The Only Big Idea Coming Out of the Romney-Ryan Camp Is the Big Lie
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/08/21/the-only-big-idea-coming-out-of-the-romney-ryan-camp-is-the-big-lie.htmlThe Only Big Idea Coming Out of the Romney-Ryan Camp Is the Big Lie
by Michael Tomasky Aug 21, 2012 4:45 AM EDT
The addition of Paul Ryan was supposed to infuse the Romney campaign with big ideas that would be argued in big debates with the Democrats, but so far, Michael Tomasky writes, all the GOP campaign has done is grossly distort the truth.
When Mitt Romney named Paul Ryan as his running mate, we were told we were going to get the Big Debate on the Big Questions we’ve all been waiting for. Well, so far, it isn’t quite working out that way. The distinguishing fact of the Romney-Ryan campaign thus far is the extent to which it is built on outright lies in a desperate attempt to avoid honest debate at all costs. The Romney-Ryan strategy is the farthest thing in the world from a Big Debate. Instead, they muddy the waters as much as possible and lie as much as possible, and hope the press doesn’t call them on it and hope voters buy it.
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So this will be the entire point of the Romney-Ryan campaign. Lie lie lie. Muddy the waters. Turn day to night, fire to water, champagne to piss. Peddle themselves as the precise opposite of what they actually are. That is clearly the m.o.
This is the case for two reasons. First, it is forced on them historically. Ronald Reagan could get away with sunny generalizations about supply-side economics because in 1980, it was just a theory. Now, after George Dubya, it’s been utterly discredited in practice. Conservatives still must believe these absurd things—that lower tax rates will produce more revenue—but now we know they’re not true, so they have to lie about them. And second, it is simply in Romney’s weasely nature never to say anything forthright about any topic.
The Democrats’ job, of course, is to expose this charade for what it is and make Romney and Ryan defend their actual positions. The Obama campaign was a little slow to respond on Medicare, and even then the ad wasn’t as forceful as it might have been. It’s probably true that there’s a reservoir of good faith there—that is, most people simply aren’t going to believe that the Democrats want to harm Medicare. That should work to the Democrats’ advantage, but still, the Obama campaign and the Democrats generally have to nail these guys to the wall on what their actual positions are and what the impacts of their policies will be. Romney and Ryan are terrified of a real Big Debate. Obama and Biden need to drag them into one.
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Obama to Romney and Biden to Ryan. They really need to stomp on that welfare lie too! That's been repeatedly debunked but the Romney/Ryan campaign is STILL using it. I don't know what kind of "effect" it's having on polling so far (hopefully little to none) but it has been ridiculous that they've been seemingly getting away with continuing to lie about it so shamelessly and the media hasn't bothered to call up a single welfare office or a Governor AFAIK to nail down whether or not this is actually going on- that people are no longer working to receive TANF. It took me all of five seconds to text my wife, who works at a welfare office here in Indiana to find out that people aren't just being given money for nothing. In fact, my wife said that the rules have even gotten TIGHTER for receiving TANF! Yet, there will undoubtedly be a lot of ignorant, naive, or downright stupid people who believe that welfare recipients are being given benefits without strings attached and that they're just a bunch of crackheads smoking away government monies. *Arrggh!!!!*
