Hillary Clinton

riversedge

(70,384 posts) Fri Apr 8, 2016, 09:04 PM Apr 2016

VICTORY: How Millions of Voters R Demolishing Anti-Hillary Narratives

Spot on.

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VICTORY: How Millions of Voters R Demolishing Anti-Hillary Narratives http://buff.ly/1MlqzeF
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VICTORY: How Millions of Voters Are Demolishing Anti-Hillary Narratives

By Peter Daou
April 8, 2016
4298 Shares

Once they take hold, media narratives are virtually impossible to dislodge, often persisting in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. We’ve deconstructed the zombie myth of Hillary’s “enthusiasm gap” and here we take on the flawed notion that she has a “trust deficit.”

Conventional wisdom is a refuge for journalists who are afraid of going against the grain. It took the near-drowning of a major American city to finally demolish the mindless narrative that George W. Bush was a firm, resolute, straight-talker. The emperor’s clothes came off and the world saw a bumbling, ill-informed, uncaring man.

Similarly, the deceptive meme that John Kerry was a “flip-flopper” took hold in 2004 and cost him the White House.

In 2016, there has been a deafening drumbeat from the media and commentariat that Hillary has a “trust deficit.” Never mind that the questions about her honesty and trustworthiness are being foisted on the public by the very people who are reporting on it, creating a dizzying loop.

Here’s the pattern — you might recognize it:

MEDIA: Is Hillary a liar? Is Hillary a liar? Is Hillary a liar?
PUBLIC: Hmm, is Hillary a liar?
MEDIA: People are asking if Hillary is a liar.
PUBLIC: Seems people are asking if Hillary is a liar. Is she a liar?
MEDIA: Polls say Hillary is a liar. Polls say Hillary is a liar.
PUBLIC: The polls mean something. Hillary must be a liar.
MEDIA: See, we told you, Hillary is a liar. Hillary is a liar. Hillary is a liar.

Thus, independent of any substantiating evidence, a bit of discrediting innuendo gets turned into “conventional wisdom”—something that is taken to be a truism.

The media and pundits then set forth to cherry-pick figures that will uphold their narrative. In February, Philip Bump wrote a piece for the Washington Post addressing the selective reporting around Hillary’s honesty, bluntly headlined: “If Hillary Clinton has an honesty problem, someone forgot to tell South Carolina.”.......................