Right Wing Propaganda and the GOP Blowback

Propaganda is a funny thing. It can be used to persuade people in to following the latest trends, fashions, food crazes and such. It can be used to bring awareness to certain causes such as environmental issues and wildlife preservation. Propaganda in it's most simplistic form is nothing more than marketing. The goal is to persuade people in to consuming certain products or supporting causes.

Propaganda can also be quite dangerous. In the hands of the right people, or wrong people depending on your personal opinion, propaganda can lead to horrors and atrocities that stain the fabric of human history for generations to come.

While it goes without saying that we experience many forms of propaganda in the US and from many different sources, we sit at a very interesting point in time in which we can witness the results of many years of Right Wing propaganda being pushed on to the American people.

Perhaps those results were not what was intended.

We can begin to see the narratives come to take shape in the nineties during the Clinton presidency. Propagandists such as Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin used specific words and phrases who's purpose was to attack those they opposed politically and their listeners quickly picked-up on those tactics. This gave rise to phrases such as "ivory tower liberal", "limousine liberal", "welfare baby" and many more, becoming religious-like dogma for those on the Right.

At the same time, the Right Wing propagandists were able to create the false narrative that the Right Wing had a monopoly on many aspects of the American experience. They were the only true American patriots, while the Left were anti-American scum. They were fiscally responsible while the Left were careless and wanted to spend the US in to oblivion, giving the money to the poor, lazy welfare recipients so they would vote for Democrats. They were the party of Christian values and morality, while the Left was comprised of the morally bankrupt with no sense of what is right or wrong. And there are many more examples.

While Bush is in office, the propaganda and narrative continues to build. Right Wing media outlets become ever-increasingly popular. Fox News takes the top spot for cable news media, Right Wing radio becomes a hot commodity and the internet is bursting with new websites spreading the narrative to those that seek it. 9/11 presents an interesting opportunity for the Right Wing to take advantage of, using it to build the idea that Leftists are weak on terrorism and that only the Right can stand strong against those that oppose the US.

The narrative gains more traction and supporters. The Right Wing had a winning strategy by pounding this narrative in to the minds of the people repeatedly. And then all hell breaks loose when Obama is elected in to office. The Right Wing goes in to overdrive slandering the Left and Obama with anything and everything they can. Nothing is off limits and the narrative created up to this point expands in to the conspiracy realm with questions of his birthplace, Benghazi and such.

At around the time Obama was elected to a second term, we begin to something strange happen. The Right Wingers that had been exposed to this propaganda over a period of years or decades, begin to turn on the GOP. The narrative had grown to become so partisan and extreme that those people began to view the Republicans as part of the problem. There was no place for reason or compromise with these people.This gave rise to the new Libertarian movement, which is not Libertarian whatsoever. They are disgruntled Republicans who's views had become so radicalized by the propaganda that they wished to break away from the GOP. These people had a demand for representation in DC that fit with their propagandized world view.

Then along came Trump. Say what you will about Trump, but he is no fool. He noticed that there was a void within the Right Wing. There was a demand for a politician that would step in to that void and represent the radicalized views of the brainwashed. He knew that if someone could simply speak, act and address issues in a manner that represented the false narrative created by the Right Wing propaganda, he could gain support. And he did. He knows what appeals to this specific group of people and it is not substance. It's confirmation bias. They long for someone to openly conduct themselves in a manner that mimics the propaganda they have digested.

So it is my assertion that the Right Wing has exposed it's ranks to so much propaganda over a long period of time that it backfired on the GOP. The narrative went beyond what was even acceptable for the GOP, it opened the door for an extreme candidate like Trump and now the GOP has to pay the price. Either they must let Trump become the candidate for the GOP and hope they can fold his supporters back in to the GOP, or they take the route of a brokered convention and risk alienating large section of their own party.

No matter the outcome, the US will continue to suffer from the consequences of Right Wing propaganda. There is no end in sight and the cognitive dissonance of those I refer to will not allow them to step back and take an honest look at what they have become. This goes well beyond simple disagreements on politics. We have a section of American society that is completely brainwashed and the brainwashing continues today.

Introvert = Right wing is baaaad narrative.

No thank you. The Left Wing Propaganda Machine is just as big and just as noisy, if not more so.
I won't be participating in this over-the-top biased thread. Carry on.

Change thread title to: Left Wing Propaganda and Baby's First Hit Piece

originally posted by: queenofswords
Introvert = Right wing is baaaad narrative.

No thank you. The Left Wing Propaganda Machine is just as big and just as noisy, if not more so.
I won't be participating in this over-the-top biased thread. Carry on.

Actually, I feel sorry for many on the Right because there are real conservatives out there that are reasonable and do not shout extremes to get their point across.

They are not whom I speak of.

originally posted by: Bennyzilla
Change thread title to: Left Wing Propaganda and Baby's First Hit Piece

Do you disagree that the propaganda has backfired on the GOP and opened the door for someone like Trump?

a reply to: introvert

No, but your thread is heavy handed and full of loaded words and phrases so no matter how concrete your point may have been, it's lost in your attempt to use deceptive language.

Plus it's clear this is so much more about bashing Trump than it is about the GOP tactics or anything they've done.

a reply to: Bennyzilla

No, but your thread is heavy handed and full of loaded words and phrases so no matter how concrete your point may have been, it's lost in your attempt to use deceptive language.

I believe I was fairly simplistic in my approach and very direct. No deception whatsoever.

Plus it's clear this is so much more about bashing Trump than it is about the GOP tactics or anything they've done.

Trump was given credit for being wise enough to notice the demand. He is offering the supply. This is less about Trump and more about the growth of the Right Wing propaganda and how it backfired on the GOP.

Do you disagree that the GOP is in a bad position with the rise of Trump?

Fairness Doctrine

a reply to: introvert

Just Trump? I heard last night that 60% of Republicans aren't happy about the choices they have here.

originally posted by: intrepid
a reply to: introvert

Just Trump? I heard last night that 60% of Republicans aren't happy about the choices they have here.

Could you be more specific with your question?

originally posted by: xuenchen

Fairness Doctrine

Pfft. I've been bringing that up for at least a decade and it's been poopooed in favor of people's propaganda. And NOW you want to hide behind it?

originally posted by: intrepid

originally posted by: xuenchen

Fairness Doctrine

Pfft. I've been bringing that up for at least a decade and it's been poopooed in favor of people's propaganda. And NOW you want to hide behind it?

I made no comment about hiding.

What a silly knee-jerky reaction that is.

I think the Left Wing are the ones who want it back.

Especially with all the exposures over the years.



Pfft.

a reply to: introvert

I disagree.

The "conservatives" are leaving the GOP because the GOP is no different than the DNC.

Both want big government.

Ideas and concepts like individual liberty are gaining a foothold.

From gay marriage to smoking pot. (Though I don't see conservatives embracing leftist politicians and ideals.)

We are a nation of too many laws.

Call it "propaganda" if you like.

I call it hubris.

Though I must thank you.

from the OP, I get that the conservatives in America are waking up and leaving the GOP, not believing the GOP, not buying the bull.

Unfortunately, I would have a hard time saying that of the leftists.

a reply to: introvert

The OP is spot on. You describe the uses of the propaganda machine succinctly and to the point. Propaganda seeks to fool the people into beliefs that will benefit the propagandizer and not necessarily the propagandized.

One of the main consequences of being propagandized, of being brain-washed is that the victim does not know it. They may be aware of propaganda and brain-washing but only in the case of others who have become it's victims. In the case of conservatives, they see how liberals are brainwashed and in the case of liberals they can see how the conservatives have been brainwashed.

That said, I find that your evaluation and history of the 'right wing' propaganda machine is on the mark. But it's victims will never know it.

originally posted by: xuenchen

originally posted by: intrepid

originally posted by: xuenchen

Fairness Doctrine

Pfft. I've been bringing that up for at least a decade and it's been poopooed in favor of people's propaganda. And NOW you want to hide behind it?

I made no comment about hiding.

No, you seldom say anything. I said hiding behind the FD.... when a point can't be beaten, obfuscate and deflect.

@ introvert: The Reps aren't just displeased with Trump as a choice. 3/5 don't care for the rest either.

The Left can see that the Right is brainwashed. The Right can see that the Left is brainwashed. Neither side can see that they themselves are brainwashed.

Welcome to America. Once the land of the free, now the land of the brainwashed. Death, Propaganda, and the pursuit of Debt.

The problem with you OP is that you blame only the right. BOTH sides of the aisle are propaganda machines. BOTH sides use their money and connections to convince the masses that THEY know best who the American people should vote for. The media promotes and sells whichever candidate they have been PAID to promote.

Case in point: During the 1996 election cycle, Pat Buchanan ran as an "anti-establishment" conservative on the Republican ticket. He was an outsider... he packed in rallies and was gaining a lot of traction. Had he won the nomination, he would have faced Bill Clinton. Then... David Duke "endorsed" Pat Buchanan; he was labeled as a "racist" and his supporters were called "ignorant". Pat was trampled by the media circus.

Flash forward to 2016... a Republican "outsider" is making waves again. If Trump wins the nomination, he will face another Clinton... and he receives an uninvited "endorsement" from David Duke. Trump is labeled as a "racist"... etc. etc. etc. Quite the re-spin on what happened in 1996.

Propaganda at its finest.

The Democrats and their media machine have a long history of promoting racial division as a means to their ends.

The truth is that the Klan LOVES the Clintons and the Progressives in general. "Pro-Choice" agendas delight these idiots, as it means the pre-birth murder of countless minority children. The Clinton's are today's "Dixie-crats"... out of the same mold as the southern Democrats that fought so hard to keep segregation as the norm.

For my money, if the collective propaganda machines are hell bent on destroying Trump, it is because he undermines their current agenda. The agendas of both sides, (R) or (D), is to milk our wallets and make their financial backers even wealthier. This is no longer a nation that believes in "Of the people, by the people"... the career politicians on both sides destroyed that long ago. Politicians no longer care about the opinions of their constituents (you know... the ones that put them in office)... instead they pander to lobbyists and special interest groups.

The Patriot Act was wildly unpopular with the American public, yet it was rammed through anyway. For our own good!

"Obamacare" was wildly unpopular with the American public, yet it was rammed through anyway. For OUR own good!

The entire political machine in this country is rife with corruption, however they have over 300 million citizens that they can tax to pay lawyers to defend their actions in courts run by political appointees.

The propaganda machines of both sides have blasted Trump. They despise him, as he is not "one of them".

If you really want to effect change in this corrupt system, I suggest you should do the exact opposite of what the MSM are telling you that you should do.

I hope Mr. Trump is cognizant of the fact that the last President that stood up to the "status quo" was murdered in Dallas.


It is disgusting... and most Americans happily buy what they are selling...

a reply to: introvert

Very well said. To others replying, of course there is a left-wing propaganda machine as well, but I believe the right-wing propaganda has either been far more effective, or is far more pervasive (and devious.) Heck, they've convinced people that modern Republicans are Conservative, of all things! Just pulling that off alone is something a master propagandist probably could only dream about!

I think people should hold whatever political/economic views they want, but it annoys me when those views are based on lies.

originally posted by: queenofswords
Introvert = Right wing is baaaad narrative.

No thank you. The Left Wing Propaganda Machine is just as big and just as noisy, if not more so.
I won't be participating in this over-the-top biased thread. Carry on.

Agree, the whole thing is a ruse...

Buying into the false "left/right" paradigm only divides the country and prevents real change from occurring.

By attacking each other, we are only serving TPTB's divide and rule agenda.

The end result is we are all distracted from the real forces that are tearing society apart.

Would-be global rulers cannot physically control six and a half billion humans. Therefore, they must use secrecy and deceit. Keep the human herd ignorant and fighting with each other. Divide and conquer – it’s the oldest tactic in the book. And it’s relatively easy if you control the major academic institutions, the political parties and the major mass media (a mere five multinational corporations with interlocking directorships today control everything we see and hear. Jim Marrs

www.examiner.com...

For far too long, Americans have been told they exist only as members of warring camps—as Republican or Democrat, red state or blue, conservative or liberal, right or left, religious or secular, urban or rural, majority, minority and even minority/majority. It’s no coincidence that we are described by these labels—as if these labels defined us—by elites who alone stand to benefit from the very divisions they promote.

If they can convince the rest of us that we are at each other’s throats, on the verge of civil strife, these elites can make us believe our own neighbors are our enemies and that we have nothing in common but our hatred of each other.

By herding us into these warring camps, by pitting us against one another, these elites can also distract us from the real forces tearing this society apart—the unaccountable, irresponsible political establishment that now presumes to govern in our name, with no concern for anything but its own interests. By sowing these seeds of distrust, they divide and conquer, and for too long, they have succeeded.

Break the Left vs. Right Paradigm

Dr. Sutton believes the "left" versus "right" split is fraudulent and used to control the debate and condition citizens to think along certain lines. Left-wing magazines like the "The Nation" and "The New Republic" and right-wing magazines like "The National Review were "artificially set up." The former were financed by Whitney money while the latter by Buckley. Both are "The Order."

Dr. Sutton states: "Sooner or later people will wake up. First we have to dump the trap of right and left. This is a Hegelian trap to divide and control. The battle is not between right and left; it is between us and them." Similarly, in the international field left and right political structures are artificially constructed and collapsed in the drive for one-world synthesis, i.e. authoritarian socialism controlled by monopoly capital. College textbooks present war and revolution as accidental results of conflicting forces. This is nonsense, says Dr. Sutton. They are created and financed by Wall Street to create a new world order. But you won't read this in history books.

THE BATTLE IS NOT BETWEEN LEFT AND RIGHT

a reply to: intrepid

@ introvert: The Reps aren't just displeased with Trump as a choice. 3/5 don't care for the rest either.

That is true.