The Orbis

Issue date: 4/19/07 Section: Opinion

Media Credit: Madeleine Fentress It is tempting to ignore the misinformation pouring forth from conservative talk show hosts.

Last week I wrote a letter to the editor of The Hustler even though I have made a point not to do so during the past two years. I hesitate to write letters to The Hustler because I already have Orbis as a platform in which I can say whatever I want, but for some reason I felt compelled to rebut Michael Wilt's April 11 column in which he repeated the discredited and hypocritical right wing smear that Nancy Pelosi acted inappropriately by traveling to visit Syrian President Bashir Assad and supposedly trying to make peace with "America's enemies."

Conservatives in the media have piled on in the Pelosi controversy, making the scurrilous claim that the House Speaker was trying to undermine President George W. Bush and that she overstepped her constitutional role as a member of Congress. However, they systematically ignore the fact that Pelosi actually reinforced the president's policy toward Syria and was accompanied by Republican congressmen as well as State Department officials. That was the gist of my letter.

There is a lot of debate among progressives about how to respond to conservative attacks, if at all. Progressives always want to see the record set straight when the Republican Party or the media (not that the two are always totally distinct) spreads harmful misinformation about Democrats, but it's often tempting to not even dignify the most dishonest or vile attacks with a response.

On this campus, many progressive students (and I often count myself among them) seem reluctant to take part in partisan squabbling over minor issues that are only relevant for a few news cycles, like the latest Pelosi controversy. Instead, there is a strong sense that we should try to rise above that level of discourse and engage in high-minded discussions about broad issues such as social justice and world poverty. Quite frankly, it's more satisfying than constantly counter-punching. Responding to right-wing talking points is an exhausting endeavor, and it's easiest just to avoid doing so altogether and refuse to let conservative misinformation dictate the terms of the political debate. (To be fair, I'm sure economic conservatives feel the same way when talking to living wage supporters who just can't seem to understand that raising wages causes unemployment!)

Continued...

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