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Demagoguing the Supreme Court
Headline Lying

Monday, August 4, 2014

Topic: Media
Content Type: Opinion
Keywords: Hobby Lobby, demagogues, Supreme Court, double standard

Demagoguing the Supreme Court

Politicians cynically misrepresent the Hobby Lobby decision—and the media lets them get away with it.

There's really a lot to say about this term's Supreme Court decisions. Much of it has already been said. One thing that's probably been said elsewhere, but I guess I just realized in the wake of the Hobby Lobby decision was just how political politics is.

I read many times (never from the Left) just how narrow the decision was. That it only applied to a few 'contraceptives,' and that the majority of them were still required and offered by employers. Many, who are capable of nuance, talked about how these contraceptives were not banned, but that the employers cannot be legally compelled to offer them.

What I realized was that many of those on the Left understand these issues, and know they're being demagogues. They're doing it, cynically, just to drum up the 'war on women' angle. Here's a good rundown of the facts vs. demagoguery.

It shouldn't be surprising that the politicians exploit the voters' ignorance (it happens on our side, too, let's admit). I guess it really hit me when I read an article about how the Obama administration knows that the 'fact' that women make 77% of what men make is not true, but they repeat it just to gain media advantage. Again, the blame should lie squarely on the media. It's their job to expose this cynicism. If the politicians are too slippery to admit what they're doing, the media should be reporting the truth.