The blogs and airwaves are full of explanations for the MA Senate special election’s outcome, mostly involving people being upset at particulars of the health care bill. But I don’t really think that the people who voted were all that well-informed about differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill, the “public option,” or other intricacies of ongoing legislation.
Instead, I think we should take the winning candidate’s word for it. On his website he says his win ws for the following reasons, and I agree:
At his September 12 announcement of candidacy for the U.S. Senate, Senator Brown articulated a core set of beliefs that guide his thinking:
• Government is too big and that the federal stimulus bill made government bigger instead of creating jobs
• Taxes are too high and are going higher if Congress continues with its out-of-control spending
• The historic amount of debt we are passing on to our children and grandchildren is immoral
• Power concentrated in the hands of one political party, as it is here in Massachusetts, leads to bad government and poor decisions
• A strong military and vigorous homeland defense will protect our interests and security around the world and at home
• All Americans deserve health care, but we shouldn’t have to create a new government insurance program to provide it
I think the voters agreed with these basic conservative talking points. But here’s the thing: most of the assumptions underlying these statements are simply wrong – factually incorrect. They have been pounded out by a corporate/conservative misinformation machine that just makes stuff out and puts it out there on TV, the radio, email forwarding and every other channel they can find. There is no one out there responding with truth and facts, and making the case for government and democracy.
When the public only hears from one side, and hears from them over and over, day after day, after a while many people are going to believe what they are hearing. When no one seems willing to make the case for the other side of the issue, it starts to look like maybe there is no case.
The Right has a message machine that has been repeating misinformation and getting away with it, because:
1) The leadership of the other party has let them get away with it.
2) There is no comparable megaphone with which to refute the misinformation.
So is there a case to be made for government and democracy? Will our elected leaders start going before the public and making that case? Will the big funders and foundations start providing the means for progressive organizations to reach the general public and counter corporate-owned media and FOX News and Rush Limbaugh and the rest of talk radio and a million email forwards, and make the case for government and democracy? If not, then we shouldn’t expect our government and democracy to continue. But if we just take the easy way out and let the tea party crowd take over things could get scary.
