Imagine that

Peter Daou, who blogs at Salon, has a post which is related to our LWL ("Ladies Who Lunch") conversation today, at the Daou Report. As Daou notes:

What's the common thread running through the past half-decade of Bush's presidency? What's the nexus between the Swift-boating of Kerry, the Swift-boating of Murtha, and the guilt-by-association between Democrats and terrorists? Why has a seemingly endless string of administration scandals faded into oblivion? Why do Democrats keep losing elections? It's this: the traditional media, the trusted media, the "neutral" media, have become the chief delivery mechanism of potent anti-Democratic and pro-Bush storylines. And the Democratic establishment appears to be either ignorant of this political quandary or unwilling to fight it.

How true.

The LWL were discussing the fact that the Republican Party manages to maintain control by requiring strict adherence to the "party line." A Stepford Party, if you will. The desire not just to win, but to adopt a "scorched earth" policy to emasculate and destroy dissenters (of either party) has assisted in this regard. Democrats haven't been able to adjust to this unrelenting assault on every statement, every position they try to take. The end result is that most Democratic Party leaders can't take a stand on any issue. They are afraid to be attacked by the vicious Republicans or to alienate someone who might possibly still vote for them. Instead they alienate even their "base" of supporters by being so wimpy.

The press has contributed to this by being so reluctant (afraid?) to criticize the Bush Administration or the Republican Party. It's amazing the difference a new Administration makes! With Clinton, the press was perfectly prepared to attack and point out any and all potential missteps, lies and crimes, real or imagined.

With Bush? Nada. Fair and balanced is the new mantra. If Bush or someone in the Administration says UP, the press reports that, without any question, and merely adds that the Democrats dispute UP by saying DOWN. No independent reporting that UP is incorrect, misleading or an outright lie (or, if it should ever by chance occur, that UP is correct). Instead, the press merely recites the words from both sides, leaving the reader without a clue as to the "truth."

The power of the press to do good or evil is great. As Daou posits:

To illustrate the power of the media to shape public opinion, simply imagine what would happen if the cable nets and the print media and the elite punditocracy treated the warrantless spying scandal with the same round-the-clock intensity as the Swift-boating of Kerry or the Natalee Holloway disappearance. Suppose Lewinsky-style headlines blared about impeachment and presidential law-breaking. Suppose the question of the day on every cable net was, "Should Bush be impeached for violating the Constitution?" The media can create a crisis -- and can squelch one. The media can deliver narratives, they can frame events, they can shape the way Americans see the political landscape. A disproportionate amount of power is wielded by a handful of opinion-shapers, and when these individuals tell America a story that favors the right and marginalizes the left, the remedies are few.

Yes, imagine. Imagine what that world would be like.