Nixon-Reagan and the anti- "liberal Media" Right Wing Machine

[Q]

Nixon-Reagan spawned the "vast right-wing conspiracy"...Or how Nixon and Reagan used our government and corporate America to transform our free press into a anti-liberal propaganda machine for the right.

- Excepts are from the Robert Parry 4 part Article: Democrats Dilemma - Deeper than Al Gore. http://www.consortiumnews.com/1999/080499a1.html

- This is a long article but probably one of the best to explain how mass communications in America was transformed to support one particular ideology over all the rest...and how Nixon and Reagan created the political-media machine to accomplish that goal.

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Beset by growing public outrage over the Vietnam War, Nixon determined that Republicans needed a more compliant media to promote their points of view and to make his hardball political strategies work. --- The disgraced president retreated to his estate in San Clemente, Calif. But Nixon's followers blamed the "liberal" news media for hounding Nixon from office and for "losing" the Vietnam War. They concluded that a more conservative press was vital to their success.

In 1979, Simon argued in his book, A Time for Truth , that only a strong conservative ideological movement could break the back of the dominant Liberal Establishment. Simon accused this Liberal Establishment of enforcing misguided concepts of "equality" and of being "possessed of delusions of moral grandeur." --- To build the Right's "counter-intelligentsia" and to transform the Republican Party into a conservative weapon would require "multi-millions" from business, Simon said. Simon's Olin Foundation allied itself with other like-minded foundations to advance this cause, giving rise to the nucleus of the Right's national infrastructure of think tanks, media and pressure groups.

One, Lt. Col. Daniel "Jake" Jacobowitz, served as executive officer inside the chief “public diplomacy” office located at the State Department. Later, the White House transferred in another five psychological warfare specialists from the 4th Psychological Operations Group at Fort Bragg, N.C. --- Raymond's public diplomacy teams also exacted a high price from mainstream reporters whose work challenged the administration's assertions about Central America and other international hot spots. By 1986, a chastened Washington press corps was falling into line on the contra war and other controversial issues.

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[Q]

1. Money and conservative media-political apparatus dictates terms of debate

"...The news media puts Gore down as a boring candidate burdened by "Clinton fatigue" and paying the price for President Clinton's personal misconduct.

Bush also thumps Gore in another critical category: early campaign cash. The son of the former president retooled his father's political money-machine to spew out the record sum of $36 million by early July.

Gore lags far behind with about $18 million, while facing a reasonably well-financed challenger, former Sen. Bill Bradley of New Jersey, who collected some $11 million.

Yet, for all these early negatives, the overall predicament might be worse for the Democrats and Vice President Gore. Beyond Bush's money advantage and concerns about Gore's political baggage, the Democrats also face what might be called a vast "media deficit."

With the investment of billions of dollars over the past quarter century, Washington's conservative media-political apparatus increasingly dictates the terms of the national debate in the mainstream as well as the right-wing press..."

[papau]

2. GOP replaced "equality" and morality with "family values"

Great PR - Amazing how those left wing media outlets went along.

sigh.

[Q]

4. Parry's article spans decades of the 'right wing' buying of the media...

...and using corporate money and influence to make sure only half (their half) of the story made it to the American people. The RWingers actually invented the media that helped obstruct justice in the Iran/Contra scandal.

- The article also talks about how far-right 'think tanks' and the wealth behind Moon, Scaife and Murdoch helped to finance the New Conservative Media.

- It's a good read.

[Nlighten1]

3. If you noticed also...

during the recent PBS Watergate show you could see the perps saying "I don't recall" a phrase that every Republican administration has used since to deny culpability to their crimes. If only Bill Clinton would have said this.

[Q]

5. Clinton couldn't have used the 'I don't recall' phrase...

...because the media was already under the control of the Neocons.

- It's not just a 'media bias' against the Democratic party...it's the GOP-controlled conservative media lying and cheating to keep THEIR party in power while they destroy the opposition.

[joeybee12]

6. Tax Cheat Spiro T. Agnew

Was always harping on the "liberal media" He may have even coined the term.

Oops! I'm giving away my age! No, no, I'm not, I was just a very bright, and focused two-year-old at the time.

[Q]

7. Nixon and Reagan didn't like the way the 'liberal media'...

...reported truthfully about their crimes and malfeasance. Nixon actually blamed the 'liberal media' for 'hounding him out of office' and 'losing the Vietnam war'.

- Nixon...and later on Reagan...used our tax dollars to find ways to make the media more compliant with their agenda. They intimidated reporters and used operatives from the NSA and military to run 'perception management' units within the state department.

- It's no coincidence that NeoConservative have a more prominent voice in the media...they PAID for it to happen that way.

[Q]

8. Reagan used mass communications as a "public diplomacy tool"

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"...During this same period, another major source of conservative media money came on line. In 1982, drawing on his shadowy resources in Asia and apparently South America, Rev. Moon launched a daily newspaper, The Washington Times. The right-wing paper soon became President Reagan's favorite as it promoted his policies and denounced his opponents.

As the years wore on, Raymond sought more resources for “public diplomacy.” On Dec. 20, 1984, Raymond submitted a secret action proposal to national security adviser Robert C. McFarlane. It urged an even greater commitment of manpower in all areas. “I have attempted to proceed forward with a whole range of political and information activities,” Raymond wrote. “There are a raft of ties to private organizations which are working in tandem with the government in a number of areas ranging from the American Security Council to the Atlantic Council, to the nascent idea of a ‘Peace Institute.’

Among the examples of his "specific activities," Raymond listed “significant expansion of our ability to utilize book publication and distribution as a public diplomacy tool. (This is based on an integrated public-private strategy). … The development of an active PSYOP strategy. … Regular meetings with the German political foundations concerning programming. … Meetings (ad hoc) with selected CIA operational people to coordinate and clarify lines between overt/covert political operations on key areas. Examples: Afghanistan, Central America, USSR-EE and Grenada.”...

[Q]

9. "Right-Wing Machine" - Most powerful political operation in Washington

"...The growing power of the public/private conservative apparatus helped the Reagan administration keep the lid on a slew of secret policies: funneling illegal aid to the Nicaraguan contras, tolerating cocaine smugglers who had infiltrated the contra movement and swapping arms for hostages with Iran.

Even after the Iran-contra scandal finally broke in 1986 -- with the crash of a plane in Nicaragua and the disclosure in Beirut of the arms-for-hostage transactions -- the conservative media fought rear-guard actions that hampered official investigations. In particular, the conservative media waged a long-running battle to discredit the work of Iran-contra special prosecutor Lawrence Walsh.

By the late 1980s and early 1990s, this finely tuned Right-Wing Machine was arguably the most powerful political operation in Washington. As a testament to its clout, conservative spokesmen were routinely featured on network pundit programs..."

[Q]

10. Kick for the morning people...

- Ever wonder why the media seems to give GOPers a free ride for their misdeeds? Read this article to get a better understand as to how a 'new media' was created by and for the right wingers.