Voters steer Europe to the right

Stories like this one worry Peacenik. Neo-liberal, neo-conservative, right wing economic policies have created the world financial crisis. These economic policies were put in place by so-called socialist and liberal governments and in some cases conservative governments. So as everything comes crashing down, who benefits at the polls? Who do the people turn to to fix the problems? Right wing politicians.

Anti-immigration policies are finding support. Racist policies are finding support. Blaming the victims is finding support. Sarah Palin drew a crowd of 20,000 to a speech in New York over the weekend. Dick Cheney's daughter is all over the TV. Joe the Plumber is viewed as a legitimate leader of the right wing. Peacenik has said it before. There is no solution. But voting fascist is not going to help anything. Peacenik has shelf-loaded some supplies. Peacenik hopes Peacenik doesn't need to shelf-load ammo too.

Centre-right parties have done well in elections to the European Parliament at the expense of the left.

Far-right and anti-immigration parties also made gains, as turnout figures plunged to 43% - the lowest since direct elections began 30 years ago.

The UK Labour Party, Germany's Social Democrats and France's Socialist Party were heading for historic defeats.

The centre-right European People's Party (EPP) looks set to continue to hold power in the parliament.

Read on...

Wake Up America, the Media Treat Far-Right Views as Mainstream

Posted by Steve Benen, Washington Monthly at 9:55 AM on June 4, 2009.

This dynamic produces "a deep and largely unconscious conservative bias in the media's discussion of policy."

E.J. Dionne Jr. has a very interesting column today that notes the media's "tilt to the right."

Yes, you read that correctly: If you doubt that there is a conservative inclination in the media, consider which arguments you hear regularly and which you don't. When Rush Limbaugh sneezes or Newt Gingrich tweets, their views ricochet from the Internet to cable television and into the traditional media. It is remarkable how successful they are in setting what passes for the news agenda.

The power of the Limbaugh-Gingrich axis means that Obama is regularly cast as somewhere on the far left end of a truncated political spectrum. He's the guy who nominates a "racist" to the Supreme Court (though Gingrich retreated from the word yesterday), wants to weaken America's defenses against terrorism and is proposing a massive government takeover of the private economy. [...]

Read on...

You already know this. Peacenik already knows this. But the effect is insidious. After a couple of decades Cokie Roberts or Lou Dobbs spouting their right wing talking points almost seems normal. Peacenik thinks he remembers a time when the mainstream media wasn't this way. But it is a hazy memory. Face it. Many media stars are out and out kooks and worse. The progresssive Internet has turned out to be a pretty effective debunker of right wing talking points. But it doesn't have the reach of the mainstream media.

So maybe the economic collapse of the mainstream corporate media, tv and newspapers, will have a small salubrious effect. Maybe Peacenik should cheer for the NY Times and GE and the Washington Post to go out of business. Maybe the crazy tilt to the right can be moderated. But Peacenik isn't holding Peacenik's breath. Have a good weekend.