An emerging liberal echo chamber

[mot78]

Especially if Kerry wins in November, this will be confirmed. I believe we are starting to get our own echo chamber in place to counter the 30 year-old propaganda machine Nixon and Agnew first oiled up. Four years ago, we only had a few LW websites, like Bartcop and CommonDreams. Now, we have DU, Truthout, Tompaine.com, and a host of others. We practically own the blogosphere now with people like Kos and Atrios. AAR is doing well with younger listeners, and we harnessed the power of Meetup, where we're ahead of RW groups like Townhall and *'s official Meetup. We're now starting to centralize more and are fine-tuning our ability to bomard the mainstream media if they don't do their jobs right. We also have think-tanks like the Center for American Progress.

Regardless of this years results, we're doing pretty damn well compared to 2000 and 2002.

[NewJeffCT]

1. still a long ways to go, and don't forget Move On...

Center for Am. Progress is wonderful...

But, the RW views this as a long term struggle - it's taken them 30 years to get to the point where, Barry Goldwater - considered a looney wing nut in '64 - would now be considered a moderate Republican. People like Richard Mellon Scaife, Rupert Murdoch, Conrad Black, the Coors family, etc have given BILLIONS to RW orgs for these past 30 years.

If we pull off the upset & win in November, we need to keep up the pressure and view things as long term. Celebrate election night, and then get to work on mid terms in 2006 right after that, as well as any governorships in 2005... (ok, maybe celebrate the day after, too)

[kaitykaity]

2. But we have to gird ourselves

to counter the Thug attack machine if Kerry wins.
Instead of playing defense of the Pretender Boy, they
will go into full-throated attack mode on Kerry the
instant he takes the oath. Just like they did to
Clinton.

[mot78]

4. We didn't so shit to defend/support Clinton during his term

We lost in '94 not because Clinton was too "liberal" as the DLC suggested, but because we were outgunned by Limbaugh et al. and were hit with their "Angry White Male" campaign, as well as a 30%+ turnout. We spent most of the Clinton admin. apathetic to politics (like in the case of NAFTA, where many of the LW rank-and-file other than labor ignored NAFTA until * took office). We also let the Repugs gain and internet monoply with Drudge and FR, which they held until 2002 and 2003 with the rise of MoveOn, DU, and the blogs.
If we become apathetic again if Kerry is President, then we'll also be more likely to complain (and thus vote Green again in '08) if he capitulates and compromises with Repugs (which Clinton did while we stayed silent through complacency). If we keep up with solid grassroots during a Kerry admin, then he will keep more promises to us, and at least fight hard to our issues in the face of a hostile Congress.

[bushwakker]

3. I've come to believe that the media is everything

Without his army of local and national talkmeisters propping him up not only would Bush lose in November - but the GOP would not even nominate him. Impeachable scandals and outrages drift into the air, unknown to most citizens.

[HootieMcBoob]

5. And the Gore Cable TV channel

Whenever that gets cranked up will be a breath of fresh air.

[troublemaker]

6. You talk about an 'echo chamber' like it's a good thing

The apt phrase "echo chamber" refers to what happens when people limit their sources of information to only those sources that will tell them what they want to hear. As the loop closes the uniformity of viewpoint creates a powerful illusion that ones own views are universal and that any view one disagrees with is so extraordinary that it can be dismissed out of hand.

The profusion of media, particularly the Internet, make the effect much easier to achieve than in the old days.

I agree that there's a powerful leftist echo chamber emerging, meaning that leftists are increasing self-deluded, self-righteous and utterly unconcerned with the objective truth of things. It's an inevitable development wherever ideology exists but it's hardly a good trend!

This isn't a particular knock on the left. It just means the left is made up of humans, just like other groups. We humans prefer to hear agreeable points of view and when you can tailor news gathering the way we can today the formation of deluded sub-groups is inevitable no matter what the topic is.

[mot78]

7. We're entering a political Cold War and media arms race

Talk Radio and Blogs are our nukes, and think-tanks are our ICBMs.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

8. I think it was really just the wrong term

what the other poster seems to be applauding, is the emerging leftist information network (to use the term very loosely). As there has been on the right for a while. True, one could limit one's input to that info network only, and one would be subject to the 'echo chamber' label. But that is not necessary. But finally we are starting to be able to get our ideas and viewpoints out there and heard.

[Bandit]

12. You are just plain full of it

"I agree that there's a powerful leftist echo chamber emerging, meaning that leftists are increasing self-deluded, self-righteous and utterly unconcerned with the objective truth of things. It's an inevitable development wherever ideology exists but it's hardly a good trend!"

I think you don't have a clue. There has been an incessant Echo Chamber from the right for two decades and some of it including your post end up on a liberal forum.

You are the lucky first one to make my ignore list

[Joanne98]

9. Did you notice the hearing yesterday where the PIGS were talking

about auctioning off part of the digital spectrum? You bet they think ahead. WAY ahead. grrrrrrrr

[Robbien]

10. You are leaving out David Brock

He is taking on the RW media and is getting noticed.

He is going to be an important cog in the LW wheel of public information.

[mot78]

11. I LOVE his book

It's the best one so far that explains the rise of the RW echo chamber.

[booley]

13. Don't forget Democracy Now! and FSTV!!!!

I have lost count of how many stories I have heard on Democracy now that the media buries for months only to suddenly "discover" it later, as if it was still news.

Hell, Free Speech Tv is why I chose Dish network to begin with.

but soem fo the above posters are correct. WE MUST NOT BECOME COMPLACENT! When Kerry wins (asuming votes don't mysteriously disapear again in Florida) the Cons wil be doing what they do best, fighting dirty and smearing.
A lie always sounds better then the truth in the short run.

[robbedvoter]

14. Maybe because they are against elections?

Sorry, but they make themselves irrelevant. I listened to their coverage of war. As soon as it was over, they went back to : "how can we be irrelevant?" BS.

[robbedvoter]

15. We better nurture it carefully - or we'll be back to point zero very soon

I feel guilty for being careless during the Clinton years. I feel that somehow my lack of vigilence brought about the present disaster.