{"id":357,"date":"2007-02-22T14:08:34","date_gmt":"2007-02-22T21:08:34","guid":{"rendered":"\/?p=357"},"modified":"2007-02-22T17:09:41","modified_gmt":"2007-02-23T00:09:41","slug":"lou-dobbs-american-workers-politicians-and-the-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=357","title":{"rendered":"Lou Dobbs, American Workers, Politicians And The Press"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>There are plenty of reasons to complain about Lou Dobbs. He can be a sanctimonious, egomaniacal loudmouth that forces his infallibility down America&#8217;s throats. His one-man Department of Anti-immigration trespasses the boundaries of racism. But in the realm of rights for America&#8217;s working class, and the economic model for preserving them, he has emerged as a powerful and profound voice. In a column for CNN.com, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2007\/US\/02\/20\/Dobbs.February21\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\">Dobbs delivers<\/a> the goods like the best of the holy rollers.<\/p>\n<table width=\"160\" border=\"0\" align=\"right\" cellpadding=\"10\" cellspacing=\"0\">\n<tr>\n<td style=\"color:#993333\">\n<div align=\"center\">The money that has taken the place of citizens in our democracy has produced a tenacious corruption of the system.<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<p><span style=\"color:#0d00d0;\">&#8220;The ascension of the so-called Lou Dobbs Democrats in the November election gave hope to many that our representatives and senators were awakening to the need to represent the largest single group of voters in the country, 150 million working men and women and their families. The reality is, however, corporate America and special interests still dominate our legislative and electoral process.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The use of his eponymous label for Democrats, and the assertion that it was their participation that swung Congress last year, is evidence of Dobbs&#8217; sense of self-importance. But his conclusions on reality are incontrovertible. The article went on to cite some facts that ought to be considered shameful for a wealthy, democratic country. Dobbs is right to spend time trying to illuminate these statistics. There isn&#8217;t anyone else with that kind of broadcasting reach that is doing so. Even in less well distributed media, there are few such committed voices. Paul Krugman and Thom Hartmann come to mind. Why aren&#8217;t there more people asking this question:<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#0d00d0;\">&#8220;Why are the partisans of both political parties so committed to denying the economic and social reality we face? In the case of the Democratic Party, there seems to be a rising fear that more Lou Dobbs Democrats <em>[them again]<\/em> are on the way and are going to demand truth over slogans and an improving reality for working men and women rather than <strong>ideological posturing that will salve the corporate masters of both parties.&#8221;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>In his closing, Dobbs makes a poignant observation that is simultaneously a condemnation of Republicans and an opening for Democrats, saying that, <em>&#8220;At least the Democrats still have a chance to save their souls.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In that assessment Dobbs may be optimistic. While I&#8217;d have to agree that Republicans have an iron-clad contract with Hades, Inc., I have seen little evidence that Democrats in Congress are paying much attention to their souls, otherwise known as their constituents. Their utter failure to take decisive action to end the war in Iraq, despite the deafening shouts from the public, is mystifying and disgusting. Raising the minimum wage is progress, but it is merely an incremental step in the larger movement to steer this nation away from the international corporatist tyranny that seeks only to expand its wealth and power and recognizes no public welfare, human rights, or democratic ideals.<\/p>\n<p>The money that has taken the place of citizens in our democracy has produced a tenacious corruption of the system. Since we cannot depend on our representatives to act on our behalf, we have to use the only means available to force them to acknowledge our existence. That is the threat that the people will rise up and strip our so-called leaders of their power and access to the life of privilege to which they have become accustomed. That sort of threat cannot be carried out without an independent press that responsibly informs and alerts the people to the risks that we face. Dobbs&#8217; column is doing that, but much more is needed.<\/p>\n<p>Politics, by itself, will never be the answer because its inherent divisiveness projects a division on the population that does not exist in reality. It&#8217;s a purposeful severing of popular will designed to protect the status quo. And the media is presently a part of it.<\/p>\n<p>If we can wrest the media from the clutches of corporatist control, we can, ultimately, have a far greater impact on society than that of any political campaign. For one thing, we&#8217;ll have campaigns that are open, honest, and result in truly representative government. If that&#8217;s your goal as Democrats, as partisans, as activists, then you better realize that it is unattainable without media reform. All of the rallies, precinct walking, voter registration, phone-banking, etc., will be a huge waste of time, because you&#8217;ll just end up with the same majority of politicians who are unresponsive to anyone who can&#8217;t inflate their bank account.<\/p>\n<p>The real power of the people is in a diverse and independent press, and if that&#8217;s not what you are fighting for, you are just going to produce more of what Dobbs calls the, &#8220;<em>ideological posturing that will salve the corporate masters of both parties.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are plenty of reasons to complain about Lou Dobbs. He can be a sanctimonious, egomaniacal loudmouth that forces his infallibility down America&#8217;s throats. His one-man Department of Anti-immigration trespasses the boundaries of racism. But in the realm of rights for America&#8217;s working class, and the economic model for preserving them, he has emerged as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Ijg-5L","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":32889,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=32889","url_meta":{"origin":357,"position":0},"title":"Hate Mongering Fox &#8216;News&#8217; Anchor Tweets Trump Victim&#8217;s Home Address And Phone","author":"Mark NC","date":"10\/14\/2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The continuing saga of Donald Trump's sexually predatory behavior is emboldening more victims to come forward with harrowing tales. Consequently, Trump's apologists in the media are taking bolder steps to excuse his indefensible misogyny. When Fox isn't maligning them as liars, they are insulting them as too ugly to assault.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Election&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Election","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=152"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lou Dobbs","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/FoxNews\/dobbs-hands.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/FoxNews\/dobbs-hands.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/FoxNews\/dobbs-hands.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":48500,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=48500","url_meta":{"origin":357,"position":1},"title":"The Daily Show&#8217;s Depiction of Drooling, Doting Trump Disciple Lou Dobbs is Delicious","author":"Mark NC","date":"2\/9\/2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week Fox News abruptly canceled Lou Dobbs Tonight, featuring their Senior Donald Trump Bootlicker and Fawning Fanboy, Lou Dobbs. It was the number one show on their low-rated Fox Business Network. They bounced Dobbs from the Friday broadcast without notice or even an opportunity to thank or say goodbye\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fox News, Lou Dobbs","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/FoxNews\/foxnews-dobbs-trump-baby.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/FoxNews\/foxnews-dobbs-trump-baby.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/FoxNews\/foxnews-dobbs-trump-baby.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":39907,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=39907","url_meta":{"origin":357,"position":2},"title":"It&#8217;s Official! Lou Dobbs is the Undisputed &#8220;Most Deranged Lunatic&#8221; on Fox News for 2018","author":"Mark NC","date":"12\/5\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The competition was fierce. With perennial Fox News favorites like Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson and the rabidly incoherent \"Judge\" Jeanine Pirro vying for the title, a longshot contender has emerged from the pack for a clear and unchallenged victory. Congratulations to Lou Dobbs. While no one can dismiss the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fox News, Lou Dobbs","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/FoxNews\/foxnews-dobbs-trump-baby.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/FoxNews\/foxnews-dobbs-trump-baby.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/FoxNews\/foxnews-dobbs-trump-baby.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1452,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=1452","url_meta":{"origin":357,"position":3},"title":"Lou Dobbs Runs For The Border: Yo Quiero Zorro Noticias","author":"Mark NC","date":"11\/11\/2009","format":false,"excerpt":"CNN's resident immigrant basher and birther booster, Lou Dobbs, has announced that he is leaving the network effective immediately. This comes as somewhat of surprise, as Dobbs was considered to be secure in his position despite significant protest from civil rights groups. But it is hardly out of the blue.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43768,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=43768","url_meta":{"origin":357,"position":4},"title":"Trump Fluffs Lou Dobbs of Fox News for Feeding His Mad Lust for Flattery","author":"Mark NC","date":"1\/15\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Wednesday morning was buzzing with historic news and revelations of scandal. and none of it was good news for Donald Trump. Most prominently was the House of Representatives voting to send the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate. And none too soon. The American people's desire to see Trump removed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fox News, Lou Dobbs","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/FoxNews\/foxnews-dobbs-trump-baby.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/FoxNews\/foxnews-dobbs-trump-baby.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/FoxNews\/foxnews-dobbs-trump-baby.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1454,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=1454","url_meta":{"origin":357,"position":5},"title":"Media Matters: A Tale Of Two Networks","author":"Mark NC","date":"11\/12\/2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I was going to write a piece similar to this one that I found at Media Matters. 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Consider for a moment\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=357"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}