I think a lot of it has to do with the republicans using the distrust of the media to their advantage. It is something that has been gaining momentum since regan was in office. He would make a sly comment or gesture as if it were an inside joke. Now we have the same thing going on and it is gaining momentum. I was just listening to the radio and they said in a recent poll that 15% of republicans actually believe that Obama is the anti-christ. WTF??? Are they passing out crack at these townhall meetings or what?
On Mon, Sep 21, 2009 at 8:50 PM, Keith Johnson <keithbjohn...@comcast.net>wrote: > > > I actually have no comment on this--maybe because I'm too busy shuddering > at this abuse of technology. And pondering anew how my fellow Americans can > sometimes be so unrelentingly stupid in who and what they support. > And while I respect the emergence of the importance of social networking, I > don't think we've come so far yet that we should let a person's Tweets or > Facebook postings shape our opinions on national and international events > and policy. > > I mean, Palin lied on Facebook about death panels--or worse, she might have > been stupid enough to *believe* that foolishness--and waited five days to > say something about that stance (and this article unfortunately doesn't say > what she said. Did she recant?) > > And the conservatives were worried about Obama's nefarious programming of > the kiddies. I'm more afraid of the tens of thousands of Followers > reproducing ,and then educating their progeny. Still, perhaps there's hope. > If the likes of Ari Fleischer (who I can't abide) sees through her > questionable veneer of charm, maybe there are a few brain cells yet working > in America. > > Okay, so maybe I did have a comment or two! :) > > ************************************************************************** > http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20090919/pl_politico/27344 > Palin emerges as Facebook phenom > > Since resigning her post as governor of Alaska, Sarah > Palin<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/politico/pl_politico/storytext/27344/33446100/SIG=11n1ml5qc/*http://topics.politico.com/index.cfm/topic/SarahPalin>has > essentially gone dark, making almost no public appearances and > successfully avoiding the media outlets that are clamoring to talk to her. > > But that doesn’t mean Palin has been quiet. > > > Relying almost exclusively on social media to get her message out, Palin > has managed to carve out her own high-profile place in the national health > care<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/politico/pl_politico/storytext/27344/33446100/SIG=11nf67dqe/*http://topics.politico.com/index.cfm/topic/HealthCare>debate, > on energy policy and on tort > reform. > > While Palin isn’t the only major political figure to try alternative means > of communication to bypass the media, her unique ability to remain in the > headlines while avoiding the spotlight suggests she may be the first to pull > it off successfully. > > > For several days in August, the national health care debate turned to > focus on so-called “death panels,” in large part because of two > widely-publicized Palin Facebook posts accusing Democratic authors of the > House proposal of creating bureaucratic entities to decide end of life > care. > > The post was immediately rebuked by Democrats, and even by some > Republicans<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/politico/pl_politico/storytext/27344/33446100/SIG=11on3ft3a/*http://topics.politico.com/index.cfm/topic/Republicans>, > as untrue and irresponsible. But rather than immediately firing back at her > critics when reporters came calling for a response, or issuing a press > release defending her claim, Palin waited five days to post her response on > Facebook. > > > The post, simply titled “concerning the ‘death panels,’” went up shortly > before midnight on a Wednesday night. By late Thursday morning, a write up > of her statement was on the homepage of dozens of national and local > newspapers. The post also quickly became one of the most mentioned topics > within the political blogosphere. > > “I can’t answer what her strategy is, but I can say that it’s working,” > said GOP strategist Mary Matalin. “A large issue of why this works is that > she has been so demonized and made fun of by the mainstream press.” > > With more than 850,000 “friends” following her every statement closely on > Facebook<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/politico/pl_politico/storytext/27344/33446100/SIG=11lih08id/*http://topics.politico.com/index.cfm/topic/Facebook>, > Palin trails only President Barack Obama as the most popular politician on > the site. And when Palin ended her Twitter feed after resigning as > governor, close to 140,000 people were following her—again, second only to > Obama. > > > “It’s the most passive form of communication there is, it’s only effective > if people are dying to go to your Facebook page,” noted Marjorie > Dannenfelser, the president of the Susan B. Anthony List, an organization > designed to advance pro-life women in politics, and co-founder of Team > Sarah, a network of Palin supporters. “She’s got this quality that Howard > Dean had in terms of the completely organic liberal movement he tapped > into.” > > > Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, a media strategist who > does not count himself as a Palin supporter, said the former Alaska > governor’s style and appeal lends itself to the online medium. > > “Facebook is perfectly suited for someone as polarizing as Sarah Palin,” > he said. “It’s the ideal way for her to keep in touch, to rev up her base > and go around the mainstream media.” > > > While Palin has used her Facebook page to weigh in with lengthy posts on > health care, energy policy and tort reform, it has also enabled her to > highlight causes with a more personal dimension, such as a favorite charity, > the celebration of Constitution Day and the commemoration of the eighth > anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. > > > “She’s trying to cut across the grain because everyone has been saying what > a dope she is and she’s going into depth on these issues,” said Matalin. > “This is a good strategy because it works and because it’s long form. In an > ad or any visual form, you could never take the kind of deep dive on a lot > of these issues.” > > Her establishment of one of the most powerful social media brands in > politics has coincided with her effort to all but drop off the mainstream > media grid. > > > Since her television news blitz shortly before resigning as governor, a > chaotic period in which she was even interviewed wearing waders while > fishing, Palin has not appeared on cable or network television. She has > issued very few statements to the media and her press contacts have become > markedly less responsive to press requests. While Palin will be delivering a > September 23 speech to investors in China, the event is closed to the > press. > > > Palin’s camp did not respond to numerous requests from POLITICO seeking > comment on this story. > > To some degree, Palin’s strategy may be driven by necessity. The former > governor has operated with a skeleton crew since leaving the governor’s > office, with a team consisting of only a handful of staffers employed by her > political action committee located in Virginia. > > > Even so, the practice of shutting out major print, television and news > outlets is a sure route to obscurity—and Palin in the past has given every > indication that she has an interest in continuing her career as a public > figure. > > But even as she’s all but vanished from the public view, Palin has managed > to amplify her voice and expand her reach online. The ranks of her Facebook > friends have swelled by several hundred thousand since the announcement of > her resignation, after remaining somewhat static at around 500,000 through > the spring and summer. > > > Fleischer said Palin has been able to pick up so much online momentum > because “she is so exciting.” > > “She represents a gigantic movement in this country that is distrustful of > Washington and finds her appealing for all the same reasons that the > mainstream media finds her unappealing,” Fleischer said. “This is where > social networks are most effective. It lets you focus on your core > constituents and fan bases, and few politicians can actually claim they have > a fan base.” > > > Still, Fleischer warned that Palin’s ability to drive hundreds of thousands > of individuals to her Facebook page will not get her past the media > filter. > > “Facebook is one way to go around the mainstream media, but when you add it > all together the mainstream media still exists,” he said. > > > The former governor’s online megaphone is taken seriously enough by her > opponents that the labor-affiliated group Americans United for Change > started running ads on Facebook to counter Palin’s messages. > > “Send Palin a message,” reads the black and white ad, which features only > text and a small picture of the former governor. “Health insurance reform is > too important for outright lies. Send Sarah Palin a message; tell her to > stop lying about ‘death panels.’” > > > For those who have worked with Palin, the end-run around traditional media > channels is not surprising. > > “She loves the unfiltered medium because she can make her statement and not > be questioned directly about any nuances,” one former Palin staffer told > POLITICO. “It speaks to the power of Facebook and social networking in > general. Here’s a case where Facebook postings are being picked up by [the > Associated Press] and the national media. As politicians—we’re taking note > of these media based on how well they’re working for her.” > > Another longtime Alaska insider and close observer of Palin called the > strategy “brilliant,” but said it was sad to watch her relationship with the > press deteriorate to such a point. > > > The Alaska source noted that prior to getting picked as Sen. John McCain’s > (R-Ariz.) running mate, Palin once brought cookies to reporters stuck > hanging around the state capitol on a Saturday for a special legislative > session. > > “There was so much difficulty in her getting her message out without it > being deliberately, in my opinion, twisted by members of the media,” the > insider said. “Now, even if a story gets twisted, they all know they can go > right to Facebook and see what she said.” > > > > -- Bringing diversity to perversity for 9 years! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/
