Freedom Rider: Media "Disappear" Dennis Kucinich
by BAR editor and senior columnist Margaret
Kimberley
"I've been standing here for the last 45 minutes praying to
God you were going to call on me." - Dennis Kucinich to George
Stephanopoulos, ABC news
Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich is alive, well, and free to
move about as he pleases. Yet corporate media treat him like brutal dictators
disappearing the opposition. They don't want voters to know that a Democratic
presidential candidate will defend the citizenship rights of Americans and
human rights around the world.
Kucinich was mayor of a major city, Cleveland, Ohio. He is
now a six-term member of Congress and a Democratic presidential candidate for
the second time. His progressive views are firmly in the mainstream, but right
wing propaganda labels them unpopular. Kucinich's demand for ethical corporate
behavior makes the media nervous. If he became president their bosses would
have to accept a government serving the needs of citizens instead of being only
at the beck and call of corporate power. Like good minions everywhere,
reporters make sure the higher ups remain happy.
"Kucinich's
demand for ethical corporate behavior makes the media nervous."
Kucinich has sponsored a bill to impeach Vice President
Cheney, opposes any further funding of the occupation of Iraq, advocates health
care for all, and exposes the lies used to justify the planned killing of
thousands in Iran. His choice to live up to the values that Democrats claim has
earned him only scorn and derision from the media. They use a variety of
methods to disappear him, including removing his image from photos, ignoring
him during debates, and simply acting as if he doesn't exist.
During the ABC sponsored debate broadcast on August 19th,
George Stephanopoulos did not ask Kucinich a single question until nearly 30
minutes had elapsed and then asked him fewer questions than he asked any other
candidate. As if the blatant lack of attention were not bad enough, ABC
literally took Kucinich out of the picture. ABC displayed an Associated Press
photo on its website that purported to show the Democratic candidates, but
Kucinich's image was no where to be seen.
When confronted by the Kucinich campaign, ABC lied and
lied badly. They tried to blame the AP when the photo cropping was obviously
their own handiwork. Then they replaced the original cropped photo with one
that included Kucinich but never acknowledged the
original attempt to eliminate him and his message from view.
"George
Stephanopoulos did not ask Kucinich a single question until nearly 30 minutes
had elapsed and then asked him fewer questions than he asked any other
candidate."
The ham fisted crookedness didn't end with a photograph. An
online poll of debate viewers showed Kucinich as the winner. When the poll gave
this unwanted and inconvenient information, ABC buried the results on the web
site, making it difficult for readers to find.
ABC is not the only guilty party. A recent New York Times article stated that "Democrats Say
Leaving Iraq May Take Years." The headline was a dead give away that Kucinich
would be ignored. He has a
plan to immediately announce the end of occupation, not a phony
Clinton/Obama/Edwards "end" that leaves U.S. troops in place. If there were any
journalistic ethics left, a candidate who advocates such a different path would
be given an opportunity to explain those views to voters, instead of being
treated like a skunk at the New York Times private party.
"Candidates must be chosen by the inherently corrupt
‘lesser evil' method that has brought this country to ruin."
This press behavior has a devastating effect on what is left
of American democracy. If voters don't know who Kucinich is, they are forced to
choose from a group that is more alike than different. They can then be
convinced that they must ignore their own opinions about Iraq or single payer
health care. The inevitable conclusion is that candidates must be chosen by the
inherently corrupt "lesser evil" method that has brought this country to ruin.
Democrats who want to reject the continuation of the Bush evil empire are told
they have no where to turn, that Clinton/Obama/Edwards is going to win anyway,
and that they must be "realistic" and get on board because Kucinich has no
chance.
Kucinich would be choice of many Democratic primary voters
if those voters knew anything about him. When crucial information is withheld
from the public, corruption is accepted and the status quo that is destroying
the nation continues to reign supreme. If this disgraceful press behavior
continues, Kucinich will be the loser, but democracy and the American people
will be the biggest losers of all.
Margaret Kimberley's
Freedom Rider column appears weekly in BAR. Ms. Kimberley lives in New York
City, and can be reached via e-Mail at
Margaret.Kimberley(at)BlackAgandaReport.Com. Ms. Kimberley' maintains an
edifying and frequently updated blog at freedomrider.blogspot.com.
More of her work is also available at her Black Agenda Report archive page.
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