Ted Lieu Represents the Regime
The California Congressman’s role is to propagandize his constituents on behalf of the security-state
Representative Ted Lieu claims that a recent “supplemental” to the Twitter Files by independent journalist Matt Taibbi is, essentially, nothing to worry about. It’s just a simple disagreement after all.
Contrary to how Lieu represents the story, it is actually quite an interesting look at how the relationship between Twitter and the FBI worked in microcosm.
Let’s first take a look at Lieu’s framing of Taibbi’s reporting, however. Firstly, note how he refers to the reporting as “breathless,” as if Taibbi is overexcited and too eager to get this story out there as quickly as possible. The implication being that Taibbi didn’t do his due diligence on it which is done to call into question Taibbi’s credibility as a journalist. Then there’s the outright dismissal of the story itself. Why this is just a difference of opinion between Twitter and the FBI. Nothing to see here, citizen, don’t give it a second thought. Better yet, don’t read it at all.
These are nothing more than propaganda techniques from a “representative of the people” who doesn’t want the people to look too closely at what his actual constituents, the security arm of the U.S. federal government, are doing.
Taibbi responded to Lieu’s tweet:
My problem with this response is that it doesn’t go far enough. What Taibbi showed in this exchange between the FBI and Twitter was clearly the FBI bullying Twitter into taking the “correct” position. Furthermore, their independent sources backing up their position were planted in the media by the FBI or the “Intelligence Community” in general in the first place. Elvis Chan of the FBI is pretending these are independent, unbiased, and vetted sources making these claims, when they are in fact just anonymous security-state agents making claims to reporters who simply print them without question. In other words, the security-state is making unfounded claims and then using those claims as evidence that the claims are true.
Politicians like Ted Lieu do not want you to think for yourself, they want you to uncritically accept and regurgitate what they tell you to think while retaining the illusion that they merely represent you and your interests. Nothing could be further from the truth. Contrary to Republicans and Democrats, we do not live in a democracy or a constitutional republic. We live in an oligarchy where unaccountable security-agents work with elected politicians to keep Americans in the dark about what they do in their name. The goal is the same as it has always been for these people: The accumulation of power and wealth.