By Allison Kilkenny
Published Thursday, October 2nd, 2008, 4:52 pm
Filed under: US Politics
That’s right — from the people who wiretap your phones and are praying for a government bailout comes the TOTALLY fair and nonpartisan vice presidential debate!
Of course, this isn’t your League of Women Voters, tired, outdated debate! This baby is organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates, the group run by Paul Kirk (D), who has lobbied on behalf of the pharmaceutical industry, and Frank Fahrenkopf (R), the nation’s leading gambling lobbyist.
But since Kirk is a Democrat and Fahrenkopf is a Republican, the Commission HAS to be nonpartisan, right? Well, it is, unless of course you’re a candidate representing Independents, or the Green party, or you’re poor, or anti-corporation. Then you can’t get into the debates to save your life.
A lot of fuss has been raised over the impartiality of tonight’s moderator, Gwen Ifill. Yet, no one is examining the larger bias of tonight’s debates toward the interest of corporations. Ifill may have reflected certain biases toward the Obama camp in the past, but the ENTIRE debates are being run by an organization funded by corporations like Anheuser-Busch.
Where is the outrage over this bias toward corporations? Where is the outrage that the previously unbiased League of Women Voters was ousted in favor of the Commission on Presidential Debates that effectively hijacked the democratic process in favor of cronyism and corporate cash?
Joe and Sarah have agreed to answer questions with responses no longer than two minutes to prevent embarrassing gaffes. Many similar agreements are hashed out between the parties pre-debate, behind closed doors. No one really knows what the Democratic-Republican debate contract looks like because the contract is not available to the public.
While these arrangements surely benefit the parties, they harm the American people, who aren’t likely to receive much information during the short two-minute window. Two minutes is enough time to repeat a stump speech, or deliver a sample audience-tested zinger, but it’s hardly adequate time to explain economic or foreign relations platforms.
Since AT&T is one of the sponsors, what is the likelihood that topics like FISA and telecom immunity will be breached? Because Wachovia is other other sponsor, will Gwen ask about the failure of the Free Market and Deregulation? Surely, no moderator in their right mind will bring up the corporate sponsorship of our elections during a debate SPONSORED by the very corporations that are taking over America.
Sounds like some good, old-fashioned aggressive moderating to me!
6 Responses to “Meet Your Debate Sponsors!”
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Just shows that we are infact slaves of the big corporate media.
Civilized society has become a panopticon.. and we don’t even realize it.
10/2/08 at 5:17 pm
Um, Severed,
please don’t use a Foucauldian word because you think it sounds radical, or have some vague idea that it implies the politically provocative–do you know what “panopticon” means? What the structure is? Have you ever read (yes the whole book) *Discipline and Punish*? Or did you just hear that word “panopticon” dropped casually in political discussion and so you thought it would be a good idea to do the same here? You are using “panopticon”, when I think what you mean is “Plutocracy”…In response to “Debate Sponsors”, you have a problem with wealth ruling and governing all aspects of our daily life, right? Ok, yes, I agree, the political system in this country often works like a Plutocracy and that is bad. Any articulate and viable proposals in face of that bad thing, or are you cool just dropping the word “panopticon” here and there?
10/3/08 at 1:06 am
As someone who used to work for AT&T I have to say that the company runs itself as though it is head of a huge monopoly, with no thought for the consumer or for the employee. Color me unsurprised.
10/3/08 at 9:29 am
@ erick.
I’m using the “panopticon” as metaphor…
I’m sure you know what this is already.. seeing as you seem very intelligent… but just for clarification.
A panopticon is a type of prison structure.. designed by english architect Jeremy Bentham. The whole concept was for people to be able to observe the prisoners without them being consciously aware of it.
The whole rat on the wheel concept of fulfilling these major corporations personal agendas, keeping us in fear, desensitized to everything from television broadcasts, and the being constantly put under surveillance without or recognition.. I felt it was necessary to use this metaphor.
Maybe i’m wrong though. It wasn’t an attempt to sound “cool”.. it was an attempt to express how I felt about the subject matter at hand.
But if a “plutocracy” is a much accurate way to express it, then i’ll take your constructive critcism and move on…
10/3/08 at 7:22 pm
Severed,
Pardon my sarcasm; I understand now that you meant not to erroneously drop a term for strident and sensational effect, but instead reached for something that I misinterpreted and reacted to by it’s vague delivery. Your follow-up post makes it much more clear how and why you used such a specific term. Thank you for your reply.
10/4/08 at 2:04 am
No problem.
Personally.. and i’m sure just about everybody who reads into this sight are very much against cheap slogans, and catch phrases that hold little water in subjects that are used purely for sensationalistic means. So I understand where you were comming from with that previous response.
It was my own fault for not putting more depth into my first comment. So peace bro.
Now back to the subject at hand.
Big multi-billion dollar corporations = fascism… continue.
10/4/08 at 3:10 pm