I have been a political junkie for decades and grew up in a family where politics were discussed at the dinner table and family gatherings as far back as I can remember. The discussions could be heated at times but always focused on the facts and the truthfulness of the candidates and politicians being discussed. In the context of the 2012 election, one thing that strikes me the most is how for Republicans lying has become standard operating procedure. Not coincidentally the move towards out right dishonestly correlates directly with the rise of the Christianists in the GOP and the sleazy dishonest tactics rose to further prominence under Chimperator Bush and his Joseph Goebbels equivalent, Karl Rove (Rove's Crossroads ads currently plying in Virginia are among the most dishonest I've ever heard). Now, with Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, et al, the truth simply no longer matters. Last night Joe Biden did perhaps the best job possible when faced with an amoral opponent who has lied so often that he likely believes his own lies. Several pundits have described Biden's performance in a manner that is consistent with my reactions. Here are a couple that sum it up.
First this from Jubilee Blog:
Biden does a good job of interjecting himself into Ryan’s time, usually to say a quick dart like "Not true" or "Nope" and the like. Ryan isn’t doing the same — I don’t know if it’s been decided that he’ll come off as presumptuous or disrespectful. The end-result: He’s been defending himself the entire night, both his arguments and the veracity of the factual statements that are cited to support them. Joe attacks, talks, chuckles, often goes a little too far. Ryan tries to respond and turn the attack into a reckless, cynical, and desperate gambit by a flailing Administration. It works sometimes, but — perhaps I’m a blinded partisan — I can’t help but avoid concluding that Biden has come right up to the precipice of calling Ryan a "liar" without paying the price. It’s a hard thing to do, but if you can do it to your opponent, it’s devastating.
Talking Points Memo had this:
Biden made the whole Democratic argument -- on policy and values and he hit Romney really everywhere Democrats wanted him to. He left nothing unsaid. You can agree with those points or not. But this was exceedingly important for recovering the damage from last week's debate when many Obama supporters simply felt that Obama wasn't willing or able or something to make the case Democrats around the country are hyped up to make. Why didn't you say this? Why'd you let him get away with that? Biden said it all. And for Democrats around the country that was extremely important.
And Ezra Klein in the Washington Post looks at Ryan's lie on unemployment levels:
Paul Ryan began his comments on the economy by asking Biden if he knows where unemployment is today in Scranton, PA. Ten percent, Ryan said. When Obama and Biden came in to office, Ryan continued, it was 8.5 percent. "That’s how it’s going all around America," Ryan said. That’s not actually true, The national unemployment rate is now 7.8 percent. In January 2009, when Obama was inaugurated, unemployment was 7.8 percent. In February 2009, Obama’s first full month in office, unemployment was over eight percent. So it’s simply not the case that a 1.5 percentage point increase in unemployment is "how it’s going all around America."
Sadly, I fear that too many voters do not understand that they are faced with a Republican Party unlike anything seen previously. Among today's Republicans - and certainly among its Christianist base - lying is perfectly acceptable. Anything that that furthers one's political or theocratic agenda is acceptable. The goal justifies the means. I truly don't believe we have seen such a level of deliberate dishonesty in a long time. What makes things all the more frightening is the fact that much of the mainstream media is afraid to challenge the GOP on its rank lies and dishonesty. It's the same phenomenon that led to the Iraq War.
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