Manufactured Narratives

Aug 16, 2024

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How the DNC is manipulating the 2024 Election Process

The 2024 election season has been a spectacle of political maneuvering and media manipulation that has left many Americans questioning the integrity of the democratic process. At the center of this controversy is the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and its handling of President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline, along with the subsequent nomination of Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate for President.

The Downplaying of Biden’s Cognitive Decline

For over a year, concerns about President Biden’s mental fitness have been circulating, raised by both GOP members and medical professionals. These concerns were not mere speculation; they were rooted in observable behaviors and supported by public figures and experts. According to CNN, there were “growing concerns within both parties about Biden’s ability to lead the nation” due to signs of cognitive decline . USA Today highlighted that “many in the medical community and political analysts alike” questioned Biden’s mental acuity, suggesting that it was “a factor that should have been addressed openly rather than dismissed” .

Despite these warnings, the DNC appeared to downplay the severity of Biden’s cognitive decline, whether knowingly or not, in what can only be seen as an effort to manage negative press. By doing so, they potentially misled voters about Biden’s true condition, allowing him to remain in office longer than what might have been in the best interest of the country. As noted by NBC News, “the special counsel’s assessment of Biden’s mental fitness only confirmed what many had feared: that the president was no longer capable of fulfilling the duties of his office effectively” . This approach effectively shielded Biden from scrutiny, preventing a full public discourse on whether he was fit to serve.

The Selection of Kamala Harris: A Deprivation of Democratic Choice

The real shock came when President Biden resigned, and Kamala Harris was selected as the Democratic nominee for 2024 without ever having been a candidate in the Democratic primary. According to Politico, the DNC’s decision “to bypass the traditional primary process left many Democrats feeling disenfranchised and deprived of their right to a fair and transparent nomination process” . The Washington Examiner similarly pointed out that “voters were not given the opportunity to compare Harris with other potential candidates,” effectively undermining the democratic process .

This move by the DNC effectively bypassed the traditional primary process, depriving Democratic voters of the opportunity to compare Harris with other potential candidates. The decision to elevate Harris without a primary deprived voters of the chance to make a duly informed decision—a fundamental pillar of democratic participation. As noted by Politico and the Washington Examiner, this maneuver by the DNC was not only undemocratic but also undermined the very process that is supposed to allow voters to choose their preferred candidate.

A Campaign Lacking Substance and Originality

Kamala Harris’s campaign has been criticized for offering little in the way of substantive policy proposals. Instead, it seems to rely on knee-jerk reactions to populist desires, such as her proposal to eliminate taxes on tips—a move that was actually stolen from the Trump campaign after it polled well with voters. According to Fox Business, “Harris’s adoption of Trump’s no-tax-on-tips policy was a blatant attempt to capitalize on a populist idea that had already proven successful with voters, showing a lack of originality in her campaign” .

Despite these populist gestures, Harris has yet to release a comprehensive policy platform, leading to criticisms that her campaign lacks direction and substance. The Hill reported that “Harris’s failure to articulate a clear policy agenda has left many wondering what her campaign truly stands for, beyond her ambition to ascend to the presidency” . This inconsistency in her policy positions has left voters questioning her leadership capabilities and the direction she intends to take the country.

The Manipulative Use of Media and Misinformation

One of the most concerning aspects of Harris’s campaign is its use of manipulative advertising tactics. As reported by Axios, Harris’s campaign has employed ads that simulate news headlines to create a false narrative of positive press . These ads not only manipulate search results but also deceive voters by presenting campaign propaganda as genuine news. The Washington Times described these tactics as “a deliberate effort to control the narrative and manufacture consent among the electorate” .

Even more troubling is the campaign’s consistent spread of misinformation about her opponent, Donald Trump. Harris and her supporters have repeatedly labeled Trump as a racist and fascist, despite many of these claims having been debunked. The New York Post highlighted how Trump’s infamous “very fine people” comment was “misrepresented and taken out of context by his political opponents, including Harris” . The reliance on the discredited concept of “dog whistles” further illustrates the lengths to which Harris’s campaign is willing to go to manipulate public perception.

The concept of “dog whistles,” often used to suggest covert racist signaling, is most often used without a basis in reality, to manipulate an audience as detailed in our article Are Dog Whistles Real?: “the idea that certain phrases… are secretly racist or fascist is a tool used by political operatives to silence dissent and stoke division”. Harris’s use of this tactic is yet another example of how her campaign prioritizes manipulation over honest discourse.

The Irony of a Campaign Rallying Against Disinformation

The irony of Kamala Harris’s campaign cannot be overstated. While publicly rallying against disinformation, the campaign itself is built on a foundation of misinformation and media manipulation. One of the central strategies appears to be targeting undereducated voters with biased narratives, a tactic that is only amplified by the campaign’s corporate media partners.

Mainstream news outlets, as highlighted by sources like the BBC and NBC News, have played a significant role in framing news events in a way that supports Harris’s candidacy. The BBC noted that “media coverage has often been sympathetic to Harris, sometimes overlooking or downplaying controversies that would have been scrutinized more heavily had they involved another candidate” . This pattern of biased reporting is evident in how the media initially lauded Harris as the “border czar” in charge of the border crisis, only to shift their narrative once it became a point of criticism by her opponents.

TL:DR

The 2024 election has exposed deep flaws in the democratic process, with the DNC’s handling of Biden’s cognitive decline and the nomination of Kamala Harris standing as prime examples. Harris’s campaign, built on populist reactions, manipulative ads, and misinformation, raises serious questions about the integrity of the election process.

As voters, we must remain vigilant and critically assess the narratives presented to us, especially when those narratives are crafted by political elites and their media partners. The future of our democracy depends on our ability to see through the manufactured stories and demand transparency, honesty, and true democratic participation.

Biden’s Cognitive Decline:
CNN: Biden’s Mental Fitness Concerns
USA Today: Biden’s Mental Fitness and the 2024 Election
NBC News: Special Counsel’s Assessment of Biden’s Mental Fitness
The Hill: Biden’s Mental Decline and the Democrats’ Dilemma

Media Manipulation and Misinformation:

Harris’s Lack of Policy Direction:

Mainstream Media’s Role: