I’m sure all politicians careen between saying what they believe and spouting whatever crap will get them elected. But it seems like Republicans have adopted a universal strategy of popular deceit, and if they speak truth it’s only by coincidence. Here’s the pattern I’ve seen:
- Toss out a slew of outrageous lies.
- Watch for one to capture the public’s imagination.
- Turn it into jargon (”death panel”) that sticks in voters’ heads.
- Step back from the lie when it’s debunked, and craft a milder (still dishonest) version. But keep the original jargon.
- Repeat as necessary. Debunkers eventually move on to tackle some new lie, leaving the last version in place and the jargon established.
Republicans sound like they’re conducting a giant experiment in saying whatever they can get away with, and I suspect they’re surprised as any of us by some of the results. That’s probably too harsh, though. What’s worse is that a good chunk of them might believe the stuff they say. That’s the difference between, for instance, Glenn Beck and Michele Bachmann. Either way, the country loses.
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