Agitprop: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Propaganda

Knives at Gunfights

Bob Somerby hasn't learned to love the propaganda:

On the other side, "ridiculous and blatant falsehoods" will appear. On our side, we will show little sign of knowing how to react to these falsehoods. Al Gore said he invented the Internet! And not only that: European health care has failed everywhere it’s ever been tried!

Neither one of those statements is true. Each statement might be called a "blatant and ridiculous falsehood." But so what? In 1999 and 2000, one of those unrebutted falsehoods cost you the White House, and gave you Iraq. (Liberals still refuse to discuss this.) The other falsehood is currently helping drive health reform down to defeat.

Somerby cares a lot about political issues, and does some finest, most astute media criticism around. Incisive, and instructive, the body of Somerby's work might lead one to ask, "Why can't Democratic politicians and liberal pundits and editorialists get their message across above the din of the Right Wing Noise Machine?"

Here at Agitprop, we offer the public service of providing an answer. Hewing to Occam's razor, the simplest explanation most certainly is this: Democratic politicians, liberal pundits and editorialists aren't, in good faith, trying.

Take the health care debate. First off, let's note that this is not a debate about giving people health care; it's about getting people on health insurance.

At first blush, it appears to be a clash of ideals between those advocating some sort of national, publicly financed health service with access to free primary care for all; and those advocating not-in-my-country-Commie-shut-the-fuck-up-or-I'll-shoot-your-fucking-face-off.

But it's so much less than that.

When you go into the smoke filled rooms, the halls of congress, the closed door white house negotiations, this is a debate over whether a law to require everyone to purchase health insurance should or shouldn't include the option, (for 10 million people, tops,) of a government operated insurance plan.

British-style health service? Off the table.
Japanese-style universal non-profit health insurance, and price-controls on medical services? Off the table.
Single payer "Medicare for all"? Off the table.

All that racket from the Right Wing Noise Machine? That's aimed at you, Rube. Your Democratic officials, are exactly where they mean to be. Just ask Charles Davis.

Your liberal pundits and editorialists? Tools.

Beergate

The most-anticipated beer of the Obama Administration is set to take place on Thursday at 6 p.m., a White House official told the Herald. On Friday, President Obama announced the peace draft to be shared with Cambridge police Sgt. James Crowley and Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. to discuss the scholar’s controversial arrest on July 16.

Hey, what problems can't be resolved over a beer...unless you're in a Tennessee bar and the guy you are trying to reconcile with is carrying a concealed .45.

So, what's on the menu?

The beer selection for Thursday’s meeting is not known. Crowley prefers Blue Moon beer. Gates likes Beck’s and Red Stripe. The president drinks Budweiser.

The most powerful man in the world likes to drink...wait for it...Budweiser!?!

Well, at least he didn't say Pabst. The dude could have any beer he wants and he's going with the classic Amerikan swill. Damn, if I was president I'd turn the Lincoln Bedroom into a tap room featuring the finest West Coast IPAs, Belgian ales and German Oktoberfest brew imaginable.

I'm not the only one who thinks Obama should be more liberal and adventurous in the beer department. Here's a completely unscientific poll by NPR listeners. The verdict is near unanimous.

The president could always use this opportunity to solve both America' racial tensions and the standoff with North Korea by selecting Pyongyang's latest brew. There's nothing wrong with stress relief...

Ten Worst Predictions of 2008

It’s that time again - the 10 worst predictions of 2008.  You’ll never guess who took the gold:

“If [Hillary Clinton] gets a race against John Edwards and Barack Obama, she’s going to be the nominee. Gore is the only threat to her, then. … Barack Obama is not going to beat Hillary Clinton in a single Democratic primary. I’ll predict that right now.” —William Kristol, Fox News Sunday, Dec. 17, 2006

Weekly Standard editor and New York Times columnist William Kristol was hardly alone in thinking that the Democratic primary was Clinton’s to lose, but it takes a special kind of self-confidence to make a declaration this sweeping more than a year before the first Iowa caucus was held. After Iowa, Kristol lurched to the other extreme, declaring that Clinton would lose New Hampshire and that “There will be no Clinton Restoration.” It’s also worth pointing out that this second wildly premature prediction was made in a Times column titled, “President Mike Huckabee?” The Times is currently rumored to be looking for his replacement.

Make sure and click through the C&L link to Foreign Policy and read the long version.  After the jump, an abbreviated list of the other honorees.

Time for Pitchforks and Torches

AIG executives went on luxurious retreat one week after receiving $85 billion bailout.

I say it’s time for that revolution Jefferson kept talking about.

Today, the House Oversight Committee discovered that, just one week after the federal government bailed out insurance giant AIG, company executives went on a retreat to a luxury resort. The executives spent nearly $500,000 on manicures, facials, pedicures, and massages, among other things. During a hearing today, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) asked, “Have you heard of anything more outrageous?”:

CUMMINGS: Let me describe for some of you the charges that the shareholders, taxpayers, had to pay. AIG spent $200,000 dollars for hotel rooms. Almost $150,000 for catered banquets. AIG spent $23,000 at the hotel spa and another $1,400 at the salon. They were getting manicures, facials, pedicures and massages while American people were footing the bill. And they spent another $10,000 dollars for I don’t know what this is, leisure dining. Bars?

I want heads on pikes over the East River.