The Privileged

[Octafish]

10. I want to see Democrats bringing up Democratic issues...

Justice. Equality. Fairness. Cooperation. Prosperity. Peace.

That's stuff largely missing from the coverage, questions and discussion even before the Great Bankster Bailout of 2008.

Move Over–Over and Over

Media’s rightward push for Democrats

By Peter Hart and Steve Rendall
FAIR, July 1, 2006

It’s an article of faith in the elite ranks of journalism: Political virtue and electoral success reside in the ideological center. Though it’s not overwhelmingly popular with the American public, centrism is the dominant message of national political pundits and journalists—at least for Democrats.

While few commentators would disagree with the conventional wisdom that Republican success depends on the care and feeding of the GOP’s conservative base—GOP leaders would laugh at them if they did—pundits who make the same argument for the Democrats are virtually non-existent in national media. Instead, many of the most prominent political journalists in the country have made it their business to press the Democrats to move the party rightward.

Media advocates of centrism typically call on Democrats to reject their natural supporters, often denigrated as “special interests”: liberals, unions, civil rights and feminist groups, and environmental and consumer rights organizations. Meanwhile, corporate-friendly policies and conservative-leaning “moral values” are presented as the road to electoral success. Many political pundits say going centrist is not only the right thing—it’s the only way Democrats can win.

Base ignorance

The ABC News website the Note, a daily digest of news and political gossip, can be relied upon for the latest in conventional media wisdom. In a May 25 dispatch about the 2006 elections, the Note wrote that Democrats “will be in their hearts for higher taxes, universal health care, a heightened emphasis on civil liberties, and a dramatic and swift reduction of troops from Iraq.” According to the Note, these are unpopular positions the Democrats should keep to themselves until after the election: “The Democrats just have to hope that the American people don’t find out until February.” But if ABC’s own polling is any indication, some of these ideas are solidly mainstream: Popular majorities favor troop reductions in Iraq (5/11-15/06) and universal health coverage (4/6-9/06).

CONTINUED...

http://fair.org/extra-online-articles/move-over8212over-and-over/

I know you're up to date on all that rot. Some raw meat from last summer for those who think the world of Corporate McPravda:

NYT Scrapes the Bottom to Argue ‘Democrats Pulled Too Far Left’