Up against it

The wall blocking the truth has been built by industrious backroom handlers, spin doctors and paid political consultants. Our job, of course, is to get through it or over it, and we attempt to do it for you and for our own personal pride.

You are the consumers of news, and consumers are driven by want. In this case, you want to consume the reality about the political system that is in an unprecedented state of turmoil and change. Now more than ever, the citizens in this political system really need information, but the quest for evidence and logic in politics is as difficult as running a clean campaign.

The political handlers know that imagery and implication are the tools of salesmanship that work best with consumers. That’s why millions of American Indian gaming dollars are being funneled into television ads to sway voters. Image is paramount. It is all about the individual story that is created in this postmodern world. The facts and reason that the citizens need are shrouded or shut behind doors. That’s the way the political consultants in California want it and get it. But who are these handlers? Certainly, they weren’t elected by the citizens and therefore need careful, in-depth examination (see “Cruz controlled”).

The political society in California, the one that is under attack in the recall, is run by insiders and specialists who are simply out for themselves and want their candidates protected behind the walls.

Between the political consultants and the press handlers, scripted interviews and staged appearances, the press is actively discouraged from pursuing—even threatened to stay away from—issues that remain uncovered (see “Thugs and Hummers”). Is this case, it might have worked because we are forced to dwell on their tactics more than the issues.