Derrida, usury, neo-cons

It dawned on me today, a few days after Derrida's death that maybe he can help explain why some of the Right's propaganda is working less effectively than it has: usury. Words, he says, are like money, they gain in interest, accumulate meanings. By so doing, a certain wealth of meanings is created, but, conversely, so is a certain dissolution of meaning. Economically, this is like inflation. Terms like "liberal," "left-wing" have begun to loose some of their potency precisely because of their power.

However, I do not want to explain away the danger that still lurks within the Rush Limbaughs, the Falwells and the Bushites. It is great, and their command of the media machine, either through direct ownership or astute manipulation of its hot buttons, remains practically unchallenged.

Kerry is winning not because they--the Repubs--are losing the media war or their edge in controlling it, but because power has corrupted their leaders to the point where their hypocrisy is too blatant. In other words, people still like their message, but they are ever more concerned with the messengers. In fact, Kerry, in many ways, is an able messenger for their side in the sense that he is running on a bellicose stance and significantly allied with corporate interest.