Boom Town

Sunday Evening: I just happen to catch a special on Fox News that Hannity put on this evening called Boom Town. I have to say, those guys that think up this stuff are really earning their pay.  My hat goes off to them. In Boom Town, Hannity and his crew construct the most convoluted argument that I’ve heard in a long time.

They throw out all sorts of facts and figures on how corrupt  government is and  how the corporate lobbyists are spending huge bucks to get their way and nobody in government is doing a thing about it.  Big government and big business are in bed together. They are making so much money off the American tax payer and drinking the finest wines while  1 out of 6 Americans don’t know where their next meal is coming from.  

The show says DC politicians have  the finest wines, classiest cars, greatest boutiques.  All at the tax payers expense. Quite informative. Hard core journalism.  They just stop short of saying the politicians should take pay cuts (better them then the teachers). They state one figure: for every dollar lobbyists spend in DC to influence legislation, corporations make or save $220. 

Then Hannity and company magnificently  wrap up the show with the conclusion,  in their humble opinion, and even though they admit that both parties are to blame for the lobby culture,  that this is exactly what Obama wants because the President loooves big government and socialism.  And their solution IS -  to reduce big government. Less Government, less power, less regulation, less money being thrown around in DC. All the while, on the screen behind them, the Capitol dome is popped out and money is flying in and out.  It’s a pretty nifty image.

However, throughout the show, Hannity and Co. never ask (and they assume that their  audience  will be too bedazzled with their display of exposing corporate and political greed in DC to ever pose the question themselves) is: What are the lobbyist trying to do in spending so much money in DC?  This un-posed question is conspicuous by its absence. Basically, (although there’s more to it) corporations are trying to get government off of their backs so they can do whatever they want and not have to take any responsibility for anything.  

So Hannity, who graciously wants to save the corporations money and keep it away from DC,  is asking the viewer to do the bidding of  corporate lobbyists by getting angry with Obama and call for a reduction in government spending (meaning: a reduction in government’s ability to regulate big business). Hannity and his writers are brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!  Can you imagine what they could come up with if they were on Saturday Night Live?