The Truth on Government Spin

[Amianthus]

Jan. 3, 2010
Bob Schieffer Says Press Conferences and Statements Aimed at Deflecting Criticism Do Nothing to Inspire Trust

By Bob Schieffer
Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano is getting hammered because her first response to the "Undie-bomber" fiasco was that "the system worked."

We shouldn't have been surprised. Sure, she looks a little silly now that the facts are dribbling out. But she was just following the modern bipartisan, public relations template in this age of information management.

First, play down the problem. Second, emphasize what did not go wrong, assure us that those in charge are "investigating," and most important; emphasize no one in any position of responsibility is at fault.

It's not lying, but it's not exactly the whole truth - certainly not the whole story. All she left out was that part about asking us to respect the privacy of those involved.

[Oh, I'm sorry. I got the government spin mixed up with the Tiger spin.]

Here is the difference: Tiger can hire as many people as he wants to make his excuses. It may do him no good, but it's his money to spend as he wishes.

When government officials insult us with spin, they are doing it on our dime, which is supposed to be used to operate the government, not to hold news conferences to tell us what a fine job people on the public payroll are doing.

As we learned during Katrina, self-serving spin at the first sign of crisis does not help the situation; it makes it worse, because it makes it harder to believe anything the government says.

Real security is built on trust in the government. That requires truth, which should be the beginning of government presentations, not the fallback position.
Original Article

[Rich]

>>When government officials insult us with spin, they are doing it on our dime, which is supposed to be used to operate the government, not to hold news conferences to tell us what a fine job people on the public payroll are doing.<<

This government is out of control. Not just democrats, all of it. It has a will of it's own and it no longer answers to the people. Something needs to be done to stop this. How far are we ... the people ... willing to let this go?

[Kramer]

>>When government officials insult us with spin, they are doing it on our dime, which is supposed to be used to operate the government, not to hold news conferences to tell us what a fine job people on the public payroll are doing.<<

This government is out of control. Not just democrats, all of it. It has a will of it's own and it no longer answers to the people. Something needs to be done to stop this. How far are we ... the people ... willing to let this go?

I'm waiting for the right sign and when I see it I will jump onboard

[Universe Prince]

This government is out of control. Not just democrats, all of it. It has a will of it's own and it no longer answers to the people. Something needs to be done to stop this. How far are we ... the people ... willing to let this go?

Apparently pretty damn far. I'm tempted (and I guess I'm giving into the temptation), as a libertarian who has heard too often about supposed pragmatism, to point out this what comes from constantly working within the system. This is the result of the gradual "pragmatism" that so many people assure me is the way things must be done. What have you got to show for it? Financial crisis, government expanding by leaps and bounds, and a "health care" bill poised to change just about every aspect of how the economy and the society of this country function into something with far more government control than we have ever had in the past.

What was that Buckley said? "A conservative is a fellow who is standing athwart history yelling 'Stop!'" Standing athwart history and doing anything seems to be more than they can handle. Maybe the conservatives should hold off on yelling at history and just try standing like they have a backbone in Congress and working to stop the government for a while. They might accomplish more.

[BT]

So you are sitting in a car and the driver has a heart attack and the car is careening out of control, and there is only one thing to do and that is grab the wheel,turn off the ignition  and guide the car to a stopping point. That is what a pragmatist would do. And they could because they were in a position to do something.

Libertarians (Big L or not) pretty much stand on the shoulder of the road and say "look that car is crashing".
Because they are standing on the sidelines, that is all they can do.


 

[Universe Prince]

Gosh. If only there were some (small 'l') libertarian politicians... coughcoughJeffFlake&RonPaulcough... or at least some libertarians trying to influence policy... coughcoughCato&Reasoncough... or maybe just a libertarian on TV... coughcoughGlennBeckcough... then I could simply tell you to... coughcoughfrakyourselfcough...

'Scuse me. I need a throat lozenge.

Standing on the sidelines? Really? Open your eyes, BT. We're doing a lot more than that. And frankly, your defense of pragmatism is a lot like saying Drunkard A has a better chance of stopping Drunkard B from crashing his car because Drunkard A is a passenger in the car Drunkard B is driving. That sort of "pragmatism" is not actually pragmatic. Which is part of the problem. What you and others have been hailing as pragmatism hasn't really worked out all that great. You've helped bring the country to the next step toward full on socialism. You want pat on the back for your "pragmatism"? No, you don't deserve one.

[Rich]

>>Libertarians (Big L or not) pretty much stand on the shoulder of the road and say "look that car is crashing".
Because they are standing on the sidelines, that is all they can do.<<

Bingo.

I suppose feeling superior is enough for some people.

[BT]

We're doing a lot more than that.

Really?  what have you done?

[Universe Prince]

I suppose feeling superior is enough for some people.

Says the guy who is posturing to look superior.

[Rich]

Really Prince? Recently I tried my best to invite you into the fold. It's you that continues to preen and posture as the all knowing, do nothing, outsider.

[Universe Prince]

Really?  what have you done?

Oh let's see... Audit the Federal Reserve amendment... 9.12 project... Not that long ago I saw people right here assuring me, in slightly different wording, that the Republican Party was going to become more libertarian because the people of the Tea Parties were going to make it so. But by all means, you keep right on thinking libertarians are getting nothing done.

So what have you done? Patriot Act... expanding Medicare... expanding government... more militaristic "war on drugs"... massive national debt... Federal bailouts... a "war on terror" that attempts to trample basic rights in the name of a safety it cannot achieve... and token resistance, when you're not arguing how to pay for it, to a "health care" bill that will do far more harm than good. I don't see much there about which you should be proud. Oh, well, except of course for the all important "getting things done". Yes, you've certainly gotten things done. Little of it is any good, but you got it done. You still don't deserve a pat on the back. More like a kick in the ass.

[Universe Prince]

Really Prince? Recently I tried my best to invite you into the fold. It's you that continues to preen and posture as the all knowing, do nothing, outsider.

I guess you don't even see how elitist that looks.

And if standing up for my positions without backing down in the face of "oh yeah, but we're doing something" is preening and posturing, I suppose that is what I'm doing. But from my perspective, the people doing the preening and posturing are folks like you and BT who constantly try to claim libertarians are not worth anything because they're not clamoring to be part of your group of Do Something-ers. How did that record of Doing Something work for you the past couple of election cycles? A guy who is either ridiculously naive or working on a secret agenda to remake the U.S. into a socialist country is now our President. Way to go! You really got something done there.

[BT]

Audit the Federal Reserve amendment... 9.12 project...

H.R. 1207 is still in committee after almost a year.

What is the relationship of libertarians to the 9.12 Project and what has that project accomplished?

[Universe Prince]

When a conservative Republican takes a stand for a limited, open government, what do the "Do Something" conservative Republicans do? They get angry because he got in the way of "Doing Something".

http://reason.com/archives/2010/01/12/class-war/singlepage

In the midst of California’s 2008–09 fiscal meltdown, with the impact of deluxe public pensions making daily headlines, the city of Fullerton nevertheless sought to retroactively increase the defined-benefit retirement plan for its city employees by a jaw-dropping 25 percent. What’s more, the Fullerton City Council negotiated the increase in closed session, outside public view. Under California’s open meetings law, known as the Brown Act, even legitimate closed-session items such as contract negotiations are supposed to be advertised so that the public has a clear idea of what’s being discussed. But the Fullerton agenda for that night only vaguely referred to labor negotiations. Four of the five council members—two Republicans and two Democrats—seemed to support the deal. But Republican Shawn Nelson, a principled advocate for limited government, didn’t appreciate the way the council was obscuring not only the legitimately secret details of the negotiations but the basic subject matter. He called me at the Register (where I worked at the time) and, without revealing details of the closed session, shared his concerns about the way the public had not been alerted. After I wrote about the secret, fiscally reckless deal, the recriminations came down in a hurry: on Shawn Nelson. Not surprisingly, the liberal council members were furious that the public had been informed about what was going on. But some conservative Republicans, including a prominent state senator, Dick Ackerman of Irvine, were angry as well, because Nelson’s willingness to talk embarrassed a Republican councilman whom the GOP was backing for re-election. When I later bumped into Ackerman at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, he laid into me about Nelson’s supposed violation of the Brown Act. Some officials and bloggers actually called for Nelson to be prosecuted. Local union mouthpieces and fellow council members portrayed the whistleblower as a common criminal, even though he was merely acting in the spirit of the open meetings law and showing the kind of fiscal responsibility you would hope to see in public officials. In its embarrassment, the city council voted against the deal at the last minute, but only after council members publicly chastised Nelson, accused me of libel, and vowed to come back for more when the timing was right. One Republican councilman couldn’t figure out what the fuss was all about, given that the council enhances public employee pay and pensions all the time.

[Universe Prince]

What is the relationship of libertarians to the 9.12 Project and what has that project accomplished?

Glenn Beck heading the 9.12 project at the very least, and it, together with the whole Tea Party thing, is apparently motivating people to get more involved in the political process. The Tea Parties are apparently more popular than Democrats or Republicans. I'm skeptical that it will change the Republican Party, because the GOP will continue to "Do Something" while they pretend to hold to ideas like limited government. But the 9.12 project is getting the ideas out there and getting them discussed on a national stage, which is more than the Republicans are doing.