John R. “Randy” Kuhl Jr. Isn’t Kewl - Just Another Bush Lap-Dog

August 10th, 2006

Note: This post is guest authored by: Trashing the Kool Aid.

The Olean Times Herald has demonstrated yet again that they are mere puppets controlled by the long strings of Karl Rove, the genius architect behind the republican marketing machine. A recent article in the Olean Times Herald, “Randy” Kuhl, our local representative in the House of Representatives, follows classic war time marketing strategy in discussing his recent trip to Iraq. Randy was quoted in the article as saying Iraq shouldn’t be an election issue proving that he is always one to do what he’s told. Randy is out spreading the latest republican marketing script. The Olean Times Herald of course makes this front-page news, more proof that this paper loves to amplify “quality” republican propaganda.

As much as we love to point fingers at “Randy” for following Karl Roves marketing plan, you really to question the motives of the Olean Times Herald staff when August 3, 2006 CNN’s major news stories is the Senate Armed Services Committee hearingSenate Armed Services Committee hearing. This hearing noted repeatedly on the how bad things are in Iraq, yet the next day the Olean Times Herald their front-page markets the exact opposite idea? The Olean Times Herald article quotes Randy as remarking on his conversations with the troops, the troops felt the American Public wasn’t getting the full story: there are good things happening in Iraq too. 6 months ago the republican latest war marketing tool tried to use this angle to gain support. Ironically, a couple of days later, a CBS reporter was seriously wounded in an attack while covering a “good news story.” Of course there’s the usual Republican photo op: Randy with a couple of soldiers - a classic war time marketing tactic. The Olean Times Herald is showing its bias by running this story on the front-page. This article read more like a political advertisement, not objective, non-biased news.

General John Abizaid testified at a recent Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, “I believe that the sectarian violence is probably as bad as I’ve seen it, in Baghdad in particular, and that if not stopped it is possible that Iraq could move toward civil war.” Of course Randy, who claims to have his finger on the pulse of the Iraq war, claims just the opposite. It makes you wonder whose pulse Randy’s taking, my money is on Karl Rove’s. Randy concludes that “We’ve seen a decline in violence against our troops while there has been an increase in sectarian violence between radical Sunni and Shiites factions.” General John Abizaid has concluded that more people are being killed in Iraq then ever, yet according to Randy, “things are improving.” He says the “U.S. is reallocating troops to Baghdad to help Iraqi security forces sweep the city and disarm the radical groups.” At the Senate Arms Committee hearing, Senator McCain says: “What I worry about is we’re playing a game of whack-a-mole,” which directly conflicts with Randy’s half truths.

You can be sure there are plenty of lobbyist tied to the American Military Complex that reward lap-dogs like Randy. The lap-dog’s do not worry about how many people get killed or the area’s economic or structural devastation, all they care about is spending our tax dollars on Military hardware. Wave the flag, get a couple of photo ops with the troops and it’s like hitting the media lottery. One has to marvel at the just how low the Republican propaganda machine will sink. Randy could care less that part of his job is upholding the Constitution, he acts like the checks and balances are messy things that are limiting the war profiteering he’s hoping to cash in on. That’s what makes Randy a true lap-dog of George Bush, aka “The Decider”: Randy will do or say whatever he’s told.

Randy’s other republican propaganda echoed in the article was that the war in Iraq shouldn’t be an election issue. Maybe he should look at what’s happening in Connecticut and ask Joe Lieberman about how the Iraq war is affecting political campaigns. The Iraq war could turn out to be the defining moment for the next generation of democrats. Simply stating that something is not an issue does not mean it does not exist. Just like it was during the Korean War and Vietnam, war defines politics. Randy is using the ingenious marketing strategy utilized for the last 6 years: make broad statements regardless of the facts keep repeating them until every one believes it.

Newspapers seem to be in a transition period, giving politicians free front-page advertising space instead of reporting factual news. If I had a subscription to the Olean Times Herald, I would cancel it. Why would anyone subscribe to Karl Roves personal toilet paper? It is the responsibility of the Olean Times Herald to verify statements and provide the facts even if they conflict with each other. Then the reader has a choice as to who they believe.

Normally I wouldn’t pay to much attention to what this joke of a newspaper writes. When two self-proclaimed authorities on the war conflict within days of each other it’s hard not to notice. The blogsphere is full of blogs that wonder how anyone that has failed as miserably as “The Decider” still has a pole rating of 30%. This is a classic example; local paper repeatedly enables Republican marketing of a Republican candidate. Hence people are spoon feed a steady stream of Republican marketing propaganda, The American Military Complex that Eisenhower warned us about gets another lap-dog. Democracy, and constituent viewpoints lose, the American Military Complex and Halliburton wins. Randy Kewl and the Olean Times Herald a true Republican dream team, for the American Military Complex and Karl Rove.

Technorati tags: Randy Kuhl, Kuhl, John R. Kuhl, Olean Times Herald, Senate Arms Committee , republican, Bush, democrat, the decider, lap-dog

Entry Filed under: Politics, Bush Administration, WTF?