ABC News Drinking the Kool-Aid

Many areas of our private sector, including health care providers, resists government takeovers, what a sorry sight to see ABC News leap forward to make itself a propaganda arm of the government.

But that’s the story as ABC crosses the line from journalism to advocacy in turning its coverage of health care over to the White House.

This Wednesday, on every show from “Good Morning America” (kicking things off with an interview with the president) to “World News Tonight” (broadcast from the Blue Room) to a prime-time special called “Prescription for America” (and emanating from the East Room), the network will drink the O-Kool-Aid & puff the Obama administration’s trillion-dollar plan to nationalize U.S. health care.

Don’t think it isn’t. This isn’t your grandfather’s propaganda. Forget public service announcements. Just as some newspaper ads trick themselves up to look like news stories to enhance their credibility, making a partisan program indistinguishable from the nightly “news” is a propaganda tool in the same vein.

Nobody has figured this out better than Barack Obama’s political machine, which has manipulated almost all the mainstream media since he began running for the presidency.

Under the cover of news, ABC can present the president’s side of the health reform issue as “factual” and leave out the real costs and concerns about government control and rationing of health care. Personal stories that tug at the heartstrings will be featured prominently, as will the wonders of socialized medicine.

Long and repetitive coverage will numb the public into thinking all sides have been explored. A token few seconds of time given over to a critic or two will enable ABC to call its coverage “fair.” But expect the opposition to be portrayed as heartless or wacko.

The only thing such propaganda can’t do is admit its real aims.

ABC insists it will present a balanced picture — as balanced, as the political contributions of ABC News employees who gave 80 times more to Obama’s campaign ($124,421 to $1,550) as they did to his opponent, John McCain.  I was not a fan of McCain, I wanted Romney to be our leader…but the O-Socialist Train is running at full-speed.

The best proof that the public is getting propaganda is that ABC is refusing to take ads from critics who are offering to pay for them. Among those turned away: the Republican National Committee and a group called Conservatives for Patients’ Rights.

This is a disgrace. Much of the U.S. private sector, from banks to automakers to hospitals, have resisted a government takeover, seeking to maintain their independence. Only the media, which should be the most independent of all, haven’t.

It also contrasts with brave media outlets overseas, including Globovision, Venezuela’s last remaining independent TV station, which is defying Hugo Chavez’s goons, or Iran’s Twitterers and Facebookers defying the mullahs.

It all amounts to a sad corruption of American journalism. Once upon a time, people would go into journalism to expose the seamy underbelly of American politics. Today, ABC News, in its abject submission to the Obama administration on health care, has decided to become the seamy underbelly.

My question is…what’s next?….maybe the gov’t will prevent me from listening to Channel 55 on my XM Radio, Margaritaville…because it’s not a Kool-Aid station