Steven Jonas, MD, MPH
Something very odd and historically unique is about to happen (or
by the time you read this will have already happened) in U.S. politics.
The Republican Party’s Ministry of Propaganda (in this case known as the
Fox”News”Channel), along with the Unlimited Anonymous Campaign Spending Act
(otherwise known as “Citizens United”), is about to displace that party as the
leader of Right-Wing Reaction in the United States. I know, I know,
“Citizens United” was a Supreme Court case. But that was only on
paper. The decision was about something that should have been the subject
of legislation — campaign spending — and it was made by the most openly and
frankly Republican Court since the time of the New Deal.
There have been ministries of propaganda since before the times of
ministries. Ruling classes have had messages that they have wanted to be
transmitted to the masses since there have been ruling classes and
masses. Although it served what most observers (although not all — see,
e.g., “Golden Dawn” in Greece and the Azov Battalion in Ukraine) have
considered a most evil purpose, Josef Goebbels’ Nazi Ministry of Propaganda has
also been held up as the prime “how-to-do-it-right” (as well as Right).
The Big Lie, the emotional rallies, the dog whistles at the beginning, the theme
of Die Heimat (homeland) is ours, the demonization of population identity
groups including immigrants, and so on and so forth. But Goebbels’s
Ministry always served the interests of the Party. What we see now, this
very week, is the Ministry getting out in front of the Party and getting it to
serve its own purposes (which include selecting the Party’s Presidential
candidate, or at least, let’s say, the top three choices — who will then be
quite beholden to Fox ”News.”).
For here we have the Republican “Debate,” (really an opportunity
for candidates to give mini-versions of their stump speeches, with a modicum of
interaction), as defined by the Fox ”News” Channel. It was founded by
Rupert Murdoch in 1996. Since that time the one-time Republican
political-operative Roger Ailes — who had worked for Nixon, Reagan, GHW Bush,
and Rudy Giuliani — has been at its head. And, as attested to by such
media watchdogs as Media
Matters, it has been nothing if not the Propaganda Channel for the
Repubs.
Fox set up the debate. Fox picked the date. Fox chose
the “moderator,” Megyn Kelly (nee Kendall, whose chief claim to fame so far is
that she ushered Karl Rove down the hallway at Fox”News” on election night,
2012, so that he could be told by Fox’s own man that his, Rove’s, election
cheating scheme hadn’t worked that time. And from there she walked right
into her own prime-time show.) Most importantly, Fox is determining who
is and who is not going to allowed to appear in the prime-time version.
(Andy Borowitz refers to them as “The Top
Ten Narcissists” in America.) The Party is taking, some would say has been
shoved, into the back seat, by its propaganda channel.
And how could this happen? Not by chance, folks.
Citizens’ United has made it possible for candidates to run completely
independent of the party, while using the label, should they choose to do
so. Until recently I thought that C.U. was different only in degree, not
in kind, from previous election financing regulations. The ruling class
always controls the state and the political structures that populate it.
But one of the reasons parties have been able to exert major control of the
process has been through controlling, at least in part, the purse strings.
Now that connection has been sundered. C.U. has created
substantive change in U.S. politics, bringing money and politicians closer than
they have ever been, and making it possible for the expenditure of unlimited
amounts of money (much of it contributed anonymously) in election
campaigns. The Adelson and Koch ”primaries” for raising major money are
in the process of pushing the primaries in which people actually vote
into positions of lesser importance. To me this represents a major change
in the history of politics. For the first time in history, the Ministry
of Propaganda, in tandem with totally unregulated political financing, are
leading and the party the Ministry supposedly serves is following, with the
candidates getting ever-closer in the grip of the ruling class
leadership. It will be absolutely fascinating to follow to where this winding
trail will lead.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Senior Editor, Politics, Steven Jonas, MD, MPH is a Professor
Emeritus of Preventive Medicine at Stony Brook University (NY) and
author/co-author/editor/co-
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