Ms. Clouthier,
I would like to disagree with the main premise of your article. Yes the overwhelming majority of the U.S. media is biased. Anyone who gets their information from legitimate news organizations (Washington Times, WSJ, and PBS) and also watches Fox “News” and MSNBC would know this. However, I do not think that the media bias is responsible for the difference in coverage between Hurricane Katrina and the Tennessee floods or the BP oil spill; I think it’s party ideology.
For at least the past 100 years libertarianism (in all it’s many forms) has been part of Republican orthodoxy. Republicans have stated time and time again that not only should government not be part of any solutions but that government is actually the problem. So when disaster strikes, the victims should not expect any help from their government. That’s what happened in New Orleans. It’s not that Bush was evil, or cruel, or hateful; it’s that he believed that it was not the responsibility of government to help.
In stark contrast President Obama responded immediately to the BP oil spill and the flooding in Tennessee. As a Houston native I’ve personally experienced massive disasters. And when those disasters strike, I don’t care if the President or Governor visit Reliant stadium. What I do care about, is if the Coast Guard, FEMA, and the National Guard are sent to help.
If you’re a student of history, you would know that expecting government to be the only part of solving problems almost never works. But if you want to solve problems all by yourself then the end result will very often result in New Orleans after Katrina. Illustrating that difference (which Republicans advocate) is not bias; it’s simply reporting the difference between Democrats and Republicans.
Hopefully that contrast and the failures on both sides will encourage voters to support Independents.
