A few days ago Karl Rove told Robert Siegel that whatever polls Siegel was looking at didn't matter because he - Karl Rove - had "THE Math." And then today on Morning Edition Mara Liasson and a guest commentator were discussing the poll numbers that continue to indicate that Republicans will lose (at least) the House in November voting. Liasson, commenting on Republican optimism, wondered "if they know things we don’t know," and was quick to remind listeners that "polls are not predictions." These sorts of statements really are maddening! NPR should be doing the work of discussing and investigating the kinds of voting manipulations and fraud that were so fruitful to Republicans in 2000 and 2004 (see previous post).Given the incredibly dismal state of affairs in Iraq/Afghanistan and the pathetic growth of the middle income wages, and the Foley scandal, etc... it really is hard to imagine the Republicans holding on to power in both houses of Congress. November's voting will be an interesting test of whether the Republican machine can pull off a really big steal (surely, ripping off so many unexpectedly challenged seats will be harder than targeting a few key states such as Florida and Ohio in 2000 and 2004 to only[!] steal the presidency.)
If NPR was at least reporting on the facts that are known about cage lists, challenging voters, uncounted votes, and Republican-connected Diebold junk voting machines, then people might not be so complacent when election results fly in the face of reality.
I'm very hopeful about the November vote, but I also have a nagging sense of dread that I'll wake up Wednesday, November 8th, to hear how Republicans have pulled off a stunning upset by "defying the experts" and have kept both houses of Congress. And instead of angry citizens taking to the streets to as in Mexico, it will be quiet and secure in the Homeland as Mara Liasson reminds us (as she did today) that Republicans succeeded because they have the "advantages in turning out their vote and money," and they are better than Democrats at "finding and targeting voters" -- I'll say!
2 comments:
Liasson is such a FOX shill. There should be no doubt that that's her *real* job. However, it was gratifying to hear the soundbite of that honery old (former Republican voting) Granny: "Bush wants his war...he can send his own family." That jibes exactly with what Juan Cole said today:
The only explanation of which I can think for the general collapse of this pillar of War party is that the political contests in mid-Atlantic and Southern states are generating television ads, candidate appearances and debates that highlight the catastrophe that is Iraq--and it is getting through to the church-goers at long last.
Mostly political discourse in the United States is dictated by the ruling party in Washington, and the mass media and press are most often nervous about getting out in front of the elected officials. But in an election season, the press is suddenly allowed to cover at least a narrow range of dissident views intensively-- that is, the views of political opponents of the incumbents. Since the vast majority of incumbents in the mid-Atlantic and Southern states are Republicans, the upshot is that a Democrat point of view is suddenly getting aired and reported on. And the Dems are mostly pretty critical of Bush's Iraq War.
You have to wonder, as well, if the Foley scandal has, so to speak, opened the evangelicals' ears to criticisms of the Republican Party status quo more generally, allowing the bad news about Iraq to sink in. I suggest it only because the story broke around the time that their approval for the Iraq War began to plummet.
Mara Liasson's chipmunk-cheeked proclamations are almost as bad as Cokie Roberts' watery 'well...we'll just have to wait and see...' wit and wisdom. I couldn't stand Mara's motor-mouthing all through the Clinton years, and even now, she's just as insulting, even though we aren't inflicted with her dreary presence nearly as often. She represents the very worst of NPR's 'we've got this baby all figured out' attitude.
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