Michael Ramirez wonders what it takes for the national media to focus on the biggest tax increase in American history, which is what the House passed last week.  Fortunately, the media’s massive focus on one particular story last week gives us an answer, although I’m not sure I ever want to see John Boehner try a moonwalk:

Unlike some, I do believe that Jackson’s death was news — but not Princess Diana-level news.  For that matter, I didn’t consider Princess Diana significant enough to warrant the kind of obsessive coverage her untimely death generated.  It’s not exactly breaking news that the media is obsessed by celebrity, which means that its consumers are obsessed with it, too.  However, the wall-to-wall coverage of Jackson’s death stretched the boundaries of credulity on every network. Fox News played more music videos in their entirety in one day than MTV has in a month.

How do you compete with that to get attention back on a disastrous policy that could cripple the American economy for decades?  We could fight fire with fire, but as Ramirez suggests, that probably won’t help.  If this scheme passes and we’re wondering years later why the American public didn’t demand a stop to it in the beginning, we can look back to the media’s prioritization of celebrity over substance as one leading cause.

Ramirez has a terrific collection of his works: Everyone Has the Right to My Opinion, which covers the entire breadth of Ramirez’ career, and it gives a fascinating look at political history.  Read my review here, and watch my interviews with Ramirez here and here.  And don’t forget to check out the entire IBD site, while individual investors still exist.