Assassinating The Truth
The news outlets and internet was ablaze last week with the story of Hillary Clinton's statement supporting her long running candidacy in the Democratic primary. The awkward, yet innocuous statement about Robert Kennedy's unfortunate demise in the 1968 Democratic primary was intended to illustrate that fact that her presence in this primary contest is not extraordinarily late in the process. But a hostile media and netroot community saw an opportunity to distort her words and assail her very character. Using hyperbole and conjecture, the various outlets told a narrative of Clinton suggesting she should be in the race in case Obama is befallen by some similar circumstance. This narrative is as dishonest as it is virulent. Determined to put the worst possible spin in the story, and hoping to exact the final blow to a candidate for whom they have shown nothing but contempt, those of the media went into full attack mode.
Olberman's psychotic rant and subsequent demand that this particular historic event never be discussed illustrates a bizarre political climate. It strikes me as very strange that Hillary Clinton, or anyone for that matter, should not comment or discuss the tragedy of Kennedy's assassination. According to Olberman, the even was too "dark" of an event in our history to even mention. Who the hell is making these rules? There are feature length documentaries detailing the unfortunate events that took the lives of some of our most revered leaders. There are discussions devoted to these events, even lots of conspiracy theories. We discuss these things every day. But for one of our leading candidates for the President of the United States, OH NO! She's not allows to mention it, "EVER!" King media has spoken, and has declared the first amendment does not apply to Hillary Clinton! In much the same way, Bill Clinton must not discuss Jesse Jackson's historic campaign or compare it to the present campaign, least he is being racist. Similarly, Hillary is not allowed to talk about the Civil Rights movement, Martin-Luther King or LBJ. You see, only her African-American opponent is allowed to discuss such things. White people need to just shut up about it!
With a candidate so muzzled, we cannot have a legitimate primary contest or even a legitimate election. The first amendment was intended to make democracy a reality by guaranteeing the right for people to speak freely and for all people to have a voice in government. Demagogues like Keith Olberman and his brothers and sisters in the media don't actually revoke this guarantee by any legal of extra-constitutional means. Rather, they misuse the trust afforded to them to sway public opinion against the free practice of this precious right. In so doing, they have a `loophole' through which to manifest their own brand of oppression. Through their ability to affect public opinion, they attempt to suppress Hillary's freedom to discuss important historical facts and events, and thus knee-cap her capability to run an effective campaign. This isn't democracy in action. This is un-American.
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