New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has taken on the persona of a font of reason in a world of discombobulation, and hasn’t been shy about taking shots at the culprits. In an interview with CNN’s John King, he accused the media of failing in its duty to maintain an informed public by engaging in cheap theater. Instead of going down to the latest Tea Party event and claiming that these people represent the “mood” of the country instead of being the fringe-wing of the Republican Party—which has essentially controlled the candidate selecting process for at least two decades (except that now they have a catchy name)—find out what the silenced majority really thinks. Instead of quoting polls that ask simplistic questions that measure gut reactions, ask questions that address the underlying issues. Engage in rational discussions rather than just canned rhetoric and propaganda.
Of course, it’s obvious why news organizations like CNN avoid rational debate; liberals who prefer to discuss the complexity of policy take up too much “valuable” air time compared to the right and their simplistic slogans.
Meanwhile, hot on the heels of a bizarre ruling by federal judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn on Alabama’s anti-immigrant law—which unlike rulings on similar laws, allowed to stand arbitrary racial profiling by police and requiring the authorities to check the immigration status of children in public schools (which clearly makes mock of the state’s claim that this does not violate civil rights) while essentially taking a hands-off approach to the parts of the law that effect employers—Bloomberg criticized the media’s reliance on misinformation that fueled prejudice and hate. Instead of allowing insinuations that thousands of illegal immigrants are pouring over the border every hour to stand as “fact,” he enjoined the media to do some real research (such as USA Today’s examination of the alleged rampant spillover crime on the border), and report the facts based on actual investigative work. In arguing that anti-immigrant attitudes are counter-productive, Bloomberg said “The American dream cannot survive if we tell the dreamers to go elsewhere.”
But Bloomberg might as well be pissing in the wind as far as convincing the “mainstream” media of changing its ways. Far from having a “liberal” bias (MSNBC excepted), the media gives top-billing to whatever promises higher ratings, and this tends to be the kind of thing that excite the negative aspects of human nature. The media is rightly implicated in aiding and abetting the atmosphere which allows this to fester. Take for instance the latest claims by CNN’s “chief political analyst” Gloria Borger. After quoting the kind of poll that Bloomberg was no doubt questioning the validity of—which claimed that trust in the government was at an all-time low of 15 percent—Borger made some rather large assumptions about the attitudes of “all” Americans. “All” Americans are not anti-government Tea Partiers, and many view the problems of government in vastly different ways. “Americans want the government to fix our problems, but they don't trust the government to do it,” Border opines. But “trust” isn’t the issue for many Americans, particularly on the left. They “trust” the government to do something about health care, and to maintain Medicare and Social Security. What they don’t like is that government won’t do anything about it. The government can do something—like forcing people who have enjoyed far more largesse than they are worth to pay their taxes to help pay for the civil society that allows them to maintain themselves in wealth and style—but it is not doing so, because of fringe-right intransigence.
Obama has disappointed the left on a number of issues, ranging from the environment to the continuance of the war in Afghanistan. On health care, Obama didn’t go too far—he didn’t go far enough in supporting a public option; again, the media failed to properly address the growing state of crisis in the health care system in this country, which would have “laid the groundwork” for acceptance by the general public; indeed, the health insurance industry’s reaction to the requirement to spend 80 percent of customer premiums on actual health care costs—raising premiums while lowering coverage—promises drastic changes in the future that are far more inimical to current Republican complaints. The problem is not that everyone thinks government is too “bloated,” as Borger contends, it has been hamstrung in doing what every sensible person (Tea Partiers need not apply) knows is necessary, and collecting all due revenue to adequately fund even current requirements.
Yes, part of the problem is that politicians are shouting at each other about who is right or wrong; but it is the news media’s duty to separate the wheat from the chaff, and it is not doing that. Defunding government as the right is baying for will have detrimental effects on a wide range of areas that promote a civilized society, and we know that red states in the South and the West, when allowed to their own devices without federal intervention, will send the country down in a spiral of hatred, incivility and a caste system based on antebellum attitudes. Borger also seems completely ignorant of the fact that if the sensible Clinton-era fiscal policies were continued by George Bush, we would never be in the kind of fiscal crisis situation we are in now. Where was the lack of “trust” during the Bush years? Borger also seems oblivious to the fact that the most recent low points in “trust” in government came during the last two Democratic presidencies. Why was this? Because Republicans did everything to destroy the good credit of the government simply for the sake of partisan ends? Democratic lawmakers worked with Ronald Reagan, and Reagan new enough to raise revenue on occasion to fund needed programs. Republican lawmakers, on the other hand, are a different breed altogether. If anyone should not be trusted, it is them.
Trust? How about lack of trust in the media?
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