After an election is over, news organizations and pundits all turn their backs on their wrong-headed pronouncements as if they never happened and no one holds them accountable for their self-serving propaganda. At least, usually.
Here are a collection of memes, predictions and characterizations of the then upcoming 2010 election that were proven to be as accurate as those presenting them are principled:
FALSE MEME #1:
CNN: 2010 is year of GOP women candidates
By Ed Hornick, CNN
September 21, 2010 1:18 p.m. EDTWashington (CNN) — While 2010 might be the year of the Tea Party, a second storyline is the rise of Republican women candidates.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/09/21/women.candidates/index.html
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CBN NEWS: Election 2010: The Year of the ‘Mama Grizzly’
Much has already been written leading up to the 2010 midterm elections. Stories about angry voters and formerly unheard of candidates have been common place.
But these elections are making history in a way you may not have realized. A record number of Republican women are running for office.
With GOP candidates like Carly Fiorina, Sharron Angle, former Ebay executive Meg Whitman, Nikki Haley and Christine O’Donnell, to name only a few, this year could go down as the year of the conservative woman.
“I think it’s the year of the woman, period,” said Nicki Kurokawa, a senior policy analyst with the Independent Women’s Forum, a non-partisan group.
“This is just a reminder that women are a force, and when women run on issues and don’t allow themselves to be pigeonholed as women, they can contend and they can absolutely win,” Kurokawa added.
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/politics/2010/October/Election-2010-The-Year-of-the-Mama-Grizzly-/
REALITY #1:
(4 of the 5 “Mama Grizzlies” cited in the above article, lost.)
DAILY BEAST: A Net Loss for Women in Congress
Female politicians took a drubbing in Tuesday’s midterm elections, resulting in a net loss in the total number of congressional seats held by women for the first time in 30 years.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheat-sheet/item/a-net-loss-for-women-in-congress/setback/
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FALSE MEME #2:
HUFFINGTON POST: The GOP Will Win the House and Senate
Steve Lombardo
President and CEO, Lombardo Consulting Group
Posted: November 2, 2010 11:28 AMToday Republicans will gain control of the House with a net gain of 60-70 seats and narrowly take a 51-seat majority in the Senate in an historic political blowout.
Colorado is tough to peg. This is a state Obama won with 54% of the vote (Bush took the state in 2004 with 52%). It was supposedly part of the “new Democratic coalition.” Well, that didn’t last long. Colorado is a swing state and this year it is swinging Republican. Our sense is that GOP enthusiasm — combined with a lackluster Democratic candidate — will give Ken Buck a victory in Colorado.
LCG Projection: GOP Pick-Up.Nevada is one of several Bush states that Obama flipped in 2008. Bush, though, carried the state with just 51%. Reid has never been a great candidate and his performance on the campaign trail and in his debates this year has been pretty dreadful. Like many other close races, we expect GOP enthusiasm to push Angle, herself a flawed candidate, to victory.
LCG Projection: GOP Pick-Up.California. A caveat here: we have done some work for the Fiorina campaign. Most polls show Boxer at or around 50%. We are going with our heart predicting that the “wave” will carry Fiorina to a narrow victory.
LCG Projection: GOP pick-up.Washington. . Our sense is that Rossi has been a solid candidate and the GOP tide will take him over the top.
LCG Projection: GOP Pick-Up.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-lombardo/the-gop-will-win-the-hous_b_777628.html
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DICKMORRIS.COM: HOW THE GOP WILL WIN THE SENATE
By Dick Morris And Eileen McGann
The Republicans will win the Senate (and the House) and might win it with a few seats to spare!http://www.dickmorris.com/blog/how-republicans-will-win-the-senate/
REALITY #2:
2010 Senate Election Results: Dems: 53 – Repubs: 46 seats TBD: 1
(AK will yield 1 more Repub making the final count, Dems: 53 – Repubs: 47)
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FALSE MEME #3
DAILY BUSINESS – Americans want Barack Obama to focus less on the economy
By JONATHAN BERR Posted 5:30 PM 10/28/09“More Americans choose the economy (41%) than any other issue as the top priority for Barack Obama, but that is down sharply from last November (64%),” Gallup says. “By contrast, the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the federal budget deficit and health care have grown in perceived importance over the past year.”
Health care, which was barely on the public’s radar last fall, has shown the biggest increase, from 5 percent to 17 percent as it became the focal point of the Obama domestic agenda. The federal deficit soared from 7 percent to 14 percent, while the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan rose from 11 percent to 18 percent. Energy dropped from 6 percent to 2 percent.
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THE ATLANTIC – A Plurality of Americans Still Want New Stimulus
Nov 4 2010, 10:30 AM ET
Given a list of priorities, a plurality of Americans say that a new stimulus bill is the most important thing the next Congress can do after the election. Weird?
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PLANETSAVE: Americans Want Focus on Energy over Environment
April 8, 2010
For the first time in 10 years Americans believe that increasing energy supplies should be prioritized over the environmental conservation.
http://planetsave.com/2010/04/08/americans-want-focus-on-energy-over-environment/
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HUFFINGTON POST/BASELINE SCENARIO: Americans Want to Live in Sweden
By James Kwak
The chart below is from a short paper by Michael Norton and Dan Ariely (author of Predictably Irrational) (hat tip Huffington Post). The top line is the actual U.S.wealth distribution. The second is what Americans think the wealth distribution is. The bottom line is what Americans think the wealth distribution should be.
http://baselinescenario.com/2010/09/28/americans-want-to-live-in-sweden/
REALITY #3
Nov. 2, 2010 Election Exit poll: Highest priorities for the next Congress according to voters:
37% – Create jobs
39% – Reduce the budget deficit
18% – Cut taxeshttp://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=131065423
As the conflicting memes and poll above display, the American Public doesn’t know what it wants or have any realistic understanding that in reality, it is factually impossible to simultaneously spend money to create jobs, reduce the budget deficit and cut taxes.
In essence, Americans want to buy a cake without spending any money and both eat it and preserve it untouched simultaneously. And the Republicans have told them that they can. Who would want to vote for some sourpuss Democrats who say we can’t suspend reality and have everything we want at the same time?
The toxic concoction of corporate plutocracy, a corrupt MSM and an incredibly ignorant citizenry that votes on emotion and for those who tell them all their most impossible wishes can come true…is poisonous to our democracy and our future. The only silver lining to this dark cloud is that, as under Bush, once the Republicans and corporations have used their manipulations to take more huge chunks of the nation’s wealth away from the people, that same emotion-driven voter becomes angry at them and backlashes by voting them out and the Democrats in.
The dark cloud in that silver lining is that their fickle nature makes it nearly impossible for the Democrats to have enough time in power to reverse the damage done by the Republicans.
There does need to be a Re-awakening in this nation. The informed and intelligent citizenry needs to become more formally organized and activist to combat the power that the emotional and ignorant voters mindlessly wield to serve those who best pander to their fears, anger and greed.
So, you want to get a PH.D. in Political Science? 🙂
[Hat tip to Lee Drutman.]
And a few more myths:
Read the full analysis at The Monkey Cage
Hey everyone – logging in to read all the posts on ONE topic for the first time in what seems like months. So sad and so annoying, both.
I worry about the whole idea of “dumbing down” our education system, and now the assault on the system itself. Keeping critical thinking out of schools is the easiest way to control what people will think. I know, from working with my Afghan kids, that THIS is the ONE tool that gives them true freedom and the ability to discern right from wrong. If all you do is memorize what you have been “taught” and never bother to do the research on your own, why – how easy it is to control you, whether it is by Glenn Beck or the Taliban. I’m with Kalima – that’s why I wrote I was crawling under my bed for a few days, kitty style.
The election and the whole process gave me a tummy ache. But as I always do, I found strength in thinking of how very lucky I am – even with the Tom Tancredos, Michelle Bachman, Marcia Blackburns, et al – compared to what I know for a fact is happening in Afghanistan right now.
I tell my children- Trust NO ONE – not even me. Learn to find the truth for yourself. It’s not easy to go in search of the facts, but it is the only way you can be sure you have the truth and not the truthiness. (We watch Stewart and Colbert)
I also tell them to look at everything from ALL perspectives, learn about it from walking around the whole issue, and THEN decide which perspective fits them. Like walking around the statue of the David; if you only see one side, you haven’t really seen it.
Good news for my buddies here – my boy I’m working so hard to bring back for school PASSED his visa interview, first try. A rarity indeed. PLUS the interviewer (who is the most difficult one and who had turned down or made my others re-interview and who has denied many applicatios) said this boy’s interview was the BEST she has conducted so far! She stood up to congratulate him and shake his hand. So with any luck, my boy comes in early December and the Blov and I become real “parents” (albeit of a now 20 year old young man – missed the diapers and most of the teen years – Whew!).
I may be busy, but I’m with you all. Keep it up. And if you want an AMAZING book about the Afghan conflict and about the role of Special Forces (you’ll be astounded) in that conflict after October 2001, read “The Horse Soldiers” by something Stanton. I’m having trouble wanting to read anything else right now, to be truthful. But when it ends, I’m baaaccckkkkk!!!
Always such a pleasure to see you here, AB! I love it when you update us on the latest good things that are happening with your kids. God knows, we need to hear the good news — rare as it may be.
How goes the Great Remodel on the house?
It’s hard to be able to communicate my admiration for someone who can contemplate moving and bringing a new “kid” (20 year olds still seem like kids, don’t they?) into the home at nearly the same time!
Wishing you strength and joy– of which I think you already have plenty! But you can never have too much…! 😀
Kes! And it is ALWAYS nice to be here.
The “Great Remodel” is finally through. Work at PBS is intense, but really, really fun right now. Frustrated w/ IRS not yet getting around to evaluating our application for the refugee program (hard to fundraise when you don’t have tax exempt status; it used to be they gave you a temporary ruling until the “official” one came out. Now they say it’s about 3 months, but they are three months into it and ONLY up to assigning reviewers to those applications filed in May and we filed in July). In love with my kiddos – will have all THREE of my first year kids here this year -a FIRST.
Took my #1 adopted Afghan boy to his first “teeater” (theatre) last night; it was a community playhouse musical review of music from the 1950s, which I thought would be a good introduction. He SO loved it that he spent the night at our home and we were up till 3AM, watching videos of the “real” Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Everly Brothers and his favorite, Elvis. I had notified the house manager and cast that I would be bringing my boy (the theatre is on the military base); they were so welcoming. They knew he loved Elvis, so at the close of the show, they did the Elvis tribute, and the lead cast male did a spiel on what freedom means. He then said he had been told there was a very special person in attendance, came over and draped “Elvis'” scarf around his neck (after calling out his name). I thought he would die! He chattered about it for hours afterward. The Elvis pump.
This morning, I had to wake him up at 5AM to go open the family store. Being a good mom and southern girl hostess, I got up to make him breakfast. He took a quick shower, and came out with his scarf on! “Elvis is IN the building this morning!” he pronounced.
AND he wants to go to the closing show tomorrow night and take his younger brother AND his sister (ages 16 and 11). Even though tickets cost $11/apiece. It is worth their hard earned money.
Who KNEW that you could go to such a thing, and see people with their talent right there, doing so many different types of talent (his words). And that, my dear, is theatre. Now I’ll spring for the “professional” shows.
And this is what keeps me going, even though I want to quit sometimes or hide under my bed. The hell with them. I just keep my head down and PUSH. Hard, but so rewarding when there are times like last night.
How did your review go?????
AB, the small extra step you took in the theatre outing made all the difference, didn’t it? I mean letting the management in on the fact that your Afghani “son” would be there. It was the difference between an event’s being fun and its being magical. Thank God you keep pushing.
My review (thanks for asking, AB) actually went surprisingly well. As I mentioned to b’ito, my Palinesque boss apparently got me confused with someone smart and competent, so that’s what went into my file. 😆 She perhaps hasn’t gotten wind of my rabble rousing union advocacy yet?
Gawd, let’s hope so! OR maybe – just maybe – you ARE that smart competent wonderfully deserving person. My money is on the latter, FWIW.
xo – AB
awwwww, shucks….. 😳
Oh, AB, why do I read your comments about your “kids?” They always tear at my heart and just make me admire you more. That was a wonderful story, I could his his face beaming and his early morning “Elvis is in the House” routine! Now it seems I have something in my eyes. Take care AB.
I no longer watch tv as I have little choice over here except for CNN international and BBC World. On election day I turned on CNN for the first time since the Gulf oil spill, it was pure chaos and agony to listen to the endless, mindless chatter.
A friend of mine who informed me that these were the last few days he would tune in to the only station he had been watching since the 08′ primaries, MSNBC, told me yesterday that it has made him ill to watch the bs and the lies over the past few days. He has long felt that Obama has surrounded himself with too many people from the Clinton era, and feels that these people are not in his administration to help him. He also has a theory that the Clinton camp knew about the Repub plan to give the Dems a hard time, and later promoted Obama to take the beating Hillary would have received had she been elected, leaving her free to try again in 2012. It’s his theory, not mine, but I can honestly say that it wouldn’t surprise me in the least after watching her campaign in 08′.
I haven’t been up to commenting much since last weekend as you know, one reason was personal, and the other was my overwhelming disappointment with the American voters.
I was there way before the primaries in 08′ cheering on America’s chance to change it’s course by cheering on a young Senator with great ideas and endless honest energy for improving the lives of ordinary Americans. I was in tears as he won, on your side all the way. He was honest enough to tell you that he couldn’t do it alone, he was convinced that you all wanted the same changes that he wanted, it didn’t last, and the bitter criticism followed like a speeding express train.
He travelled the world trying to mend fences with countries who were ready to write America off, and mainly succeeded in his goal. At home the pressure was already mounting, he hadn’t done everything he had promised in one year (who has) he didn’t fight hard enough for this, he was disappointing with that, and on and on. The results were witnessed on the 2nd by the poisoning of weak minds on both sides, and I can remember thinking wtf, and wtf do those people who didn’t bother to vote want, where on this once green earth would they ever get it?
So yes, I’m so very disappointed, the lack of any real concern by voters has left me feeling numb. My feelings are somewhat akin to telling someone not to drink so much, talking and pleading until one day they break down and say they understand, and will change their lives. I feel assured that I have reached them, I feel relieved. A month later, I receive a call to tell me that my friend went on a binge, and drank himself to death. For me this election was the same, people gave up on their dreams, gave up on their President knowing how difficult it has been for him to affect the changes he wants to put into law. With all the reported Repub opposition, they still expected miracles without actually understanding or helping him as promised in 08′.
I’m at a loss wondering why Americans would choose to bite the hand that feeds them by allowing the other hand that wants to minimise their dreams, their hopes, their rights and their integrity, to win.
I am sick and tired of being sick and tired of my fellow Americans who are too damned lazy to think on their own. It has become easier to allow “boob-tube-pundits” to think for them. Oh well, if O’Reilly, Beck, Limbaugh, or Palin say it, then it must be true.
Idiots, all idiots, and I didn’t even bring up the bigotry behind it all. And, if the Clinton theory is credible, then Bill, Hill, and their gang are just as guilty and evil as the far right pundits. They should be ashamed, truly ashamed.
If the Dem voter turn out was to send a message to the President and the Administration, wtf was that message and how the hell is it supposed to help in the next two years. Are these people stupid or what?
It is obvious that many stayed home because no Dem, Liberal or Progressive would be mad enough to vote either GOP or TP right, so tell me, what have they achieved except for further chaos, filibusters and downright crap?
Yes, I’m mad as hell. What happened to logic, and basic common sense???
Logic and basic common sense? Well for starters, neither falls into the video, computer, or Wii game category. 🙄 🙄
Second, both require cognitive thinking.
PS – David Brooks is on PBS Newshour — can’t stand the man. What a RW Weenie.
PSS – those who stayed home bit the hand that feeds them — literally. They have no idea what McConnell, Cantor, and Boner have in store for them.
What about your guys boomer is what I meant, the other side is lacking a functioning brain, we know that they are being led by the ring through their noses, but what about the Dem voters?
I’m about ready to throw in the towel. When people act against their own interests, it it gobsmacking, and too painful to watch. I need to smack my head against a hard surface until I get it, but of course I will never get the working against your goals as long as I live. I’m not someone who will ever give up easily, so it’s hard for me to understand these people, in fact I won’t even try.
Though I agree with your friend that there is no longer a good reason to watch MSNBC for honest news, outside of KO and Rachel, I do disagree with the theory about the Clintons. They did everything they could to win and though I resented them for it at the time, once they came together to support Obama, I put all of that aside.
As for this election, I think that the simplest explanation is the correct one. Those mindless people called Swing Voters, filled their tiny minds with their immediate emotion, “Things are bad and Democrats are in power so they are to blame!”, completely oblivious to the facts they KNEW two years ago that The Repubs and Bush caused all of this.
Don’t be disheartened about the majority of Americans, it is this small margin of ignorant people that swing elections to one side or the other. What we really need is a Parliamentary system so the biggest segment of the population, Progressives, had the appropriate representation…and wasn’t dominated by the tyranny of the ignorant minority.
It’s hard not to be disappointed when as you know I have become so completely involved during the last 3 years. I shudder when I think of the bs that is facing Obama and the Dems for the next 2 years, in fact it makes me very angry. I hope to get over it, I just don’t know when.
Just a minor question.
Is that picture trying to say they’re liars, or something else?
Actually, I think it’s perfect: they’re both.
😆 😆 😆
Liars was the intention though if some see them as dickheads, modern journalism is in the eye of the beholder.
BTW, I did the photoshopping on this image so any blurring of the line between those two designations, I happily take credit for.
I was thinking more along the lines of pricks. 😀
That too! It’s a multilayered sight gag.
😆
You made an edit, Khirad. 😆
I thought the original may have been a little too much.
Although, it was perfect.
You did good, Khirad! A little mystery in your edit. Sorta Persian. 😉
What you posted Adlib is EXACTLY why I’ve turned off ALL corporate owned media and research for myself. What is the point of listening to some talking head on TV tell me how to think or why I should feel a certain way?
There’s absolutely no point to it, but many people are too damn lazy to think for themselves. It requires effort and common sense.
CFW – Even truer today after MSNBC tried to curry favor with the GOP by suspending KO. It’s a cynical game that’s financially incentivized to manipulate and distract the public with BS.
I’ve been veering away from MSNBC lately, the last MSM outlet I spend any time watching and today’s betrayal of their viewership has inspired me to limit my time there to KO (only after he returns) and Rachel.
You are 100% right, we don’t need anyone telling us how or what to think, we just need the facts (what used to be called “news”).