"Campaign spending in the 2012 U.S.
election could reach six or seven billion dollars as outside groups pay
for electoral influence. . . .
"Here we are in the middle of a deep
recession that's getting deeper by the day, with austerity the unofficial
slogan du jour, while Republicans scheme up new ways to trim, cut, and
decimate government spending. . . . [A]s both parties slash spending that
benefits people, they are in a manic overdrive effort to raise more for
themselves and their campaigns. The pols don't talk much about their own
spending, do they?
"In 2008, Barack Obama raised some $778
million for his presidential bid. The total cost of the national election,
including Presidential and Congressional, was about $5.3 billion. Since then,
court decisions like Citizens United have made spending by outside groups
easier. . . .
"Campaigns are windfalls for broadcasters.
The networks that oppose stimulus programs for workers with so many snarky
stories don't oppose this stimulus for themselves. . . .
"Promoting elections has become an
industry of its own and TV networks are at the center of it. They are not
devoting much time to promoting voter registration or voter education. They
don't provided many free ads and in fact often refuse to run issue-oriented ads
bought by activists. . . .
"This agenda is wrapped up in the mantra
of enabling democracy, but it is of course much more than that. Most of the
coverage is about the horse race, not the issues. It focuses on personalities
more than political organizing. There seems to be little concern with new
measures like voter ID cards designed to suppress the vote or electoral fraud
designed to steal it. . . .
"The Providence Phoenix reports, 'Political coverage on television is diminishing, and revenue from political advertising is soaring. Critics say free air time for candidates could help solve the problem.'"
*****
And
so we have an intense, progressive-oriented, picaresque history of 2010 and
2011, which embraces, as noted above, its past and future. And so much more.
The organization of the blogs is effective and compelling, moving through all
five dimensions, from this country to the world and back again, from history to
mystery, from Schechter's life to ours and then humanity at large, from the
individual to the masses--the years 2010-2011 become a microcosm for myriad
issues, some of which we thought about, others we've encountered and, most
compelling of all, those that are new not only to us but all readers, from
working-class living rooms and what remains of Occupy encampments to the
mansions of the Koch brothers and Warren Buffet's modest equivalent.
And
now for the promised finale: in terms of his mentor Murrow's accomplishments,
how does our News Dissector measure up?
1) Too early to judge: as a
recent film of his admits, he is still A Work in Progress;
2) His scope is far wider, encompassing books,
blogs, film (production, direction, screenplay), tv series, tv productions, and
radio;
3) Murrow would be damn proud of him.
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