Santorum's Filmmaking Jihad Against the Left
Bill Berkowitz printable version print page     Bookmark and Share
Thu Apr 12, 2007 at 04:44:04 PM EST
According to recent published reports, former Pennsylvania Republican Senator Rick Santorum - thoroughly defeated in November by Bob Casey, Jr. -- is planning two documentary film projects to "tell the other side of the story." What story is he talking about? According to The Morning Call Online, the projects are aimed at "counter[ing] what [Santorum] characterized as the stream of left-wing documentaries coming from Hollywood and independent filmmakers."

The newspaper reported that Santorum first project "would explore the relationship between radical Islam and the radical leftists in various countries around the world, including Latin America. It would be about an hour in length. The second would be a longer, broader documentary that he said would aim to 'change the culture of America.' He declined to go into specifics about the proposal."

'Politics and political dialogue has some impact on America but changing the culture has a much bigger impact'

"Politics and political dialogue has some impact on America but changing the culture has a much bigger impact," Santorum said about his documentary making enterprise. "That is what the left is doing and doing it in a big way, producing a lot of left content for Hollywood, and even not just out of Hollywood. Even independent films are now more and more left-wing driven, whether it is Michael Moore or Al Gore. Someone has to go out there and tell them the other side of the story."

Americas-Foundation.org

Santorum, who has also signed on with Fox News as a regular contributor, also announced in an e-mail to supporters on Thursday, April 12, that his political action committee will soon launch a new Web site with "thought-provoking and sometimes controversial video," the Associated Press reported.

According to AP, "the videos will focus on `our nation's enemies and the threats they pose to us,' said Santorum....The site will also inform viewers of what presidential and congressional candidates he supports, he said.

Now ensconced as a Senior Fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based Ethics and Public Policy Center, Santorum spent the final weeks on his campaign delivering a speech titled `Gathering Storm of the 21st Century." "In it," AP reported, "he described alleged terror plots and said the U.S. must pay attention to escalating threats from countries such as Iran, Venezuela and North Korea."

In the e-mail Santorum wrote:

We cannot underestimate the threats we face from those who wish to do us harm. Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran, and North Korea's Kim Jong-il are committed to destroying the West and the freedoms we hold dear. Many would rather ignore these obvious realities, but I will not. And now that I am out of elected office, I have found that there is more than one road that I can walk down in order to raise awareness about these issues.

Santorum also "criticized the Democratic-controlled Senate for passing legislation that he said would force retreat from Iraq without regard for conditions on the ground," AP reported. "I will not sit back quietly as weak senators continue to take positions simply to satisfy the liberal left."

Americas-Foundation.org "will also be the place where you can stay informed about what I am up to on all fronts," Santorum wrote. "You were a steadfast friend and supporter during my campaigns and I hope you'll stay connected to America's Foundation in the months and years ahead. I promise that this will be the place where you'll see serious and stimulating video about the challenges confronting our country, read blog posts from me on politics of the day and find interesting `must read' articles."




Display:
"destroying the West and the freedoms we hold dear"

What nonsense.

If the idiot would take off his neoliberal/neoconservative blinders and do just a little serious research, he'd realize that these people came to power BECAUSE of American policies.  The reality is that America is taking away basic freedoms in other countries by causing them to be priced out of the reach of the poor.  (That holds true for Venezuela and Iran, but I'd admit that there are more factors involved in North Korea).

I'd like to see how long he'd last preaching "free markets" to the poor that have had their lives and livelihoods destroyed by those same "free markets".     The only reason ordinary Americans don't put a stop to nonsense like his is because the elites have succeeded in reframing the discussion into an attack on minorities (those horrible "illegal" immigrants, for instance) and redirected the ire away from the real (and deserving) targets.

He forgets that fundamentalism is the most common response from the poor when they realize that the system is not working for them.  

For instance- If the US hadn't torn down a democracy and established the Shaw of Iran, the US might not be having major problems with that country.  Of COURSE they hate the US, and with good reason.  US policies towards the Latino nations has always been one of covert and overt control.  The US dictates, they follow- or face repeated US invasions, such as Haiti has experienced.  So, when people like Chavez and Castro come to power- it is often directly in response to American abuse.

It is also possible that he might already know all of this and his video projects would then just be more false propaganda.

by ArchaeoBob on Thu Apr 12, 2007 at 05:34:47 PM EST


Haiti is not Latino (I wasn't thinking there)... but the US does dominate the Caribbean, Central America, and South America in this manner.

by ArchaeoBob on Thu Apr 12, 2007 at 05:38:05 PM EST

have not done all that well in the past, at least when shown in movie theaters to patrons paying their own way. They might be cable fare for Faux, or giveaways to conservative church congregations. Of course, the lack of a compelling new storyliine (patriotic music and flag shots can only go so far), and the lack of an entertainment mindset a la Michael Moore, may have been some of the problems with commercially released conservadocumentaries.

Santorum should realize that there is more propaganda value in a single Tom Clancy type novel/ movie or an episode of the TV show "24". Maybe the real target is PBS, to make it show a bunch of rightwing documentaries and thereby give them some luster (hah), or else no funding.

The most entertaining thing about Santorum is the new definition of his name, per some reader of Dan Savage (google for this crude but funny def). He just doesn't have stage presence or personality.

by NancyP on Thu Apr 12, 2007 at 05:54:18 PM EST


Sounds like an eminently practical smear job to whip up war frenzy and impugn the patriotism of those advocating peaceful solutions.

Santorum's second project as described sounds absurdly grandiose.


by Bruce Wilson on Thu Apr 12, 2007 at 06:42:48 PM EST


And it's all in the name of pursuing political inequality.

by Frank Cocozzelli on Mon Apr 16, 2007 at 01:43:40 PM EST
Gee, these guys are so much fun, if they weren't so serious and so determined!


by rdrjames on Fri Apr 20, 2007 at 09:37:17 PM EST
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