Readers Digest Democrats Enhance Trump’s Counter-Attack Capability
[NOTE: Originally published as a Facebook Note on February 5, 2018, now edited]
What is a Readers Digest Democrat? One who claims political left status but who actually functions as a Republican, i.e., one who is not an FDR Democrat!
This article began as a short Facebook paragraph of me complaining how Trump’s Internet specialists wrongfully commandeered YouTube images of the Anonymous organization, making it seem like this organization is part of Trump’s grand scheme army, when it’s not. Clearly, the Trump media forces piggy-backed onto the group and are making pro-Trump video clips appear as if it is official Anonymous material. I believe this is part of Trump’s strategy to widen his political base and to confuse anti-establishment people into supporting him.
America’s oligarch-owned monopolized news media has been guilty of lies, distortions, omissions and perversions of truth. Whereas in previous years this this has happened, then more an exception — today, it’s become common. Since the 2016 election we’ve been dosed with yellow journalism on a near-weekly basis. The dosing has been very similar to the reporting in the build-up to the War on Iraq.
Televised news networks and print media— unlike previous presidential elections — presented daily Clinton’s “pledged” super delegate count as “won” delegates after each primary or caucus. The media did not report what they really were: endorsements which can become subject to change. A “won” delegate does not change. The effect of this was to make Clinton’s delegate lead appear invincibly larger.
Moreover, the main media:
- Claimed, as if fact, that Russians hacked the DNC. This is wrong since contrary solid and credible forensic evidence exists to show the Wikileaks-exposed DNC documents were leaked. Contrarian investigative findings went unreported.
- Ignored Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh’s audio statement that Seth Rich was the leaker.
- Asserted Russians hacked America’s electric grid.
- Failed to report on the federal lawsuit against the DNC in a Florida Federal Court.
- Inadequately covered the story about how the Clinton Campaign lost a laptop in the mail, smashed hard drives and turned in Blackberries with the SIM cards missing.
- Completely failed to investigate and report on Trump’s then-known Russian business ties and past shady business deals when he announced his candidacy. Trump got a free media ride before, during and after he announced.
The list is long and goes on and on. Perhaps the biggest media failure is it has failed to investigate itself, a major news story! But the five corporations which control 90% of all media have severely, and jointly, slashed investigative journalism budgets and they’ve dismissed all of the once-important ombudsmen who previously provided criticism and would grade the media for its accountability to the public.
Right-Wing YouTubers
Hence, there’s been a tremendous rise in YouTube Internet journalism as people genuinely seek independent news and validation elsewhere.
Trump’s behind-the-scenes political operatives use a host of YouTube personalities who paint an image of Trump as hero “draining the swamp” and that he represents those who’ve been shut away from society. These independent so-called YouTube ‘truth tellers’ sort of pride themselves as a new kind of New Age of Nixon’s “silent majority.”
These YouTube pro-Trump independents promulgate an attack strategy cloaked in terminology of “truthseeking” and “patriot,” and they hammer away at what they describe as “globalists,” or members of a “deep state” tied into the Bush-Clinton legacy.
They do this on three fronts:
1) The YouTubers attack and call for arresting just about anyone associated with Clinton, the ultimate goal being to “lock her up.” The problem with this is Clinton and her cohorts have committed so many wrongdoings that those involved with exposing her gain traction and support among people who otherwise would pay little to no attention. Ironically, mainstream media announcing the existence of “fake news” — when itself demonstrates multiple instances of “fake news” — actually drives more attention towards these YouTubers.
This, in itself, is an excellent reason for Democrats to put the Clinton operatives — who now control the DNC and state committees — out to pasture. They seriously harm the image of the Democratic Party and provide the Trump forces with too much undeserved counter-attack capability.
They also debilitate and demean the voice and message of heartfelt progressives who for decades have introduced many great ideas into mainstream society. These progressives, myself included, thus lose standing when we get grouped with the Readers Digest-type Democrats who are supported by the same neocons who brought us the War on Iraq and continuing Middle East turmoil. Clinton politics are not left politics!
2) The “patriot” YouTubers conflate PizzaGate and PedoGate and try to pin this onto Clinton operatives and other high-powered elite politicians and government officials. Many theorize Guantanamo is being used to imprison these perpetrators. They theorize white knight Trump is aiming to arrest them all. They even track plane flights where transponder codes go blank, thinking they are transporting those secretly indicted.
Perhaps this is why Democratic leadership has recently begun to emphasize human trafficking as a major issue of public concern. Presently, both right wing GOPwingers and Readers Digest Democrats compete to steal the high ground on an issue that normally should be perceived by everyone, regardless of political party, as important.
3) The “patriot” YouTubers also sow the seeds of distrust — much of it legitimate — aimed at the monopolized media, government officials and the various spy agencies. The problem here is too often they are correct on this. Today, we’re more likely to get a CIA-Pentagon influenced report from the main media rather than a true story resulting from solid journalism. Trump’s bombing the Syrian airport, the MOAB big bomb drop in Afghanistan and the recent Nunes memo controversy being prime examples.
When you add it together you’ll find these YouTube “patriots,” many of whom often intertwine religion with their broadcasts, see themselves as lieutenants in Trump’s secret army and that Trump came into power as a representative of God in order to clean house.
Astonishingly, they keep a blind eye when it comes to Trump’s personal fortune, how his actions in reality favor only the wealthy and how his cabinet is stacked with billionaires and generals who’d be perfectly happy with The United Police States of America. They’ve got Clinton masked as the only true threat when, in fact, it is both Clinton and Trump who are the true threats to world peace, labor policies friendly to workers health care, the environment and so on.
Indeed, America has become an oligarchy (see 2014 Princeton Study on Oligarchy) and it is a good cop (D) vs. bad cop (R) duopolistic form of government, with main media now running interference. Hello to perpetual war, income inequality and worldwide poverty as a kept condition!
The only reason the aforementioned YouTube presenters are able to continue is they are able to present too much truth into their otherwise slanted right-wing opinions. Thus, they gain followers.
How To Solve The Quagmire
These days you can no longer rely on information from the main media and it is imperative you question and verify virtually everything you learn on YouTube.
There is, however, a way for finding truth in media: Follow the Twitter accounts of current and former investigative journalists, authors and analysts and monitor what they and their colleagues are writing about. Often you can even interact with them. Couple this with news trends, compare for reference and greater understanding. If you are going to quote a news story always search to find the strongest reporting on the subject.
Finally, it’s the thinking of true progressives — who sadly and too often get miscast into the Clinton camp (again, Clinton is not left!) — who represent the best approaches to a fair and reasonable government. These progressives also represent the only viable threat to the selfish oligarchy which has ruled America since Reagan-Bush.
Do not be fooled by YouTubers who pose Trump as a savior. He is among the very worst of the greedy few! There may be a swamp of struggling creatures trying to find their way at the bottom, but there exists a filthy cesspool within the mindset of those who view themselves as on top of the world.
PS: The very first step for finding a cure for a better and less divisive society, a fair society, is to imagine what is in the heart of the person who attends Bernie Sanders rallies. Do you think anyone depicted in the above photograph of a Bernie Sanders speech is a bad person? I don’t. Join them!
Originally published at www.facebook.com.
