April 14, 2016 4:32 AM

He who controls the Big Lie wins

President Barack Obama on Sunday linked Fox News, which he suggested was a “Republican news channel,” to the success of Donald Trump as a presidential candidate. During an interview on Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace asked the president if he felt responsible for the angry voters supporting GOP hopeful Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders…. “I think the danger both among Republicans and among Democrats who just listen to each other or they just listen to people that already agree with them — you know, Republicans have their own TV station,” he noted…. “Go ahead,” Wallace interrupted. “You can say Fox News.”

It’s a basic tent of Politics 101: He who controls the message controls the levers of power. Seldom has that been truer than it is today. In a world where people are constantly pressed for time and balancing commitments to career, family, and community- among other things- who has time for politics? Most Americans lack the time, energy, inclination, and/or interest to delve into issues with an eye towards gaining a deeper understanding. Whether for lack of time, intellect, or interest, most Americans interact with politics on a purely emotional level…which is the magic bullet that Fox News Channel (FNC) has ridden to its place as the #1 cable news network.

It’s not that FNC does news better or that their journalistic standards are significantly higher…because neither is even close to being true. What FNC discovered- and has perfected over the past 20 years- is that using Josef Goebbels’ “Big Lie” theory to tap into the fear center of millions of Americans conditioned to reflexively believe the worst about Liberals, Democrats, and Progressives is astonishingly effective and impactful. Since 1996, FNC has driven home the propaganda that left of political center is where you’ll find the heart of darkness, the place where America-hating, freedom-despising terrorist sympathizers and closet socialists live.

No reasonable, rational observer would discount the assertion that FNC has morphed into the GOP’s propaganda arm. FNC CEO Roger Ailes has admitted as much, and he sees no problem with a news organization pushing an openly ideological agenda. Ailes understands that news isn’t just about information; it’s about controlling the message. He who controls the message can shape what millions of Americans think. When you can influence what Americans think, you can control how they vote.

The President’s contention that “Republicans have their own TV station” isn’t hyperbole. FNC talking heads openly push a far Right-wing agenda, agressively and gleefully trashing Democrats and Liberals whenever the opportunity presents itself. They’re prone to parroting talking points with little, if any, basis in fact. Like anything else firmly grounded in the “Big Lie,” repeat it often enough and with sufficient fervor and conviction and it becomes accepted as truth.

Conservatives will counter that “Liberals have MSNBC,” an argument which, seemingly seem true at first blush, quickly falls apart upon closer inspection. Yes, MSNBC has historically been home to more left-leaning talking heads (Rachel Maddow, Chris Hayes, Ed Schultz), but like any corporation run by affluent White males, it could hardly be described as the leftist Yin to FNC’s far-right Yang. Uh, hello…Morning Joe??

FNC succeeds because it pushes a reliably Far Right ideological agenda it camouflages as “fair and balanced”- another triumph of faithful, unrelenting devotion to the “Big Lie.” Having built their brand on half-truths, deception, and dishonesty packaged as “fair and balanced” journalism, virtually everything FNC reports is accepted by millions of Americans without question or examination. FNC said it, Americans buy it, case closed.

Republicans haven’t succeeded because they possess superior ideas and policy initiatives. They have little to offer beyond an exceptional devotion to deceiving Americans in service of their commitment to Big Business and the enrichment of the 1%. They’ve succeeded because they’ve repeatedly convince Americans to vote against their own best interests…and they’ve done it in large part because FNC’s interests align closely with their own.

Lest anyone accuse me of violating Godwin’s Law by evoking Josef Goebbels, it should be kept in mind that however one might refer to it, the “Big Lie” theory holds true. It’s basic mass psychology, something understood by any politician or political operative with a working knowledge of human nature. FNC has simply been the vehicle Republicans have ridden to the Promised Land.

The President is right to be frustrated. It’s not too much to expect a news organization which brags about its self-ascribed reputation for being “fair and balanced” to be exactly that.

Evidently “fair and balanced” isn’t nearly what it used to be.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on April 14, 2016 4:32 AM.

Progress?? What's this "progress" of which you speak so enthusiastically?? was the previous entry in this blog.

It's all about priorities, don'tchaknow?? is the next entry in this blog.

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