Freedom Rider: Media "Disappear" Dennis Kucinich

The American corporate media is more efficient in the arts of political disappearance than any Soviet regime. Their job is to narrow the spectrum of choice to the candidates that represent their masters' interests - and then the rest of us are called on to choose among the anointed. Dennis Kucinich, a six-term congressman and former mayor of Cleveland, is a very serious, second-time candidate for president, but the New York Times literally erased his image from pictures of Democratic contenders, as if Kucinich did not exist. The corporate broadcast media pretend Kucinich is a nonentity. It's all part of the dumbing of America, for the benefit of the moneyed class.

"I've been standing here for the last 45 minutes praying to God you were going to call on me." - Dennis Kucinich to George Stephanopoulos, ABC news

Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich is alive, well, and free to move about as he pleases. Yet corporate media treat him like brutal dictators disappearing the opposition. They don't want voters to know that a Democratic presidential candidate will defend the citizenship rights of Americans and human rights around the world.

Kucinich was mayor of a major city, Cleveland, Ohio. He is now a six-term member of Congress and a Democratic presidential candidate for the second time. His progressive views are firmly in the mainstream, but right wing propaganda labels them unpopular. Kucinich's demand for ethical corporate behavior makes the media nervous. If he became president their bosses would have to accept a government serving the needs of citizens instead of being only at the beck and call of corporate power. Like good minions everywhere, reporters make sure the higher ups remain happy.

"Kucinich's demand for ethical corporate behavior makes the media nervous."

Kucinich has sponsored a bill to impeach Vice President Cheney, opposes any further funding of the occupation of Iraq, advocates health care for all, and exposes the lies used to justify the planned killing of thousands in Iran. His choice to live up to the values that Democrats claim has earned him only scorn and derision from the media. They use a variety of methods to disappear him, including removing his image from photos, ignoring him during debates, and simply acting as if he doesn't exist.

During the ABC sponsored debate broadcast on August 19th, George Stephanopoulos did not ask Kucinich a single question until nearly 30 minutes had elapsed and then asked him fewer questions than he asked any other candidate. As if the blatant lack of attention were not bad enough, ABC literally took Kucinich out of the picture. ABC displayed an Associated Press photo on its website that purported to show the Democratic candidates, but Kucinich's image was no where to be seen.

When confronted by the Kucinich campaign, ABC lied and lied badly. They tried to blame the AP when the photo cropping was obviously their own handiwork. Then they replaced the original cropped photo with one that included Kucinich but never acknowledged the original attempt to eliminate him and his message from view.

"George Stephanopoulos did not ask Kucinich a single question until nearly 30 minutes had elapsed and then asked him fewer questions than he asked any other candidate."

The ham fisted crookedness didn't end with a photograph. An online poll of debate viewers showed Kucinich as the winner. When the poll gave this unwanted and inconvenient information, ABC buried the results on the web site, making it difficult for readers to find.

ABC is not the only guilty party. A recent New York Times article stated that "Democrats Say Leaving Iraq May Take Years." The headline was a dead give away that Kucinich would be ignored. He has a plan to immediately announce the end of occupation, not a phony Clinton/Obama/Edwards "end" that leaves U.S. troops in place. If there were any journalistic ethics left, a candidate who advocates such a different path would be given an opportunity to explain those views to voters, instead of being treated like a skunk at the New York Times private party.

"Candidates must be chosen by the inherently corrupt ‘lesser evil' method that has brought this country to ruin."

This press behavior has a devastating effect on what is left of American democracy. If voters don't know who Kucinich is, they are forced to choose from a group that is more alike than different. They can then be convinced that they must ignore their own opinions about Iraq or single payer health care. The inevitable conclusion is that candidates must be chosen by the inherently corrupt "lesser evil" method that has brought this country to ruin. Democrats who want to reject the continuation of the Bush evil empire are told they have no where to turn, that Clinton/Obama/Edwards is going to win anyway, and that they must be "realistic" and get on board because Kucinich has no chance.

Kucinich would be choice of many Democratic primary voters if those voters knew anything about him. When crucial information is withheld from the public, corruption is accepted and the status quo that is destroying the nation continues to reign supreme. If this disgraceful press behavior continues, Kucinich will be the loser, but democracy and the American people will be the biggest losers of all.

Margaret Kimberley's Freedom Rider column appears weekly in BAR. Ms. Kimberley lives in New York City, and can be reached via e-Mail at Margaret.Kimberley(at)BlackAgandaReport.Com. Ms. Kimberley' maintains an edifying and frequently updated blog at freedomrider.blogspot.com. More of her work is also available at her Black Agenda Report archive page.

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