That's the way we look at politics and politicians these days. We have been told that they all lie, so we make no effort to discern who is misleading us and who is not. Nor do we want to take the time to ferret out truth and blame. We just want a good nap.
I'm not talking about normal politics. I would expect a candidate to tell me his story in the best light that he can cast it. For instance, I would expect Governor Romney to use his business experience as a positive. Much of it is. He should be hammering on that experience. I don't expect him to tell me the negatives. That's why he's got an opponent. It's not lying to put your best foot forward. It is helpful. I am also not talking about putting a questionable spin on positions and performance of your opponent. If Romney wants to claim that the economy has gotten worse under Obama, then it is up to Obama to refute that. I'm not even talking about the minor mistakes or mis-statements about statistics or experiences. That is politics.
But Governor Romney has lied about President Obama. Intentionally,boldly and repeatedly. And no one seems to care. There have been many. So many that we seem to accept Romney's lying as normal. It is not. Well maybe it is for Romney. Here are a few.
#1 Romney lie
It began with one of his first TV ads against President Obama in November, 2011. The commercial showed the President speaking to a crowd, saying,
“If we keep talking about the economy, we’re going to lose.”
The Romney campaign later admitted to editing the video. The President actually said,
“Senator McCain’s campaign actually said, and I quote, if we keep talking about the economy, we’re going to lose.”
Obama was quoting Republican Presidential candidate John McCain. Romney's edit made it seem the President was expressing his own fears. You can see how the Romney campaign edited Obama's words in this video. The ad was withdrawn shortly after the news media universally questioned its veracity.
#2 Romney lie
This one is famous now. Most people still believe that President Obama told business owners that they didn't build their businesses. On July 13, 2012, Obama said,
"There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridge If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen."s.
Obama was clearly referring to the "American system" and "roads and bridges," not the business. Nearly every major news outlet agrees. But most of the country didn't see the whole statement.
The Romney editors once again went to work. All you saw and heard Obama saying on the Romney ad was,
" If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen."
Romney's campaign admitted the edit, but never backed down. Romney went on to express the identical sentiment as Obama less than a week later.
#3 Romney lie
Last Saturday, Governor Romney issued a statement headlined,
"WE MUST DEFEND THE RIGHTS OF MILITARY VOTERS”
In the statement Romney called a lawsuit filed by Obama's organization in Ohio,
“an outrage. The brave men and women of our military make tremendous sacrifices to protect and defend our freedoms, and we should do everything we can to protect their fundamental right to vote.”
Romney's statement, and that of his legal counsel, clearly left the impression that the President was attempting to limit the military's voting during an early voting period.
The lawsuit was actually attempting to restore the rights of Ohio citizens to the early voting period. If you are wonky enough to care, check out the lawsuit complaint. This article from Time Swampland is a good explanatory piece as well.
#4 Romney lie
In an ad released today, Governor Romney claims that President Obama gutted the 1996 Welfare Reform Act by executive action back in July. Romney said that the President's action did away with the requirement that welfare participants work.
The ad is a lie. The President's action merely invited the States, who are in charge of administering welfare programs, to apply for waivers to manage and operate their welfare systems in a different, more cost-effective way. The federal government would have no say so in the proposed changes, other than saying no.
It is like an action requested of the federal government by Republican Governors and endorsed by Mitt Romney when he was Governor of Massachusetts. You can read the letter here if you wish. Or this article in Boston.com.
President Obama did not gut the Welfare Reform Act. He simply turned over more control to the States, as any good Republican would ask. Or already have.
There are more, but this is getting too long.
But it's okay, they all lie.
No they don't. Not like this. And it's not okay. Not for the candidates.
And not for the rest of us.
It's time to wake up. We can nap later.
.
#1 Romney lie
It began with one of his first TV ads against President Obama in November, 2011. The commercial showed the President speaking to a crowd, saying,
“If we keep talking about the economy, we’re going to lose.”
The Romney campaign later admitted to editing the video. The President actually said,
“Senator McCain’s campaign actually said, and I quote, if we keep talking about the economy, we’re going to lose.”
Obama was quoting Republican Presidential candidate John McCain. Romney's edit made it seem the President was expressing his own fears. You can see how the Romney campaign edited Obama's words in this video. The ad was withdrawn shortly after the news media universally questioned its veracity.
#2 Romney lie
This one is famous now. Most people still believe that President Obama told business owners that they didn't build their businesses. On July 13, 2012, Obama said,
"There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridge If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen."s.
Obama was clearly referring to the "American system" and "roads and bridges," not the business. Nearly every major news outlet agrees. But most of the country didn't see the whole statement.
The Romney editors once again went to work. All you saw and heard Obama saying on the Romney ad was,
" If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen."
Romney's campaign admitted the edit, but never backed down. Romney went on to express the identical sentiment as Obama less than a week later.
#3 Romney lie
Last Saturday, Governor Romney issued a statement headlined,
"WE MUST DEFEND THE RIGHTS OF MILITARY VOTERS”
In the statement Romney called a lawsuit filed by Obama's organization in Ohio,
“an outrage. The brave men and women of our military make tremendous sacrifices to protect and defend our freedoms, and we should do everything we can to protect their fundamental right to vote.”
Romney's statement, and that of his legal counsel, clearly left the impression that the President was attempting to limit the military's voting during an early voting period.
The lawsuit was actually attempting to restore the rights of Ohio citizens to the early voting period. If you are wonky enough to care, check out the lawsuit complaint. This article from Time Swampland is a good explanatory piece as well.
#4 Romney lie
In an ad released today, Governor Romney claims that President Obama gutted the 1996 Welfare Reform Act by executive action back in July. Romney said that the President's action did away with the requirement that welfare participants work.
The ad is a lie. The President's action merely invited the States, who are in charge of administering welfare programs, to apply for waivers to manage and operate their welfare systems in a different, more cost-effective way. The federal government would have no say so in the proposed changes, other than saying no.
It is like an action requested of the federal government by Republican Governors and endorsed by Mitt Romney when he was Governor of Massachusetts. You can read the letter here if you wish. Or this article in Boston.com.
President Obama did not gut the Welfare Reform Act. He simply turned over more control to the States, as any good Republican would ask. Or already have.
There are more, but this is getting too long.
But it's okay, they all lie.
No they don't. Not like this. And it's not okay. Not for the candidates.
And not for the rest of us.
It's time to wake up. We can nap later.
.
Yawn.
ReplyDeletewell played . . .
Delete#1:
ReplyDeleteIf Obama talks about the economy, he will lose (which is why he is doing all he can to distract about all of the real issues -- he loses on all of them).
#2:
The whole quote: "You didn't get there on your own. I'm always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart. There are a lot of smart people out there. It must be because I worked harder than everybody else. Let me tell you something -- there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there." -- The president does not like success of citizens, or I guess I should say, non-union citizens. He also thinks "profit" is a bad word while he steals from the American citizen. As for Romney, he told Olympic athletes that they had help -- from parents, coaches, loved ones, etc. I didn't see government anywhere in there. And it's government's job to build roads and bridges. They do it with our money. Those same successful people who pay the vast majority of that tax money are the ones who should be "thankful" to the government according to the Dictator-in-Chief. Roads and bridges don't make someone successful either.
#3:
Military people do deserve extra rights, in my opinion, to make it as easy as possible for them to vote. If anyone has earned "more of a right" to vote than someone else, it's the men and women in uniform. As for others, I don't care. Do whatever it takes on election day (not election week) to vote if it's that important to you. You can always vote absentee if "it's too hard" for you to go on election day.
#4:
Again, the Dictator-in-Chief is ignoring law. It doesn't matter what the law is, he should be enforcing it (that is the job of the Executive branch). What good is a law passed by congress, if the president can just say, "Well, we won't enforce it."? From DOMA not being defended, to not prosecuting criminals he agrees with (and giving them amnesty), to this. Imagine the outcry if a GOP President told "the evil rich" to not pay any taxes at all. Don't worry about it. I know it's against the law, but it's not fair to you, so we won't enforce it.
I'll be waiting for a piece on the Obama lies that I'm sure is coming later. But I'm not sure there's enough room on blogspot.com's servers for that subject. “if I don’t have this done in three years, then there’s going to be a one-term proposition.” I can't wait until this is a reality.
That Romney's also lyin bout them Intelligentsier and their pusitions...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/08/08/economists-to-romney-campaign-thats-not-what-our-research-says/