Somebody said to me the other day, “So what’s the problem if Frank Luntz or Karl Rove spin words to put the Republicans’ best foot forward; everybody does that.”
Everybody does it to some extent, but here’s the problem: GOP ‘message man’ Luntz and the sleazy Rove would market a flaming paper bag of crap left on your porch as an “organically-grown natural product packaged in an environmentally-friendly biodegradable wrapper, delivered piping hot to your door!” In fact, in their work for the Republican Party, they essentially already have. Now, most of America is choking on the stench as we try to stamp it out.
As Voltaire said in the 18th century: “Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” It’s still true two hundred years later and most of what the GOP peddles these days are absurdities that lead to atrocities in thought and deed.
Ultimately, if you buy into this ‘spin,’ you end up with corrupt liars in office like Bush and Cheney, and we all pay the price with our declining health, wealth and well-being, and our military force is weakened by being sent to fight in unnecessary wars. That’s the problem.
Asking the Right Questions (and you can take that both ways):
“If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don’t have to worry about the answers.”
– Thomas Pynchon
If the Dem presidential candidates are smart, they’ll start challenging the warhawks among the GOP nominees, like Giuliani and Romney, with the questions posed in this great comment by Kurt Weldon, especially, “How much are you willing to raise taxes or increase Bush’s already-staggering debt to attack Iran?” “What kind of personal sacrifices will you ask average Americans to make to wage a costly war on Iran?” and “What will you do if Iran and their allies in the region attack our troops in Iraq in retaliation for an air strike — since Bush has severely weakened our military capability by overdeployment, will you call for a draft that includes your children or grandchildren?”
Name: Kurt Weldon
Hometown: Los Angeles
“When I’m not fantasizing about the Guardians of the Universe bestowing me with my own Green Lantern Power Ring, I fantasize about stupid questions like Russert’s being answered along these lines: ‘Tim, I assume you are a voter and a citizen, and therefore have a stake in this election beyond playing ‘gotcha’ with the candidates. So let me ask you a question: What are YOU willing to give up to keep Iran from developing a nuclear bomb? Will you support a sizable increase in your taxes to pay for the war necessary to prevent it? If not, then how many generations of Russerts are you willing to saddle with debt to pay for such a war? Are you willing to have your children drafted to keep Iran in line? If not, why do you expect other Americans to fill that gap? How many dead Iranian civilians do you personally consider an acceptable price? How many of our allies are you, Tim Russert, willing to alienate? How much are you prepared to pay for a gallon of gas? Do you even realize or acknowledge that you, Tim Russert, as a citizen of this nation will have obligations and burdens imposed on you if we go to war with Iran? And if not, why do you consider yourself exempt?’”
– Email to Eric Alterman’s Altercation, Nov. 7, 2007.
The Tattlesnake — Voltaire on the GOP Flaming Bag of Crap, and Asking the Right Questions Edition
Somebody said to me the other day, “So what’s the problem if Frank Luntz or Karl Rove spin words to put the Republicans’ best foot forward; everybody does that.”
Everybody does it to some extent, but here’s the problem: GOP ‘message man’ Luntz and the sleazy Rove would market a flaming paper bag of crap left on your porch as an “organically-grown natural product packaged in an environmentally-friendly biodegradable wrapper, delivered piping hot to your door!” In fact, in their work for the Republican Party, they essentially already have. Now, most of America is choking on the stench as we try to stamp it out.
As Voltaire said in the 18th century: “Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” It’s still true two hundred years later and most of what the GOP peddles these days are absurdities that lead to atrocities in thought and deed.
Ultimately, if you buy into this ‘spin,’ you end up with corrupt liars in office like Bush and Cheney, and we all pay the price with our declining health, wealth and well-being, and our military force is weakened by being sent to fight in unnecessary wars. That’s the problem.
Asking the Right Questions (and you can take that both ways):
“If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don’t have to worry about the answers.”
– Thomas Pynchon
If the Dem presidential candidates are smart, they’ll start challenging the warhawks among the GOP nominees, like Giuliani and Romney, with the questions posed in this great comment by Kurt Weldon, especially, “How much are you willing to raise taxes or increase Bush’s already-staggering debt to attack Iran?” “What kind of personal sacrifices will you ask average Americans to make to wage a costly war on Iran?” and “What will you do if Iran and their allies in the region attack our troops in Iraq in retaliation for an air strike — since Bush has severely weakened our military capability by overdeployment, will you call for a draft that includes your children or grandchildren?”