Will lying backfire on McConnell and the Republicans?

Apr 19, 2010 by David Shankbone    1 Comment     Posted under: Economy

The conservative philosophy has done a lot to make America great (as has the liberal philosophy); but something is incredibly wrong with the country when one or the other does not mind simply lying to advance its goals.

If you can’t beat ideas with the truth, then maybe your own ideas are pretty bad.

The thing is, most Americans don’t like to feel stupid, and whenever people willingly believe lies and deception, it makes them the very definition of ignorant (actually, willfully ignorant). That might be fine for the 25% of America that is the Republican hardcore base–whatever happened to Christian values?–but most Americans eventually turn their back on the people who don’t tell them the truth. Voters don’t like that.

Editorial: Greed is not good
The Philadelphia Inquirer

Defeating any initiative of President Obama’s is the GOP’s preferred course these days. And so Republican senators are decrying more bailouts for big, bad banks while meeting behind closed doors with Wall Street executives and pocketing all the campaign contributions they can grab from banks.

Opposing Obama in this case would give Republican lawmakers a twofer by thwarting proposed regulation of an industry that historically has been friendly to their candidates. Since 1990, 60 percent of the bankers’ campaign donations have gone to the GOP. Small wonder that McConnell’s recent private meeting with Wall Street moguls included Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the Senate Republicans’ campaign chairman for this year’s elections.

Fake populists in the GOP take us all for suckers
Jay Bookman, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A while back, I wondered how the Republicans were going to both defend their buddies on Wall Street while simultaneously placating their Tea Party constituents to whom helping Wall Street is anathema. How could they manage both?

I should have known the answer: Lie. Lie often, lie repeatedly, lie shamelessly.

It’s now clear that Wall Street bitterly opposes the financial reform bill proposed by congressional Democrats. After meeting with Wall Street leaders, Republicans such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have made it equally clear that they too will oppose the financial reform bill.

So how do the Republicans plan to sell that approach to Americans sickened by Wall Street’s arrogance and selfishness?

By claiming that it’s the Democrats who are siding with Wall Street. While they do the Street’s bidding and collect the Street’s campaign money, the Republicans intend to cast themselves as the populists who side with Main Street over Wall Street.

Obama: McConnell’s Arguments on Financial Regulation ‘Cynical and Deceptive’
Jake Trapper, ABC News

“The leader of the Senate Republicans and the chair of the Republican Senate Campaign Committee met with two dozen top Wall Street executives to talk about how to block progress on this issue,” Obama said. “Lo and behold, when he returned to Washington, the Senate Republican leader came out against the common-sense reforms we’ve proposed. In doing so, he made the cynical and deceptive assertion that reform would somehow enable future bailouts – when he knows that it would do just the opposite.” [....]

Today, Obama countered, “We’re going to put in place new rules so that big banks and financial institutions will pay for the bad decisions they make – not taxpayers. Simply put, this means no more taxpayer bailouts.”

Borderline-Useless Senate Democrat Suddenly Interested in Regulating Wall Street
Alex Pareene, Gawker

We know that the GOP has already begun to engage in attacks so ridiculous that it will make “death panels” look like responsible policy debate. And we know that when Mitch McConnell says something that is literally the precise opposite of the truth, it will lead to a lot of people debating whether or not his blatant lie was “fair” or not, and responsible, respectable outlets will say “most experts dispute McConnell’s characterization of the financial regulation bill currently under consideration” instead of saying “Mitch McConnell is a shameless liar.” [...]

Hah, and there was word earlier today Republican Susan Collins, formerly of the “one of the good ones” caucus, had not signed on to the letter from Mitch McConnell about how all the Republicans hate the financial regulation bill because it is “permanent bailouts,” that talking point we mentioned earlier that is actually literally the exact precise opposite of the truth, but it looks like she’s signed on! They’re all fucking idiots. Once again, the political calculations trump everything else. America’s Senate still proudly broken!

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