2008 Woodie Awards
To the Media - Stop picking our presidents!
Kevin Conner
Issue date: 3/3/08 Section: Op-Ed
The media powerhouses of our country have completely hijacked this presidential election. It is a shame when five or six gigantic private companies have the ability to throw things so far one way or the other. They are all in bed with each other, too. The saddest part is that most Americans do not understand the steady brainwashing they are receiving. I am not a conspiracy theorist kind of guy, but from what I have been observing, our media systems must have something up their sleeves. I am lucky enough to use both the Internet and the mass media outlets to get my news, but most Americans do not.
When I open up a newspaper, or turn on the television, all I see is biased propaganda thrown in my face about one candidate or the other. Sometimes, as in the case of say Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel, their names are not even mentioned as those who are running for president. We get bombarded with "presidential preference" poll numbers coming out of early primary and caucus states that do not mean a damn thing towards who gets the nomination. CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, etc. are calling winners for these primaries with one percent of the vote in. One percent? One percent!?! Are you kidding me? So we all sit back as consumers to this great fiasco without lifting a finger, then read the morning paper and see some off-base headline like, "John McCain Soars Like a Bald Eagle Through D.C. Primaries." Then it is set in stone, John McCain wins. And, he must be totally patriotic because he won Washington, D.C AND soared like a bald eagle! He won Washington D.C. because that is where he works.
The United States voting system does not even work in this way. Most states have both a presidential preference poll, as well as some sort of caucus. These caucuses are the key to winning state delegates. State delegates then go to a National Convention to vote for the candidate that they choose. I doubt the vast majority of Americans understand that is this how the process works, but it this is how it works. So, when the media tells you that John McCain won a state with 50 percent or so, they are giving you the poll numbers. What they are not telling you is that, in some cases, folks like Ron Paul have secured more delegates than the person who won the poll. Because they do not tell you this, everyone assumes that these lower-level candidates do not have a chance and tend to disregard them. The strategy ends up working, and these candidates fall off the radar.
When I open up a newspaper, or turn on the television, all I see is biased propaganda thrown in my face about one candidate or the other. Sometimes, as in the case of say Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel, their names are not even mentioned as those who are running for president. We get bombarded with "presidential preference" poll numbers coming out of early primary and caucus states that do not mean a damn thing towards who gets the nomination. CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, etc. are calling winners for these primaries with one percent of the vote in. One percent? One percent!?! Are you kidding me? So we all sit back as consumers to this great fiasco without lifting a finger, then read the morning paper and see some off-base headline like, "John McCain Soars Like a Bald Eagle Through D.C. Primaries." Then it is set in stone, John McCain wins. And, he must be totally patriotic because he won Washington, D.C AND soared like a bald eagle! He won Washington D.C. because that is where he works.
The United States voting system does not even work in this way. Most states have both a presidential preference poll, as well as some sort of caucus. These caucuses are the key to winning state delegates. State delegates then go to a National Convention to vote for the candidate that they choose. I doubt the vast majority of Americans understand that is this how the process works, but it this is how it works. So, when the media tells you that John McCain won a state with 50 percent or so, they are giving you the poll numbers. What they are not telling you is that, in some cases, folks like Ron Paul have secured more delegates than the person who won the poll. Because they do not tell you this, everyone assumes that these lower-level candidates do not have a chance and tend to disregard them. The strategy ends up working, and these candidates fall off the radar.
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Antony
posted 3/03/08 @ 1:40 PM EST
Well said, Mr Conner. You are spot-on on this one. Your voice has been heard and the people are waking up to farse of the mass media.
Jody
posted 3/03/08 @ 2:11 PM EST
Very insightful, young man. Well done. You speak for many of us, however, sadly not enough. It scares me to see we are losing our Freedoms, our Liberties, Our VOICE. (Continued…)
whote
Matt
posted 3/03/08 @ 10:52 PM EST
This person has no idea what he's talking about. Almost every primary in the US is binding, meaning the delegates are forced to vote for whoever won the election. (Continued…)
Jim
posted 3/04/08 @ 10:39 PM EST
A very good article pointing out how America is being controlled through the restriction of certain events and in this instance, candidates for president. (Continued…)
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