I was talking to one of my republican friends yesterday and one thing we could agree on was that it appears the American public is ill informed.  (The word we used was more harsh but essentially means the same thing)  I chose to end the discussion right there because my friend, along with most of the others I know who believe in Christianity and vote for republicans, tend to get their “news” from Fox.  At this point, most will deny this, but when you listen to “conservatives” talk it’s obvious they’re either watching Fox or getting their “information” from some affiliate.  What I’ve learned over the years is that there must be some kind of central info center where ALL republican pundits are programmed for the day.  That’s why you can listen to a variety of pundits on a variety of outlets and hear the same key (code) words repeated OVER and OVER again.  For some reason, neither my friends, nor the so-called “liberal media” (if you’ve been on this site much, you know why I put quotes around “liberal media”) seem to be aware of the republican propaganda scheme.

A few years ago I read a book titled “The Family” by (I think) Jeff Sharlott which retells his experience gained from infiltrating the group known amongst themselves as the “Family” and who, at the time, I had heard referred to as the “C” Street politicians in our nation’s capital.  Of course, since then I’ve heard little about this group, but it’s clear to me that they are behind much of what is “happening” with the push to the “right” in American politics.  How does this relate to the republican propaganda scheme mentioned above?  Well, the “Family” adopted the philosophy of dictators and tyrants as they interpreted (actually I should say interpret – because, just because our media is ignoring them doesn’t mean they aren’t still involved – in fact, I’m sure the now infamous Koch brothers are part of this “network”) the Bible in a way that allows them to also be devotees of Ayn Rand.  That is, the powerful and wealthy should rule the rest of us.  Another term for (at least) some of those involved in this movement is “dominionists.”  As part of their political strategy to impose their beliefs on American society this group adopted strategies of the Third Reich.  Most notably, the “Big Lie Theory” of Joseph Goebbels, the chief Nazi propagandist.  I am continually amazed that our “liberal media” fails to acknowledge this.

The “Big Lie Theory” states that if you tell a lie over and over again people will begin to believe it’s true.  Again, I’ve written many times about this, but if you haven’t read any of those posts I think you still can get the “drift” here.  If not, just tune into several different sources of “right wing” “information” and you’ll quickly understand what I’m pointing out.  You’ll hear the SAME key words OVER and OVER again – their veracity is irrelevant.  Before the day President Obama was inaugurated for his first term as president the republicans were on record as saying they would BLOCK anything he attempted to accomplish – their plan was to make him a “one term president” in the words of Mich McConnell.  As Rush Limbaugh said, “I want the president to FAIL”  (If you’re from Kentucky and you vote for McConnell – shame on you!)

Unfortunately, the part of our media that’s not controlled by Fox (if that part exists) have either participated in this “strategy” (the stated objective is that Obama would “FAIL”) or have chosen to ignore it.  I’ve stated many times on this site that, despite the FACT I want president Obama to succeed there are many areas I have of disagreement with his decisions.  However, attempting to facilitate his failure is UN AMERICAN to me and why I’m trying to get as many people as I can to vote out ALL republicans.  Attempting to make sure the president fails is a strategy that is likely to lead to the “failure” of our nation – in fact, every day we’re seeing more evidence of that.  I really don’t see why more members of media outlets like MSNBC can’t see that.  Why aren’t they exposing the republicans using a Nazi propaganda scheme as their main strategy?  Why are they failing to remind the American public that one party is TOTALLY focused on our President’s failure instead of our country’s success? (this can be easily documented)  Why can’t they see that a significant portion of leading republicans are disgusted that there’s a Black family in the “White House?”

In my mind, it’s obvious that the republican strategy is working – and, not because it’s a good strategy – but, because there’s no one with a significant enough “platform” out there exposing the reality of what they’re doing.  Just yesterday I read the results of a Washington Post poll that focused on the president’s “approval ratings” and how Americans feel about other issues.  I won’t go into detail here, but what was obvious as I read the results of the poll was that the constant “BLAMING” President Obama for EVERYTHING and OPPOSING anything he is for is working for republicans – despite the poll implying that the issues Obama is fighting for have a significant majority of Americans favoring them while, at the same time, having an unfavorable opinion of the president.  For example, Obama had an unfavorable rating in his dealing with the economy, yet people have a more favorable trust in democrats regarding the economy (ie issues like “minimum wage” which Obama is “pushing” and most Americans support).  This one really points out how successful the republican propaganda scheme has been – the respondents to the poll feel more trust in republicans regarding the deficit than democrats – and Obama.  That, despite the reality that since the election of Ronald Reagan republicans have caused HUGE increases in the deficit and both Bill Clinton AND Barack Obama have seen significant reductions during their terms.  In fact, despite the FACT the deficit has come down SIGNIFICANTLY since Obama was elected – you wouldn’t know that to talk to my republican friends or listen to the media that’s controlled by right wing corporations.  (that’s our “liberal media”)  In a different poll I read, a significant majority of Americans favored “The Affordable Care Act” while – in the same poll – a majority opposed “Obamacare.”  If you don’t get the irony there – well, do a little research!

So, now all of this BASHING of our president and trying to make sure he FAILS is “coming home to roost.”  There’s the issue with ISIL and now the one that republicans have at the forefront of their FEAR (and propaganda) machine: Ebola.  Of course, the republican BLAME GAME is already in high gear and they will find all sorts of creative ways to BLAME President Obama for BOTH of these issues.  In fact, I’ll be surprised if Scott Brown (or another republican minion with a similar lack of character) doesn’t come up with an add blaming President Obama for members of ISIL infiltrating our borders while infected with Ebola and going around spitting on people!  Actually, Brown is capable of coming up with something even more outrageous than that – because, he’s firmly in the control of the Koch’s and Karl Rove.  (and, there’s a plethora of republican candidates who fall into the same category – a woman In Iowa [I can’t remember her name] running for the Senate comes to mind – she has actually personally thanked the Koch’s for making her campaign possible)  Despite all the venom that will be forthcoming, the REALITY is that the dysfunction in our nation which has been imposed on ALL of us by a republican congress willing to ruin our country in order to ruin our president is where the BLAME lies.

Let’s take Ebola for example.  That’s a health care emergency.  It’s a REAL emergency!  So, what should we expect from the republicans and the media that supports them?  I’m guessing, for starters, we’ll need to fire some people – maybe people at the CDC (Center for Disease Control) or the NIH (National Institutes of Health).  Calling for the firing of people in those places might, after all, take the focus off of the FACT that our Congress has been UNDERFUNDING both agencies for the past 10 YEARS! (at least)  I believe the underfunding of the NIH is somewhere in the neighborhood of 5+ BILLION dollars!  Actually, these are the CUTS that have been imposed!  We can’t cut our military and republicans (who gave us the deficit with the so-called Bush tax cuts and two wars put on a “credit card”) had to find a way to show they are “deficit hawks”  – so cutting from medical research and medical facilities must have seemed a good idea to them.  If you’re old enough to read this post you know that republicans fought “tooth and nail” to prevent the “Affordable Care Act” (ACA) and since its passage have voted in excess of FIFTY times to repeal it – so, you should be able to make the inference of why America is the ONLY “advanced” society in the world without national health care.  Republican opposition to this has been ongoing since I started paying attention – which was when Dwight Eisenhower (who favored national health insurance) was president.

I’m not sure if any in our “liberal media” will point out that President Obama, at the urging of those at the CDC, made a significant commitment to send American aid to Western Africa in an attempt to help the countries facing the Ebola crisis head on get the epidemic under control.  I KNOW they won’t report that David Vitter (republican senator from Louisiana – known for his rendezvous’ with prostitutes) was BLOCKING (they BLOCK everything, don’t they) the aid package supposedly because the aid was going to Africa!  I watched parts of Rachel Maddow’s show on MSNBC last night and she reported that there are a TOTAL of NINE beds in the ENTIRE United States that are set up to handle diseases such as Ebola! NINE! That’s it!  There were over 70 health care workers at the hospital in Dallas who were exposed to the Ebola patient who died in a setting where the precautions were less than ideal.  So far, two nurses have come down with symptoms of Ebola and officials are expecting more to show symptoms in the next couple of weeks.  (Personally, I’m praying that no more will become sick)  Here’s what I’m now wondering:  Is our republican led House of Representatives capable of taking a break from BLAMING President Obama for everything and actually coming back to Washington DC to appropriate the funding necessary to give the health care professionals the resources necessary to contain this epidemic?

One thing I’m certain they won’t fix is the issue with so many Americans’ without health insurance.  It’s long been the republican position that all Americans can have health care because Emergency rooms are required to provide care for anyone who shows up at their doors.  Of course, the reality is that many of those who don’t have health insurance won’t go to an emergency room until they are deathly sick because they can’t afford to pay the high costs.  (My last visit to an emergency room lasted 4 hours and the bill was $5300 – and, that was 10 years ago!)  For a person who has Ebola that is not only a death sentence for them, but likely the way this virus will become (if it does) an epidemic in America.  And, of course, should that happen we’ll have to listen to a plethora of right wing castigation of our president (and, who knows who else).  What we do know is that the republicans who’ve been preventing national heath insurance for all will not take any of the blame themselves.  They won’t look inward regarding the budget cuts to the CDC and NIH and, unfortunately, I believe our “liberal media” will let them get away with it.  (I’ve recently written a couple critical posts regarding Chris Matthews of MSNBC regarding his “knee jerk” reaction to “crises” with that instinct to immediately lay BLAME.  And, like his cohorts at Fox, he generally looks right at the Black Man in the White House.  He did this with the VA health issues and the Secret Service boo boos – I hope I’m wrong, but I expect the same here – and, he’s supposedly on the “liberal” cable outlet)

Just to give one more example of how preposterous American politics has become (and, how this is making us ALL “less safe”) I’ll give one more example:  A couple of days ago I saw snippets of the “debate” in the campaign for the US Senate in Kentucky between Mitch McConnell – the present minority “leader” in the Senate – the chief republican “blocker” and “blamer” – and his challenger, Allison Lundergan Grimes.  During this debate Grimes refused to divulge who she voted for president in the last two elections (obviously it was president Obama – but, she didn’t want to give her opponent a “sound bite” he could [would] twist into an negative add in a state where our president is unpopular).  Her opponent, McConnell, was asked about “Obamacare” – whether he would work to repeal it? (despite it’s success in Kentucky with 500,000 Kentuckians signed up on the “Kynect” website and now having health insurance)  His answer was classical absurd political BS – he would repeal “Obamacare” – but, keeping the website was “fine” with him.  (of course, the website wouldn’t be fine with the 500,000 Kentuckians that now have health insurance if “Obamacare” was repealed)  Honestly, I recently retired as a 6th grade teacher – I would expect a higher level of thought from my 6th grade students!  Relating this back to the Ebola epidemic – McConnell is OK with TEN MILLION + more Americans without health insurance (that’s what would happen if the ACA is repealed) which clearly would make the spread of viruses like Ebola more likely because there is NOTHING more important to him than President Obama’s “failure.”  Despite the reality that the concept behind the ACA originated in a “conservative” think tank – the Heritage Institute, evidently, the republicans fear the legacy the ACA will leave for the president will be positive.

Back to our “liberal media.”  I’ll bet you’ll never guess how the two examples of the McConnell/Grimes debate was interpreted by our “liberal media.”  I’m going to take the “accepted” definition here and agree that MSNBC is more “liberal” than Fox and all of its surrogates.  So, Chuck Todd – the top political “analyst” for NBC – I don’t watch it but I’ve heard he’s the new moderator of “Meet the Press” – which, to me would require a person to have some level of responsibility – Todd interpreted Grimes refusal to give her opponent a “sound bite” that would “connect” her to President Obama as “disqualifying.”  So, McConnell ended up with a much better “sound bite” because he simply took Todd’s remark, implied that Todd is an “expert,” (of course, I would disagree wholeheartedly with that assumption) and made the negative add Grimes was attempting to avoid giving him.  And, I have to admit that these media outlets are making me sick to my stomach to the point where I simply can’t bear to watch more than small amounts – but, I didn’t hear any remarks from Todd regarding McConnell’s ABSURD remark regarding being “fine with leaving up the website” but repealing the ACA as “disqualifying.”  Really, to me, there’s no comparison between the two and I just have to shake my head that someone in the position of Todd could come to the conclusion he did.  I honestly believe that Chuck Todd should be FIRED for being STUPID!  However, in America he’s a political “adviser.”  Go figure!

I started this post with a reference to a conversation I had with a “conservative” friend of mine yesterday.  Being more transparent, the agreement we had is that the American voting public is stupid – I’m sure he looks at this issue from a totally different perspective than I do.  But, the reality is that America’s voters are either going to vote back control of Congress to republicans or nearly do so.  That’s despite the FACT republicans have spent the past 6 years ATTACKING and OPPOSING everything our BLACK President does or proposes.  Many still believe he’s not a citizen and telling the truth means nothing to them – hence the strategy based on Goebbels’ big lie theory – “The end justifies the means” – so, we the people get constant rabble about Obama’s birth certificate, his name, and on and on and on.  We’re facing a serious health crisis with a CDC and NIH that have had their budgets severely cut by republicans in Congress who also are doing everything they can to repeal the Affordable Care Act.  (the Ebola Crisis started in a state that refused to participate in the ACA – which could conceivably make curbing the virus more difficult)  Additionally, republicans are unbelievably BLAMING President Obama for the ISIL crisis, when it was their “leaders” in 2002-2003 (Bush/Cheney et al) who created the mess in Iraq which spawned ISIL  in the first place and their present “leaders” (McCain and Graham) who urged the Saudi’s to fund ISIL in another misguided attempt to “control” (in this case Syria) the Middle East.  Here’s how it works:  They (republicans) create the mess, they blame it on President Obama, and they leave Obama to clean it up (all the while opposing everything he wants to do).  As they say, “Only in America.”  The worst part to me, is – thanks to our “liberal media” – the American public is on the verge of voting the very people who have created the mess we’re in back into power.  I really don’t get it!

Update: No sooner had I posted this message than I got into my car to run an errand and my XM radio was tuned to “The Ed Schultz Show” on MSNBC.  What did I hear?  But, Ed Schultz, a supposed liberal, blasting Allison Lundergan Grimes for, you guessed it, refusing to say who she voted for.  He implied that democrats pulled their support for her because of this.  All I can say is “how stupid is this going to get” – and, I’m not talking about Ms. Grimes.  I continually rant against republicans – but, obviously, the problem in America is that the other choice is the democrats!  Earth to Ed Schultz, Chuck Todd, and anyone else reading this – there’s a good reason why Ms. Grimes wanted to maintain her privacy (maybe that really is a major democratic issue) and, I don’t understand why you’re thoughtlessly attempting to help Mitch McConnell! He’s the poster boy of what’s wrong in America!   Seriously, get a clue!