Beyond ethics, I assert that this, in the context of political talk, is unpatriotic, unbrotherly and more akin to the media control found in both communist and fascist states where radio does not reflect popular attitudes.
If, on the other hand you do not believe Hannity broadcasts propaganda, please go with God! I read recently where there were two kinds of Republicans today - millionaires, and suckers. But this saying may be unfair to Eisenhower Republicans, because there was a day when strict ethics, fiscal responsibility and small government meant just that.
After Reagan began steering the party, however, we saw a shift. The ethics of right versus wrong came to be replaced with the "win at all costs" struggle of us versus them. First them meant communists, but later it was anyone who was sitting on resources we wanted, and eventually, those who do not agree with us.
This brand of anti-Conservative "Conservatism", called Neo-Conservatism, preached a two-faced, duplicitous fiscal policy to go with it's two-faced morality. The economy would be stimulated by constant government interference, in the form of tax cuts for the wealthy, union busting, rampant deregulation, corporate "welfare" bail-outs and runaway corporate-government-lobbying incest or constant tweaking by the Fed. What part of "free market" didn't they understand?
Chiefly coming through the defense spending Eisenhower warned against, the U.S. government began an economic policy that swept a growing federal deficit under the rug.
Just as our "representatives" in the Senate pull down incomes many times higher then the average American, Hannity cannot possibly understand the plight of the middle class taxpayer today, cannot represent the views of someone who would benefit from redistributing the tax cuts to make the wealthy contribute more fairly.
Hannity repeated a few times last week the notion that America is a place where anyone can succeed, provided they work hard, study and sacrifice, putting in 14 to 16 hour work days. That sounds like a place where people might burn out early from hypertension as they grow estranged from their families. Is money really everything in American life today?
As spokesman for the rich, Hannity begs the question - is he a wolf in sheep's clothing? He advocates tax cuts for the rich in order to create jobs for the middle class. But think about this for a moment - the rich get cash and the middle class gets jobs? Many historians and economists agree this is a ruse - we could simply provide tax credits to those who create jobs in one direct step! The rich, acting as gatekeeping middleman between tax breaks and jobs are favored with greater power and leverage then the rest of us, no?
Consider that the government and their corporate donors are all rich themselves, including Hannity, who is raking in a reported $125 million for his current five year contract. He may fancy himself an everyday joe, but sits among the wealthiest upper class, persuading struggling millions for "three hours a day" to trust him. His economic "plan" assumes the rich, once given tax breaks will create jobs out of the goodness of their hearts. As we see, however, American corporations have been doing the opposite, shipping jobs overseas to save on labor costs, dismantling plants and unions within our borders, resulting in less and worse jobs.
Hannity tells us social programs and entitlements are the reason taxes are so high. But as Reagan once said, "the facts show otherwise". It's been the NeoCon Bush administration that has outspent any other, running huge annual shortfalls and tacking the cost of multiple wars and economic stimulus lump-sum payments onto the deficit for our kids and grandkids to figure out. And it's defense spending that eats into our current budget, more then any other consideration, more then any other country spends, and certainly isn't providing adequately for military families. Privatized food-services workers in Iraq are making more in "hazard pay" then the GIs doing the fighting.
Just as Eisenhower warned, defense contractors want our hard-earned tax money, robbing our ability to build schools, repair roads and bridges, or to send our brightest to college to shore up American competitiveness in science and engineering. Hannity blinds us to Ike's admonishment daily, supporting NeoCon war hawks and Reaganomics together without any care to reduce the debt we owe to China, Japan and the Saudis with insane interest piling on by the minute.
Suppose we take a look not how Hannity is at odds with liberals, but how he is at odds with true Conservatism - fiscal responsibility, strict ethics and small, unintrusive government. I see exactly the opposite from this administration, with Sean Hannity as it's brilliantly deceptive mouthpiece, saying one thing as they are doing another. If you let your own common sense guide you, it's easy to see that Hannity is selling you out - unless, of course, you are a millionaire.
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