Beyond the debate, CNN seems worse than usual these days. One report on Sunday’s Turkish election carried the screen banner “Radical Islam Threat,” which paints a totally misleading picture of Turkish politics (the Islamic AK Party is doggedly pro-European Union, while the secular opposition is in some ways more hostile to democracy). I also note with mounting impatience the fact that Lou Dobbs has abandoned journalism altogether, and no one seems to call him on it. Seven days a week, in the prime slot of 6pm, Dobbs is given a platform for his strident anti-immigrant activism.
I’m no expert on the topic of illegal immigration, but I know a climate of resentment and hate when I see it. Yesterday one of Jack Cafferty’s email respondents referred to illegals as “freeloading parasites.” If this gave Cafferty and Wolf Blitzer pause, they didn’t say so. Lou Dobbs may strenuously deny it, but he’s stirring up the poison of bigotry. It’s time for CNN to give equal time to opposing views on the subject.
[Update: Actually, Rick Sanchez, another CNN anchor, is someone who has challenged Dobbs. Not long ago he told Dobbs to his face that “as the son of Paco and Adela” he finds Dobbs’s stance troublesome.]
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