I know, I know. Anytime I believe that there are certain things the Bush White House just wouldn’t do, I’m wrong. They know no limits; they have no shame.
We learned in March that the administration created fake news segments — with our money — that were sent to news stations across the country to tout Bush’s Medicare scheme. The video news releases (read: taxpayer-financed video propaganda) ended with the voice of a woman who said, “In Washington, I’m Karen Ryan reporting” — without mentioning that Karen Ryan is a paid actor who was reading a political script prepared by Bush administration officials, not real news.
The White House was perpetrating a fraud. Bush staffers created something that looked like news, but was slanted ridiculously to favor the administration’s political agenda. They knew local TV stations, with limited news budgets for anything other local crime and sports, sometimes broadcast these segments as legitimate news, leaving viewers none-the-wiser. In this case, it worked; over 40 stations ran the propaganda as legitimate news and never told viewers the source of the misinformation.
In the end, there was some justice. We learned in May that a GAO investigation found that the ads were illegal.
The Bush administration violated two federal laws through part of its publicity campaign to promote changes in Medicare intended to help older Americans afford prescription drugs, the investigative arm of Congress said yesterday.
The General Accounting Office concluded that the Department of Health and Human Services illegally spent federal money on what amounted to covert propaganda by producing videos about the Medicare changes that were made to look like news reports. Portions of the videos, which have been aired by 40 television stations around the country, do not make it clear that the announcers were paid by HHS and were not real reporters.
So, how does the administration follow-up on the debacle? They pull the exact same stunt all over again. This time, instead of Medicare, the subject is education policy.
The Bush administration has promoted its education law with a video that comes across as a news story but fails to make clear the reporter involved was paid with taxpayer money.
Wait; it gets worse.
The Education Department also has paid for rankings of newspaper coverage of the No Child Left Behind law, a centerpiece of the president’s domestic agenda. Points are awarded for stories that say President Bush and the Republican Party are strong on education, among other factors.
The news ratings also rank individual reporters on how they cover the law, based on the points system set up by Ketchum, a public relations firm hired by the government.
The Bush administration is using our money to deceive the public with propagandistic videos, which pretend to be news. Then, to add insult to injury, the same officials are using our money to create a Nixon-like “enemies list” for reporters who cover education. Is there any possible explanation to justify this “reporter rankings” system?
Oh, and did I mention they’re using the exact same fake reporter in these fake news segments?
The story ends with the voice of a woman saying, “In Washington, I’m Karen Ryan reporting.”
The administration’s response is enough to drive someone to drink.
[Education Department spokeswoman Susan Aspey] defended the video as a way to help people understand the law’s offer of tutoring. “Frankly, one has to wonder about the motives of those who are against informing parents that they have options,” she said.
Yes, the administration is using our money to create fake-news to be broadcast nationally at the height of the campaign season, and the appropriate reaction is to wonder about our motivations.
The Bush administration just doesn’t care anymore. They pull the stunt once, get caught, and are found to have broken the law. Pleased with themselves, they do the exact same thing all over again.
I’ve simply run out of adjectives to describe these people. As I said before, they know no limits; they have no shame.