Campaign 2012

Why Ron Paul Gets No Respect

August 23, 2011

Rep. Ron Paul came in one percentage point behind Rep. Michelle Bachmann in the Iowa Republican straw poll, but – as Jon Stewart has noted – was still excluded from the Big Media’s list of who’s to be taken seriously in the GOP race. The Independent Institute’s Ivan Eland traces the media’s disdain for Paul to his criticism…

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TV Networks ‘Monetize’ Politics

August 22, 2011

More than a year before the traditional start of the U.S. campaign season – Labor Day 2012 – the political horse race is already heating up with an early measure of the field determined by how much money each contender can raise. As Danny Schechter notes, the TV networks end up as both handicappers and…

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The Myopic Madness of the GOP

August 20, 2011

Pretty much the entire field of Republican presidential candidates embraces hostility toward the federal government, driven either by religious fervor or a belief in unregulated capitalism. The GOP hopefuls are appealing to a large subset of the U.S. population that resents the modern world and the lessons of history, as Lawrence Davidson notes.

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The World at a Tipping Point

August 19, 2011

America and the world seem precariously balanced between those who wish to deny the many problems facing mankind and those who insist that the human race address the multiple crises confronting the planet. Winslow Myers sees reason to hope that the world will tip in a positive direction.

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The Dangerous Reagan Cult

August 16, 2011

Exclusive: Ronald Reagan’s anti-government philosophy inspires Tea Party extremists to oppose any revenue increase, even from closing loopholes on corporate jets. Democrats try the spin that “even Reagan” showed flexibility on debt and taxes. But Robert Parry says it is the “Reagan cult” that is at the heart of America’s crisis.

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Common Ground in Anti-War Appeal

August 16, 2011
Common Ground in Anti-War Appeal

The major U.S. news media is again focusing Campaign 2012 on personalities, gaffes and poll-measured momentum, a superficiality that has contributed to America’s dysfunctional politics for several decades. But ex- FBI agent Coleen Rowley describes her work with an anti-war group seeking to change that dynamic.

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Back to Big Media’s Political Circus

August 16, 2011

As the United States careens toward another economic crisis, the big-time U.S. news media is back to trivializing politics as some inconsequential sporting event where the competing sides score points measured by daily tracking polls. Danny Schechter dissects the madness.

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A Battle for America’s Lost History

August 15, 2011

For more than 15 years now, Consortiumnews.com has been fighting to recover what we call “lost history,” particularly the narrative of how the United States stumbled away from its noblest principles and abandoned a commitment to fact and logic.

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Should Christians Defend the Rich?

August 14, 2011

Republican presidential contenders – Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann – profess their Christian fundamentalist faith, but denounce efforts by the government to restrain the power of the rich. The Rev. Howard Bess looks at this enduring contradiction between Christianity’s principles and its alliance with the wealthy.

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Wisconsin GOP Hangs onto Senate

August 10, 2011

Exclusive: Wisconsin Republicans lost two Senate seats in recall elections Tuesday but won four others to keep control of the state Senate – and they have a chance to oust two Democrats next week. But the two Democratic victories prove the potential of grassroots organizing, says Lisa Pease.

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