Read All About It!

“Extra! Extra! Read all about it!” People who watch old movies are very familiar with that cry. It was the call of boys selling newspapers. The headline in this case is, “Republican Hypocrisy Revealed.” Stories of this hypocrisy have now been printed in such conservative publications as the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Times. The fact that those conservative newspapers are pointing out the hypocrisy of Republicans means the hypocrisy must exceed all bounds of reason, and it does. The Wall Street Journal actually published letters from Republican Congresspersons requesting Stimulus money for projects in their districts. Those letters were sent at the very time that those Congresspersons were voting against and/or railing against the Stimulus package. Both the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Times have also printed a list of the names of Republican Senators and Congresspersons who are taking credit for this stimulus money and for what those funds are doing for the people in their districts and states. Remarkably, the Republicans who are giving themselves credit for bringing this money to their districts and states are doing so while publicly criticizing the Democrats by saying that the Stimulus package is a failure that helps no one. Do they mean no one but the people in their districts and their states? If they do mean only the people in their districts and their states, their constituents would still want them to support the stimulus.

One would think that having your hypocrisy exposed in this manner by publications that usually support you would make you think twice about what you are doing, but this does not seem to be the case. Those hypocrites are simply ignoring the absurdity of their actions. They obviously think the voters will not notice or care. The sad thing is that they might be right. How many people actually read newspapers today? I am reminded of what Boss Tweed of Tammany Hall once said about Thomas Nast: “Stop them pictures. I don’t care what the papers write about me. My constituents can’t read. But, damn it, they can see the pictures.” The constituents of today’s politicians do not read, but they do watch television. I am not disappointed with Fox; unprincipled people will always try to make a profit by pandering to the fears of the delusional who actually accept the fear mongering as news. What bothers me is the mainstream media. They have traditionally felt a civic obligation to keep the public informed. Keeping the public informed means more than simply reporting statements that you know are lies; it means revealing the lies as lies and the hypocrisy as hypocrisy. It is high time to show the constituents of modern politicians them damn pictures!