Perlstein: In a battle between liars and people too polite to call them liars, guess who wins?

[BurtWorm]

Rick Perlstein has written two essential histories of right wing America in the late 20th century, Before the Storm and Nixonland. To understand American "conservatism," it helps to read these books, depressing and disturbing as they are.

At the Daily Beast, he assesses the election outcome, brilliantly, succinctly and painfully:



http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-11-06/obamas-tax-cut-how-rush-limbaugh-misled-the-country/?cid=hp:mainpromo2


How Obama Enables Rush

by Rick Perlstein


President Obama lowered taxes. Why doesn't the country know that? Rick Perlstein on how Rush Limbaugh helped mislead a nation—and why the Democrats let him get away with it.



We live in a mendocracy.

As in: rule by liars.

Political scientists are going crazy crunching the numbers to uncover the skeleton key to understanding the Republican victory last Tuesday.

But the only number that matters is the one demonstrating that by a two-to-one margin likely voters thought their taxes had gone up, when, for almost all of them, they had actually gone down. Republican politicians, and conservative commentators, told them Barack Obama was a tax-mad lunatic. They lied. The mainstream media did not do their job and correct them. The White House was too polite—"civil," just like Obama promised—to say much. So people believed the lie. From this all else follows.

And it was all too predictable.

...

[Vincardog]

1. Bingo got it in one.

[rgbecker]

2. Said it all in one line:

"The mainstream media did not do their job and correct them."

We can jump up and down in our living rooms, we can parade in the
streets with signs, but if the liars are getting air time with
no one talking back, all is lost.

[CJCRANE]

3. The Tea Party should have fizzled out

or at least faltered, because one of its primary complaints - against increased taxes - was patently false.

[dchill]

4. Gee, I never heard that on the news...

How come???
:shrug:

[BurtWorm]

6. So were most of its claims about health care reform and Obama being a socialist,

But all of these were reinforced as "truth" on Fox News, their primary source of news.

[Gold Metal Flake]

5. But but but LIBERAL MEDIA BIAS!!

[fascisthunter]

7. The "High Road" can sometimes be a Cop Out (nt)

[Hannah Bell]

8. kr

[Vinnie From Indy]

9. YES! YES! YES!

More of this from all liberals and progressives and especially those with leadership positions and a national voice.

It is simply mind blowing that Democrats have done NOTHING to counter the right wing hate machine. All liberals and progressives must ask why and push very hard for some plan of action.

I would start with tossing that drug addled liar Limbaugh of of Armed Forces Radio Network.

[treestar]

10. The better place to attack this problem is for people to learn not to

believe everything they hear.

[BurtWorm]

11. How do they learn that if liars aren't corrected forcefully?

[Vinnie From Indy]

13. Nonsense!

Simplistic and Mt. Everest sized wishful thinking will never, ever trump the cold, hard fact that people are easily manipulated and have been since time began. It is part of the human condition. Why not simply offer that everyone should be taught to be nice and the world's problems would magically disappear.

It is this type of off-handed, cliched answer that needs to be fought against. The fact is that Democrats should absolutely formulate plans to actively and overwhelmingly counter the right wing hate machine. The very LAST thing any responsible Democrat should waste a single second doing is offering ridiculous cliches such as this reply as serious solutions.

Cheers!

[treestar]

16. Seems rather condescending

People are pathetic and can be easily manipulated, at least, those other people. We are superior and do the manipulating. It's about who is the best manipulator of these sheep-like creatures.

[Vinnie From Indy]

21. In short, yes!

It is about which side can manipulate the most people. I prefer to advocate for those attempting to motivate people with the truth rather than tsunami of bald-faced lies told by the right wing hate machine all over America each and every day.

It is my sincere desire that your prescription for effecting a change in the right wing hate machine is soundly rejected by liberals and progressives. Wishing things away is always a losing strategy and your offering that Democrats should simply beg and implore people NOT to believe what they see and hear is just that - wishful thinking.

Cheers!

[treestar]

22. Then the only answer is to won the M$M

How do we go about dislodging the Republicans?

[Crystal Clarity]

12. K & R

[Blue Owl]

14. Nailed it

Here is where that spine people are talking about would come in handy -- stand up for what you've done, take ownership of it, and call the liars out when they blatantly make false statements.

[Bigmack]

15. Long drive recently... re-listened to the book..

"Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them" by Al Franken.

Those fucking people wouldn't recognize the truth if it bit them on the ass. And nobody - but Franken - actually challenges them on it with the kind of comic scorn their lies really need.

Example of the amazing lies those people tell?... How about the $200 Million a day trip to India. Did anybody... anybody in the MSM actually use the word "lie"?

[JohnWxy]

17. excellent post. REcommended. bookmarked.

[Greyhound]

18. Part of the "please stop beating me and I'll give you everything you want" strategy? n/t

[WinkyDink]

19. As Child MacDuff put it:

there are liars and swearers enow to beat
the honest men and hang up them.

[Chimichurri]

20. Their noise machine has gotten bigger and louder and if

net neutrality dies, it will be impossible to combat.

[Lorien]

23. Democrats have no message because they no longer have a platform

save for "we're not as bad as the opposition."