The msm barely covers antiwar protests, but major coverage on immigration

[IsItJustMe]

When it's all said and done the anti-war protests will have been much larger (world wide matter-of-fact) than the ongoing demonstrations over immigration.

My question is this: Why the double standard in coverage?

[liveoaktx]

Pandering to Republicans... I went to a town hall meeting with my

rep some months back, and every single Republican that commented was upset about immigration and whether English shouldn't be the only language, etc. I didn't realize until then that immigration is a hot-button Republican issue to that extent. War-mongering is fine, though.

[mdmc]

3. so the GOP is against immigration?

[liveoaktx]

4. If you judge by the Republicans in a small town in Texas.. yes

it was every single Repub's mantra.

[mdmc]

11. are the dems in this small Texas town on the same page?

In my hometown, the Dems and the GOP can agree on almost everything.

[liveoaktx]

15. It's more that when the Dems stood up to speak, they had other issues

There were several people who brought up the war,how wrong it was, how it should end, Bush lying, etc, while the Republicans muttered to themselves and hissed.

[SaintLouisBlues]

14. For brown people, yes

No one here has a problem with the 50,000 Bosnian immigrants that have relocated to St. Louis over the last 10-15 years, but lots of people complain about the few thousand new arrivals from Latin America.

Not just Republicans either.

You could argue that the Bosnians are mostly here legally, and many Latin Americans are not. (Also, I think that most don't realize that Bosnians are Muslim, which I'm sure would ratchet up the moran factor)

[gizmo1979]

5. Immigration is a hot issue.

Also a lose lose issue.Bush is stuck on this one conservatives want strict policy but corporate america wants their cheap labor.So let the drums beat we'll see which way the twig.

[madokie]

1. Republican owned press

[Xipe Totec]

2. Simple. immigration is a wedge issue

the war is no longer a wedge issue.

The objective is to pit us against one another.

[rodeodance]

16. yeah, the war is boring--people blown up everyday, shot in the head. etc.

[Xipe Totec]

23. Not quite.

The war is NOT boring; the war is a horrible tragedy. Most Americans now agree this is true. On this issue, we are now UNITED. This is precisely why the Republican controlled MSM is moving away from this issue and embracing immigration. They are looking for an issue that can divide us.

[AndyTiedye]

25. It Is an Issue that Wedges the Republicans

The Rethuglican party is split right down the middle on immigration.
The crazywhitetrash hates it, and the cheap-labor repubs love it.

[Xipe Totec]

27. True enough,

But given the current situation at the polls, it splits Bush's support which is 36%, and splits the opposition, which is %64. So, at this stage of the game, it is a net win for them, even if it costs them core support.

It is a numbers game. It has always been a numbers game with KKKarl Rove in charge.

[Strelnikov_]

29. Agree. Thats Why Whatever Bill Emerges Will Appear To Be Taking

a hard line, when in reality nothing will materially change in the supply of labor to the labor black market.

This is why there is the highlight on border security. They will make a big show of it, lots of guns and uniforms, blown up a few brown people good for the benefit of faux 'news' viewers, have some highly publicized mass arrests, maybe arrest a few employers using illegals who are in arrears with their 'Pioneer' donations.

Basically, more 'shock and awe' for the sheeple.

And nothing will change.

Until the next election cycle.

Then rinse, repeat.

[rinsd]

6. The immigration protests have dwarfed the recent anti-war protests.

Plus its a "novelty" without trying to sound too insulting but I am unsure of a better description..

Protesting the war has become dog bites man.

[IsItJustMe]

8. Not by a long shot. Thats simply not true.

[rinsd]

18. I realize my post was a bit confusing

I am offering up media mentality on this issue. And these protests were larger than the past weekends anti-war events in this country. Also where the protests are taking place is significant.

[Vincardog]

7. KKKarl has decided that IMMIGRATION will win for The Republicans in 06.

The new meme is that Illegal Immigrants trump Illegal WAR. What a load of BS

[Terran1212]

9. They can make immigrant rights' proponents look bad easier

Too many people sympathize with antiwar sentiments right now. Bring out the immigrant boogey man!

[leftstreet]

10. IMMIGRATION = labor vs. labor WAR = labor vs. global corporations

:mad:

[killbotfactory]

12. War = Ratings = Money

Why would they have an interest in people who want to stop it?

[cynatnite]

13. Seems like immigration is becoming a hot political issue this year...

that's why this was covered today.

If war protests happened during the week and there was a massive walkout similar to this, I think that would get a hell of a lot of coverage.

I prefer that over weekend protests.

[Rainscents]

22. GOD, ABORTION and GUN issues is NOT going to work as people

caught on to their BS issues. So, now, they are going after illegal issue, as this issue is hot issue for lot of people. GOP has no plan on doing shit about it, they just like to blow smoke up people's ass.

[Rainscents]

17. If GOP really cared of illegal issue, they would had at least make sure

corporate abey the existing law! GOP don't give a shit about fixing problem because, they love paying slave labor.

[dflprincess]

30. Exactly

My thought was that, rather than making being here illegally a felony, the new law would make if a felony to hire undocumented workers with prison time for the corporate officers of companies who violate the law, not just fines. Bush can claim that employers can't tell if the documents presented for the I9 form are genuine and that might be true sometimes, but I would bet most employers pretty much know when they're hiring someone who doesn't have a valid work visa.

[Synnical]

19. Exact same thought crossed my mind today

As I was driving home from work and listening to the top of the hour news broadcasts on Air America - here in Fort Lauderdale it's ABC News.



:shrug:

[Trevelyan]

20. K&R but DU should have done more coverage too. I was thinking about it

and I wonder if DU's lack of coverage of the run-up to the world-wide protests against the War ON Iraq was because of what the WaPo online reported in Early Warnings before the last big anti-war march on Washington -- that Operation Granite operatives were in DC running a test on this anti-American operation and that after the protests, that it was reported that bush or someone had released a virus, I think it was something like "tulemar" and people commented that Anthrax being released would most likely be the criminal bush regime's response to another huge anti-war protest and if DU isn't trying to protect us against that.

We need to remember the release of biological poison gas in the last large protest to warn against what the bush regime will do if the protests reach anti-Vietnam war size.

[cantstandbush]

21. I was about to post the same thing. Thanks. n./t

[skooooo]

24. This may not be a "bad" thing...

In the 60s, many so-called movements converged at some point. They did not all get equal coverage by any means. But, I think maybe if people get used to the idea that protests are going on, there will be more coverage. Just saying this may be a good sign...

[msongs]

26. tons of war protest coverage in So Cal - TV, papers, radio etc nt

[KoKo]

28. So TRUE! a BIG "K&R" for this post! n/t

[ken_g]

31. Exactly what I thought while watching NBC news tonight!

Actually just listening from the kitchen - didn't even have to look. Pathetic.

[Festivito]

32. CNN actually CHANGED ITS STORY from march to melee. LINKS included.

I think the focus seemed too nice to protestation for CNN heads to tolerate...

Long DU thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x745050

Thousands of immigrant rights supporters filled a major Phoenix thoroughfare Friday morning as they marched toward
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=745050&mesg_id=745050

Thousands of people across the country protested Friday against legislation cracking down on illegal immigrants, with demonstrators
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=745050&mesg_id=746352

Haven't checked lately to see if they changed it yet again...
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/03/24/immigration.protest.ap/index.html

[seg4527]

33. I think it's pretty obvious. Can you say WEEKDAY?

Plus it was much bigger than they expected. Do you think any one city could get 10-15k people to come out on a weekday for an anti-war protest? To not show up at work? i doubt it.

And we dont' try anyway. We always do our mass mobilizations on saturdays, when cnn and msnbc are pretty much not really working on the news.

Here in the Twin Cities, whenever us students at the U of M have something going on on a weekday, it winds up being one of the top stories on the local news.

If there was anyway that even 10,000 of us would go to washington dc on a weekday and shut the whole city down for the day, it would be newsworthy.