‘Information Warfare’

Clinton and the Democrats grievously misunderstood the modern concept of “information warfare” and how the Republicans were waging it at home. The Republicans and especially the neoconservative intellectuals realized that control of information – or one might say replacing it with propaganda – was the key to solidifying their political power within the United States. That’s why the conservatives have invested billions of dollars over the past quarter century in building their own potent media infrastructure, ranging from cable networks and major daily newspapers to AM talk radio and well-organized Internet bloggers. Besides writing their own historical narrative, the conservatives succeeded in throwing the mainstream press onto the defensive with endless charges of “liberal bias.” The conservative success was compounded by the fact that while this media apparatus was under construction, American liberals largely sat on the sidelines, thinking that the mainstream news media would somehow respond or hoping that some metaphorical pendulum would swing back in their direction. Neither has happened. Instead, the Republicans consolidated their dominance of the heartland “red states” where voters who listened to talk radio in their cars had little choice but to tune in rants about the evils of “librhuls” and “guvmint.” [more]