Warning: Please don't feed the wingnuts.

[ProSense]

Dave Johnson and James Boyce
Bio
03.01.2007

The Al Gore Lie Is Halfway Around The World And The Truth Is Sitting In Nashville

There's a tragic but true old expression that a lie can make it half way around the world before the truth can even get its pants on. Sadly, this has been proven true again this week with the $mear attack on Vice President Al Gore and his energy consumption.

Today, we noticed that the lie has made it to Germany.

How did this happen and, more to the point, why does it continue to happen?

Snip...

When John Kerry was the focus of the machine when he botched his joke, the wingnuts misrepresented what he said and pretended outrage, the right's online sites echoed and amplified the smear, the Drudge Report spread it widely, Limbaugh blasted it out, and then the networks dutifully picked it up and spread the lie to the rest of the country. And not only did no Democrat come to his aid, some actually piled on.

Snip...

It is a tragedy.

First the wingnuts came for Bill Clinton,
I remained silent;
I am not Bill Clinton.

When they made up stuff about Gore,
I remained silent;
I am not Gore.

When they lied about John Kerry
I didn't speak up for him;
I complained about how he ran his campaign.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out;
I am a Democrat.

"Some actually piled on."

It's better not to feed the wingnuts: John Kerry Rips Coulter on the HuffPo.

DNC calls for GOP presidential candidates to denounce Coulter's remarks

Snip...

"There is no place in political discourse for this kind of hate-filled and bigoted comments," Dean responded in a statement issued last night. "While Democrats and Republicans may disagree on the issues, we should all be able to agree that this kind of vile rhetoric is out of bounds. The American people want a serious, thoughtful debate of the issues. Republicans -- including the Republican presidential candidates who shared the podium with Ann Coulter today -- should denounce her hateful remarks."

For the Edward's camp, Coulter's remarks may result in an unexpected boost in financial support. Video footage of Coulter's appearance at the conference was posted on the campaign's website together with a call on supporters to "raise $100,000 in 'Coulter Cash' this week."

As Senator Kerry said at Huffpo when the Ms. Evil came after the 9/11 widows: Shameless, but the Real Shame Is If We Don't Act.

[tblue]

1. Agreed. Excellent point.

Love this part:

First the wingnuts came for Bill Clinton,
I remained silent;
I am not Bill Clinton.

When they made up stuff about Gore,
I remained silent;
I am not Gore.

When they lied about John Kerry
I didn't speak up for him;
I complained about how he ran his campaign.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out;
I am a Democrat.

[HappyWeasel]

2. Excellent.

[babylonsister]

3. Great post, ProSense! Rec'd. nt

[ProSense]

8. Thanks. n/t

[Erika]

4. We need to protect and promote our own

and remember not to speak negatively of our own. I hope I never see another post here against one of our own.

And we need to fight, yell, and scream when the republicans attack our own.

[babylonsister]

5. I don't quite agree with that; if 'our own' do something deserving of

criticism, I think they are fair game. But badmouthing just for the sake of badmouthing is not something I agree with.

[Erika]

6. Not in an election cycle such as this one.

We can vote for our approval or disapproval in the primaries, or we can contact the nominee personally and directly. A uniform backing is important.

Just my 2 cents.

[babylonsister]

7. Then we agree to disagree. nt

[struggle4progress]

9. There's actually an art to choosing when to ignore and when to respond.

The problem with debunking asinine statements is that one risks endowing them -- and their hateful authors -- with attention (and hence credibility, because one is alllowing the idiots to choose the ground of debate). So there is good cause to ignore, whenever possible.

We cannot afford to ignore idiocy from people in real positions of authority, however. So, there is the following consideration: if some @ssw!pe is closely connected to people with real positions of authority, one should insist that the @ssw!pe's views are shared by the authority figures, unless the authorities explicitly repudiate the @ssw!pe. Case in point: everybody with any official status who was at CPAC, should be presumed to share Ann Coulter's views, until they officially repudiate Coulter

[wildflowergardener]

10. Good Article

This is a very good article, and very true. I often wish that the democrats high up would stand together to try to defeat slurs against candidates. I don't understand why there can't be some sort of coordinated effort to do this. I mean we have email - people can be contacted within a second. Why can't they send a message when people are starting to be slurred to leaders with the truth so that democrats who are interviewed will know it and be able to respond.

It doesn't matter who good the person is, who is running for office, they will be trashed by the republicans with some lie or another, so we need to know how to deal with it with the truth.

Also the media seriously needs to be dealt with - how they are so quick to spread the lies - how they feel that they must give equal time to the lives as the truth cause they must be "fair and balanced".

Meg

[Alamom]

11. I agree completely.

We need to win the upcoming election as much as we have ever needed anything. Not just for "US" not just for Democrats, but for our country, our children and their's.

If we have another repub administration, I fear we will never recover. It will be a hard go now, but hopefully, possible.


Some say they don't vote for a D "just" because or they don't march in lockstep...that is your right (NOW), however, the other party does and will do everthing in their power to retain control.

At that point, you may not have ANY rights. You may be told what you can say and or can't and told you can not march at all

[rhett o rick]

12. The responses should never mention the wingnut by name. But it is good

to associate the slime with the other side. Make it clear to the public that the slime comes from the republicans. For example say, "Apparently the republican's don't see anything wrong when someone from their side speaks out in a bigoted or racist manner." Ask republican's directly to denounce such attacks.

[MGKrebs]

13. I also read something recently that seemed to make sense.

When confronted by some fact-less emotional "belief" by a righ winger (or anybody else for that matter), the suggestion was to ask a question. The point is to get the idea out of a visceral, emotionally based area and into a rational, reason-based area. This was a study that indicated that when people are confronted with the absurdity of their "belief" they back off. Perhaps the question in this case would be something like "Why is that funny? What is funny about that?"

[rhett o rick]

14. I find "show me a link to the data" is also a show stopper. They never have data. nm

[ProSense]

15. Kick! n/t

[UTUSN]

16. Careful: You (you and I) might be called "the usual suspects" &/or "snubs" (or something) n/t

[ProSense]

17. Kick! n/t

[AtomicKitten]

18. Rather hypocritical posting in light of the fact that you were

.... more than willing to perpetuate and pile-on material (Kentucky Fried) brought here from the Drudge Report trashing one of the Democratic candidates. When debunked, your comment was the blogger debunked it "as best he could." Shame indeed.

[ProSense]

19. No, I'd say what you just posted smacks of hypocrisy. Follow this:

Your post

My response: This a photo thread?

Later in the thread I posted the response from the http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3146066&mesg_id=3147317">Horse's Mouth

From the OP of this thread: "Some actually piled on."

[AtomicKitten]

20. Maybe someone needs to pin a note to your shirt

.... reminding you that John Kerry isn't running for president. You seem to view all current events through that prism and none of your blatherings here make a damn bit of sense as a result. You scream 'hypocrisy' at everyone regarding nonissues, and I do believe your bitterness has eroded all sense of perspective and reality. Again, John Kerry isn't running for president. There are, however, several other candidates you can choose from to support rather than acting out your bitterness in trashing them.

[ProSense]

22. Speaking of

screaming.

[AtomicKitten]

21. H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-S-Y

Let me spell it out for you since you don't seem to understand.

When the most prolific cheerleader at DU for a noncandidate that incessantly posts effusive love-fests, lashing out at those not enamored, then turns around and gloms onto crap dragged here from the Drudge Report to use a springboard for nasty snark against an actual candidate, that's HYPOCRISY.

Not being able to see the forest for the trees, you saw the perpetrator of the "dropped pronoun" that brought an election to a screeching halt as somehow the victim in the scenario, never, ever considering even for a moment the impact on the actual candidates. That's beyond HYPOCRISY, that's just purposeful blindness.

And posting a thread about the half-life of lies is rich considering your willingness to support that brought here from the Drudge Report to trash an actual candidate, the very definition of HYPOCRISY.

[Ninja Jordan]

23. k&r