Rupert Murdoch is the perfect symbol of the dangers inherent in unregulated capitalism. As the CEO of News Corp, and the owner of Fox News (as well as a host of other media), there’s no real way to determine just how much influence he has over the entire world’s information. And his is not a passive voice. Or a particularly ethical one.
It’s redundant to mention at this point, that Murdoch is backing Mitt Romney for president, albeit reluctantly. While Romney may not be any conservative’s ideal candidate, he has the basic look they tend to go for, as well as a portfolio that’s just too fat for his one country to hold.
Mitt’s the man, but only because he’s not Obama. Rupert Murdoch took to Twitter this morning, to summarize his feelings, his news channel and newspapers’ mission statement and his personal empire’s best interests, in under 140 characters;
“US election is referendum on Obama, all else pretty minor”
So there you have it; whatever issues you may find important, like say, the economy, unemployment, health care, civil rights, or whatever other petty problems ‘little people’ like yourself worry about, are small potatoes. It’s really all that needs to be said.
Whatever Fox News, the Wall street Journal, and the rest of the Murdoch Media Mafia have to say, it all boil down to unseating President Barack Obama. That’s why you’ve never heard a single positive comment about anything he’s ever done from them.
Of course it’s not journalism, that debate is over and done; and it’s not just ideology, Obama hasn’t put any restrictions on Murdoch or his fiefdom, in America. A Democrat in the White House is probably good for Fox; it gives them plenty of red meat to throw into the hate-troughs they slop their audience with. It’s just about wielding power for the plutocracy. He clearly states that he believes everything else in this election to be unimportant.
But from Murdoch’s perspective, Mitt Romney isn’t fighting hard enough. It seems as though he’d also like ‘Big Willard’ to take the gloves off:
“Met Romney last week. Tough O Chicago pros will be hard to beat unless he drops old friends from team and hires some real pros. Doubtful”
And while it is true that Romney’s entire campaign strategy is just Obama bashing, Mitt doesn’t have Rupert’s instinctual aim or taste for the jugular. With seemingly half of the Republican Party openly calling for armed rebellion, Mitt’s disdainful aging frat-boy shtick seems like weak sauce.
But you know what? I think there are two reasons that Mitt Romney and Rupert Murdoch and all of these corporate demagogues are doomed to fail.
Hubris and an astonishing lack of self-awareness. These people’s financial successes have placed them in their own little worlds, where the glare of the lights that constantly shine on them blind them to the parts of themselves that are ugly, vain, and unscrupulous. Those of us out here see it all too well. Like Rupert’s very next observations.
After the Romney and Obama tweets, Rupert Murdoch, the man accused of strong-arm tactics and political extortion in the U.K, the man who has shamelessly fomented hate for our elected leader, propagandist for his own self-interests, the man whose business practices have included hacking the cell phone of a dead child, tweeted this about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes break-up:
“Watch Katie Holmes and Scientology story develop. Something creepy, maybe even evil, about these people.”
Creepy and evil, Rupert? They couldn’t hold a candle to you.
