Cheap Shots, Cheapening Democracy

Posted on September 24, 2004 in Blogging Campaign 2004 Journalists & Pundits

They are talking holy war over at OC Metroblogs against OC Weekly columnist Rebecca Schoenfeld because she called us “the worst blog ever”. Let’s not blogroll her, says the team captain. Let’s have a war! I, having been misquoted by Commie Girl as some kind of Bush supporter because I said that I don’t like the “Honk for your horn for [fill in the blank]” tactic in political campaigns say one stupid remark from one columnist does not constitute grounds for a war against the Weekly. Move on.”

Instead of worrying about cheap shots, we should be more concerned with the cheapening of our political process through the “Vote Carrie” advertisement which is prominently displayed stage right on the main page. Big Media reaches through the Internet Commons to tell us that there is no real difference between the two parties.

For years, they have said “You don’t need to go through all the work of finding out what is happening in the world today. Let us do it for you.” But then they fail to do the job themselves. Journalism peaked in the late sixties and early seventies, then choked on its own success when advertisers used their muscle to prevent another Watergate story from bringing down Reagan and his successors. They simply say “There’s no difference” and rely on us not checking their assumption.

To nail down their accomplishment, they bring us Carrie Bradshaw, absurd candidate for the presidency, not on any ballot. They dress her in red, white, and blue, spread her legs open to tease the boys, and announce the nonexistent “Cosmopolitan Party”. Some may join for reasons of political protest, but others will be driven to apathy. The Vote Carrie campaign suggests that this election — the most important that I have participated in — is nothing but a dog and pony show. With Social Security, our nation’s credit rating, the Draft, war in Iraq, a lying cheat in the White House, millions of acres of forested lands, and a tax burden being readied to drop on you and me, we the people cannot afford to be duped.

Big Media wants John Kerry defeated. He stands for reform. He stands for a return to FCC governance of the airwaves, a recognition that Big Corporations must, like Big Government, be held accountable to the people. There are significant differences between Kerry and Bush. And Carrie Bradshaw and Ted Turner should pull that campaign so that serious talk can occur here.

I say these things here because this is my blog. I don’t doubt that my words would be taken down post-haste at OC Metroblogs if I said them there. At very best, it would put the experiment on the line with a loss of advertising dollars. But do we want to be taking money from forces out to destroy democracy? I think not.