By Dean Weingarten
Arizona – -(Ammoland.com)- The Obama administration has been able to run roughshod over almost all opposition in the Congress for a number of reasons. One that is put forward is that Congress fears being blamed for a “Government Shutdown”.
This translates to a fear of the old media blaming Congress, and the electorate believing the media. I mention this because of the recent CCN poll. Here is the statement used to prep the question:
“On a regular basis, Congress must pass bills that authorize the federal government to spend money for a certain amount of time. When that time expires, the government must shut down until Congress passes a new spending bill.”
Not surprisingly, 71% of the respondents say it is more important for the Congress to approve a budget agreement that would avoid a government shutdown versus a wide variety of other options, such as eliminating funding for Planned Parenthood.
The implicit assumption in the statement is that the only party causing a “government shutdown” is the Congress. No information is given to show that the President is at least equally responsible for a “government shutdown”, even though all the President would have to do, in these circumstances, is to sign the budget bill.
The information that all essential services of the government would keep on operating, is not stated.
The background not given, and the question not asked are these:
On a regular basis, the President must sign bills that authorize the federal government to spend money for a certain amount of time. When that time expires, the government must shut down until the President signs a new spending bill.
I suspect the same 71%, perhaps higher, would say it is more important for the President to sign a budget agreement that would avoid a government shutdown versus a number of other options, such as funding Planned Parenthood.
The old media uses strategies such as this to frame the debate in a manner that insures that their agenda is moved forward.
Polls are often used to create public opinion, rather than to measure it.
One extraordinary exception to the ability to use this sort of propaganda to forward the leftist agenda, has been the destruction of the Second Amendment.
The Second Amendment is so clear that a significant percentage of the population rebelled against being told to ignore the plain wording of the Constitution and to believe what they were told to believe. They ignored the admonitions that only the “experts” could know what the Constitution actually meant.
The knowledge of the attempted manipulation lead to the understanding that people were being manipulated in other areas. The old media calls this “manufacturing consent”. I am convinced that the Second Amendment was the example that brought the nation to the state where the credibility of the media and national politicians is at an all time low. When the Constitution was written, it was assumed that all media was partisan and had an agenda.
The Second Amendment may be the thread that unravels the cloak of the “inevitablitily” of ever greater government power.
c2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included. Link to Gun Watch
About Dean Weingarten;
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of constitutional carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and recently retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.