Jessica McBride Peddling Straws, Deely Boppers Next

Several months ago I posted, Jessica McBride Embraces Her Inner Joe McCarthy; Calls Cindy Sheehan A Communist. which resulted in Bill Christofferson's chiding me: You say McCarthyism, I say McBrideism ,:

Paul Soglin seems surprised to find that Jessica McBride practices McCarthyism. This time her target is supporters of anti-war referendums on the April ballot, and she finds Red links under the bed. Soglin apparently missed McBride's earlier posts sliming Cindy Sheehan, here and here.

I thought of responding to Bill with some lame excuse about rarely waste my reading McBride, but decided to save myself further humiliation by remaining silent.

After the war referenda results came in I couldn't resist checking her post.  I admit it; one of my guilty pleasures is taking a peak at the Media Mistress of McBride Matters.

Wisconsin's Iraq Referendums: How the Media Are Misleading the Public

• Are the Iraq war referendums a sign of "public sentiment turning against the war" ...you can read the numbers an entirely different way... If you take out a couple big Lefty cities, more people overall voted to stay the course.
  • McBride game plan: Don't count votes in lefty cities. Hello Joseph Stalin: "Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything."

• Overall, there were 33 war referendums ...So, you might say: Wow, 25 of 33 referendums passed to withdraw the troops! It's a symbol of how the public is turning against the war! In fact, that's how the media packaged it (predictably).
  • Jessica you are right.  I too would prefer, 8 of 33 Communities Vote to Support Bush War Plan in Iraq; President Takes Heart.

• More voters in 30 Wisconsin communities voted Tuesday to stay the course in Iraq than wanted the troops to withdraw. It was purely a symbolic message, but a heartfelt one... The referendum results are only symbolic of public sentiment against the war if you buy that Madison, La Crosse, and Shorewood are symbolic of the public overall in this state or region. They are not... If you take out Madison, La Crosse, and Shorewood ... (m)ore people overall voted to stay the course and NOT withdraw the troops in 30 communities.
  • Reminds me of Nicaraguan Dictator Anastasio Somoza (1896-1956) explaining how he stayed in office:  "Indeed, you won the elections, but I won the count."

• Overall, 40,376 people voted to cut and run, a miniscule (sic) number by any measure. There are 5.3 million people in Wisconsin (although not all are of voting age, of course).
  • Jessica, this is not Florida.  In Wisconsin we count only the people who voted and we count all of the people who voted.  If we were to start counting the stay at home vote, believe me Republicans would not hold an office in Wisconsin.

• In addition, I believe that the extremist "peace groups" that organized the referendum movement strategically targeted extremely low population rural townships in northern Wisconsin (and communities in Door County) because it would be easier to drive up the overall number of "passing" referendums (and drive the leads and headlines).
  • I need help with the math.  How do low population areas drive up the numbers?  After all, aren't these areas of the state with more conservative values than Madison?
• So what do the referendums mean? They are a testament to the PR skills of a couple mobilized, organized grass roots Lefty peace groups. They also speak to the MSM template on the war, because the PR efforts of said Lefty peace groups fit neatly into the media template. Period.
  • Can you say Willie Horton? Can you say Swift Boat?  Frankly, the rag tag organized grass roots Lefty peace groups are about as amateurish, low tech, Mom and Pop operations as you will find in this country. And they kicked your butt. Wait till they really get going; you are just witnessing the beginning.

Comments

[jim]

As statisticians say about the likes of Jessica McBride "figures don't lie but liars sure can figure!"