What Would The Republicans Be Without Fox News?
by David BradleyWhat would the Republicans be without Fox News?
This is a question that I have been pondering for quite a while. Were it not for Fox News as a 24 hour a day, 365 day a year (yes even Christmas) purveyor of Republican propaganda, would the Republican Party still even exist? Or would the Republican Party have been forced to come to terms with the fact that their policies are so out of the mainstream that they could only get 20% of the vote and therefore must appeal to more voters?
The effect of Fox News has been manifold, but the biggest single effect is that, coupled with right wing radio carried everywhere by the likes of Clear Channel, right-wing spin on the issues of the day has become the frame with which we talk about ideas. Social Security is not talked of in terms of what tweaks could be administered to keep it viable long into the future, but in terms of how soon it will go broke. Thus, all purveyors of news use the Fox frame in their broadcasts, thus casting every issue in the light that Republicans want. Even NPR often uses the Fox framing.
When one framing predominates, it is very hard for alternative ideas to be viewed. And the rest of the mainstream media that is owned by major corporations is more than happy to perpetuate this dominance of the Fox framing. They are, after all, major corporations who spend millions to get their way with congress. Why not use their airwaves to push propaganda? Should they say, for example, “tax cuts for the wealthy” or “raising taxes during a recession?” I think you get the idea.
Besides being the table setter when it comes to framing, Fox also sets the table on what stories will be covered. Last week news came out assessing the Stimulus as a major success. Also, a story came out that much of the TARP money has been paid back and our government may actually make a profit on these loans. How many heard either story covered on TV or radio?
Finally, besides the setting the table on what will be covered and how it will be covered, there is the question of the relationship between Fox and the Republican Party. Since its inception in 1996, Fox News has essentially been a house organ for Republican propaganda. Had Fox not been there to pound day in and day out at the Clintons, would the Lewinsky affair or Whitewater have taken on such prominence?
Had Fox not been there shaping opinion behind the march to an illegal war, would the public have been so ready to accept our invasion of a country that had no connection to the 9/11 attacks? Or for that matter, would there still be such a residual belief in this country that Sadam Hussein was behind 9/11?
Fox has also been the push behind such extreme concepts as Obama being of the Muslim faith, Obama not being born in the US and so on, so that they actually appear to be mainstream issues.
Creating doubt, pushing Republican policies, has been Fox’s policy since inception.
Last month their relationship was brought a little closer with an actual donation of money – $1 million to the Republican Governor’s Association. But in all honesty, this is just a very, very minute fraction of the in-kind donations that Fox has ponied up over the years. I have no idea what ad rates are, but figure about 45 minutes an hour, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year of propaganda. Since 1996, that adds up to one huge contribution from Fox.
Without Fox News, I have to think that the Republican Party would probably be heading toward being a regional party with roots in the deep south. But by making what were once extreme ideas into national issues and extreme politicians seem mainstream, Fox News has kept the Republican Party above water. Using the power of the media, I dare say that Fox has moved the Republicans further to the right than they would have moved on their own.
Bill Moyers is quoted as saying “One of the biggest changes in politics in my lifetime is that the delusional is no longer marginal. It has come in from the fringe, to sit in the seat of power in the Oval Office and in Congress.” One of the big reasons for that is Fox News.
~Dave Bradley is a self-described
retired observer of American politics “trying to figure out how we got
so screwed up.” An
Iowa City native currently living in West Liberty, Dave and his wife
Carol have two grown children who “sadly had to leave the state to find
decent paying jobs.”
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Then head down to your county Dem HQ and volunteer some time to help elect Democrats. You can find contact information for your Democratic county chair here.
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