Saturday, September 12, 2009

YOU LIE!!!

"The GOP only cares about costs when a government program is not lining the pockets of their corporate supporters."
- SJ of Random Thoughts, New York City -


"Tax the very wealthy to make everyone healthy!"
- Vigilante, Sozadee, CA -







This past week (actually, this past year or so) has provided new all-time lows in American political discourse. When President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress to explain his health care reform plan, especially when he mentioned how his plan would not be available to illegal aliens, he was met with a disgraceful, uncivil, and unprecedented catcall of "you lie!" from Representative Joe Wilson (R- SC). The undeniable fact of the matter, of course, was that the President was speaking the truth, while his Republican counterpart was lying. Those two words in and of themselves epitomized an indisputable truth:

Conservative Republicans lie. Constantly.

Over the past year, we have seen one lie after another spout forth from conservative Republican politicians, pundits, and supporters alike. At the time the President announced his Stimulus Plan to restore the economy that the previous conservative Republican Congresses and President had all but destroyed through 8 years of deregulation, exporting American jobs, and giving huge unneeded tax cuts to billionaires,while running a massively expensive two-front war on credit, Republican Minority Leader John Boehner held a press conference waving copies of a supposed Republican alternative plan which would allegedly cost far less money. That was a lie. The puny, phony, 19 page booklet he held contained the same old tired Republican tax cuts for the rich and free trade recommendations they had been peddling for years, and had absolutely NOTHING new in it and NO cost figures to back it up! Even earlier, when that vile and shrill (but shallow and dense) Sarah Palin was stumping for the presidential election, she made crazy, wild claims about Barack Obama "palling around with domestic terrorists" and having "a socialist agenda." But her latest one, how Obama's health care plan would put disabled or elderly citizens before "death panels" who would condemn them to death to save money, is a real doozy. Those, too, were lies. Obama, many years before, had attended several community education meetings where former Weather Underground activist Bill Ayers was also in attendance. This hardly constitutes "palling around with." Obama has not instituted full state control of American industry and put all American workers on the government payroll, either, so his agenda has hardly been any more "socialist" than FDR's launching of the New Deal or LBJ's creation of Medicare or the War on Poverty were. And nowhere in any public option health care plan are there any "death panels" whatsoever! Malcontent and tax-cheat "Joe the Plumber" misrepresented himself to then-candidate Obama by saying he was a plumber who wanted to buy his boss's business but that Obama's proposed tax plan would prevent him from doing so. John McCain even held this charlatan up as a great American hero. But those, too, were lies. n For "Joe";s name was actually Samuel; he was not employed or licensed as a plumber at the time,; there was no "boss" for him to buy a business from (nor did he have the funds to do so); and people who have IRS tax liens against them, as he had at the time, are hardly "American heroes." Fox "News" commentator Glenn Beck has recently come under much well-deserved attack for saying President Obama was a "racist" who "hates white culture." How patently absurd, considering the President's beloved late mother was white and upon her death the young Barack was raised by her white grandparents! That was another conservative Republican lie. Last Thursday, Fox "News" personality Sean Hannity told yet another whopper on his show, not even an hour after the President had completed his address to Congress. Hannity accused the President of saying that "insurance executives are bad people", when, in fact, the President had said "they are NOT bad people." That Hannity statement was also a lie. A delinerate one.

Fox "News", in general, lies nearly around the clock every single day to slant its news reporting in favor of conservative Republican themes and politicians. Rush Limbaugh is a pathological liar on his radio show every time he's on the air. Even the recent "teabagger" protests, Town Hall disruptions, and Saturday's taxpayer march on the Capitol were lies. Why? Because they were NOT spomtaneous acts of protest by concerned, real grassroots citizens. They were media events planned and executed by Fox "News", Freedom Works, and other far-right lobbying groups opposed to health care reform. The participants, many of them out-of-the-area conservative activists, health insurance employees, and even local Republican Party operatives, were driven in to these events,, often handed scripts on what to say or shout in advance, and many held signs calling the President a "fascist" or a "communist" (see above). These events were staged to create the untrue impression that the majority of Americans oppose health care reform and government involvement in it. They, too, were all lies.

I could go on and on and on and on with other examples of conservative Republican lying over the past 10 years (and even further back). Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and George W. Bush lied us into a bankrupting and unnecessary war in Iraq. They continue to lie to this very day about its legalities and necessity. And conservative Republicans everywhere back them up in lock step...


So now we get a mouthy, pipsqueak conservative Republican Representative Joe Wilson disrepectfully shouting out "you lie!" to a truthful President, and, one day later, House Minority Wimp (I mean, Whip) Eric Cantor and lying loudmouth Rush Limbaugh are making public statements backing Wilson up. President Obama has said he will now begin calling out conservative Republican, special interest lies as they occur. I applaud him for that. SJ of the blog Random Thoughts encourages us to contact the FCC with complaints about specific lies by conservative Republican TV and radio pundits. I join him in this effort and encourage you readers to follow our example. For I hate to break it to all of you conservative Republicans, but the sad truth of the matter is this: YOU lie!!!

9 comments:

Mike said...

Re: the "bad people" in insurance, what BHO said was "... not because they are bad people." Hannity took only the last four words for his interpretation. Hannity hears what he wants to hear, repeats his misinterpretation, and then, when confronted with his mistake, insists his misinterpretation was correct. That's his pattern. It was the same a few months ago when he repeatedly said BHO called the US a Muslim country.

SJ said...

@ Stimpson,
right you are. The President's words spoke for themselves. Those words needed no interpretation or "analysis" by anyone other than the pundits on Fox "News" Channel who want to groundlessly accuse and implicate anyone they see as an enemy. They (and Rush Limbaugh) obviously see the President as their enemy.
@Jack,
thanks for the mentions. I appreciate your fire and insistence on fair play. I hope it catches on beyond our circle of readers.
-SJ

Jack Jodell said...

Thanks, guys.
@Stimpson:
Yep, he's a liar.
@SJ:
I hope it gets beyond our circle, too. I've emailed all my friends on the FCC thing. I'd love to land Limbaugh's, Beck's, and Hsnnity's asses in VERY hot water!

TomCat said...

Hi Jack! Thanks for your visit and comment at Politics Plus. You have an excellent blog here. You're followed and blog rolled. :-)

I have to disagree on one small point though. Conservative Republicans don't really all the time. Occasionally they stop, when they are sleeping, when they are chewing, and when their mouths fill with drool over expectations of campaign cash from their corporate masters.

Jack Jodell said...

Thanks, TomCat, and great hearing from you! Your point is well taken! :)

TomCat said...

I thought you might appreciate that. ;-)

Unknown said...

Jack, ain't it the truth? Ain't it the truth? Fine recap of what really gets said! Our President speaks clearly and inspires. Each Democrat President since FDR has had to deal with this pointed nastiness. But really... I don't remember it ever getting so broadly and frankly, lunatic.

Good post Jack. Ta.

Jack Jodell said...

Thanks, Gwendolyn.
Yeah, the lunatic fringe is getting way out of control and worse all the time. They are a constant irritant. They can tell us the sun is purple and that blades of grass are actually neon pink, but MOST of us (the sane ones who make up the political majority) know they're deluded and just blowing hot air. These wingnuts can shout all they want at volumes 11 and 12, but we won't be listening to their bull, especially come Nov. 2010 and Nov. 2012!

Stella by Starlight said...

Jack, I do know a few ultraconservatives that don't lie, although they may be the exception than the rule. I tend to avoid grouping people, primarily because I feel it's a type of bigotry. To be honest, A few conservative fundamentalists I know are great people: I point to those that practice love and peace they preach.

Nevertheless, you all make good points. Rush Limbaugh is a pathological liar. Yes, and so are Coultergeist, Maul-kin, Beck, Pukecannon, Dobson, Boehner, Inohofe,.. and the rest of a long list that includes any individual who is mean spirited, self-absorbed, or prevaricates.

Tom, I'm not sure I agree that I have to disagree that many conservatives don't lie all the time. Many of the more loathsome group are capable of lying when they sleep, chew, and drool.

About Inohofe (pardon me while I hurl) Senator Boxer (pardon me while I cheer) promptly put him in his place in short when she became Chair chair of the Environmental Committe. Dirtbag Inohofe kept rudely interrupting Al Gore while he was trying to answer questions and acted like he was still Chair.

It was a beautiful moment. You've probably all heard the statement that she made, but her comments bear repeating. Boxer took the opportunity to remind Inhofe that she now controls the committee, gave him a look that would wither anyone, and said, "You don't do this any more (pointing the gavel at him). Elections have consequences."

I can't stream videos right now, but YouTube has the clip. Watching the exchange is a lot more fun than reading about it.

Do any of you remember the song "Lunatic Fringe"? If not, I've posted the lyrics, which I think are far more pointed and accurate than any comment I could make. Every liberal should have this song on their MP3 player.

(Unfortunately, the rest of the album is sort of dull.)

Lunatic Fringe
Red Rider

Lunatic fringe
I know you're out there
You're in hiding
And you hold your meetings
We can hear you coming
We know what you're after
We're wise to you this time
We won't let you kill the laughter.

Lunatic fringe
In the twilight's last gleaming
This is open season
But you won't get too far
We know you've got to blame someone
For your own confusion
But we're on guard this time
Against your final solution

We can hear you coming
(We can hear you coming)
No you're not going to win this time
We can hear the footsteps
(We can hear the footsteps)
Way out along the walkway
Lunatic fringe
We know you're out there
But in these new dark ages
There will still be light

An eye for an eye;
Well before you go under...
Can you feel the resistance?
Can you feel the thunder?