This article nails it: dishonesty and a dark future

[wiggs]

Robert Parry talks about BSH dishonesty. It only scratches the surface in terms of this administration's overall disdain for the truth, but still makes a scary, chilling conclusion about the current state of politics.

www.consortiumnews.com/2004/090404

snip

Election 2004 suddenly is not just about whether John Kerry or George W. Bush will lead the United States the next four years. It’s not even about which of the candidates has better policies or is more competent. This election has become a test of whether reality still means anything to the American people, whether this country has moved to essentially a new form of government in which one side is free to lie about everything while a paid “amen corner” of ideological media drowns out any serious public debate.

For weeks now, George W. Bush’s campaign has been radically testing the limits of how thoroughly one party can lie, misrepresent and smear without paying any price and indeed while reaping rewards in the opinion polls. Bush personally capped off this binge of dishonesty with his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, continuing his pattern of lying about how the war in Iraq began.

...

The larger danger, however, is that the United States may not have another meaningful national election for the foreseeable future. The Bush family and the Republican attack machine may have gained the power to effectively pick new presidents. Whoever stands in their way will be destroyed. That can happen to Republicans in the primaries, as Sen. John McCain learned in 2000, but it will certainly occur to the Democrats in the general election.

If that is indeed the case – and if these tactics succeed in politically destroying John Kerry this fall – the United States can be said to have succumbed to a new form of government that will be democratic in name only, with elections transformed into largely ceremonial affairs for affirming the Republican choice without meaningful consultation with the American people about the best policies to pursue. The nation is already dangerously far down that road.

snip

A lot more appears to be on the line than specific policies and SCOTUS nominations...balance of power, meaning of elections, fascism, right of dissent, Orwellian futures, etc. are up for grabs. And Kerry and those working for his election appear to be the only ones standing between what America has been to date and what the BSH administration wants it to be in the future. Kerry has a lot of weight on his shoulders right now. The courts, congress, and the mainstream media are not helping.

...the "most crooked bunch of liars I've ever seen". Indeed.

[glitch]

1. Robert Parry is the best - thanks for posting - off to read it now nt

correct link:
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2004/090404.html

[Catfight]

2. When the Bush camp has everything to lose by losing this election,

remember, there will be many trials if they lose, then of course there are no boundaries that remain sacred. Rove has become the devil himself to win this election. It's all about the winning with Repugs, nothing is about American interest, so remember that at the polls folks. Send a message to the world, America does NOT endorse the Bush Regimes Radical Extremist Assault on the World!

[AmerDem]

3. interesting but the link is dead!

can you track it down?

[bushwakker]

4. If Bush wins it is the end of accountability

it will mean an utter failure has been re-hired on the strength of rw media propaganda. bush's media lackeys are the only thing propping him up.

[A_Possum]

5. Outstanding article

what we all know, but summarized in chilling detail.

[chicagojoe]

6. Which is why the NeoCons must be viewed...

...and dealt with as nothing less than an enemy of the US, a la Nazis, Taliban, al Qaeda, etc. There is nothing wrong with treating "fellow Americans" as enemies of the State, when they obviously are.
NeoCons are bent on re-forging America, and anyone who wants to let them get away with it will deserve what they get if the NeoCons get their way.

[Nay]

7. When this was posted a couple of days ago, I printed it out because

it so concisely reflected my feelings on the whole matter. I want it available for reference, when the shit really hits the fan in the US and I have to get the hell out.

[WilliamPitt]

8. Busted link

[wiggs]

9. this link should get there...

www.consortiumnews.com/2004/090404.html

[WilliamPitt]

10. Thanks

[necso]

11. Awesome piece, good comments.

I do feel compelled to point out that there are many Republicans that abhor this kind of thing.

This kind of thing is a "neo" thing, and I would point to roots going even further back than Nixon.

The neos are defined by the two things: their grasping, unenlightened self interest and the new lows set by their tactics.

I find myself agreeing with chicagojoe, if perhaps, I am not quite prepared to go as far as one might read into his words. I also might have used the words "enemies of democracy". But you should not read this as critical... just cautious.

I also feel compelled to point out that the neo phenomenon is much larger than the few (largely Jewish) "ex-Liberals" that some "conservatives" might have us believe. This is a blatant lie, intended to deflect "heat" from the real problem and put it in a place that progressives will hesitate to attack.

Pat Buchanan is a liar, and a much practiced (if not greatly skilled) one.

[kentuck]

12. But a further thought...

<snip>
"Still, what is almost as remarkable as Bush’s obvious lie is the breathtaking arrogance with which it is delivered. Bush and his advisers must have concluded that they are free to say virtually anything – no matter how false or misleading – without fear of adverse consequences. Certainly, with the built-in echo chamber of Rush Limbaugh’s talk radio, Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News and Sun Myung Moon’s Washington Times, Bush has reason for this confidence."

====================================================================

That a certain type of media that is willing to defend and lie for either political Party can overpower and blackout any message by any press or media that attempts to tell the truth or point out reality. The volume of the echo chamber overwhelms the rest of the media and there is no instant solution..

[necso]

14. If indeed there is any solution!

The corporate media serves the corporations, with all the corporation's shortcomings: short term thinking, fixation with their own (unenlightened) interests, effective but misused political power, etc. And this problem extends well beyond openly "conservative" media.

Corporate identification with the neos promises nothing but disaster... for them and for us!

[glitch]

17. Except the echo chamber is no longer limited to

Rush Limbaugh’s talk radio, Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News and Sun Myung Moon’s Washington Times.
The the rest of the media reverberate the memes on cue now, as the SBVT interviews demonstrate perfectly.

[NEOBuckeye]

13. Very accurate piece.

It only makes me hate even more what these wicked men represent. The Bush family and the neo-conservatives hate America and hate democracy. They only care about consolidating their power and exercising it to rule the entire world. They care nothing for the citizens of that same world -- in the US and abroad -- that they senselessly hurt in the process.

They have no shame, no integrity, no decency, and they must be brought to justice by any means necessary. Even if Kerry wins in November, we must continue to fight against the right, and fight to expose the name of Bush, and discredit the neo-conservative ideology for all time.

[wiggs]

15. Who to fight against

Agree.

But we are not just fighting against the right, unfortunately. We should resist any group, right or left, that participates in this power grab at the expense of the public. As it happens, the right is leading the effort this time (and in early 70's). And the right had led these kinds of efforts all over the world in other countries.

But this can't happen without plenty of cooperation from lots of people and groups from both parties. I've been very disappointed in congresspersons on the left who are not expressing outrage at every opportunity. And why are not congresspersons of all stripes outraged about the executive branch's power grab away from the legislative branch?

It is more than the BA and wingers that are being dishonest with Americans.

[necso]

16. True,

but I would argue for differentiating between "drivers/true believers" and those who follow for reasons of simple political survival.

Do I like what the latter are doing? --- No. Do I believe that many of them would do so if they did not see it as a necessity. --- No.

Many people "go with the flow" and it is the flow that we must attack to change the course of events. And a good place to start is with those people who are directing it.

But we could have been better served by our own, surely.