The articles exposing the distortions, misleading statements and outright lies in Paul Ryan’s Wednesday night speech are racing through the Internet so fast that it’s hard to keep track of them all.
The posts span the political spectrum, from the Washington Post to The New Republic, the Associated Press and CNN— even to Fox News.
As Sally Kohn, a Fox contributor, said of the speech: “To anyone paying the slightest bit of attention to fats, Ryan’s speech was an apparent attempt to set the world record for the greatest number of blatant lies and misrepresentations slipped into a single political speech.”
Many of the articles took aim at Ryan’s claims on the federal budget, Medicare and the GM plant in Janesville. Given that Ryan is supposedly a Medicare and budget policy wonk, and that he’s from Janesville and should know the GM plant’s history, it’s hard to imagine his mis-statements were a mistake.
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/purple-wi ... 48076.html
I've already shared my view that what is making Romney's campaign so notable isn't that he's Mormon, but rather that his campaign has engaged in outright, outrageous falsehoods more than any other in recent history.
Sadly, the lies often work. I blame cable networks for this phenomenon, because in the age of Fox (and others) people can choose to listen to "news" that only reinforces what they already believe. The one lone Fox contributor above certainly isn't enough to counterbalance the scores of Foxheads who are delighted with Ryan's speech.
But I wonder if we can ever reach a tipping point. I know politicians have always lied and/or distorted to get elected, but can the electorate reach the point where it's just too much, and instead of the negative lies working, the electorate punishes the liar in the end?
Or are we beyond hope? Is it now down to just money and the willingness to lie?