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Tuesday, October 5
Call to Action: Help the Dems Manage Tonight's Debate Spin
by
Linda Thieman
on Tue 05 Oct 2004 03:29 PM CDT
 Call to Action: Help the Dems Manage Tonight's Debate Spin
DNC (ack!)
An "online coup d'etat." That's how CBS News described your efforts after the debate last Thursday.
John
Kerry did his part with a powerful performance that showed America they
can expect strong and principled leadership when he is our
commander-in-chief. But it was your efforts that kept the Republicans
from spinning their way to victory.
Now we
need your help again. Tonight, John Edwards and Dick Cheney will meet
for the only vice presidential debate of the campaign. Once again, we
need you to take action the moment they leave the stage.
There are three critical things you can do to help beat the Republican spin machine.
1) Vote in online polls.
2) Write a letter to the editor.
3) Call radio and television stations.
Your 10 minutes of activism following the debate can make the difference.
It is important that we double our efforts from the last debate, because the Republicans are now copying our strategy.
Vote in Online Polls
National
and local news organizations will be conducting online polls during and
after the debate asking for readers' opinions. Look for online polls at
these news websites, and make sure to vote in every one of them:
ABC News: http://www.abcnews.com/
CBS News: http://www.cbsnews.com/
CNN: http://www.cnn.com/
Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/
MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.com/
USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/
Wall Street Journal: http://www.wsj.com/
LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/
Akron Beacon-Journal: http://www.ohio.com/
Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune: http://www.startribune.com/
Orlando Sentinel: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/
Philadelphia Inquirer: http://www.philly.com/
South Florida Sun-Sentinel: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
And be
sure to check the websites of your local newspapers and TV stations for
online polls. It is crucial that you do this in the minutes immediately
following the debate.
Make sure swing voters know why you support John Kerry by sharing your thoughts on message boards in target states. Visit our 2004 Debate Center
after the debate for a list of message boards where you can fight the
Republican spin. If you visit chat rooms on AOL, MSN, Yahoo, or other
websites, be sure to let people know what you thought of the debate.
Write a Letter to the Editor
Immediately
after the debate, go online and write a letter to the editor of your
local paper. If you feel John Edwards presented an optimistic vision
for the next four years, put it in your letter. If you feel Dick Cheney
failed to explain the last four years of failed policies, put it in
your letter.
Writing a letter is easier than you think. It takes just a few minutes and just a few clicks using our online media center:
http://www.democrats.org/media/
Call Radio and TV Stations
TV
and radio coverage immediately following the debate is where much of
the spin is cemented. Make sure you call radio and TV stations to tell
them what you thought.
Find shows in your area on our media website:
http://www.democrats.org/media/find.html
Also...
Don't
forget to visit our 2004 Debate Center before, during, and after the
debate for important information and more ways to take action.
http://www.democrats.org/debates/
FOX News: We Deceive, You Decide
by
Linda Thieman
on Tue 05 Oct 2004 05:42 AM CDT
FOX News: We Deceive, You Decide
American Progress
After Kerry's strong performance
during the debate Thursday night, it was no secret that Republicans and
the right-wing media were desperate to find a way to criticize Kerry.
But no one knew they were this desperate.
Carl Cameron, the top political reporter at Fox, made up ridiculous quotes which he attributed to Kerry
and posted on Fox's website as news. Cameron – who bills himself as an
objective journalist – falsely quoted Kerry saying, "Didn't my nails
and cuticles look great? What a good debate!" and "Women should like
me! I do manicures." Coincidently, Cameron's quotes parrot Republican
talking points that aim to depict Kerry as patrician and Bush as a man
of the people. Another Cameron doozy attributed to Kerry: "I'm
metrosexual – [Bush is] a cowboy." Fox pulled the story from its
website after journalist and blogger Josh Marshall exposed it as a
complete fabrication. Fox spokesman Paul Schur said that Cameron "made
a stupid mistake which he regrets. And he has been reprimanded for his
lapse in judgment." But Schur refused to say what discipline Cameron
faced, later saying "we're simply moving on." Cameron has declined to
discuss the incident and continues to report from the campaign trail.
Write Fox and tell them that Cameron lacks the objectivity to cover the
presidential race.
FOX NEWS
DOESN'T LEARN: The day after the Cameron incident, Fox News posted an
interview with a group called Communists for Kerry, which it presented
as a legitimate, pro-Kerry organization. Fox quoted 17-year-old
Komoselutes Rob, a member of the group, as saying, "We're trying to get
Comrade Kerry elected and get that capitalist enabler George Bush out
of office." The report concluded, "it is unclear whether the Kerry
campaign has welcomed the Communists' endorsement." What Fox didn't
mention: Communists for Kerry is a parody by a Republican front group.
Fox News later retracted the article and claimed it wasn't at fault
because "FOXNews.com's reporter asked the group's representative
several times whether the group was legitimate and supporting the
Democratic candidate, and the spokesman insisted that it was." If Fox
would have bothered to click the "About Us" link on the group's
website, it would have discovered "Communists for Kerry is a campaign
of the Hellgate Republican Club, a tax exempt non-partisan public
advocacy '527' organization that exists for the purpose of; Informing
voters with satire and irony."
CAMERON
PALS AROUND WITH BUSH BEFORE INTERVIEW: This isn't the first time that
Carl Cameron's objectivity has been called into question. In a scene
captured in the film "Outfoxed," Cameron is caught palling around with
Bush moments before an interview during the 2000 presidential campaign.
Cameron: "My wife has been hanging out with your sister." Bush: "Yeah,
good." Cameron: "She's been all over the state campaigning, and Pauline
has been constantly with her." Bush: "Yeah, Doro [Bush's sister] is a
good person." Cameron: "Oh, and she's terrific. When she first started
campaigning for you, she was a little bit nervous, but now she's up
there—" Bush: "Getting her stride?" Cameron: "She doesn't need notes,
she's going to crowds and she's got the whole riff down." Bush: "She's
a good soul." Moments later, the cameras turned on and Cameron slipped
instantly into his "objective journalist" persona. Cameron later said
that "The whole thing is, in retrospect, an embarrassment that I feel
really bad about."
CAMERON
REPEATEDLY DESCRIBES KERRY AS OUT OF TOUCH MILLIONAIRE: On July 3,
Cameron "reported" that "The problem for Kerry may be who he is. An Ivy
League millionaire, who has rubbed elbows with the world's wealthiest
sophisticates, while most of rural America is considered Bush country."
Cameron made no mention that Bush attended Yale, is a millionaire, and
has spent as much time as anyone rubbing elbows with "wealthy
sophisticates." On June 29, Cameron similarly noted that "Kerry has
always been one of the haves, educated at the finest schools [and with]
a billionaire wife."
Find out more about how Fox News anchors'
"reporting" often becomes indistinguishable from Bush campaign
propaganda.
CAMERON
PUSHES MYTH THAT BUSH NEVER SAID MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: On Sept. 27,
Carl Cameron "reported" that "Though the banner said mission
accomplished, the president never actually use[d] those words.
Nonetheless, a new Kerry attack ad repeats the charge." One problem:
Bush did say "mission accomplished." On June 5, 2003, Bush said to
troops in Qatar, "America sent you on a mission to remove a grave
threat and to liberate an oppressed people, and that mission has been
accomplished."
BRIT
HUME SAYS CAMERON IS FAIR TO KERRY: Days before Carl Cameron presented
fake Kerry quotes as news, Brit Hume, Fox's Washington managing editor,
said, "our day-in, day-out coverage by Carl Cameron has been extremely
fair to Kerry." Of course, Hume himself isn't the most objective
observer, either. In June, July and August, Kerry's evaluations on
Hume's show, Special Report, "were negative by a 5 to 1 margin."
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