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Attack, attack, attack
1. Has any previous president-elect ever exerted
the
influence that Barack Obama is currently demonstrating,
with his use of the bully-pulpit? It bodes well
for when
he has actual power, is confidence-building.
2. Obama has been able to transcend race because
he
has always considered himself a "mutt"--biracial,similar
to the way that Tiger Woods describes himself.
In fact,
Obama had to actively search for a black identity
by becoming
a community organizer and attending Rev. Wright's
black church.
3. What Barack took away from Rev. Wright's church
was not Wright's politics but his oratorical
skills.
4.The key weapon that the republicans have left
is their
attack machine--the Rt-Wing-Echo-Machine. Their
strategy is the same as when Bill Clinton first
took
over in '93-- attack-attack-attack. It worked
back then to
stifle Hillary's health care plan and to give
them a
congressional take-over in 1994.
5. The Rt-Wing-Echo-Machine has started even earlier
with Barack Obama, framing our current financial
malaise
as the "Obama Recession" . The Left, as per usual
has
let that framing go largely unchallenged, Unless
they
do so, consistently giving the market crash the
correct
moniker of the"Bush Recession", the Republicans
term
will start to take hold in early '09.
6. The three-H's (Hypothesize-Hype-Hysteria) in
action :
Republicans like Dick Morris Hypothesize that
the market
is crashing because they're afraid that President
Obama
will do things like raising the capital-gains
tax. The
Rt-Wing-Echo-Machine Hypes up the theory, causing
Hysteria and labeling the financial mess the
"Obama Recession".
7. More of the three H's --- Right-wingers hypothesize
that
Pres. Obama will take away their guns. The Echo-Machine
hypes up the hysteria and we end up with a run
on gun shops.
8. The key to controling the Rt-Wing-Echo-Machine
lies
in getting more of the Left-wing message out
there.
The best way to do that is to reinstate the Fairness
Doctrine.
9. Right-wing media types like Limbaugh, Savage
or
O'Reilly have all identified themselves as "entertainers".
As "entertainers" they rationalize their lying
and distortions
of the truth. The truth becomes a commodity,
with no more
value than fiction, lies. If the truth sells,
if it gets ratings, they
exploit it. Otherwise, they have no compunctions
about
selling lies to their audience.
10. The only realistic way to describe what is
going on
with the markets and bailouts is CLASS WARFARE.
We, the people have been losing that battle since
the
Reagan days. The reason that we're losing is
because
our hired help, the people that we elect to represent
us,
to fight for us inevitably become beholden to
lobbyists,
aka Corporate America , in campaigns.
11. A major key to stopping class warfare is in
campaign finance reform. Barack Obama found a
creative way around becoming beholden to Corporate
Amerika, but not completely. Their influence
on him
is already becoming manifest in his appointments.
12. Best kept secret of the year---small businesses,
NOT Corporate Amerika create the majority of
jobs
in this country, more than 70%.
John Knott
Oakland
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