There is No Equivalency Between Right and Left

As money has slowly but surely taken over the political process in America, it is no longer possible for a candidate to achieve mainstream recognition unless they have several powerful industries behind them. The banks, oil, defense and insurance industry have ensured mainstream candidates never threaten their bottom line. As a consequence, the scope for debate between the two political parties is virtually meaningless.

One would have thought that increasing income tax by 4.6% for those earning over $200,000 would inspire a moderate debate on the pros and cons of marginally increasing the tax rate for the rich. But given the screeching by the GOP and the media's insatiable desire to create conflict, it was treated like the introduction of Marxism to America.

In the depths of political punditry there exists a simple rule of thumb: There are two sides of an argument, one made by Democrats, and the other by Republicans - treat each with the same respect.

If you are looking to further your career in the main stream news, you must stick to this principle religiously. A multi billion dollar industry has been built out of refereeing the back and forth between the two sides, and pointing out that not only is the game is rigged, but one side is living in a fantasy world completely devoid of facts or basic truths won't do anything to further your career.

The truth of the matter is that there is no equivalency between the Left and Right in America.

The Left exist in a paradigm still vaguely related to reality. Democrats recognize that the free market cannot solve all of humanities problems, that invading other people's countries isn't the best way to change their minds, and that there are bigger threats to national security than gay marriage.

This isn't to say the Democratic Party isn't deeply corrupt, beholden to special interests, and run by a bunch of Rovian careerists hell bent on victory at all costs. It's just not comparable to the Republican Party.

The GOP has been hijacked by a lethal combination of free market zealots and religious extremists, making its contribution to the national debate simultaneously hilarious and terrifying. The thinly veiled racism and extraordinary vindictiveness leveled at Obama for the very slight changes he has made in domestic and foreign policy has been mind blowing to watch. The party has opposed the stimulus package, healthcare reform, initiatives to stop global warming (many Republicans still don't believe it actually exists) and the extension of unemployment benefits in the worst job market in 80 years. The Republican party's de facto leaders, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck have successfully managed to whip up middle America into such a frenzy that vast quantities of the country genuinely believe Obama is the embodiment of a love child between Adolf Hitler Mao Tse Tung.

In any other industrialized nation on earth, Obama would be considered a mildly conservative centrist with some liberal tendencies - probably closest in ideology to David Cameron of the conservative party in the U.K. But the GOP has successfully shifted the debate so far to the Right that they can paint Obama as an extremist socialist/communist/liberal.

Unfortunately, the mainstream media has merrily gone along with the premise, treating arguments put forward by each side equally. Whenever anyone comes along and points out the obvious, they are cast as an extremist and 'outside of the mainstream'. As the debates shifts further and further to the Right, so to does the MSM, regardless of how ridiculous the it becomes.

Take for example, the health care debate. The fact that the public option became the focal point of the discussion is as much the media's fault as it was the Republican Party's. The extremely moderate position that a government run insurance option could help bring costs down for struggling families was treated like a giant battle between communism and capitalism. Instead of pointing out the obvious fact that Obama's proposal would not go nearly far enough in solving the catastrophic healthcare system, the media obsessed about increasing taxes on the rich.

While the range of debate is far wider in the blogosphere, most people still get their news from television. Unfortunately, they are only hearing a highly skewed debate that still operates on the premise that there are only two views on an issue -- the Democrat's and the Republican's.

And that is why change in America is very hard to enact.

Ben Cohen is the Editor of TheDailyBanter.com and founder of BanterMediaGroup.com

 

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Comments

[bob8jv]

Republican leaders, let’s give the American people straight talk. You believe in tax cuts. The American people also love tax cuts. Now, the republican leaders have stated that the previous administration failure was that they did not cut savings to offset the tax cuts. Well tell us what these saving cuts are. You must know them by now. The American people have the right to know. We should have the option of supporting or not support the saving cuts you spill out. Or the option to support your tax cuts or Obama’s smart tax cuts before we cast our critical votes.

[bob8jv]

We cannot wait to pass health care next year. We must pass it this year. No bill is ever perfect. Congress will never get a bill perfect to pass. This is basic knowledge. Congress should know this by now. The far-right republican leaders will surely block it if delayed and will try to kill all other Obama’s major policies. We need a flexible congress that can modify bills and quickly update them. We also need for congress members to stand up for their own convictions. Standing for bipartisanship should be a prerequisite before becoming a congress member. This message dated 11/03/09 in the future may be sent several times for confirmation.

[ChicagoBob]

There is no doubt that the MSM has failed us when it comes to telling the truth.

Sure, there was always a slant, a spin, an agenda present in the various sources but it was possible to get a fairly accurate picture of what was going on and who was being reasonable.

Unhappily, those days seem to be gone. Investigating, fact checking, factual reporting all seem to be on life support while opinion and distortion thrive.

Hopefully this is the swing of the pendulum, but I doubt it. Corporate control of the media means the bottom line is more important than a well informed electorate.

Reform will be very difficult and very slow in coming, if it ever does.

[arnray]

Couldn't agree with you more about false equivalency. It is lazy journalism at best. Every major news outlet has been refering to the public option as coming from the left. Wrong! The left wants single payer. Public option is a watered down version of what is truly needed to break the stranglehold of the insurance companies, bring down costs, and cover all American citizens. What we will end up is a watered down version of something was already watered down from the get-go. It will be as effective as homeopathic "medicine" is compared to real medicine. No better than the placebo effect.

[wonder6789]

The GOP in any other advanced country would be the fringe extreme-right party receiving 10 or 12% of the natonal votes at the very most.

The fact that this fringe extreme-right party receives at least 3 times that amount in America, while there is no consequent left-wing party to speak of, is what's scary about this country, and what makes its political battles crucial not just to America, but to the world.