Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
By Thom Hartmann A...
The “vast right-wing conspiracy” machine is alive and well in America today. Unless you’ve been buried under a rock since this weekend, you’ve probably seen an interview or two with a former Army soldier who served with Sargent Bowe Bergdahl, the POW who was released this week after being held in captivity by the Taliban for 5 years. From CNN to Fox News to the pages of our nation’s largest newspapers, former colleagues of Bergdahl’s have been popping up, and accusing Bergdahl of being a deserter and a weak soldier.
Well, it now turns out that many of those interviews have been arranged by Fox News contributor and former Bush administration official Richard Grenell. According to Buzzfeed, Grenell’s public relations firm, Capitol Media, has, “played a key role in publicizing” critics of Bergdahl. And, the New York Times reported on Monday that “Republican strategists” had arranged for that paper to speak with former soldiers who had served with Bergdahl and who have anger towards him.
In fact, one of the former soldiers who was interviewed by the media, Cody Full, sent a tweet out, thanking Grenell for the role he played in, “helping get our platoon’s story out.”
So, it now looks like that these former soldiers who have come out against Bowe Bergdahl and his release are just part of yet another Republican-fueled conspiracy theory intended to tarnish the Obama presidency. But should we really have expected anything else?
After all, ever since President Obama was first elected president back in 2007, the “vast right-wing conspiracy” machine that Hillary Clinton first pointed out way back in 1998, has been churning out conspiracy after conspiracy, no matter how bizarre or outlandish they may be, all intended to take down President Obama.
The folks over at Mother Jones have compiled an amazing list of just about every conspiracy about President Obama that’s ever hit the Internet. The sheer volume of conspiracies out there about our Commander-in-Chief is pretty astounding.
Of course there are the more well-known conspiracies, like President Obama doesn’t have a U.S. birth certificate, he was actually born in Kenya, he’s repeatedly faked job numbers, and he wants to create a one-world government that will take away all of America’s guns. Similarly, there are the conspiracies that say that President Obama is secretly a Muslim, who decorated the Oval Office in “Mideast Style” and who was sworn in as President on the Koran, while being an ally of Al Qaeda.
Then there are conspiracies that say President Obama is actively trying to bring 100 million Muslims to the United States, and that he’s gay and married to some Pakistani guy. But as crazy as all of these sound, the conspiracies only get crazier.
There are conspiracies that say he faked Bin Laden’s death for political gain, and was behind the BP oil spill, the Aurora shooting tragedy, and Hurricane Sandy. There are conspiracies that say President Obama was “trained” to overthrow government, that his campaigns were funded by drug money, and that his real dad was Malcom X. And finally, there are conspiracies that say President Obama refuses to say the Pledge of Allegiance, that he removed the U.S. flag from Air Force One, and that he’s actually the Anti-Christ AND a lizard person.
Basically, the “vast right-wing conspiracy” machine has churned out just about every President Obama conspiracy imaginable. When it comes to all of these conspiracy theories that have been floated around over the past 6 years, what we really need to be asking ourselves is, "Who benefits from these outlandish and absurd beliefs? Where is the money behind these ideas coming from?"
The answer, of course, is that it's coming from the billionaires and economic royalists who are in control of our country. By floating around anti-Obama conspiracy theories, and by using Republicans in Washington to do their dirty work, America’s billionaires and economic royalists know that they’re weakening and disempowering the Democratic Party.
And while a weak and disempowered Democratic Party is bad news for you and me, it’s great news for the billionaires and economic royalists. It means they can stay in power a lot easier. Ever since President Obama became president, Republicans and their allies have been doing everything possible to tarnish the Obama legacy, and floating continuous conspiracy theories is a great way to do that.
So, if you see more of Sargent Bergdahl’s former colleagues being interviewed by the media in the days and weeks to come, don’t be fooled. It’s just another Republican-fueled conspiracy theory, meant to destroy the Obama presidency, and keep the billionaires and economic royalists in power.
Comments
#2
Hey everybody, I just wanna tell youse all that I made a little reply to the other day's blog topic, the "Labor Games" one, that I'd like youse all to see. It's right here http://www.thomhartmann.com/blog/2014/06/labor-games-time-american-comeb....
I mean, why "waste it on the desert air", you know what I mean?
#3
i JUST CHEERED YOUR ARTICLE ON THE "LABOR GAMES" BLOG. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INPUT
#4
President Obama conspiracy theories by the right wing are ludacris enough. However, they are really pikers when compared to Stephen Colbert. Watch this if you dare; but, remember...
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING!!
http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/videos/s190yi/this-changes-everything---obama-s-martian-gayness
#5
anarchist cop out ~ Well said, Mark!
#6
I would also like to alert everyone that I replied to that reply.
Thom, you should consider cleaning up some of these commentor posts and making a book out of them. "Conversations with real Americans." I volunteer to be the token righty, although I hate the label.
I think a 10% royalty would be fair...
After all, ever since President Obama was first elected president back in 2007, the “vast right-wing conspiracy” machine that Hillary Clinton first pointed out way back in 1998, has been churning out conspiracy after conspiracy, no matter how bizarre or outlandish they may be, all intended to take down President Obama.
He was elected in 2008. But we all make type-os sometimes.
Anyway, it is easy to find crazies on both sides and think that somehow they represent the thinking of the majority of the people. It's a political tactic both sides use.
This is unrelated, but I wanted to comment on something Thom said on his show today. He was talking about the Taliban, and how they were agrarian people who just wanted to be left the hell alone, not like Al Queda (sp?), who were actively engaging America. He was saying it like the Taliban were in the right. And my comment is, if you believe that, then why not apply that same logic to the rural parts of this country? Isn't that why so many red-staters want less federal control? Particularly when it comes to social issues? The citizens of, say, Mississippi, probably don't give a damn about gay marriage in California. But when that makes it to the federal level, and wins (which it will), now the citizens of Mississippi have a problem. Sort of like the Taliban - they just want to be left the hell alone.
#7
ChicagoMatt ~ Way back when we first wrote the Bill of Rights we decided that it was a good idea for the federal government to be in charge of protecting the civil rights of all of the citizens of our country. If the good people of Mississippi really believe that they should be "left the hell alone" than maybe they should practice what they preach and leave their own gay community "the hell alone."
Not being able to keep their noses out of other peoples business is a perfect example of why we need the federal government to do it.
#8
The recent Bergdahl swap has got the Republican noise machine claiming that it was illegal and a horrible thing to have done. After-all, they claim, he went awol and may have been the cause of the deaths of a few American fellow soldiers who went looking for him. Maybe our response should be that the Republicans, even now, will not own up to what their "Saint" Raygun did when he traded weapons to Iran for hostages. How many of those weapons were used to kill Americans, eventually? And what about all of the weapons that American corporations have sold to these countries since?
Bergdahl is no traitor...he's a hero! He acted out of conviction when he came to realize that he was lied to about why he was over there and what they were actually doing over there. Killing civilians...lots of them! That's enough to turn any honest man's stomach...any man with a conscience anyway.
But obviously, the men he had to work with, or for, over there were heartless, jingoist murderers. Those murderers in American uniforms are not patriots. They are the psychopathic cowards who deserve to be tried for war crimes right along with the cowardly politicians, military officers, and American xenophobic citizens who go along with the mass murder of civilians in the countries their military have illegally invaded and occupied.
#9
Palindromedary ~ So do you think it was just a coincidence that Thom decided to focus today's show on the topic you brought up just yesterday; or, maybe he read your post?
#10
I think it was just a coincidence.
#11
In this case, I think you're right.
#12
How differently Hitler might have fought his war if he’d had access to the digital age and drones...how much more covert if cyberspace and global corporate-military alliance allowed him to control German media to the extent that most Germans had no idea what their nation’s military were being ordered to do in their name. Imagine if a Nazi soldier, ordered to commit atrocities by his commanders, found the strength to allow the bandages of denial to fall from his eyes- to see the truth behind the Nazi regime. This soldier, having not only the courage to put down arms and stop the killing of innocents, also had courage enough to apologize to the ‘enemy’ for his actions as well as the actions of the Nazi war machine. Indeed, just as the Third Reich would have called for him to either be left to rot as a POW or be tried for desertion, or even treason for daring to speak against his government, most in our government and corporate media seem to be indirectly calling for the same for Sgt. Bergdahl. Quoting a leading Democrat as reported by Amy Goodman:
Sen. Dianne Feinstein: "I did have a call last night from the White House and they apologized, he apologized."
Reporter: "Are they acknowledging that the law was broken in that apology?"
Senator Dianne Feinstein: "I didn’t ask for that. I mean, it was obvious."
What corporate force has the above quoted reporter so cowed that the first question asked was as stated instead of being something like, “Is there any news of when Sgt. Bergdahl might be coming home”? As a Nation, do we really want to demand the President’s apology for negotiating the release of an American POW- especially since the 5 prisoners traded were likely held at GTMO contrary to our Constitution as well as international law and have not actually attacked the US?
Legally under the National Defense Authorization Act, the President should have given a month’s notice to Congress. So we are told. Ethically, in my humble opinion, he acted correctly. After all, how ethical is it for the CIA to pay the Taliban in order to gain access to transit routes so they can turn around and fight the Taliban? Is it not ethical to trade prisoners, most likely internationally unlawfully held, for an American soldier? As famously said by Paul in the New Testament; “...the letter of the law kills, but the spirit gives life.” Isn’t it time we look at the ethics (spirit) instead of the letter (law)? Shouldn’t we instead be asking ourselves as people, whether or not our laws are constitutional and/or just, instead of letting the corporate State slip laws like the NDAA past us without media scrutiny or public debate? Is the heart and sole of America dead?
I hope not. However, since American government now solely represents multi-national corporations, it has no heart or soul and it knows little if any borders with regard to loyalty or conquest. The Supreme Court may have ruled that Corporations are ‘persons’ with the same inalienable rights as people have, (or are supposed to have) under the constitution, but as we all know, they are not people. As such they are terrified that Bo Bergdahl’s courage and truth might escape his lips and reach the ears of the People...unleashing an international torrent of discontent and dare I say, rage against the corporate board that sits on the Supreme Court, the execs in Congress who fraternize with their corporate buddies within the dirty energy-money-media-military industrial complex and the CEO that sits in the White House. Sadly, the American People will get caught in the fray. They must not succeed in dividing us, instilling images in our psyches of those who use a moral compass and find the courage to act from their hearts as weak and deserving of punishment instead of heroic and deserving of highest honor. I for one, am not buying the lie. I love the People of this country. I wish I could say the same of it’s current Government, which sadly appears to be wholly corrupt. The American People no longer have a representative government and should we try to create one, the hammer of fascism will surely crush many- but peacefully and non-violently, try we must!!
#13
Hey Saulys, I just read it. Excellent.
Wake up, Matt. - AIW
#14
Sandlewould, it's good to hear from you again. Been awhile! Missed you!
The very thought of someone like Hitler having access to today's technology is enough to make me shudder. Technology by itself is neither good or bad; it's only as good or bad as the people who use it.
Tonight on Democracy Now, I heard Sgt. Bergdahl's story, and it saddens me. My heart goes out to that young man and his family. I often wonder what it would take to convince today's crop of impressionable young people that enlisting for military service isn't such a great idea.
I don't know what channel you were watching, but as you've described it, that "interview" sounds pathetic. What else can we expect from corporate media, after all?
"Is the heart and soul of America dead?" you ask. I can't resist answering your question with another question: Did America ever have a heart or a soul in the first place? Given the events we've witnessed in our lifetimes, let alone the historical facts, I have to wonder… - AIW
#15
The people of Mississippi could make the argument that, just like the Taliban, they live in a place that was once its own country (the CSA), and the USA invaded and imposed its will on them.
I know that sounds stupid. I'm just saying it for rhetorical purposes. If you think, like Thom, that the Taliban have a legitimate grievance against the USA, then you must see that the more Conservative and rural areas of this country have legitimate grievances as well.
Someone from the Taliban saying, "It is part of our culture to have women cover their hair in public, and who are you to say it is wrong?" is not that far from someone in Mississippi saying, "It's part of our culture to pray at graduation. Who are you to say it's wrong?"
#16
Matt, I think these conservative red states like Mississippi ought to secede from the union and have their own goddam country. They are a drain on the rest of us. Now that slavery is no longer in existence (at least in its initial, institutionalized form with total subjugation and no compensation), I really don't give a damn what the southern states do. No skin off my ass. Divided we fall?! They are nothing but divisive. - AIW
#17
AIW -- Do not forget that it was the 1% of the south that was for slavery. The number of abolitionists in the south was 2.5 times of those in the north. Of course, every one of those southern abolitionists was white. I wonder how much the soulth feels the way Matt describes it. Please remember if you want the red states to secede, there is a lot of people in the south like us that you are letting the 1% devour.
#18
ChicagoMatt ~ I remember once my father telling me, "You live under my roof, you obey my rules." I didn't like it; however, I couldn't do anything about it till I moved out. The same is true of Mississippi. If they want to be a part of this union and accept our tax dollars they damn well are going to live by our rules. Until they can successfully "move out" (succeed) they simply cannot talk back without expecting a smack in the mouth. That goes for every other state of the union as well.
Also, I don't give a damn about what happens anywhere outside our borders. "Leave those people the hell alone!"
#19
ChicagoMatt ~ I remember once my father telling me, "You live under my roof, you obey my rules." I didn't like it; however, I couldn't do anything about it till I moved out. The same is true of Mississippi.
Um. Couldn't you apply that to individuals as well? "Look, gay marriage isn't allowed here, so deal with it. If you don't like it, move." If people acted like that, where would we be? There is something to be said for breaking the house's rules sometimes.
My father was always fond of telling me I should "Take what I get and thank God for it." Or, if it were about food, I'd get the "millions of people wish they had what you have on your plate" speech. Perhaps more Americans should follow this advice. Stop focusing on what you don't have, and be thankful for what you do have.
For the record, all CSA states had it written into their new, post-CSA constitutions that they could never again leave the USA.
But the real red/blue divide is rural/urban. There are "redder" areas of downstate IL than some parts of Dixie.
#20
Quote ChicagoMatt:Um. Couldn't you apply that to individuals as well? "Look, gay marriage isn't allowed here, so deal with it. If you don't like it, move." If people acted like that, where would we be? There is something to be said for breaking the house's rules sometimes.
ChicagoMatt ~ I think you're right... You just got it backwards. Hippies were constantly told that we live in the freest country in the world. So they took that and threw it right back into the face of the establishment by acting out "free". One thing they showed everyone is that this country isn't as free as the establishment would like everyone to believe it is by far.
If people in Mississippi want to "break the house rules" by exercising "individual" freedom and marrying the same sex, smoking pot, or any other expression of real individual freedom I say more power to them. However, if some people's crazy idea of "freedom" is to restrict the freedom of others, in my opinion they have their heads up their a$$. People who truly want to be free will always have to counter intolerance and ignorance with disobedience. That is the job of the federal government--to protect the rights of the individual against the tyranny of powerful groups.
I say people of this nation should be free to do anything they want as long as nobody gets hurt; or, they don't infringe on the freedoms of anyone else. That is the true spirit of liberty; and, that is the country I want to belong to.
#21
People who truly want to be free will always have to counter intolerance and ignorance with disobedience. That is the job of the federal government--to protect the rights of the individual against the tyranny of powerful groups.
Replace the term "Federal Government" in that quote with "Tea Party" or "Minute Men" or "Gun Owners", and you have a right-wing talking point. Same idea, just different target. A righty might say that the Federal government is the most powerful, tyranical group of them all.
I say people of this nation should be free to do anything they want as long as nobody gets hurt; or, they don't infringe on the freedoms of anyone else.
I totally agree. Freedom to marry who you want, smoke or inject what you want, spend your money the way you want. But also the freedom to opt out of government programs, unions, etc.
#22
Quote ChicagoMatt:Replace the term "Federal Government" in that quote with "Tea Party" or "Minute Men" or "Gun Owners", and you have a right-wing talking point. Same idea, just different target.
ChicagoMatt ~ Completely different subject Matt. I'm talking about the rights of the "individual" and the role of government to protect it. However, since you brought up groups you might want to know that I have no problem with people organizing in groups to address the federal government either. Be they the Tea Party, Minutemen, Gun Owners, the KKK, or Labor Unions I think that any group that is not affiliated with an establishment of religion has every right to be heard. Likewise, it is the government's responsibility to protect that right and give those groups an equal opportunity to be heard.
I think that is the main problem with your argument, you constantly mix the idea of the individual with groups. Groups have the right to be heard, however, only "individuals" have human rights.
Money is not free speech! I don't care what SCOTUS says... They are wrong!
The federal government is the only entity capable of protecting human rights. If it is challenged by any other entity then you have anarchy and chaos.
#23
DAM -- I would like to put my refinement on what you have said. Keep in mind I think the most defining statement of America is contained in the first 3 words of the constitution "We the People".
Quote DAnneMarc:However, if some people's crazy idea of "freedom" is to restrict the freedom of others, in my opinion they have their heads up their a$$.
I do not think you, me or SCOTUS should tell those people where their head is, I think the 99% need to tell them where their head is. I think that is true freedom and the only freedom.
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Not only Fox but the mainstream media also does not much other than propogate the royalists' bogus message. The media must be discredited in the eyes of the public but I fear that as well. In Eastern Europe, for example, during the Soviet Era the official media had no credibility so everything was a "Jewish conspiracy" as far as the average person in the street was concerned. Relying on rumour for news and information is also an odious and dangerous thing.