by exploited » Fri Apr 08, 2016 11:52 am
This is the thing Indy: I didn't contend there was "no connection." What I said was that you are drastically overestimating the impact of media. That's the thing: there is a connection, but that connection really only applies to those who are "consistently conservative," and tend to be over 45-50 years old. In other words, insane right-wing Boomers. But even then the impact is still somewhat minimal, as only (roughly) half of the consistent conservatives rely on that type of media.
You are simply assuming that this vocal minority is an accurate reflection of how the rest of the party feels. I don't think that is the case at all - I think that the Republican Party has an extremist, absolute minority, who is incredibly politically active and very vocal, and that because of this, their power over the party is vastly disproportionate to their numbers. I think that most people are completely burned out trying to deal with these extremist elements, and have largely given up not only on the Republican Party, but on party politics in general. I think that the media has had a dramatic impact on conservatives, but only on those few conservatives who are bat-shit crazy and spend all day listening to the same tripe - on the radio, on TV, on the internet. And there is a feedback loop: corporate media likes noisy, dramatic people, and so noisy, dramatic people get covered more, which in turn increases their power, which causes more coverage, etc.
We are living in an age of massive apathy, where people aren't participating anymore. People have largely rejected the idea that the system works for them, or can change for them. So who are they turning too?
They are turning to people like Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. People they perceive as outsiders, willing to say the things that the Establishment candidates will not. Now, those perceptions might be untrue, and their support for those candidates might be misguided - but they definitely are not supporting these people because the media said so. The media hates both those candidates. What does that tell you?
People are sick of the establishment. They think that ANY alternative to the establishment is better than the establishment itself. That's how bad it has gotten.
Frankly, I don't disagree. I think Trump is a complete moron, but I'd still vote for him over somebody like Clinton (if I could). Because while he is a moron, he at least says what he means (even if what he means is nuts). People are sick of candidates getting up in front of the cameras and giving polished little speeches and making stupid promises that never amount to anything. They would rather see a raving moron elected than have to go along with the delusion that the establishment candidates might actually give a shit about the voter, might mean what they say, etc., even as they sell them out to big business.
Now, just to be clear, I am not saying that Sanders is as bad as Trump. I like Sanders, and I think he is still the best choice for President (despite a few serious misgivings I have, planted by Comrade). But at the end of the day, he isn't what I want from a candidate. His politics have been unchanged for 40 years. His idea of revolution is universal health care. He'll never get behind a universal guaranteed minimum income. He'll never get behind the total abolition of the war on drugs, the total legalization of prostitution, massive investments in space technology, cutting military spending in half, etc. He really isn't a good candidate based on what I actually want. But he is willing to behave, say, and pursue things, in ways that are different than the establishment.
I suspect that there are MANY people who are like me, in both parties. I suspect that if either party put forward a candidate with truly forward-thinking ideas, based on their respective ideological assumptions, those candidates would enjoy massive success. But instead we are electing candidates who aren't very good, simply because the alternative is a fundamentally broken system.
You talk about the oligarchy all the time, but I don't think you really grasp it. The oligarchy is real. Our democracy is a total sham. People realize that, and that's how guys like Sanders and Trump get elected.