Progress Report: Demonizing Dissent

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Wed, 24 Aug 2005 07:49:47 -0700

Progress Report: Demonizing Dissent

" American Progress Action Fund "

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AMERICAN PROGRESS ACTION FUND

The Progress Report

by Christy Harvey and Judd Legum with Nico Pitney and Mipe Okunseinde

www.progressreport.org

8/24/2005

 

For news and updates throughout the day, check out our new blog at

ThinkProgress.org.

 

IRAQ

Demonizing Dissent

 

As dissatisfaction with the administration's Iraq policy mounts,

President Bush's approval ratings have plummeted to just 36 percent --

three points lower than President Nixon's approval ratings during the

height of the Watergate scandal in the summer of 1973. According to

Gallup, " Americans have become negative about the war in Iraq more

quickly than they did for the Vietnam War. " The most recent quarterly

data found " 50% say it was a mistake to send troops. ... In the

comparable quarter for the Vietnam War, Gallup found 41% saying the

conflict was a mistake. " On the surface, Bush claims to respect people

who disagree with him. On Monday, a White House spokesperson said Bush

" believes that Americans, obviously, have a right to express their

views. That's part of being American. That's one of the things we're

fighting for. " In actuality, the administration has launched an effort

to demonize Bush's critics. It's an underreported aspect of a

coordinated public relations campaign by President Bush and his allies

to rebuild support for the war. Real leadership means accepting real

debate.

 

BUSH SPOKESMAN SAYS CRITICS WANT TERRORISTS TO WIN: Aboard Air Force

One Monday, " Trent Duffy, a White House spokesman ... said that

President Bush believes that those who want the U.S. to begin to

change course in Iraq do not want America to win the overall 'war on

terror.' " Duffy said that Bush " can understand that people don't share

his view that we must win the war on terror ... but he just has a

different view. "

 

RUMSFELD COMPARES CRITICS TO COMMUNISTS, STALINISTS: In a press

briefing yesterday Donald Rumsfeld, referring to Sen. Chuck Hagel

(R-NE), noted that " it's been alleged that we're not winning " in Iraq.

Rumsfeld made it clear that he has no respect for people who question

his policies or progress in Iraq. He noted that " [t]hroughout history

there have always been those who predict America's failure just around

every corner. At the height of World War II ... [m]any Western

intellectuals praised Stalin ... [f]or a time, Communism was very much

in vogue. " Rumsfeld added, " those being tossed about by the winds of

concern should recall that Americans are a tough lot and will see

their commitments through. " Apparently, our most important commitment

is a reflexive acceptance of Rumsfeld's policies.

 

BUSH SAYS SHEEHAN DOESN'T SPEAK FOR MOST FAMILIES: The White House

touts the " private meetings " President Bush has with the families of

fallen soldiers. Yesterday, at a resort in Donnelly, Idaho, Bush

dispensed with confidentiality to score political points. Speaking

with reporters, Bush claimed Cindy Sheehan -- a war critic who lost

her son in Iraq -- " doesn't represent the view of a lot of the

families I have met with. " Bush was met in Donnelly, a town of 130

people, by more than 200 protesters.

 

MEDIA

Networks Reject Ad Criticizing Their Coverage

 

Apparently you can't even pay TV networks to cover genocide. American

Progress and the Genocide Intervention Fund have created a television

advertisement for BeAWitness.org, our netroots campaign that calls out

the television news media for their deplorable coverage of the

genocide in Darfur. In the last few days, three Washington, DC

television affiliates, NBC-4, CBS-9, and ABC-7, informed us that they

refuse to air the ad. For months, these networks (as well as their

cable counterparts) have closed their eyes to the ultimate crime

against humanity. Now they won't allow people to purchase 30 seconds

of air time urging better coverage of the genocide. Send a message to

NBC, CBS and ABC demanding that the stations air the ad.

 

STATIONS EFFECTIVELY IGNORE DARFUR: Since the major networks seem to

have their hands full covering stories like Michael Jackson and the

Runaway Bride, the ad does what the media won't -- puts the spotlight

on Darfur, and suggests that genocide warrants increased coverage. ABC

News broadcast just 18 minutes of Darfur coverage in its nightly

newscasts in all of 2004 -- " and that turns out to be a credit to

Peter Jennings, " as NY Times columnist Nicholas Kristof points out.

NBC News featured five minutes, and CBS only had three, " about a

minute of coverage for every 100,000 deaths. " This past June, the

three networks combined aired 15 segments on Darfur. During the same

period, they aired 863 segments on Tom Cruise.

 

STILL WAITING FOR AN EXPLANATION: Not only did the networks refuse to

air the ad, but they did so without offering any explanation for their

decisions. All three responded in terse, one- or two-line e-mails. NBC

wrote, " WRC-TV has chosen not to accept the submitted commercial

advertisement, 'Genocide is News,' sponsored by BeAWitness.org. " The

CBS affiliate said, " Management did not approve the airing of the

" Beawitness.org " spot. " An official at ABC told us, " I just got word

that WJLA-TV will not be able to accept the creative for Be a

Witness.org. Please let me know if there may be any alternative

creative that we may run. "

 

EVER HEAR OF GLASS HOUSES?: If only cable news networks would be as

critical of their own coverage as they are of others'. Earlier this

month, CNN anchor Andersen Cooper launched an on-air critique of his

" cable competitors " for their " downright ridiculous " obsession with

the Natalee Holloway kidnapping case in Aruba. MSNBC host Dan Abrams

hit back the next night, slamming Cooper for trying " to jump on the

journalistic high horse, " and noting that Cooper himself had run

numerous segments on the " disappearance of the newlywed on a cruise

ship ... women who love killers and the Jackson jurors. " Today, CNN

President Jonathan Klein also lashed out, this time at cable ratings

leader Fox News. " Fourteen Americans dead, and they have Natalee

Holloway on, " Klein said of the Fox program hosted by Greta van

Susteren. " There are an awful lot of things you can cover if you don't

have people tied up with this meaningless nonsense. " Note to Kline:

one of those things is genocide.

 

 

UNDER THE RADAR

 

MILITARY -- CONFIDENCE RETREATS: A McCormick Tribune/Gallup poll

scheduled for release today reveals startling information about

Americans' confidence in military news. According to the poll, 54

percent of Americans say the military keeps them well informed, down

from 77 percent in 1999. Perhaps more surprising, the survey also

found that three quarters of Americans believe that the military

occasionally provides false or inaccurate information to the media.

Sixty percent of the public said they did not receive enough

information from the military to make informed decisions about such

affairs.

 

ETHICS -- BUSH ADMINISTRATION DEMOTES CAREER EMPLOYEE FOR TELLING THE

TRUTH: In yet another example of the Bush administration acting with

retribution against those who don't toe the party line, the New York

Times reports that the administration has demoted the Justice

Department's director of Justice Statistics, Lawrence Greenfeld. His

crime? Complaining that senior political officials were downplaying

data on the aggressive police treatment of black and Hispanic drivers.

Four months ago, political supervisors in the Office of Justice

Programs ordered Greenfeld to delete references to statistical data

showing that once they were stopped by police Hispanics were searched

11.4 percent of the time and blacks were searched 10.2 percent of

time, compared to only 3.5 percent for white drivers. Greenfeld

refused to delete the references from the news release, so the DoJ

attempted to bury the report by not issuing a release of the report's

findings. A source familiar with the dispute said, " Larry wanted to

ensure that the integrity of the data was not compromised, and that's

what's causing a lot of anxiety. We've seen a desire for more control

over B.J.S. [bureau of Justice Statistics] from the powers that be,

and that's what seemed to get Larry in trouble. "

 

WAR ON TERROR -- REST IN OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM: President Bush

often appears to use troops as props for photo opportunities; now he's

figured out a way to use them as propaganda even after death. In a

break from precedent, the Pentagon is inscribing headstones at

Arlington National Cemetery with more than the traditional name, rank

and date of death. Now the Defense Department is including its ad

slogan operation names -- " Operation Enduring Freedom, " " Operation

Iraqi Freedom. " Many families were upset that the grave of their loved

one was given the " special inscription " even when the family did not

want it. Others were simply taken aback by the Pentagon's willingness

to put PR slogans on graves. " It just seems a little brazen that

that's put on stones, " said Jeff Martell, who makes headstones for the

cemetery. " It seems like it might be connected to politics. "

 

HEALTH CARE: FAMILY CAREGIVERS IN NEED OF EXPANDED GOVERNMENT

ASSISTANCE: According to a new report by the Commonwealth Fund, family

members caring for sick or disabled relatives (approximately 16

million working-age adults) need assistance from expanded U.S.

government health care. " Allowing Medicare buy-in for caregivers of

Medicare beneficiaries, or tax credits for caregivers' medical

expenses, could ease their financial burden, " said Sara Collins,

senior program officer at the Commonwealth Fund and co-author of the

study. Caregivers are more likely than non-caregivers to stop work, to

miss days of work if they are employed, and to lack health-insurance

coverage. Kathleen Stoll, director of health policy at Families USA,

said, " Right now we have $10 billion in cuts on the table for the

Medicare program in the U.S. Congress ... so we're moving in the wrong

direction. "

 

DON'T MISS

 

IRAQ: White House's PR offensive on Iraq falls flat

 

VALUES: Pat Robertson's website values differ from the values he

espouses on his TV show

 

MILITARY: Army seeking to provide better protection for troops by

replacing Humvees

 

DAILY GRILL

 

" I talked to Condi, and there is not -- as I understand it ... the

constitution talks about [islam not as] 'the religion,' but 'a

religion.' " -- President Bush, 8/23/05

VERSUS

 

" Islam is the official religion of the state. " -- Iraqi draft constitution

 

DAILY OUTRAGE

 

Uganda has so mismanaged its AIDS funding that the Global Fund has

been forced to suspend its grants to that country.