Comments on Guam Blog: Guam's media doesn't get it

I voted for Sen Rector and I would vote for him ag...

2009-12-19T22:17:27.587-08:00

I voted for Sen Rector and I would vote for him again. I voted for him bcuz I knew he would ruffle more than a few feathers. Now we can tell where the snipers are...when they shoot.

I appreciate some timely skepticism finally being ...

2009-12-17T03:09:09.440-08:00

I appreciate some timely skepticism finally being applied to this orchestrated bleating of political sheep in their cry to remove Matt Rector. I didn't vote for him the last time but you can be sure I'll vote for him next time. I think a lot of other folks will, too!
The only reason the lawmakers, media outlets, et al., are resorting to these tactics is because they never thought he'd get elected in the first place. Does anyone really believe that Eloi is just being a good public citizen in his crusade to remove Rector and that he is filing his complaints independently of anyone's prompting?!
Also, if his records were sealed, who committed the criminal invasion of Matt's privacy and exposed a record under seal of the court? Why aren't we going after these kind of people ... they're the really scary ones and pose a real threat to our community. When do such folks quit getting the free pass.

To anon -- Facebook "friend" only means that both ...

2009-11-28T13:14:06.980-08:00

To anon -- Facebook "friend" only means that both parties have agreed to be part of each others social network. It's just an agreement on an alternative communication vehicle.

Michael, one of your excellent points: ...> You can find a plethora of instances where any senator lies, bullies someone, makes someone mad, or is just plain useless. The media has developed this narrative over the past year, that Matt Rector has the monopoly on these traits. <

It certainly seems the case. It speaks to Rector as a threat to the established ways of doing business by government and media.

Separately, I enjoy, immensely, the always insightful analysis on your blog; your writings are the source, in my view, for alternative examination of the issues facing Guam.

The previous comment in a way shows the whole poin...

2009-11-28T06:21:49.848-08:00

The previous comment in a way shows the whole point of the post.

In Guam today, you find a million reasons to hate Matt Rector. You'll find so many random people who will quote different things about why he's dangerous, why he's worthless, etc. And these things tend to be spoken of as if Senator Rector himself is the only person on island or currently in elected office who has ever done any of these things.

That's the power of Guam's media in terms of directing discussion and thinking. You can find a plethora of instances where any senator lies, bullies someone, makes someone mad, or is just plain useless. The media has developed this narrative over the past year, that Matt Rector has the monopoly on these traits. I for one think its incredibly dangerous and wrong for rich people to be in political office, but the media doesn't seem to think that's an issue, for them the only real danger is if a union leader, with a pro-union agenda is in power. Guam has had more than six decades of pro-business, rich people in office, legislating with almost absolute freedom and pretending to be working for common folk. I don't remember the PDN or KUAM ever going after any of them the way they have gone after Rector and his pro-union and pro-working families philosophy in less than a year.

I think Guamblog has a very good point about how Rector's anti-KUAM and anti-PDN stance is working. Both news agencies have for far too long gone unchallenged, and are both frankly sorry excuses for news companies. They are too used to having access, power and authority and so when Rector comes in and gives voice to what so many progressives or liberals on Guam claim, that the media on Guam is very pro-business, conservative and generally just not very good, it irks them. It is true that both KUAM and PDN have become increasingly frustrated and it is reflected in the way they constantly reword the fact that Rector won't do interviews with them or will only do interviews with certain pre-conditions.

Although things are very difficult for Senator Rector right now, and you can rightfully claim that some of that is because of his approach to politics or being in the legislature. But ultimately, you cannot discount the power and the potential that he has, and its unfortunate the his message has gotten lost, muffled by the media who wants to protect their profits, and also by fellow politicians who pathetically claim to be for everything and generally don't do anything.

Rector already passed a big test last year and will face the ultimate test next year in terms of whether or not he can get re-elected. People have alot of sayings and ideas about politics on Guam and most of them have nothing to do with reality or how things work. One regular constant in Guam's politics is that when the business community organizes against you, you tend not to get re-elected or elected. This was something Democrats learned in 1974 and 2004. We'll see if Rector's media approach is yielding good results for his message next year.

I think the fact that you are not on Guam contribu...

2009-11-27T22:41:07.648-08:00

I think the fact that you are not on Guam contributes to you "not getting it." The truth is that if you listen to the people actually living on the island, you will see that Sen. Rector isn't the most appreciated politician. He has only passed one bill (a simple name change from GPSS to DOE), which calls in to question the effectiveness he has a leader for his political niche.
It would also benefit you to see just how many of his so-called "freinds" and "followers on both facebook and twitter are true supporters of him, as I am both and couldn't be further from the term supporter.
Rector has lied on the session floor, bullied testifiers at public hearings, and black-listed Guam's most reputable news organizations. If anyone doesn't get their role, it would be the freshman Senator.