Reply #16: Nonsense, examples to follow

[forgethell]

I gave you a perfectly good example of Democratic lying. What is your problem?? These guys are politicians. I am not disagreeing with their ideas, necessarily, butwith the fact that they WILL lie to get elected. what do you expect??

BUT, what you have given are examples of bumper sticker slogans. By their very nature, they are incomplete, unnuanced and unspohisticated. Ours are too. Also, you are making an assumption as to their actual meaning. but this is not in evidence. You are imputing evil motives to them, and saying: this is what they mean.

But, if they don't think they mean that, then how are they lying? They think WE have the worst stance on every single issue. So what we have here is a difference of opinion between us and them. Now, we may be right, I think we are, but they don't think so.

Republicans and conservatives play these games, too. You asked for examples. On the very clear and distinct understanding that I am NOT endorsing, affirming, or agreeing with the following explanations to the policy titles that I list, (are you listening Mods?)let me give you the Repuke translations. I have seen all these on various boards on which I lurk, and in various opinion pieces.

Pro-choice - as long as the only choice is abortion with no other options presented.

Tax the rich - and anybody over $40,000 per year

Affirmative action - racism, pure and simple, but hypocritical

judicially out of the mainstream - doesn't believe in judicial legislation

Bush stole the election - Bush kept Gore from stealing the election

reparations - another extortion scheme by the race-baiters

There were no WMDs - so it's wrong to liberate 25 million people from the worst monster since Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Mao, etc.

You see how it works? It is just as legitimate a tactic for them to use as for us to use.

And what bothers me about such discourse is, this is not thinking, this is emotion. If we want to beat Bush* in 2004, we have to use our brains. He has a lot of advantages: more money, no rivals to tear him down in the primaries with statements that will come back to haunt his party, the bully pulpit of the Presidency, and regardless of his own intellectual competence, he has a crack team of political operatives.

OK. But to get back to the original question, I am not disagreeing that Republicans lie, they do. I'm just saying that so do Democratic politicians. And they do it to get elected. They wouldn't be successful politicians without it. Why are you surprised??