SlowpokeBlogCommentary by Slowpoke cartoonist Jen SorensenWednesday, March 07, 2007Punk'd Again!
Someone needs to come up with a name for this phenomenon of wingnuts inventing urban legends about Democratic politicians that filter up through the mainstream media, only to become conventional wisdom. Just a few weeks ago, Nancy Pelosi was the target of one of these contrived scandals when the House Sergeant-at-Arms put in a request for a plane that can hold enough fuel to reach California. Some Republican lawmakers brought up the possibility of her flying on a Boeing 757, and by the time the media finished its gang bang, half the country believed she had requested a luxury jet. Now, a little BS nugget on the Drudge Report falsely claiming that Hillary was trying to speak in a fake southern accent has become the latest fabricated smear to spread far and wide. In short, she was quoting a hymn. Before you do anything else, go here and get the straight dope. Watch the video clip. Then ponder why the hell Drudge has so much power to dictate the national conversation.
This stuff, while totally stupid, is extremely powerful. The smears are all too believable because they fit into peoples' preconceptions about politicians; they are too delicious not to swallow. While few Americans are probably aware of the Bush administration's purge of U.S. Attorneys who wouldn't play their partisan game (according to Media Matters, ABC and NBC have yet to report on the story), everyone is sure to hear that Hillary spoke in a southern drawl. It's the kind of character-oriented story that's easy to understand, and easy for the cable news channels to cover. And it's completely antithetical to the cause of democracy. Links to this post:ARCHIVES 01/01/2004 - 02/01/2004 02/01/2004 - 03/01/2004 03/01/2004 - 04/01/2004 04/01/2004 - 05/01/2004 05/01/2004 - 06/01/2004 06/01/2004 - 07/01/2004 07/01/2004 - 08/01/2004 08/01/2004 - 09/01/2004 09/01/2004 - 10/01/2004 10/01/2004 - 11/01/2004 11/01/2004 - 12/01/2004 12/01/2004 - 01/01/2005 01/01/2005 - 02/01/2005 02/01/2005 - 03/01/2005 03/01/2005 - 04/01/2005 04/01/2005 - 05/01/2005 05/01/2005 - 06/01/2005 06/01/2005 - 07/01/2005 07/01/2005 - 08/01/2005 08/01/2005 - 09/01/2005 09/01/2005 - 10/01/2005 10/01/2005 - 11/01/2005 11/01/2005 - 12/01/2005 12/01/2005 - 01/01/2006 01/01/2006 - 02/01/2006 02/01/2006 - 03/01/2006 03/01/2006 - 04/01/2006 04/01/2006 - 05/01/2006 05/01/2006 - 06/01/2006 06/01/2006 - 07/01/2006 07/01/2006 - 08/01/2006 08/01/2006 - 09/01/2006 09/01/2006 - 10/01/2006 10/01/2006 - 11/01/2006 11/01/2006 - 12/01/2006 12/01/2006 - 01/01/2007 01/01/2007 - 02/01/2007 02/01/2007 - 03/01/2007 03/01/2007 - 04/01/2007 04/01/2007 - 05/01/2007 05/01/2007 - 06/01/2007 06/01/2007 - 07/01/2007 07/01/2007 - 08/01/2007 08/01/2007 - 09/01/2007 09/01/2007 - 10/01/2007 10/01/2007 - 11/01/2007 11/01/2007 - 12/01/2007 12/01/2007 - 01/01/2008 01/01/2008 - 02/01/2008 02/01/2008 - 03/01/2008 03/01/2008 - 04/01/2008 04/01/2008 - 05/01/2008 05/01/2008 - 06/01/2008 06/01/2008 - 07/01/2008 07/01/2008 - 08/01/2008 |



