From Daniel Henninger at the Wall Street Journal, 10/11/12, Obama and the L-Word:
Excerpts:
The Obama campaign’s resurrection of “liar” as a political tool is odious because it has such a repellent pedigree. It dates to the sleazy world of fascist and totalitarian propaganda in the 1930s. It was part of the milieu of stooges, show trials and dupes. These were people willing to say anything to defeat their opposition. Denouncing people as liars was at the center of it. The idea was never to elevate political debate but to debauch it.
The purpose of calling someone a liar then was not merely to refute their ideas or arguments. It was to nullify them, to eliminate them from participation in politics. That’s what is so unsettling about a David Axelrod or David Plouffe following accusations of dishonesty and lies with “whether that person should sit in the Oval Office.” And that is followed by President Obama himself feeding the new line in stump speeches without himself ever using the L-word.
How did it happen that an accusation once confined to the lowest, whiskey-soaked level of politics or rank propaganda campaigns is occurring daily in American politics?
No one has worked harder to revive this low-rent tactic than New York Times columnist Paul Krugman. To my knowledge, Mr. Krugman is the only columnist writing for a major publication in U.S. journalism who has so routinely and repetitively accused people of being liars.
HKO
‘Liar’ has now equaled ‘racist’ as the tool of the intellectually vacuous. One stoops to juvenile name calling when they have no other substantive case to make. Yet such bombastic pejoratives come from the very people who so quickly call for a return to civility. Bullshit. This tactic could only appeal to the most cynical sycophants, but it will likely repel any thinking voter.
Further thoughts on this in my article on American Thinker posted today, The Biggest Lie.
Excerpts:
Accusations of racism has become a method of quelling free speech, and when it no longer works, Romney is accused of being a liar. Unable to accept the defeat of the unprepared amateur by a competent professional, the Obama sycophants use the term ‘liar’ with the same carelessness and meaninglessness previously reserved for ‘racist’.
Juvenile name calling may satisfy the true believers. Turning, twisting, and ignoring details to extract insults for public consumption may suffice for political strategy when there is no substance to employ. But denying the truths and principles that have led to a prosperous economy is a far more egregious act and has caused far greater harm to the country.
Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2012/10/the_biggest_lie.html#ixzz28xJDQUaW
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