GOP Debate v2

[Belsnickel]

(09-18-2015, 03:40 PM)JustWinBaby Wrote: That's really why BS issues like guns, gay marriage, abortion etc are so popular.  With economics, taxes and to a lesser extent foreign policy you really can't do it justice in a 30 second sound bit or even a few minutes in a debate....so you're always at the mercy of the media for being "too esoteric" or "not detailed enough".  There really isn't a winning way (with the media) to talk about that stuff - they either like and agree or don't.  And nevermind after all that there's STILL plenty of room for honest disagreement and debate.

I really think this is a bigger problem than lobbyists, term limits, establishment or whatever you want to say is wrong with American politics....Problem #1 is the 4th Estate has become partisan kingmakers.  And at least early on, primary campaigns are really marketing efforts to get a favorable view and coverage from the media.  It's all about providing soundbites and photo ops that the media will want to cover favorably - that's what moves you in the polls, not the 5 or 10 people you impressed at a coffee shop or even few thousand at a stadium event.

Absolute truth. The unsettling thing about this phenomenon, and it's global, not just here, is that it allows these politicians to focus on these fluff issues that really don't matter much in the grad scheme of things and really screw us over on things that can really make a huge impact on our daily lives. With the vast majority of media focusing on the soundbites, the big name legislation that everyone is arguing about, things get passed (most often attached to other things) that are just atrocious. Not a word is printed about them, or if it is it exists a small article on a news website that is only about the legislative process and doesn't have much universal appeal. The information is out there, but people don't want to look beyond the surface, and so the media covers the surface with the superficial bollocks.