 million news cycles of Rev Wright and only one devoted to Bill working on the Columbia trade deal? Hmmm..wonder why that is?
Who appoints the chair of the FCC? Oh, that's right, the President.
Now, they're all pretty fat and happy and raking in the bucks, so if some young upstart were to come along and oh, say, energize the electorate and get people excited about politics and they became active in the political process--well, now, all that hard work framing all those ideas on the "news" so that the uninformed would vote against their own interests might stop working. They might have to pay people a living wage. They might lose their ever-tightening grip on information. They might not be allowed to continue poisoning the food supply, polluting the water, destroying the healthcare system and making obscene amounts of money from an illegal war.
And they can't have that. So over two years ago, they chose the nominees for president. Dependable, business-friendly, don't rock the boat candidates. In case anyone has forgotten, Clinton and McCain were the presumptive nominees long before anyone even filed.
But then there's this other guy. And damn it, he's inspiring people. And damn it, they're paying attention. And damn it, he's winning. God knows what might happen if he gets into the White House with the electorate continuing to pay attention. If he puts all that new transparency stuff into place? Well, they're screwed, aren't they?
Quick, we need a frame! He's inexperienced! Won Iowa anyway. He does well with African Americans! White people are voting for him too. He's a muslim! Raising money online like crazy. His pastor hates America, so he must too! Blew the muslim frame and got an amazing, historic speech.
Frame after frame after frame, and still he raised money, won states, won delegates, won debates.
Do you really think for one second that Clinton chose the attacks? McCain? Please. Check out their necks, you'll see a leash there, too, I promise you. Oh, she's all boosted from her "win" in PA and touting some new ways to twist the math, but if the media didn't want her to do this, do you really think they wouldn't have crushed her by now? Like a bug, people.
C'mon guys, you're sooooo much smarter than this. I know you are. So is the majority of this country, or Obama wouldn't be where he is right now.
Joe and Wolf and Chris and all the rest of the asshats know exactly what they're doing; there is no fight between men and women, or blacks and whites, or young and old, or any other demographic. This fight is between the corporations and the people. Stop letting the media control the discourse, quit repeating the frame and for the love of God, stop giving them the benefit of the doubt. They're not lazy, and they're not stupid. They're corporate shills.
They know Clinton has lost--which means they've lost. This round. There will most certainly be another, but that won't work either unless you buy into the crap they're shoveling.
Obama started this campaign because he believed in the American people, and look where its gotten him. Yet there are people all over this blog losing faith. Why? I'm betting that most here haven't changed their minds about Obama, no, they're worried that other people have changed their minds about Obama.
Have a little faith, guys. Haven't we had enough of fear and worry these past 8 years to last a lifetime? Send a donation, encourage your friends to donate, engage your friends and neighbors in thoughtful, polite political discussions, help with a local GOTV effort, volunteer at the local headquarters, make phone calls, stuff envelopes and ignore the asshats.
Now, go forth and work your butts off for our next President.
End Rant.