The Corporate Media Engineers an Election By the Numbers

By Lloyd Hart

Never has there ever been a more profound example of the corporate media engineering an election and yes I mean a more profound example than even election 2000. I decided to keep track of this election statistically and compare how the statistics play out with the hyperbole and slant that the corporate media indulged itself in during the special election to recall Gov. Gray Davis in California.

With 99.8% of precincts reporting as of October 8th. 2003 at 2:43 p.m. the number of Californians that had voted in the recall was 7,898,606. The corporate media overwhelmingly from CNN to NBC to NPR described the number of voters going to the polls on the day of the election as a "huge turnout". One commentator even went so far as to say "record turnout". And of course the number being touted around by all the corporate media outlets the day after the election was a "60 percent turnout". No matter where I went all I heard were that huge numbers were going to the polls while I was monitoring the corporate media the day of the election. And of course this is what the corrupt establishment elites want us to believe. They want us to believe that Arnold Schwarzenegger has such overwhelming support in California and that he has such a huge mandate to knock heads in Sacramento that the Democratic dominated legislature in California will simply roll over to Arnold's demands. In fact, it is strictly an illusion of numbers. Registered voters vs eligible voters.

In California there are 21,833,141 eligible voters. Of those eligible voters 70.45% or 15,380,536 are registered. In order for 60% of the registered voters to have cast ballots, the number of those that voted in California's recall would have to have been 9,228,321 not the 7,898,606 that did. By putting out the hype that a perceived "60 percent turnout" occurred the corporate media are leading the public to believe a well crafted lie. That 60 percent of Californians voted whereas in fact only 51% of registered Californian voters went to the polls in the recall which represents a most terrible, horrendously low 36% of eligible Californian voters. Hardly the overwhelming a majority the corporate media is leading us to believe went to the polls to give Arnold Schwarzenegger a mandate. As long as the corporate media continues to lie to you in order to create the impression that democracy is alive and well and the lie is believed, the elites can continue to control the policy process in America. This deception is done with absolute deliberate intent for there has never been any feudal rulers that had any desire to give the ruled the lives that nature intended for them.

One of the other themes of the recall the corporate media was putting out was the "widespread dissatisfaction" and "anger" in the minds of the "majority of Californians" with the way Gov. Gray Davis was handling the budget and the economy. But as the above numbers prove, an overwhelming majority of Californians did not vote in the recall. So the corporate media cannot prove any of the statements that were made along these lines. Even the timing of the L.A. Times article, seven days prior to the recall, concerning the sexual assault Arnold Schwarzenegger allegedly committed against many numbers of women played into Schwarzenegger's camp. Not giving the allegations time enough to be transcended by the broader Californian public. But what does the corporate media care about the broader California Public, they have successfully engineered a majority of Americans out of the democratic process leaving them and their bosses and their bosses colleagues that make up the narrow minded elites in complete control of all policymaking in America. A heavily weighted toward the elites policy process indeed.

Now that the recall is over we can put our minds back on presidential candidates squaring off for the 2004 general election in which the corporate media are carefully attempting to engineer the next corporate shill out of the Democratic line up of candidates to either win or lose against George W. Bush. But who won't challenge the outcome of the election using the excuse Democrats used during Iran-Contra of not wanting to put America through another nationally demoralizing impeachment process removing a corrupt president like Ronald Reagan and his administration from office.

Pretty bleak outlook I realize. There is however a way out. The way out of the corrupt American electoral process is to promote overwhelming participation in the upcoming Democratic Party presidential primary. To promote the idea that people should vote for Congressman Dennis Kucinich and the Rev. Al Sharpton in the Democratic Party presidential primaries so that a Progressive platform can be created so a progressive candidate can inspire a majority of Americans to register and to vote.

The only way a progressive candidate can win the Democratic Party presidential primary is if the alternative media focuses on the issues that Congressman Dennis Kucinich http://www.kucinich.us/ and Reverend Al Sharpton http://www.al2004.org/ are focusing on. The overwhelming evidence is that Americans do not vote unless the issues that they care about are given an honest airing. And quite frankly, all my political research shows that if the American public are not provided with universal health care by either party as the baby boom generation begins to retire, a majority into poverty, a political crisis will begin to explode on to the political map of America. If the most harassed generation, the largest generation in history the world that is presently coming-of-age doesn't see the drug war ended and jobs provided to them an even larger political crisis will breakout. If the collapse of the global food and fresh water supply are not dealt with the world's worst political crisis will on leash a global war for food and water. If we do not make an effort to remove the elites from political power in America we will betraying the very flesh and blood that gives all of us life As of today Dadapop.com is officially endorsing the candidacies of Congressman Dennis Kucinich and the Rev. Al Sharpton for president in the Democratic Party presidential primary.

Dadapop.com has launched a voter registration bumper sticker campaign entitled "They're Corrupt Cause You Don't Vote!" http://dadapop.com/corrupt.html . Please come to the web site and take a look at this campaign. Americans need a new civics lesson and need to be told by other Americans that "They're Corrupt Cause You Don't Vote!"

We don't vote...

...because they are corrupt.

voting is a confirmation of your slavery to those that run your life.

and...fyi, i did vote against the recall. but i have no illusions about the power it gives me over my life; namely, almost none.

lots of other things to fight for daily...for starters, a run off election procedure.

000

To vote does do one important thing. It puts you on jurys and if you are clever you can participate in the decision of justice. So you may as well be at least active in spite of your disgust for the tilted scales we have to deal with.

Then you have no right to complain.

So feel free to shut up.