The Media Loses Control (Of The Narrative)
The bias of the media, but particularly MSNBC, against Bernie Sanders has seemingly reached its zenith. Host Chris Matthews compared Bernie’s win in the Nevada caucus to the Nazis entering France in June of 1940. You heard: Matthews compared an electoral win by a Jewish candidate, whose family members died in the Holocaust, to the Nazis. Stay classy there you political hack. In this piece, I hope to do three things. First, I want to look at Matthews’ remarks in a wider context, for he is hardly alone. Then I want to respond to calls that he should be fired for these remarks. Finally, I want to look at the great secret that this saga reveals.
Chuck Todd and ‘Digital Brownshirts’: Evidence Of A Larger Problem
Matthews is the current focus of the ire of the politically sane. But he is by no means the only pundit to make a Nazi reference about Bernie Sanders. Chuck Todd quoted an article wherein Sanders’ online supporters were called ‘Digital Brownshirts’, a reference to storm troopers in Nazi Germany. Todd went on to ask ‘what if you can’t win the presidency without an online mob’. That insidious remark requires some dissection.
What these petulant media types refer to as ‘an online mob’ is actually a passionate base of supporters. These people see ridiculous or uninformed takes that establishment types put on social media and they school them with the facts. These establishment types, not used to being people calling them on their lies, are lashing out because there is now a counternarrative. So-called Legacy Media (read establishment papers and TV) no longer have a monopoly on the flow of information. The advent of social media, for all its flaws, has broken this monopoly. Since Legacy Media cannot counter with facts, all they have is smear tactics and character assassination.
This explains the ‘Bernie bros’ narrative, where the media demonises Sanders supporters as nothing but angry white men. This is false as Sanders has a widely diverse coalition, but never let the facts get in the way of the narrative. But there is a contradiction at the heart of this strategy. The very voters they are demonising as ‘angry’ and ‘uncivil’ are the same voters they would demand fall in line and ‘unify’ around the media’s coronated nominee. Shaming voters for daring to support a non-corporate candidate then expecting them to fall in line behind a corporate candidate is madness. To demand unity after demonising voters is delusional. The Democratic establishment has clearly lost its mind.
The ‘Online Mobs’ Explained
To Chuck Todd and his fellow media midgets: why do you think Sanders and Trump have these passionate online followings? It is because, unlike you corporate shills in the media, these men have actual appeal. Now, who they appeal to and the basis of that appeal is totally different (no false equivalence here), but they are populist candidates who appeal effectively to their bases. These people are not ‘mobs’, they simply believe in their candidates and provide counterpunches to your deluge of corporate nonsense. Granted Sanders’ supporters are much better informed and their critiques of the media go beyond that great clunker Fake News, but the principle is the same.
HALT!: Chris Matthews and Cancel Culture
Matthews’ on-air antics have become increasingly unhinged following Sanders’ recent political success. The host infamously feared execution in Central Park under a Sanders Presidency in light of his wealth. Matthews looks increasingly like a child on whom it is dawning that some of their toys are about to be taken away. Matthews’ reaction is every bit as petulant as that child. He knows that part of Sanders’ agenda is a wealth tax, which is a small tax on wealth above a certain amount. The point of this is to partially pay for the populist reforms on which he ran. Taxing the good to benefit the poor?! The outrage!
Following the occupied France comparison, calls came thick and fast for Matthews’ termination from MSNBC. This has become standard in recent years: someone says something outrageous; the mob bays for blood and then claims moral superiority when the offender jumps or is pushed. This need not be the case regarding Chris Matthews. Instead, let him stay on the air and continue to expose the increasingly petulant oligarchy that America has become! Let him continue to make outrageous comparisons to gas chambers and other elements of the Nazi regime about a Jewish candidate! Let the corporate media structure commit suicide in public at the prospect of an actual populist candidate who wants to serve the people instead of the corporations!
In other words, my advice to anyone calling for Matthews to be fired is to play the long game. Between Matthews, the rest of the corporate media and the increasingly out of touch faux saviour Bloomberg, the establishment is doing your job for you! The establishment’s increasingly unhinged defence of their own privilege and wealth is a real-time political ad for revolution in America!
Conclusion: The Not-So-Hidden Secret
The petulant behaviour of the establishment, as well as the nature of their attacks on Sanders, shows that they are worried beyond measure. In addition, it shows that they have nothing of any substance to say in refutation. This is the great secret of this entire media tantrum: the peasants rejected your propaganda. They had the nerve to vote for the non-corporate candidate. You have no sway anymore. Hell, one woman even said she voted for Bernie Sanders precisely because MSNBC was so hostile to him. A useful real-time demonstration of propaganda rejection. The media has lost control of the narrative and they are lashing out like the thwarted children they are.
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11 comments
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Jack Cade
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Lambchop Simnel
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Phil Pryor
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Andrew Smith
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Jack Cade
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Brad Black
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Matters Not
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Matters Not
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wam
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ajogrady
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paul walter
Return to home pageA caller to George Galloway – claiming to be a Democrat voter, said that Bloomberg is a Republican who is out to cripple the Democrats chances of beating Trump. Another caller – again claiming to be quite authoritative – suggested, quite seriously, that some sections of the US are considering what he termed ‘The Kennedy Solution’ if Sanders won, or even if Trump lost. By the Kennedy Solution he cited both Kennedy assassinations.
I’ve seldom agreed with a comment more than the one just offered up by Jack Cade.
It is a sick culture, alienated people armed to the teeth,galloping false consciousness, psychotic and easily manipulable.
The real US has been destroyed even more than the Australia we once knew, where the Fair Go was paramount.
What happens to a lunatic walking on the roof of a twenty story building wearing a blind fold (and brainwashed to believe this should be the norm)? The signs for western so called democracies are persistent and disturbing, self will run riot, fantasies inculcated by controllers themselves mad, heading for a dire fall of some sort.
Bushfire of the Vanities.
The U S A, (Untold Shithead Attitudes) is a pot of sludge, full of scrapings, scourings, scum, people who would not understand or submit or obey, whether in monarchy, religion, neighbours, borders. All sorts of aggressive criminality went there, refugees from reality who just wanted to do what they effing well wanted. Theft, murder, occupation, invasion, slavery, slaughter of indigenous, despoiling the land,, rape of nature, strip a sucker, con a fool, browbeat a soul, worship a money devil, just any thing any time to be supreme, be a winner, get noticed, hoard the money. They seem to hate and never trust each other, anyone else, strangers, foreigners, different people. A land of crippled souls, tortured minds, suspicious groups, superstitious idiots, fantasy loving frauds, wild empty skulls, what now??
And I thought MSNBC was the ‘liberal’ channel in the USA….. Also interesting Jack Cade’s comment re. Bloomberg, what’s stopping him running as an independent to split the Democrat and/or centre vote?
Meanwhile in Oz, Peter van Onselen who is generally quite a good scribbler got himself into knots over ‘socialism’ and ‘Nazis’ in 2018:
‘A prominent public intellectual, senior journalist and Sky News talking head has been taken to task for equating socialists and Nazis in an ill-thought out tweet. ‘
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/fascism-claims-another-victim-snowflake-tantrum-over-misjudged-tweet,11802
What was he thinking, what compelled him to make such a stupid claim? Or, is this reflecting the pressure or encouragement to gaslight the left (even though many on the right describe van Onselen as ‘left’) by media organisations’ owners and/or sponsors, their political bias and cultural DNA?
Andrew Smith
What is to stop Americans voting for Bloomberg as an Independent? Nothing, excepting Americans don’t vote for independents and Bloomberg would be seen as a Republican standing as an independent and taking Trump votes anyway. He endorsed Trump, so even the RW shitheads wouldn’t fall for that.
It has been posited, seriously, that even if Trump was defeated he would refuse to go and rally his large base to civil disobedience.
The US seems to be a riven society (as does Britain and as, increasingly, does Australia.)
Remember Clinton’s reference to the ‘despicables’? It backfired and so will attempts by the media to negatively characterise Bernie. His support base know him too well.
Brad Black – re Clinton and accuracy. Try deplorables – as in basket of deplorables.
Re the MSM:
Really? Maybe a tiny bit? Or perhaps even a tad more than that?
I am usually a pessimistic political simpleton but after the nevada win for some reason I feel positive.
Trump is what america deserves and he may yet drain the swamp not by his direct actions but by so demeaning america that he incites the young to vote for sanders.(at his age he should pick a classy deputy)
This time a reverse miracle unless trump uses a psuedonym engages booobby
Sanders and Trump both appeal to the people, not the corporate genuflecting political parties. Bernie Sanders scares the hell out of corporate America and also the corporatised Democratic Party. Andrew Yang said on CNN, after dropping out of the race, that what he found as he went around the country was that working class people felt that the Democratic party did not represent them anymore. Bernie Sanders is talking to working class people about their disaffection. He has answers for their fears, anger,hopes and dreams. Sanders is talking about inclusiveness, empathy and a country that is good for the many not just the anointed few. The people are listening and listening hard. The people will elect Sanders despite all the white anting efforts of the Democratic Party political machine.
Just thinking what a problem this obsession media has for “controlling the narrative” and how this has infiltrated even the better sections of press and media, eg the ABC.
Gaslighting, doubling down, dumb down or defensive lead in and headliners, formatting, loaded terminolgy, on and on.