It is really getting well past the point of annoying and sloppy to keep hearing over and over the absolute lies and nonsense from the talking meatsticks, the ethically challenged administration and republicans in Congress when they try and tell us how their opinions are what “the majority of Americans” want when this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Whether it is Iraq in general, the recent bills passed by Congress, the US Attorney scandal, the budget, health care or just about everything, we have seen six years of exaggerations and accusations about us “fringe elements” being out of the mainstream. Of course, the opposite has been painfully obvious (painful to “them”) for a good number of months now. But that hasn’t stopped the onslaught of stupidity and sloppy journalism – mindlessly (or willfully, but I don’t know which is worse) repeating the same tired lies and talking points to try and keep us convinced that we should believe the lies.
Just this past weekend, there was a major attack on Speaker Pelosi by the White House, and repeated on the cover of Saturday’s NY Post for her planned trip to Syria. Of course, notwithstanding the fact that the republicans did it too, I’ll point out this little nugget from a few short months ago:
A new poll by WorldPublicOpinion.org finds that three out of four Americans believe that in order to stabilize Iraq the United States should enter into talks with Iran and Syria, and eight in ten support an international conference on Iraq.
If it only stopped with this, it would just be disgustingly inaccurate. But the lies and “black is white” barrage is nearly endless. A few weeks back when the Libby verdict was announced, there were immediate talks over whether a pardon was forthcoming. Of course, nearly 70% of Americans did not want Libby to be pardoned. But that didn’t stop Andrea Mitchell (she of early involvement in the Plame leak from lying through her teeth:
They’re going to try to really tamp this down and appeal to the polling which indicates that most people think, in fact, that he should be pardoned. Scooter Libby should be pardoned.
What about the US Attorney purge – the unprecedented purge of US attorneys for not being the most loyal of servants, and then lying to the fired attorneys, Congress, reporters and the American public about the reasons for the purge? Well, according to the ever trustworthy republican Senator Jon Cornyn, he just doesn’t get “what all the hubbub is about”. I guess cronyism and politicizing the United States justice system isn’t all that big of a deal to the man who replaced Alberto Gonzalez at Texas Attorney General under then-Governor George W. Bush.
Unfortunately for him, it is a big deal to the 72% of Americans who think that Congress should investigate the firings. It is also a pretty big deal to the nearly 75% of Americans who think that subpoenas should be issued to White House officials in order to force them to testify.
Of course, how can we not mention those brave republican leaders who have such moral clarity about the “right war at the right time in the right place” – since they have been so right about everything to date when it comes to Iraq. There was Senate minority leader McConnell saying that there is a dangerous and defeatist surrender date in the Iraq funding bills. There is former Rep. John McCollister (R-NE) saying that this is sending a defeatist message to our enemies and our troops (of course, it is not a defeatist message to deny troops the necessary equipment and armor or rest or training or medical benefits).
Best of all, we have the rabid, foaming at the mouth “journalistic experts” such as Arizona’s The American Daily, which has this instant-classic:
If anyone was under the impression that congressional Democrats actually considered their actions, with regard to the “troop withdrawal bills,” beyond achieving victory over the Bush administration, they would be playing the part of the uninformed, Kool-Aid drinking fool. While Democrats Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and the rest of their anti-war, pro-genocide, hate-Bush contingent revel in the fact that they have succeeded in passing a bill that opposes the president, al Qaeda operatives in Iraq are preparing to set their alarm clocks for “half-past redeployment” so the slaughter of those who braved Iraq’s polling places can begin.
Of course, that blind to reality statement defies all logic and reason. But it also defies the majority of Americans who back a timeline for withdrawal. In fact, nearly 60% back the plan that was just passed in Congress. We also have those troop hating, um, troops who by a nearly 3 to 1 margin wanted the occupation to end within a year. And that was back in early 2006.
But why should we let a few pesky facts or reality play into the equation? I mean, are we going to believe these highly credible people who are clearly looking out for their own the republican party their corporate masters, America’s best interests?
Or are we going to believe our own lying ears and eyes?
