Lou Dobbs, “Advocacy” Journalist?
Breaking: Lou Dobbs Becomes A Mexican
Lou Dobbs Becomes Lifetime Member Of Hispanic Journalists Association
The more he rails, the more his audience grows; his ratings have nearly doubled in the last two years…. [H]is supporters want him to run for president, his critics want CNN to fire him, and some in Congress just want him to be quiet. If you’re looking for your traditional, detached, impartial news show, do not come knocking on Lou Dobbs’ door. His show on CNN has become a nightly rage fest.
In the interest of self-disclosure, I should acknowledge that I’ve never been a fan of Lou Dobbs. When his show involved fellating CEOs and captains of industry, he was a pathetic shill. Now he’s become a xenophobic crusader, a champion of all things American and a hater of anything that even smacks of illegal immigration. I’m no advocate of illegal immigration, but Dobbs and so many other Americans are willing to live off the fruits of the labors provided by those same illegal immigrants. If we’re willing to exploit illegal immigrants, shouldn’t we also be willing to accomodate them? After all, who paves our roads, collects our garbage, and picks our fruit? We- all of us- benefit in any number of ways from the labors of illegal aliens…and yet people like Lou Dobbs act as if they’re the scourge of the Earth.
Dobbs’ newly-found rage is interesting, giving that he worked with migrants in his younger days and that his wife is Mexican. I’ve little doubt that Dobbs feels as strongly as he does about illegal immigration, but the rank hyocrisy is tough to miss. Dobbs has come across an issue he can hang his career on. The formula is really rather simple- beat up on a segment of the population unable to stand up for itself, and act as if you’re standing up for everything that’s good, decent, and American.
One of the issues he tackles relentlessly is illegal immigration. And on that, his critics say, his advocacy can get in the way of the facts.
Following a report on illegal immigrants carrying diseases into the U.S., one of the correspondents on his show, Christine Romans, told Dobbs that there have been 7,000 cases of leprosy in the U.S. in the past three years.
60 Minutes checked that and found a report issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, saying that 7,000 is the number of leprosy cases over the last 30 years, not the past three. The report also says that nobody knows how many of those cases involve illegal immigrants.
“We went to try and check that number, 7,000. We can’t‚Äö√Ѭ∂,” Stahl says.
“Well, I can tell you this. If we reported it, it’s a fact,” Dobbs replies.
When I think of Lou Dobbs, the adjectives that come to mind aren’t flattering: arrogant, blowhard, someone who’s willing to cherry-pick the truth in order to support his rage-based arguments. Dobbs has clearly managed to create a nice little niche for himself- a well-fed, Right-wing rageaholic willing to pander to the fear, ignorance, and xenophobia of his audience. The more he rages, the larger his audience becomes.
Listening to Dobbs, one sometimes forgets that one isn’t watching Fox News Channel, but CNN. Then again, when paired with Glenn Beck, what’s the difference?
Jeebus, what a self-righteous DUMB@$$?
