BETWEEN RHETORIC AND REALITY

It's not just that words can be, and are, pronounced differently, it is that words and phrases are used for their effectiveness in controlling thought. Add to this the staging of a Repugnant Convention, carefully scripted to give the illusion of inclusion, and you have some powerful persuaders.

One reporter called it a "kissyface convention" all sweetness and light. High up in the rafters of the building housing the Republican Convention last week sat people with binoculars and cell phones. When they spotted delegates goofing off or otherwise not contributing to the picture of "one big happy family," they contacted the floor whips and the miscreants were immediately told to shape up.

Despite this, most of the members of the Texas delegation continued to bow their heads in prayer when gay Congressman, Jim Kobe (R-AZ) addressed the convention. No effort was spared to create the inclusion illusion. Women, young people and minorities of all sorts were showcased as speakers, even a creature named ROCK who represented "WWW-Slapdown," one of the most violent, expletive's undeleted, filthy programs on TV available to children. This even shocked the CSNBC crew.

They, like us, wondered how showcasing him could possibly serve to portray the image of family values, character, and leave no child behind mantra of the Bush campaign. We wondered, that is, until we saw how much the audience loved it they knew Rock; they watched "Slapdown." My, my. Conservative Christians devoted watchers of a violent program, which often exploits women. Are you surprised?

Could all this predict how the whole country would be forced to conform if Bush is elected? HIS Ten Commandments on every classroom wall? HIS mandated prayer in the schools? His Gestapo thought and attitude police watching us from on high and around every corner? It's a scenario that goes so well with the theme of HIS professed compassion. What is this man's record? ASK TEXANS!

All of the GOPsters, of course, commented favorably on Bush's speech as did the media, but there were some who saw more in his "aspect and his eyes."

"His eyes were so close together that he could see out of both of them with the same monocle." And "I think he was trying to show sincerity, but the pained expression on his face was what one sees on a person whose pantyhose is too tight."

Incidentally, we could not help but notice how similar their description of Lynn Cheney was to that of Hillary Clinton. Smart, well educated, erudite, fosters educational programs for children, energetic, lots of political savvy, strong. Yet all the attributes glowingly listed with high praise for one was disparaged for the other. Strange until you realize that Lynn is strongly against the Women's Movement, reproductive rights, gun control, the environment and the Art Council, to name a few examples, while Hillary has promoted and defended them.

Here's a quote from an interesting article by the son of Reagan about the son of Bush. In a highly critical appraisal of Bush, Ron Reagan wrote, "The defining moment for me was his Karla Faye Tucker smirk, joking about a woman he would put to death. No adult would ever do that. It wouldn't even cross the mind of a grownup to joke about something like that." Ron is referring to how George W. Bush laughed and mimicked how Tucker pleaded with him not to kill her.

There were two bright spots in the media coverage. One was "Hardball's" Chris Mathews brief moment of truth. He had just finished telling about the Democrat's "SPIN" on the convention and began to quote a GOPsters "RESPONSE." Suddenly he paused as if some neurons in his brain made a long unused connection, then said in a wondering tone, "I GUESS THIS IS SPIN TOO, COME TO THINK OF IT."

The other was when Judy Woodruff of "Inside Politics" asked Bob Shrum of the Gore Campaign why he had replied to Bush's speech so quickly almost before it was finished. She implied that this was not fair play. Shrum answered, "Because your producer and other media were constantly calling us for our comments on his speech. You know, of course that Bush put his speech out to the press well in advance of giving it?" Judy mumbled something about
"not knowing that" and apologized for the question, and we hope her accusing tone.

Tom Rosensteil from the "Project for Excellence in Journalism" reports that the press has CONSISTENTLY been harder on Gore than on Bush. This independent study confirms what many of us noticed, so we ask, how much will the winning of this election depend on the candidate and issues and how much on the presentation by the media?

WILL WOMEN LET THE MEDIA CHOOSE THEIR NEXT PRESIDENT?

twanda@gendergappers.org  

2000-032

Copyright 2000 Renee T. Louise and Ruth M. Sprague, Ph.D. These articles may be republished for noncommercial use only, provided that they are copied intact, and that this copyright notice is attached. Address all queries to: twanda@gendergappers.org.

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