Big surprise: Republicans have little use for facts when it comes to election campaigns. In fact, facts are irrelevant as far as they are concerned. The only thing that matters? This:
John Feehery, a Republican strategist, said the campaign is entering a stage in which skirmishes over the facts are less important than the dominant themes that are forming voters’ opinions of the candidates.
“The more the New York Times and The Washington Post go after Sarah Palin, the better off she is, because there’s a bigger truth out there and the bigger truths are she’s new, she’s popular in Alaska and she is an insurgent,” Feehery said. “As long as those are out there, these little facts don’t really matter.”
These little facts don’t matter. Because there are “bigger truths” that don’t need facts to justify them. In other times, we would call these “bigger truths” prevarications, canards, gross exaggerations, distortions, falsehoods, deceits or simply flat out lies. But, we live in the political era of Bush and Rove, where Republicans get to invent their own reality. And if that reality requires you to lie your ass off, so what? In other words, that’s your basic Republican electoral strategy in a nutshell.
Adolph Hitler said all you have to do to make a lie seem true is to repeat it loudly and often.
The Republicans have figured this out.
The Democrats could do the same with the truth, but we seem to find it harder to stay focused.
I think the Obama campaign needs to continue to point out we need DRAMATIC change, not half-baked change, and that Obama has the vision to lead the country.
Too many messages dilute each individual one.
Truth is Dead.
Calling out lies doesn’t work. We need to draw caricatures like the Rethugs. I say we start calling Sarah Palin Canadian.
I’m thinking because she has the accent, every time she speaks it will remind people of her foreign-ness. We could have an ad with pictures of the Canadian prairie with Moose and such. Then, we could superimpose a faint picture of the Big Red Maple Leaf over everything. Add a few images of Quebec with French street signs for good measure and voila, she is now un-American.
Besides since when are moose and hockey American?
It’s just the kind of subliminal bullshit America goes for. It could become a Bigger Truth.
Who’s with me, eh?
Republicans get to invent their own reality… that’s your basic Republican electoral strategy in a nutshell.
Obama seems to be incapable of fighting that strategy, because he bought into that reality, when he decided to betray his base, voting for the FISA bill. Here is how he justified that vote:
This is Orwelleian logic and language, and Obama has embraced it as his own voice.
If it has become part of Obama’s playbook to adopt Republican lies as his own, how can he begin to fight brazen new lies that the Republicans present him with, at this late stage of the game?
“that’s your basic Republican electoral strategy in a nutshell.“
And it works!
Obama’s got to keep attacking Palin & Co. and stir up some some media frenzy even more. Then, when the press comes seeking his usual defensive posture, he’s got to use the opportunity to mercilessly attack the “maverick” status of his opponents. Don’t get defensive and ratchet up the attacks – it’s Obama’s only chance.
Steven, you hit the nail on the head again. The GOP strategy since, I don’t know, maybe 1972 or 68, but why quibble, has been to just make shit up. They do this because their whole concept of governing is to keep the “little people” in there place. This allows them to keep control ($$$$) over the rest of us. Since THEY own the media, THEY control what is “newsworthy” and what is not on a daily basis. This makes what Obama and other Dems or Greens are trying to do difficult at best. The little facts are meaningless. Cover pages, like this weeks edition of Newsweek become the news. Hard to fight that image in this country, eh? BTW, just donated to Obama’s campaign.
I’d argue it’s been their strategy since at least Joe McCarthy, but what do I know.
The battle for votes, the battle for attention and influence, takes place primarily on the emotional plane, not the plane of facts and reason. The GOP propaganda machine has understood this for decades; the Dem machine has not.