Whatever happened to telling the truth?
Lies, Damn Lies and G.O.P. Video
Bill Keller, NYR
TAMPA, Florida
"We did build that," has already been established as one of the more dishonest political memes in a campaign season undisturbed by shame. The Republicans took a clumsy phrase from an Obama speech in July, in which the president pointed out that most American business successes have been assisted by infrastructure, education or incentives underwritten by the government. The Republican spin-masters whipped this into a preposterous claim that Obama denied American entrepreneurs any credit for their creations. The fact that this slogan has been thoroughly debunked has not kept it from being the defining theme in Tampa.
Until Tuesday's opening festivities you could call this a particularly egregious example of the familiar political game of ripping things out of context. (As in, "I like to fire people.") A little distortion. A bit of oppo jiu-jitsu.
But why stop there? Why not go whole hog and just make stuff up?
"Today," the GOP proudly announced in a press release, "the Republican National Convention unveiled three 'These Hands' videos profiling small business owners in Colorado, Nevada and Ohio who built their business themselves, a clear contrast to President Obama's claim that small business owners didn't build their businesses."
Each of these little propaganda gems begins with the following audio of President Obama's voice:
"If you've been successful, you didn't get there on your own. You, you didn't get there on your own. I'm always struck by people who think: 'Wow, 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 everyone else. 'Let me tell you something, if you've got a business, that you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen."
(More here.)
Bill Keller, NYR
TAMPA, Florida
"We did build that," has already been established as one of the more dishonest political memes in a campaign season undisturbed by shame. The Republicans took a clumsy phrase from an Obama speech in July, in which the president pointed out that most American business successes have been assisted by infrastructure, education or incentives underwritten by the government. The Republican spin-masters whipped this into a preposterous claim that Obama denied American entrepreneurs any credit for their creations. The fact that this slogan has been thoroughly debunked has not kept it from being the defining theme in Tampa.
Until Tuesday's opening festivities you could call this a particularly egregious example of the familiar political game of ripping things out of context. (As in, "I like to fire people.") A little distortion. A bit of oppo jiu-jitsu.
But why stop there? Why not go whole hog and just make stuff up?
"Today," the GOP proudly announced in a press release, "the Republican National Convention unveiled three 'These Hands' videos profiling small business owners in Colorado, Nevada and Ohio who built their business themselves, a clear contrast to President Obama's claim that small business owners didn't build their businesses."
Each of these little propaganda gems begins with the following audio of President Obama's voice:
"If you've been successful, you didn't get there on your own. You, you didn't get there on your own. I'm always struck by people who think: 'Wow, 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 everyone else. 'Let me tell you something, if you've got a business, that you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen."
(More here.)
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