News and social media are facing new criticism for dividing the country and essentially stopping government action in its steps.
But two national leaders from both sides of the aisle, former secretaries of state Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell, also believe that it might be too late for America’s news industry to reverse course because the public has become accustomed to consuming news that feeds their bias for division.
“We’ve reached a point in the country where between the cable news, and the Twitter feeds and everything else like that, you find it difficult to stake yourself out because you are going to get beaten to death that night, either on the tweets coming in or cable,” said Powell, former President George W. Bush’s top diplomat.
“It reinforces views and does not encourage people to listen to the other side. And so it makes it very, very hard to run government,” he added.
Albright, the State Department’s boss under former President Bill Clinton, said Americans also have given up a once-sacred practice of seeking other opinions.
“I do think that what has happened, and is a real problem, is people only listen to what they agree with already and it does create an issue in terms of what they know,” Albright said.
The Democrat said she makes a point of listening to the other side, but it isn’t always easy. “What I do as I drive, I listen to right-wing radio. It’s amazing that I haven’t run over somebody or been arrested. But I do think it’s important to hear what people are saying and not just listen,” she said.
But even trying to find other commentary can be a waste of time. Powell, for example, said that U.S. and foreign news has gone AWOL on many outlets, shifting to Hollywood celebs. “I’ve invented a word to describe the media. The word I’ve invented is ‘celebrification.’ Everything has become celebrity driven. You can turn on a morning news show, you get two minutes of news and then we’re off chasing some celebrity. And it has the attention span of a gnat that just died. It’s really bad.”
LUDDITE CAUCUS? 13 HOUSE MEMBERS HAVE NO CAMPAIGN WEBSITE
Hillary Clinton announced her presidential bid on Twitter. President Obama’s White House has attempted to get around reporters by talking directly to the public via social media. And many political super PACs communicate only online.
Everybody’s doing it, right? Well, no. There are 13 House members who don’t even have campaign websites despite running for re-election, according to research from the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs.
The school’s “Smart Politics” team found a reason, though. Most won big in their previous elections. And they’re old, such as California Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters, 76, and Kentucky Rep. Hal Rogers, 77. Other similarities:
• They are longtime members, averaging 11.2 terms.
• 11 of 13 are Democrats.
• 11 of 13 are non-white.
BARBECUE-STATE REPUBLICAN SAVES THE BACKYARD GRILL
Phew! The backyard barbecue grill is safe from the Environmental Protection Agency for another year.
“Enough is enough,” North Carolina Rep. Richard Hudson told the House last week in urging approval of his amendment to handcuff the EPA.
Without notice, the agency recently announced a grant to study ways to prevent gas grills from polluting the air. At issue are the emissions resulting from grease drippings. The hope was that a filtration system could be developed.
The University of California, which received the $15,000 project, said it had the “potential for global application.”
Hudson, however, had other ideas. “The EPA gets a lot of things wrong, especially with this preposterous study. For one thing, ‘barbecue’ is a term us Southerners use to talk about the best pork in North Carolina or a community pig picking,” the Republican told the House.
“What they’re proposing is reducing emissions from residential propane grills, which means they want to stop you and I from grilling outside on our own property. By the way, propane is one of the most clean and efficient sources of energy out there.”
He didn’t hear any argument, and his amendment to the EPA funding bill was approved unanimously.
QUOTE
“Choosing the right person. I think that’s the real key. Having somebody that you really like to be around and enjoy.”
Dr. Ben Carson, GOP presidential candidate, on the secret to his 40-year marriage to wife Candy.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
