(See update below.)
The Progressive website AlterNet frequently publishes worthy exposes of the “war on drugs,” the assault on civil liberties, and the evils of Washington’s imperial foreign policy. On many occasions its contributors venture perilously close to libertarian territory, something that may be worrisome to AlterNet’s gatekeepers. This might explain why they imposed an ideological embargo on a recent story that could encourage unacceptable thoughts about ObamaCare.
In order to read the article “Poof! Your Job Is Now Freelance, Part-Time, No Benefits,” readers first have to submit to a “squeeze page”* requiring that they certify their fidelity to the Dear Leader, his party, and his signature initiative, in order to gain unobstructed access to the essay.
“Republicans keep trying to gut health care reform and their special interest buddies are spending millions across the country spreading lies and falsehoods — all in an attempt to destroy ObamaCare,” reads the ad copy. “Join the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee if you agree that all Americans deserve affordable healthcare” — as if providing affordable healthcare were the objective of the ObamaCare law, or its inevitable outcome.
One documented result of the ObamaCare “employer penalty” has been mass layoffs by small businesses, and the “temping” of those employees fortunate enough to retain their jobs. AlterNet’s editorial collective insists that this is entirely the fault of the private sector, but is apparently also concerned about publishing articles that might tempt readers into deviationism. Thus the article is accessible easily accessible only to those willing to be initiated into the Leader-Cult.
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*Several LRC readers have told me that they were able to circumnavigate the Leader-Cult squeeze page. This is “still a dirty trick on AlterNet’s part,” one of them commented after using the work-around to read the article.
