My Life As A Media Apologist

While I agree with Credibility's overall point that:

What really needs to occur at some sort of meaningful level--in the media and among American citizens--is a discussion of democracy today, of the public interest and of how, why and where the big bucks are spent in Washington.

But I feel like she isn't backing up her point, citing no specific examples, that:

very clearly, media attention in the case has been focused on him as an exception to the rules, rather than the example on which to base some sort of wider analysis of lobbying in America today.

I don't doubt that there have been many news stories that missed the larger connections of what Abramoff represents; However, once the news cycle moved from the scandal breaking to lawmakers and the public's reactions, the tone of the coverage has picked up on the "this is a lobbying problem in general" meme. The Abramoff scandal is certainly still unfolding, with new dimensions being added nearly every day.

For instance, in the NY Times today, Todd S. Purham writes:

But the problem is broader than Mr. Abramoff, Mr. DeLay or even the inherent potential for abuse in one-party rule of all three branches of government. It also has to do with the astounding growth of the lobbying industry, a growth that has tracked the growth of the federal government itself. The rise of government regulation - first in the New Deal and then in the 1960's and 70's - spawned a parallel rise in the private sector's efforts to master the new system. Between the early 1970's and the mid-1980's, the number of trade associations doubled; in the first half of the 1980's alone, the number of registered lobbyists quadrupled, according to The Washington Monthly.

Many bloggers have been focusing on the problems of lobbying too, including here,here, here and here

It's even been discussed on TV! By Joe Scarborough and Chris Matthews nonetheless! Here.

I couldn't agree more that we, meaning citizens in general, need to really think about and discuss what we mean when we say democracy, especially in the context of ours being a country that goes to war under the banner of exporting democracy. If we lose sight of democracy at home, we can't really steward it abroad.

Sidenote: Discussion of Democracy could definitely come up regarding Bush, The NSA, and warrantless domestic wiretaps, especially given the Administration's arguments about executive power