Manufactured Outrage

Rep. Michele Bachmann, the nutty lady from the north said, “The president of the United States will be taking a trip over to India that is expected to cost the taxpayers $200 million a day,” she said. “He’s taking 2,000 people with him. He will be renting out over 870 rooms in India. And these are five-star hotel rooms at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel”.  Then Glenn Beck called it, “a vacation where you needed 34 warships and $2 billion.”

Here’s Limbaugh’s take, “We had a caller with a good question regarding Obama’s trip to India: ‘Is he coming back or fleeing to exile?’ I have a different theory. I don’t know what are the policy reasons that Obama’s going to India. I have no idea. But the idea that you’re going to take 3,000 people and you’re booking over 500 rooms in a hotel and you’re taking 40 airplanes, what that tells me is that you have a guy and a family who thinks this nation owes ’em. And while they’re in a position to, they are going to live off of this country as much as they can. They are gonna get theirs. That’s what this tells me. No president has ever had anywhere close to 40 airplanes, 3,000 people, 500 rooms in one hotel. And that’s just one hotel, for a 10-day trip, $200 million a day. It’s never been done before. This is somebody that says, ‘It’s my turn. My turn, our turn to get what has been denied us all these years,’ that’s what I think.” 

In fact, this trip is no more expensive than any other trip taken by previous presidents.  These are outright lies being spread by people whose whole goal is to get rich while destroying trust in the president of the United States.  John Avlon was first to bring this information together so we can see how ridiculous it is.  What we don’t seem to be aware of is the damage it’s doing by promoting the mood of incivility that exists in this country today.

It infuriates me to think that these people have a public platform and make tens of  millions doing this damage to America.  I just don’t understand how a large contingent of the American population buys into this claptrap.  This level of hate and discord doesn’t erupt spontaneously.  It requires ignition.  It requires fuel.  It requires organization. 

Disagreeing with one political side or the other is a natural and healthy process.  But the manufactured outrage, like the example above, has the effect of cleaving this country in half when we need unity and collective resolve.

This insanity is destroying us.  We recently sent a message to Washington.  That was our right.  The majority made its choice. But choices have consequences.  My fear is that the outrage that fueled the election results is being fed by these manufactured commentaries designed for personal gain and not because of real issues.   Limbaugh, who makes over $58 million a year destroying our country, convinced polled voters (two to one), that their taxes went up under Obama.   In fact, taxes went down for 95% of Americans. 

Rick Perlstein explains the problem, “When one side breaks the social contract, and the other side makes a virtue of never calling them out on it, the liar always wins. When it becomes "uncivil" to call out liars, lying becomes free.”  Obama considers it “Uncivil To Call Out Liars.”

We have a civil president with more class in one finger-nail than these buffoons could garner up in a whole lifetime.  I wish he would review his policy and defend himself and his administration more vigorously.  Because if he doesn’t, the public will continue to swallow the lies and distortions from the mouths of people who don’t care about the damage they do – because it pays well. 

Robert DeFilippis