Berkshire Eagle Column 3-6-04
Berkshire Eagle
I, Publius

Primal politics

By Alan Chartock
Special to the Eagle


Saturday, March 06, 2004 - The politics of distraction are upon us. From now until the election, we can expect to see the Bush camp do anything in its collective power to take our eyes off the major issues of the campaign and direct them to anything that will arouse our primal passions.

We recently got a strong taste of what's to come when we saw the Federal Communications Commission roar into an indecency mode resulting in that potty-mouthed Howard Stern, one of the most popular radio figures in the country, getting ignominiously kicked off the air in six of the more than 1,000 stations he is on. This followed Viacom head Mel Karmazin's "line in the sand" that promised swift retribution for anyone violating obvious standards of decency. Of course, Viacom hired Stern to get ratings and now it spanks the same guy it created. Beautiful.

I have read the transcript of Howard Stern's remarks on the radio and, according to my somewhat prudish standards, they are certainly over the line. I sure wouldn't want a young child riding in a car with me to hear Stern's X-rated mouth. Even the hated n-word is used by a caller who could and should have been bleeped out and Paris Hilton's alleged sex partner is interviewed graphically about what he and Hilton may have done together. It is the very stuff that the American people seem to eat up, to the extent that they have made Stern the top shock jock in the country.

So the question is "Why now?" Just before we saw the Janet Jackson fiasco unfold, we saw Bubba the Love Sponge get kicked off the air for his brand of sexual exploitation. The only person these foul-mouthed fools seem to have helped is Martha Stewart, who was forced to share the headlines with them.

Interestingly, Stern, who once seemed to like George Bush, has turned into a huge critic of the president. The media kings have been put between a rock and a hard place. Think about it this way: If John Kerry beats George Bush, do you think that Stern will continue to face admonishment from the man who benefited from Stern's attacks on the president? I suspect not.

On the other hand, as every president has known, many things can be done to those who come, hat in hand, asking for licenses and favors and the ability to grow their monopolies even further. You buy your ticket and you take your chances.

My bet is that someone has been whispering in the ears of these media barons to fire Stern and others like him. The more brouhaha that can be worked up now, the fewer potential voters will be able to concentrate on a so-called Medicare reform plan that has got seniors howling or a foreign policy that is in disarray or an economy that The New York Times reports has left half the black men in New York City out of work.

The Romans in the Coliseum couldn't be doing it better. By throwing enough people to the lions, the citizens are distracted and their passions are fed.

It doesn't stop with Mr. Stern and Mr. Love Sponge. You'll also see it with Martha Stewart. The Bush/Ashcroft Justice Department has gone after her with all its collective might. I keep hearing from people in the street that they hate the woman and would like to see her in jail, despite the fact that millions watch her on television and buy her products and magazines. Forget about the idea that the whole thing was a set-up from the beginning. What we have here is a good, old-fashioned witch-burning.

The name of the game seems to be, do anything to get people to think about a bare breast or dirty words on the radio. Like a great magician, the idea to is to get their eyes off the real action. If you're looking at a scarf, swirling in the air, you won't see the cards up the magician's sleeve.

My bet is that Karl Rove, the Bush Svengali, is up nights figuring out ways to keep everyone confused, so as to help the Republicans stay in the White House. Trust me, they are polling everyone about everything from Howard Stern to Janet Jackson. When they find things that float the public boat, they'll figure out a way to bring them into the public discourse and their toadies in the public media will be right there to make sure that the latest dose is administered to a waiting public.

As for Howard Stern, he will laugh all the way to the bank. Count on it. His foul mouth will work on radio, television or films. He'll make millions, maybe even billions. After all, he is only doing what Playboy, Penthouse, Hustler, the Internet, Gypsy Rose Lee and so many others have done for so long. He is satiating the repressed American hunger for dirt and sexual fantasy.

We'll continue to see and hear Mr. Potty Mouth because the American people can't get enough, and I doubt we'll see anyone taking their sexual fantasy and voyeurism away from them. That would surely be a one-way ticket out of the White House. No, it's all about distraction. Keep your eye on Bush's hands.



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Alan Chartock, a Great Barrington resident, is chairman and executive director of WAMC Northeast Public Radio and a professor of communications at SUNY-Albany. His web site is www.alanchartock.com .
- posted by Alan @ 3/06/2004 10:10:00 AM