Shot In The Dark: Goebbels

October 05, 2006

Goebbels

In a piece yesterday that drew the attention of a legion of poo-flinging comment-monkeys, I reiterated a theme that I've been hammering on the show and in this blog; the Democrats, devoid of any strategy of their own, are resorting to the most cynical of all political ploys - the Big Lie (or, more accurately, a series of Big Lies).

The Big Lie invokes the spectre of Joseph Goebbels, who famously said that if you repeated a Big Lie often enough, people will eventually believe it. On issue after issue, the Democrats are - there is no way to sugar-coat this - lying. A partial list, gathered from skimming blog posts:

WMDs were the administration's only rationale for going into Iraq (never mind that that noted conservative tool, Nick Lemann in New Yorker, noted otherwise in the weeks leading up to the war).
Iraq is just like Vietnam
"If terrorists attack us, ever again, it proves that the Administration's policy on terror is a failure
Tora Bora was proof that the Administration doesn't really want to win the war!
Difficulties in instituting democracy in Iraq prove Iraqis aren't amenable to democracy.
The Burkett files are fake but really, really accurate!
Bush dodged military service.
Pay no attention to the low unemployment rates and rising incomes; the economy is really bad!
Republicans play dirty; Democrats are their squeaky-clean victims!
The Swifties were liars in every particular!
The media is really conservative!
Public broadcasting is balanced and unbiased.
The Louisiana National Guard was in Iraq rather than home dealing with Katrina
The disaster in New Orleans was the Feds' fault! George W. Bush hates black people!
Liberalism is the the philosophy of progress.
Michele Bachmann supports higher taxes! Look at this National sales tax! (unmentioned; the national sales tax would involve dropping income taxes).
The Democrats are the party of healthy deliberation.
Since Hussein wasn't involved in 9/11, he was unrelated to terrorism!
"International Law" gives terrorists rights like civil defendants.
Abu Ghraib was one of the most horrible examples of abuse in all of history!
Talk raido fosters a climate of hate.
The Gold Star Parents - who took out a pro-war TV ad last year - are really liars! Liars! Liars!
Terrorists are just like criminals, and deserve trials and lawyers and miranda rights!
Congressional leaders have admitted to a coverup with Mark Foley!

And on and on and on.

Some of these might qualify as opinion - until they're roundly debunked. And yet Democrats keep bringing many of them up, over and over and over again. What possible reason could they have for that?

To sway the ill-informed, or those who still get their information from the mainstream media (pardon the redundancy).

Posted by Mitch at October 5, 2006 06:36 AM | TrackBack

Comments

Another reason could be likened to the sad but sincere desire many children have to cling to the notion of Santa Claus even after confronted with the insurmountable evidence.

Posted by: Kermit at October 5, 2006 07:23 AM

The World According to Wingnuts

Benevolent red suit-clad figure who brings gifts to good children once a year: MYTH.

Benevolent sandal-clad figure whose mother was a virgin, rose from the grave and can be summoned to affect the outcome of football games: REALITY.

Posted by: angryclown at October 5, 2006 07:49 AM

Luv the Goebbels charge there Mr. "The Democrats have no strategy" Berg...

That was the theme all day on Rethuglican talk radio. Of course most people who are smart enough to stop talking and listen for a change understatnd that the charge is complete BS.

Anyway, to address your points...

* WMDs were the administration's only rationale for going into Iraq...

Only? No but the WMD's claims were the only thing scarey enough to sway Public opinion and the Administration focused their efforts there. Don't blame us for hearing what you wanted us to hear.

* Iraq is just like Vietnam...

Never said it. Iraq is ANOTHER Vietnam. Don't play games Mitch.

* If terrorists attack us, ever again, it proves that the Administration's policy on terror is a failure

And yet you get to claim that because we haven't been hit inside the country since 9-11 that the Administration's policy on terror is a success? Well... Isn't that convienent...

* Tora Bora was proof that the Administration doesn't really want to win the war!

No Mitch. Tora Bora is proof that the Administration had it's sights set on Iraq didn't take the al Qaida threat seriously.

* Difficulties in instituting democracy in Iraq prove Iraqis aren't amenable to democracy.

Classic Berg Strawman. Difficulties in *instituting* democracy in Iraq prove Iraqis understand the difference between institute and impose.

* The Burkett files are fake but really, really accurate!

Mitch, it really doesn't help your case to link to a story that says the forensic specia1ist now believes that it is possible that the documents could have been produced at the time. That aside, I think it's interesting that documents that get turned over anonymously are instantly debunked by your buddies - with "proof" and supporting material all prepared... Why - it's almost as if someone tipped them off that they were forgeries.

* Bush dodged military service.

And did it with the assistance of his Father and his connections.

* Pay no attention to the low unemployment rates and rising incomes; the economy is really bad!

Pay no attention to the people who have dropped out of the system and no longer collect unemployment but still don't have a job. Pay no attention to the fact that that rising healthcare costs, tuition, gas, and property taxes makes the rising incomes nearly irrelevant.

* Republicans play dirty; Democrats are their squeaky-clean victims!

The Swifties...

* The Swifties were liars in every particular!

Every particular? Don't know about that but they were and still are liars.

* The media is really conservative!

No. The media is generally pretty well balanced. It is Conservatives that want to see a liberal bias is every comment, every story in the media.

* Public broadcasting is balanced and unbiased.

See the previous comment.

To be continued...

Posted by: Doug at October 5, 2006 09:16 AM

'* Iraq is just like Vietnam...

Never said it. Iraq is ANOTHER Vietnam. Don't play games Mitch.'

So if we abandon Iraq we can expect to see four million refugees fleeing a totalitarian, anti-American state.

Posted by: Terry at October 5, 2006 09:50 AM

I'm guessing that angryclown is a sockpuppet of Roving Reporter who posts on MDE. Mitch's site is the one where he really cuts loose.

Posted by: P.J. at October 5, 2006 04:09 PM

Didnt feel like wading through all the crap, but I caught this while typing a response to assclown.

"The Swifties...
* The Swifties were liars in every particular!
Every particular? Don't know about that but they were and still are liars."

Ok, Doug. Good argument. Convinces me. Are all your debunking that analitical?

Anyway, back to assclown. When, exactly did Jesse Jackson become a wingnut? Martin Luther King Jr? Al Sharpton? Martin Sheen? The mind boggles at the numbers assclown assigns to the good side.

Posted by: buzz at October 5, 2006 06:01 PM

Just for that I'm going to start praying against you, buzzkill.

Posted by: angryclown at October 6, 2006 08:42 AM

buzz said,

"Are all your debunking that analitical?"

I don't know buzz? Are all your attempts at English usage so dismal?

Posted by: Doug at October 6, 2006 11:49 AM