Standing Watch

One look at the news over the last few weeks, and anyone would reasonably think the United States was about to come apart at the seams. To say the national debate on various issues has become a bit heated would be an understatement. From gun-toting protesters to shouting matches at so-called “town hall meetings,” to also-ran and former politicians attacking everything about this country, hardly a day goes by when many of us aren’t left wondering what the hell is going on.

In military and intelligence terms, it’s known as The Wurlitzer. The tactics are fairly basic, and usually covert:

Begin a mass media disinformation campaign regarding a particular government policy or particular government official(s) through editorial and opinion commentators which do not fact check anything they happen to agree with, or who have been given a financial or other incentive to cooperate with the disinformation campaign.

• Expand such editorials and commentaries into mainstream media news articles using fabricated or outright fictitious evidence, which is presented as factual.

• Create an opposition movement based on the disinformation now widely covered in the media.

• Stage angry protests that will have the widest possible media coverage, to show widespread opposition to whatever policy or official(s) is/are being targeted.

• Utilize “fringe” radical groups to infiltrate staged protests and threaten or actually carry out acts of violence.

Eventually, the process becomes self-sustaining and cyclical, repeating and expanding until the policy, official(s), or even entire governments, are defeated, and new policies, officials, or a replacement government more friendly to the wishes of those utilizing the Wurlitzer tactics are in place. Usually, these tactics are far more covert than what we’ve been seeing lately here in the United States. These tactics are usually employed in two ways:

• By the US government when seeking to effect change within a foreign government, or

• By totalitarian governments seeking to control there own people.

In other words, it is usually a tactic employed exclusively by nation-states. Unfortunately, the tactic has now evolved into one employed by transnational corporate interests with no loyalty to any nation or political principles, whose sole interests are their bottom line. These corporations, who now own the media, now also have the financial and military capabilities to overthrow governments who act contrary to their bottom line wealth and power interests. The goal today is a simple one, the take down and replacement of the current political leadership, and the discrediting and abolition of the current political party in power, in order to prevent the passage, enactment, and enforcement of any regulatory or legislative rules that are contrary to corporate interests.

Here are but a few examples of recent activities by the corporate media to create a climate of fear, hatred, and violence within the United States:

• On August 12, 2009, it was revealed on the web site TPMMuckraker that CNBC (owned by General Electric) had solicited Tea Party Patriots, an anti-Obama conservative group, to stage “an event this week that will have lots of energy and lots of anger.” http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/08/email_tea_baggers_hoping_for_riot_at_rep_scotts_to.php

• CNN’s Lou Dobbs (CNN is owned by AOL/Time-Warner) is considered one of the driving forces behind those who claim President Barrack Obama is not a natural born citizen of the United States, at one point implying Obama may be an undocumented alien (the one and only time I’m aware of Dobbs ever used this term in such context, rather than the term “illegal alien”).

• Fox News Channel (NewCorp) is the main force behind Sarah Palin, the leading advocate of the false premise that health care legislation currently proposed by the Obama Administration or under consideration in the US House of Representatives or US Senate contains so-called “death panels,” or otherwise advocates euthanasia be used against the elderly or disabled.

• Rush Limbaugh (Clear Channel) continues to support all three disinformation campaigns, and has gone so far as to advocate violent direct action at the Democratic Party Convention in Denver, CO in August 2008 by those opposed to an Obama nomination for President of the United States.

This represents a concerted and coordinated attack to cripple the United States government, and in particular the Obama Administration, at the behest of various corporate interests, using the main driving engine behind the Wurlitzer tactics, the mass media. The result has been an increasingly angry and potentially violent campaign, most recently against any proposals or legislation under consideration with regards to the health care industry, and in particular the insurance industry. Plans are already underway to utilize the same tactics in upcoming debates on energy and environmental issues as well, and later against any legislation that would change the rights status of gays, lesbians, and transgender persons at the federal level (a concession to the religious extremists opposed to such rights in any form, in exchange for their support of corporate interests).

What makes the Wurlitzer tactic so effective is the use of mass media, which people rely upon to be at least somewhat factual and truthful. Unfortunately, with the elimination of the so-called Fairness Doctrine by the Reagan Administration in 1981, unbiased reporting of facts in the media are long gone, replaced by sensationalism and bias that is generally politically or economically motivated (usually both).

While former Alaska governor Sara Palin is widely seen as the source of the “death panel” and “potential for euthanasia” lies with reference to any health care proposals and legislation under consideration, she is not the original source. The original claim was made last February by Betsy McCaughey in her column on Bloomberg’s (Michael Bloomberg is a 92% shareholder in the limited partnership, and is currently mayor of New York City) web site (see http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=aLzfDxfbwhzs for the actual column). McCaughey, a former GOP lieutenant governor, Wall Street banker, and staffer at numerous conservative think tanks, was also (until just a few days ago) on the board of directors of Cantel Medical Corporation. McCaughey resigned that latter position on August 20, 2009, amidst accusations of conflicts of interest. McCaughey had been a director for Cantel since 2005, and had previously opposed any health care reform efforts during the Clinton Administration.

When it comes to the Tea Party Patriots, Fox News Channel’s hand in the creation and promotion of this particular movement is fairly obvious, especially the involvement of Glenn Beck, through his self-titled radio and television shows. Beck went so far as to proclaim the protests on April 15, 2009 as the “FNC Tax Day Tea Parties,” making quite clear the depth of media involvement in what was prior to that being portrayed as a “grass-roots movement of independent groups” by the Fox News Channel and other NewsCorp media outlets. On the political side of this movement, FreedomWorks, a creation of former GOP politician Dick Armey. Freedomworks is, quite literally, behind the intentional disruptions of many of the so-called “town hall” style meetings between constituents and their elected representatives to discuss health care reform, resulting in most accomplishing absolutely nothing. Armey’s then employer, DLA Piper, had received over $1.2 million from pharmaceutical, health care, and medical insurance clients during this period. Armey has since been asked to resign, after a reported deal was reached between the Obama Administration and PhRMA, the main lobbyist group for the pharmaceutical industry.

But the real hate campaign, the one most likely to result in direct violent action, is one that is strictly media fueled and driven, the so-called Birther Movement. Most notable is the involvement of Lou Dobbs on his self-titled cable show on CNN, who as I stated above had actually hinted that Obama might be an “undocumented immigrant.” While Dobbs is generally careful to distance himself from the “birther” movement, he has made repeated calls for Obama to release his “long form” original birth certificate to the public for scrutiny.

But, no matter what official documentation is provided, so-called birthers will never be satisfied. The various conspiracies that comprise the birther movement are so far reaching and speculative as to be ridiculous at best. Birthers are now ready, in the event Obama ever does authorize a public release of the one and only original birth certificate, to claim it is a forgery. That claim is already being fueled by allegations that someone was able to recently purchase the original printing press used to generate such birth certificates. The claim has no basis in reality and remains unproven, but birthers believe it.

What is most alarming about this movement is who it is attracting, mainly neo-nazi, KKK, and other white supremacist movements. This would explain why so many in the media while supporting a call for Obama to release his so-called “long form” birth certificate, are careful to couch such concerns about Obama’s citizenship in such a way as to distance themselves from the main movement they are supporting. Some of these groups see an Obama presidency, combined with the birther conspiracy theorists, as the ultimate recruiting tool for their cause, while increasing numbers are seeing it as a reason for more direct, read violent, action. Anti-government militias have also adopted the movement as a recruiting tool, along with the Tea Party Patriot movement.

And it’s all coming to a head right about now. What we are seeing is a confluence of corporate, media, and extremist political and hate groups working together towards one goal, crippling the Obama Administration and the federal government. They are utilizing fear, disinformation, outright lies, and hatred to achieve this goal. The overall movement is so extensive that it is impossible to know just how things will turn out.

For certain, the Obama Administration and Congress have been crippled into inaction, forced to back away from stated political objectives that were the reasons behind voters electing them in the first place. In all likelihood, most Democrats seeking re-election in the 2010 midterm elections will not be re-elected, due to a combination of the Wurlitzer effect and voter dissatisfaction with the inability of Democrats to stand up to this sort of tactic and still get things accomplished that the majority of Americans want and need. Also certain is the end of any progressive movement in this country for at least a generation.

What isn’t certain is just how far the corporate owned and controlled media will take this. Never in my life had I imagined civilians showing up at presidential events carrying semi-automatic weapons, coordinated unrest at political gatherings of constituents at meetings with their elected officials, or such blatant media involvement in the whole thing, especially in this combination.

I fear for the future of this nation, and that it may be shorter than we think. We currently have a set of conditions similar to what was seen both prior to our own Civil War, and to the later rise of the Nazi movement in Germany. What it looks like to me is the rise of fascism, a radical and authoritarian political ideology combined with a corporatist economic ideology. The elements are in place, after all, complete with a religious scapegoat (Muslims in this case), an economic scapegoat (liberals and intellectuals), and a moral scapegoat (LGBT persons). Nazi Germany didn’t happen overnight, it took almost a generation. How much longer this movement takes remains to be seen, since nearly a generation has already passed since it began in earnest.