Sunday, October 25, 2009

Search and Distroy

First it was Fox News and now it is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Who will be next?




Here's more:

Kimberley Strassel, for the Wall Street Journal, described the Obama Administration’s criticism of the Chamber as a calculated move, executed in order to win health care and climate battles.“What makes these efforts notable is that they are not the lashing out of a frustrated political operation. They are calculated campaigns, designed to create bogeymen, to divide the opposition, to frighten players into compliance.” Strassel warns, “The Oval Office might be more concerned with the long term. It is 10 months in; more than three long years to go. The strategy to play dirty now and triangulate later is risky. One day, say when immigration reform comes due, the Chamber might come in handy. That is if the Chamber isn't too far gone.” (source - U.S. Chamber)

· Charles Krauthammer, for the Washington Post, compares White House attempts to boycott Fox News to similar attempts at marginalizing the Chamber. “While government can and should debate and criticize opposition voices, the current White House goes beyond that. It wants to delegitimize any significant dissent. The objective is no secret. White House aides openly told Politico that they’re engaged in a deliberate campaign to marginalize and ostracize recalcitrants, from Fox to health insurers to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.” Referencing James Madison, Krauthammer argues that “Factions should compete, but they should also recognize the legitimacy of other factions and, indeed, their necessity for a vigorous self-regulating democracy.” (source - U.S. Chamber)

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