Our Wednesday posting about armored personnel carriers at the antiwar demonstration in Westwood got picked up by many, much larger sites. PoliZeros got 11,000 hits on Wednesday and 7,000 on Thursday – way up from the current average of about 1,800 a day.
Many of the referrals were in comments to posts on DailyKos and MyDD. Plus, a mention on the Randi Rhodes message boards delivered a whopping 12,742 hits since 11/1.
The Tanks in Westwood story was spread by blogs, and certainly not by major media who have either ignored it or mocked it. Just like they are currently ignoring the rising tide of blog stories on how the 2004 election was stolen. Well, they might not have run stories about Werstwood, but they sure appeared interested enough, as the phones in the ANSWER LA office, the group that called the demo, were ringing off the hooks with press inquiries this week.
Of course, mainstream media ignored and mocked the antiwar movement 18 months ago when we were screaming the reasons for invasions were lies. Today, most major media simply accepts that as true. Blogs were way ahead of mainstream media in exposing the lies of the Bush Administration.
The 2004 elections did *not* signal a shift to the right in the populace. The majority of Americans oppose the war and favor gay marriage or civil unions. That’s what the exit polls showed. The ruling class has shifted sharply rightward, the people have not. That’s why Kerry lost. He couldn’t oppose this shift to the right because he is part of that shift. Had he screamed, your sons and daughters are coming home in body bags and we are losing the war, let’s get out, well 1) he would have been telling the truth, and 2) he might have won. But, as he is part of the ruling class rightward tilt, he favors the war. So what did he have to run on? Damn little, that’s what.
The Democrat establishment is currently scapegoating gays as a reason for their defeat. All those darned antigay amendments brought out the Right. Why can’t those horrid gays just stop trying to get married, they wail. Of course, the reason for the Democrat defeat is not gays wanting marriage rights but a lack of any real platform, of anything that would resonate with the public, plus no real differences between Kerry and Bush on many issues.
What’s next for the antiwar movement? We need – all the various groups on the left; antiwar, women’s right, immigrant group, LGBT, unions – to join together under one banner. The extreme right will be attacking abortion rights, the Bill of Rights, unions, etc. soon enough in an attempt to destroy all. This is not paranoia, but simple fact. We need to unify under one banner, supporting everyone’s causes.
This is starting to happen. It will continue to happen. We will make it happen. And blogs help spread the meme.