Right Wing

A Funny Way To Show You Care

by Diane Farsetta — July 10, 2004 - 11:00pm

GOP pollster Frank Luntz's advice against 1998 rookie Senate candidate John Edwards - "it's almost impossible to go too far when it comes to demonizing lawyers" - wasn't successful, but Luntz remains influential. Molly Ivins writes that Luntz is now focusing on women undecided voters.

Main Source: 
Philadelphia Inquirer, July 11, 2004

The Swing Street Strategy

by Diane Farsetta — July 1, 2004 - 11:00pm

"That's not very wise ... People are aware that this has happened. It's going to be treated seriously," warned GOP strategist Grover Norquist, incensed that biotech company Amgen hired a former senior Al Gore aide to lobby for them.

Main Source: 
Washington Post, July 2, 2004

GOP's Denial of Democracy Attack

by Sheldon Rampton — June 30, 2004 - 11:00pm

The former head of a GOP Marketplace, a Republican consulting group, has pleaded guilty to jamming get-out-the-vote efforts on election day in New Hampshire two years ago. The company used computer-generated phone calls to flood phone lines that were set up so voters could call for rides to the polls.

Main Source: 
Associated Press, July 1, 2004

O'Reilly Loses It Again

by Sheldon Rampton — June 30, 2004 - 5:12pm

"When he appeared on Bill O'Reilly's Fox News Channel show last week, Georgetown law professor David Cole was impressed that the hard-charging host played, as part of his opening commentary, 'a balanced sound bite' from the chairman of the 9/11 commission," reports Howard Kurtz. "Cole was less impressed when an aggravated O'Reilly stopped the taping of 'The O'Reilly Factor' and killed the sound bite. And when Cole brought up the incident during his interview, he says, O'Reilly 'exploded,' called him an SOB and declared he would never be invited back."

Main Source: 
Washington Post, June 29. 2004

Terrorist Tree-Huggers

by Sheldon Rampton — June 24, 2004 - 11:00pm

"One of environmentalism's biggest foes - Ron Arnold—is back, peddling the idea that environmentalism breeds terrorism," reports Bill Berkowitz. "Arnold is the same man who once bragged to the New York Times that, 'No one was aware that environmentalism was a problem until we came along.' He's been so successful, says one environmentalist, that he's now 'within striking distance' of checking off every item on his 'wise-use' agenda."

Main Source: 
TomPaine.com, June 25, 2004

What the President Said

by Sheldon Rampton — June 17, 2004 - 11:00pm

The White House and Fox News are spinning furiously in response to the 9/11 commission's recent report, which contradicts one of the administration's key arguments for war with its finding that there was no working relationship between Iraq and Al Qaeda.

Main Source: 
San Francisco Chronicle, June 18, 2004

'NRA News' Seeks to Pistol-Whip McCain/Feingold Law

by John Stauber — June 15, 2004 - 11:00pm

"In a direct challenge to federal
limits on political advocacy, the National Rifle
Association plans to begin broadcasting a daily radio
program on Thursday to provide news and pro-gun commentary
to 400,000 listeners. The group says its jump into broadcasting with its program,
'NRANews,' means that it should be viewed as a media
organization that does not have to abide by provisions of a
sweeping campaign finance law from 2002.

Main Source: 
New York Times, June 16, 2004

What Advertisers Want

by Diane Farsetta — June 13, 2004 - 11:00pm

In its "first large-scale change since 2001," Fox News is launching a major redesign of its website. Fox News vice-president of national ad sales Roger Domal said, "In addition to just freshening up the site and making it easier to navigate ... it's a reaction to what advertisers want." Fox News hopes the site "will enable it to become a significant competitor in the online news space. This month, the site doubled its advertising sales staff in New York and San Francisco ...

Main Source: 
Wall Street Journal, June 14, 2004

"Stop Michael Moore" Campaign a GOP Front

by John Stauber — June 12, 2004 - 11:00pm

"So desperate are Bush Republicans to kill Michael Moore's latest
film, Fahrenheit 9/11, they have hired a public relations firm to
set up a web site attacking Moore," the Alternative Press Review writes. "The site,
MoveAmericaForward.com, claims to be 'non-partisan,' but a glance
at the 'About' page of the site reveals the director and staff of
Move America Forward are all diehard Republicans, anti-tax
activists, and former legislative staffers.

Main Source: 
Alternative Press Review, June 13, 2004

Reagan and the Cold War: Myth vs. Reality

by John Stauber — June 7, 2004 - 10:16am

Investigative journalist Robert Parry writes that "the U.S. news media's reaction to Ronald Reagan's death is putting on display what has happened to American public debate in the years since Reagan's political rise in the late 1970s: a near-total collapse of serious analytical thinking at the national level. Across the U.S. television dial and in major American newspapers, the commentary is fawning almost in a Pravda-like way, far beyond the normal reticence against speaking ill of the dead. ...

Main Source: 
Consortium News, June 7, 2004
Syndicate content