Friday, October 16, 2009

STEWART NAILS REPUBLICAN HYPOCRISY

Here. (Be sure to watch the video at the end.) This is the way the "mainstream media" should have covered this story. (See this Daily Show excerpt for Stewart's nailing CNN coverage of SNL skit as news, and again scroll down for the video.)

[PS: Thanks Willy. Here's Stewart exposing rightwing media hypocrisy visa vis the Gay March on DC. Gotta watch it, and the ones above, to the end to get the full impact. And I gotta figure out how to embed them in posts.]

[PPS: Here's a pretty good summary of how "patriotic" the rightwing Republicans are.]

11 comments:

AlamedaTom said...

Yeah, I saw that and had the same reaction that you did. Also dug the bit he did on another recent show where he pointed out that the media hardly covered the LBGT march on Washington, and yet went nuts over a smaller "T-Bagger/Fox staged" march.

Butch in Waukegan said...

If the theme of this post is hypocrisy, then this article from today is pertinent.

Exclusive: W.H. helped create corporate-backed health care campaign
By: Ben Smith and Kenneth P. Vogel, Politio

At a meeting last April with corporate lobbyists, aides to President Barack Obama and Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) helped set in motion a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign, primarily financed by industry groups *, that has played a key role in bolstering public support for health care reform.

The role Baucus’s chief of staff, Jon Selib, and deputy White House chief of staff Jim Messina played in launching the groups was part of a successful effort by Democrats to enlist traditional enemies of health care reform to their side. No quid pro quo was involved, they insist, as do the lobbyists themselves.

The result has been a somewhat unlikely alliance between an administration that came into power criticizing George W. Bush for his closeness to Big Business and groups such as the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and the American Medical Association. **

The previously undisclosed meeting April 15 at the offices of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee led to the creation of two groups — Americans for Stable Quality Care and a now-defunct predecessor group called Healthy Economy Now — that have spent tens of millions of dollars on TV advertising supporting health reform efforts.

In the most recent ad sponsored by Americans for Stable Quality Care, Obama speaks directly into the camera for 60 seconds, extolling the virtues of health care reform ***, while text at the bottom of the screen encourages viewers to visit the websites of the White House and the Finance Committee, which this week approved a 10-year, $829 billion health overhaul.


* Isn't it wonderful that "our side" knows how to play the game.
** It isn't bad when "our side" does it.
*** Our President as corporate spokesperson. Move over Michael and Tiger.

JIm said...

CNN,Jon Stewart and SNL are reliably liberal. What is significant is that even liberals are waking up from their stupor and asking where is all the Hopey Changey Stuff. He can force things through with the Democrats control of the Congress but the polls are against him on the government takeover of health care, the government Tax and Cap and Trade bill. Polls reveal that the majority of Americans are concerned about the economy and the jobless recovery. Both bills raise the cost on the economy in the middle of a recession and or a jobless recovery because of the war against American business being waged by Obama and the Democrats.

Internationally, Obama is destroying US credibility. North Korea, Iran, Venezuela have told America to pound sand after his World Wide Apology for America tour. He unilaterally canceled the missile deal in Poland because it was determined that Iran does not have a long range missile and to appease Russia. A week later Iran tested a long range missile. Our loquacious but inadequate president has severely damaged ties with Eastern Europe at precisely the time that Russia is flexing their muscles. The Obama administration hints that the Russians will be with us on Iranian sanctions because we caved to their wishes on missiles in Poland. Putin subsequently said he has no interest in Iranian sanctions and than attacked our expansion of short range, shipped based, protection against Iran. JFK was inadequate against Khrushchev in Vienna and almost fumbled the world into thermo nuclear war because of early estimates of his weakness. Obama is even worse. Not only has he shown weakness, but he has shown anti American beliefs and goals. The strength of America flows from a vibrant free enterprise system. He is doing everything in his power to kill it in order to concentrate power in the central government. The guy is a disaster! I believe SNL left out his total failure in managing America's international policy. They should redo it and expand the report card.

Butch in Waukegan said...

The strength of America flows from a vibrant free enterprise system.

Free enterprise? Delusional. For example, health insurance in this country is a virtual monopoly. If this is how you define free enterprise you should be supporting Obama as he enhances corporate control over the citizenry.

The guy is a disaster! I believe SNL left out his total failure in managing America's international policy.

Translation: This is not your father’s Empire. Another example.

This my-party-is-great-your-party-sucks analysis doesn’t explain the predicament we’re in or help us change it.

JIm said...

Butch,
You are correct that the health care in the US is a series of state monopolies. This is so, because of government interference in the market place with mandates and rules that prohibit inter state completion. One of the main components of Republican health care reform is freedom of competition across state lines along with elimination of government mandates on the types of insurance that may be offered as well as tort reform. Harry Reid spoke disparagingly of tort reform the other day saying it would only save 84 Billion a year when “Obamacare Reform" would cost upwards of 2 trillion. Some reform!

In regards to International Diplomacy, modern Democrats in general and Obama in particular believe in peace through weakness as evidenced by his failure to support, Iranian dissidents, Russian appeasement and total retreat on Eastern European missile placement and on Obama’s anti American speeches in Cairo, the UN etc.

Ed Baker said...

yeah!

They've even dumbed-down the Sci Fi channel..

it is now the syfy channel
and
even has wrestling on it!

what the hell happened to live roller derby them girls had balls!

Anonymous said...

Our resident troll mentioned that "Obama has destroyed America's credibility." I wasn't aware that America had any credibility after the Bush/Cheney disaster. Hopefully, Obama can restore at least it.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous,
Al Qaida attacked and W. retaliated in Afghanistan. W, threatened Sadam. He did not cave and was destroyed. Qaddafi was afraid of W. and caved , giving up his nuclear weapons. When W. was president our allies; Israel, South Korea, Japan, Germany, France respected us and relied on our word . They no longer trust us or rely on us. Our enemies; North Korea, Iran, Islamic terrorists, and adversaries like Russian and China feared us. They no longer fear us, since Obama is anti American and pro international collective rule, which is in conflict with the US Constitution.
Obama has displayed weakness which has emboldened our enemies and appalled our friends.

JIm said...

I don't know how it came out Anonymous ssid .Obviously, that was me ,Jim.

Butch in Waukegan said...

The Republican Party is rife with hypocrisy and it’s fun to point out their inane and immoral behaviour, maybe because it’s so friggin easy.

But this diverts us from the Grand Hypocrisy at the root of our political and economic problems: one party criticizes the other for a practice that it routinely adapts for itself, and people are blind to their own party’s hypocrisy.

Remember when the Bush administration, after the Iraq invasion, picked a 24 year old to set up the Baghdad stock exchange?  Ha, ha, those Republicans, so corrupt, so incompetent.

Well, Obama's pick for Chief Enforcement Officer at the Security and Exchange Commission (regulator of banking and finance) is a 29 year old whose only work experience is at Goldman Sachs.


Follow the “logic”:
— the banks and financial institutions ran our economy into the ditch
— taxpayers shelled out trillions of dollars bailing out these same banks
— Obama appoints an inexperienced tentacle of these banks to police their conduct.

No wonder Goldman Sachs is swimming in money - they took it from us and there is very little chance they will be made to give it back.

This goes against everything Obama’s campaign said he was going to do. Hope and change?

Anonymous said...

John Stewart, Cenk Ughar, Frank Rich, and Bill Maher (with good back-up from Rachel Maddow & Kieth Olberman)---they are the essential truth-tellers in our national life. "The Daily Show" is absolutely vital. May the Great Spirit of Secular Humanism watch over them all.
---TPW