Gaslight

Remember the old Charles Boyer-Ingrid Bergman movie Gaslight? In it, a famous opera singer is murdered. Her niece is then seduced by the murderer, who constantly tricks her and lies to her in order to prove to her that she is crazy, so that he can institutionalize her and get the jewels he missed the first time. Gosh, what does this remind me of -- oh, yeah! John McCain, Bill O'Reilly, and the Republicans! Same motive--grand theft, same strategy--asserting with a straight face that what we all know to be true is complete wrong -- we must be crazy to think that!

When O'Reilly was challenged on calling the Spears parents "pinheads", but not the Palin parents, those gaslights kept flickering, but he denied saying it, even though it's on tape! Then there's McCain. Don't we know he's been in Washington for a generation? Don't we know he's voted with Bush 90 percent of the time? It's all on tape! Its fully attested and in the public record. But don't look at the flickering gaslights, dear. And that brooch in your purse? Don't you realize you put it there? Darling, you must be crazy!

So, the Republicans have gone beyond lying. Bush and Cheney have been great liars, really, the best. Rove has made a career, and even a philosophy of lying about everything. But there is a special cold villainy to the way they have taken it to the next level now. "Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts." Rather than repent, they plan ever more of the same. Knowing that we know what they know, they now tell us we're crazy, that black is white and cats are dogs and John McCain is a maverick and Sarah Palin is a tax cutter (hear the one about Sarah P. leaving the town of Wasilla with 19 million dollars in long term debt? You did? No, you didn't, darling. You must be imagining things)

Well, we are crazy if we let them get away with it. The whole world thinks so.

Comments

[TomR]

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Well, we are crazy if we let them get away with it. The whole world thinks so.
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Jane, please remember that the sociopaths have taken over the Republican party. This means they are willing to do anything and everything to win, including election fraud. Our best defense is to overwhelm their electronic vote rigging and vote counting fraud by having a massive turnout of Democratic voters, just like we did in 2006.

http://www.velvetrevolution.us/prosecute_rove/

They have a new tool in their cheater's bag of tricks. According to Brad Friedman, "Vote Caging has essentially been mainlined by the DoJ in their enforcement of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 which required state-wide computerized registration rolls, and the clean-up of those rolls to remove folks who have moved, are dead, etc.

The result of states being forced to move to these systems is that the rolls have been taken over, in many cases, by the same private companies (Diebold, ES&S, etc.) who screwed up the voting machines too. And where states weren't seen as doing enough to clear out the deadwood from the rolls, they've been threatened with lawsuits by the DoJ.

Except a lot of folks to not show up on the rolls at all this year, even if they've voted in the same place for years."

VOTERS, please make sure to double-check this website so you can vote this year:

http://www.votersunite.org/info/RegInfo.asp

- Tom

[Einstein44]

The Republican Party have underestimated this country far too long...They will be crushed by the American people and the media...The Republicans have awakened the sleeping giants !!!

[DemoMom]

If you watched the Daily Show reporting on last night of the GOP convention, you can understand why there are so many people who fall for the lies and deception. When asked what the much vaunted "small town values" really means, some of the delegates talked about "1950's values", "church", "marriage between a man and a woman" and they would never question anything they were being fed by "the party". There is no room for anyone who is different.
I agree that the Dems should call a press conference and play some of the incriminating footage. Seems the good ol' boys can't away with stuff now like they used to, thanks to new-fangled technology........It won't sway the dyed in the wool right wingers but other more reasonable people need to see and hear the truth.

[lbrillante]

The thing that bothers me most about this is that they won't just do these things they will cheat... and can we prove it.. how do we stop them. How do we make sure that not only will we not buy into their mind numbing broadcast of bs... but that we will not allow them to stay in power. That Is the question on my mind right now. We have two months to figure that out. Caucuses are great mainly because there are witnesses to how everyone votes. you can't cheat... Seiously what do we do... there will be revolution in the streets if they cheat.

They might like to pretend that Palin made them more popular so there's an excuse for why their numbers went up... we've got to find a way to get a hold of this election!!

[MrJoyboy]

Those mainly to blame for the susceptibility of many Americans to "gaslighting" are the slick and wealthy preachers in their megachurches who every Sunday spew wall-to-wall nonsense that plays to the fragile emotions of their victims and leads them to do irrational things such as voting for Bush and McCain when it is clearly against their own interest.

[mexamerican]

don't let the bastards get away w/ it. write your news media outlets and complain about a listless media which is NOT doing its job in confronting the lies and evasions that Palin/Pa-cain are feeding us. Demand accountability:

Media Contacts:
For Fox: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,77538,00.html
For CNN: http://www.cnn.com/feedback/
For ABC: http://abcnews.go.com/Site/page?id=3068843
For CBS: http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/eveningnews/main3420.shtml (then go to bottom of page and hit "contact us,"
For MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10285339/
For meet the press and other NBC News shows: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6872152/
For NY Times: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/thepubliceditor/index.html,
For Washington post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/contactus/index.html, and then either email the ombudsman or write a letter to the editor.

[bgrp]

The Republican Party long ago (to take the new "Reform" label) "reformed" itself into the Republi-Con Party. Pure and simple they are con-men and women playing confidence games. But what is so mindboggling is the number of suckers who fall prey to the same con over and over again. The old snake oil back in 2000 was "Compassionate Conservatism" now relabeled "Maverick and Reform". And the poor suckers keep buying -- "Yup, yup, sounds good to me!" Inspite of massive failure and corruption across the board with the Republican brand, the massive tranference of wealth to the wealthiest 1%, despite the failure of George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan to get the trickle to trickle down, and on and on and on, the suckers can be played again and again and again.

[BottomLine2008]

This would be funnier if it weren't so true.

[lw1899]

The Republicans are hoping to spin and lie their way into winning the election.

Facts do not support GOP fiction:

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/gop_convention_spin_part_ii.html

[DLB]

I found this page equally interesting:

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/factchecking_obama.html

[lw1899]

As the article said: "He stuck to the facts, except when he stretched them." While it's true some of his statistics weren't spot on, there is a difference between "stretching the truth" (meaning they have some semblance of truth) and flat-out lying through your teeth.

Obama's statements while not absolutely accurate have more of a basis in fact. The Republican statements were not fact-based in the least and malicious lies at best.

[ICanHasDemocracy]

Who is stretching the truth, and who is baldfaced lying? Better fact-check that.
WHo has been uttering the mantra of change and who is co-opting the mantra while being Bush II and rolling in pork ( ironic that McCain would have one of them as his VP, dontcha think yanno.)

[JimDicken]

Apparently humor is not a strong suit when it comes to liberals. I read the FACTCHECK stuff and most of it was not backed up by facts. The only FACT was that Bideon got 79000 votes and Palin 909. The statement about Her getting more votes as mayor was humor and tongue in cheek... but then libs want to stick to straigh facts...
Fact: Clinton and company sold secrets to the Chinese that helped their missile technoloy. In turn that information may have become available to hostile countries.
Fact: Ossama Bin Laden would NOT have been able to order the attack on 9-11 had Clinton not refused to accept him 4 different times from the Somali government.
Fact: Tax increases suck money from the economy, that is why JFK cut taxes in the early 60's as a Democrat and the economy got better.

[sueno]

We let down our country and the world with the 2004 vote.
We cannot let the top 1%, led by Bush, Enron, Cheney, KBR, Rove, Halliburton, Blackwater, Gonzeles,
and countless others lead us into further disaster!
Beautiful people of the Democratic Party, we have fought these morons for the past 8 years,
now we have to finish the job and kick them the hell out!
Its our time! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!
Obama/Biden 08

[cassidynj]

The concept of a "free press" is expiring right before our eyes.

Nowadays, the Watergate break-in would be spun to trigger partisan outrage, and the story would die down as the Washington Post retreated from Republican press bashing.

Republicans are clearly moving to the Putin press model -- perhaps that's what was so attractive to Bush when he looked in Putin's eyes and got a sense of his soul.

[HWBII]

Cassidynj: truth spoken to power. If we allow the Republicans to seize on this non-existent "attack" by the main stream media on Sarah Palin rather than insist on the fact that it is merely the press reacting to an unknown figure and investigating exactly who she is, then shame on us. Since she is refusing to be made available to any reporters' questions (for the obvious reason that she hasn't totally absorbed the McCain playbook and since she hasn't formed any opinions of her own to date of national and international issues), the press should descend on the Alaska governor like bats out of hell. If you withold information and access, you reap what you sow. Sorry for the cliched metaphors but some of them are right out of the Bible, and we know that the Bible is the word of God.

Let Him not strike me dead tonight.

[JimDicken]

Oh wow. A liberal bashing the LIBERAL media.
Press spin? Have you read the NY Times lately.
Black is white, dogs are cats and evil resides in ever crevice of the white house.. but never in congress where pork is the king.

[wm1066]

All the right wing pundits that try to defend Palin and Mccain talk really fast hoping to cut off any questions from the host. And they don't really answer the questions but go off on to a safe talking point. Its quite funny to watch. Tucker Bounds and Bay Bucannan are pretty good at it but I have seen some hosts that have tried to get answers from them.

[WhitemoonG]

Gotta be upset with liars, whoever they really are.

Everytime I've reviewed left leaning articles calling for more attention and action over the lies, lies, lies, etc. I've yet to see much carrying much water, other than the usual posture that disagreement with endlessly repeated OPINIONS equals lying, without much question. Sorry Jane, I guess I'm not into this groupthink.

[lw1899]

Republicans have shown over the years an appalling lack of integrity and credibility. Yet somehow, they manage to win elections. Obama was right when he said Republicans are good at campaigning, but don't govern well. What's wrong with this country when people keep re-electing a corrupt group of politicians? I'd like to think people are smarter this time but the collective ignorance of too many American voters never ceases to amaze.

[as if]

Except that they didn't actually win the last two elections, they STOLE the last two elections.

[Bladernr1001]

I have researched the claim made by Jane that she left the town of Wasilla 19 million in the hole and I did find one source that supports that. It was email written by a housewife named Anne Kilkenny. She is said to be an education activist in the town. She says in her email that she had trouble adjusting the numbers for inflation and increased population. I am not sure you can accuse Sarah of lying about any of this. It has not been taked about at all in the MSM stories that I have seen already. What the email did reveal is that she is a pretty run of the mill politician whose ambition drives her to a certain extent. She definately has run over a few people in her journey to the top of AK politics.

[Bladernr1001]

2nd part of my comment

But I have problems with all the candidates running. Obama and Biden? They want to turn over administration of 1/7 of our economy to the government by creating a universal health plan. Sorry, not going for that one. Government can't even run the programs they already have like medicare and its $50-75 Trillion (yes that is Trillion with a T) in unfunded liabilities. A universal healthcare plan is sure to make that number even worse. If you don't think so just look at what Western Europe has saddled themselves with. I know you guys sing the praises of their system now but you don't talk about the high unemployment, stagnent growth and other economic fallout that their social safety net is causing. Not to mention low birth rates and low investment in business creation (which is what increases jobs) due to the high taxes to fund such programs.

So Sarah apparently blew a budget. Not real flattering but this is a choice of compromise and lesser evil once again. I will still hold my nose and vote the McCain ticket. The alternative is much worse.

[gintheb]

The republican formula is nothing sophisticated. First they fixed the election in 2000 by manipulating the votes in Bush's brother's state, Florida. Nothing complicated or strategic about that. Then take advantage of having a supreme court stacked in their favor to close the deal. Again, nothing very strategic or scientific. In 2004 they fixed the voting machines in Ohio and preyed on the American public's fears about 911 and the war in Iraq. Interesting how a video of Osama bin Laden comes out during the peak of the election cycle. With the ongoing comedy of errors that has become the mccain campaign, I think the American public are finally beginning to realize that the republicans aren't really that smart or formidable. It's just like when Dorothy got to peek behind the curtain in The Wizard of Oz. There's really no substance there. Now if we will only vote with our heads and not our hearts, the period of republican domination will be over.

[Bladernr1001]

So I see the accusation from you liberals all the time that Bush stole the 2000 election. I have watched the movie "Recount".

Can you tell me what statute was actually violated?

[tulsey]

They did not win the vote. 2000 W , court appointed, 04 computer generated.

[triplbee]

Obama is not Kerry or Gore. Trust me when I say that a good part of his strategy over the next 60 days will include a clear articulation of the Republicans hypocrisy and dishonesty. As sickened as I am by McCain/Palin and Company and their insane convention, I still think that Obama will win.

[JimDicken]

I fish, I hunt, I vote for those who support my issues.
Obama and company would stop hunting and fishing if possible, make guns illegal and allow judges to write law instead of congress and the senate.
Obama may win because of the problems George Bush has created, but he will be a disaster just as Clinton was, leaving this country open to attack.
The comment Palin made about Handcuffs was strikingly correct. You do not stop terror by arresting it.
As for abuse of POW's .. How many Americans have been POW's in this war?
No one ever mentions that our enemy NEVER takes a prisoner... at least not a soldier prisoner and returns him alive.

[EZKY]

Please. He has alerady said he won't take away your guns.

Palin on the other hand has said she'll take away choice.