Saturday, July 30, 2011

To Be Clear


I would never suggest that Lawrence O'Donnell might have been influenced in any way to take the unprecedented step of banning Congressman Joe Walsh from his teevee show for being a massive liar...


...by this post earlier in the week

suggesting we as consumers demand that broadcasters begin to take the unprecedented step of banning massive liars from their teevee shows, and in which I used as an example Lawrence O'Donnell (whose show I like very much) putting massive liar Congressman Joe Walsh on the air:

Only Nixon can go to Nixonland

"As much as I like Lawrence O'Donnell, a couple of nights ago when he trundled Marcia Blackburn and Joe Walsh and David Frum out in front of the cameras, I turned his program off. I did it because I am not interested in what liars have to say.

I am not interested in watching a "debate" that isn't a debate at all.

Because, as everyone on the Left learned long, long ago, there are no depths to which the Right will not sink in order to hold power and enrich their paymasters. Treason, economic sabotage, scapegoating, direct appeals to racism, stealing elections, voter suppression, you name it.

But most of all, just plain lying. All the time. About everything."

Because to suggest that would obviously be silly and perverse.

Instead, I would merely salute Mr. O'Donnell's valiant decision to use his public platform to make liars begin to pay for their lies.

4 comments:

Capt. Bat Guano said...

Drifty, perhaps your blog has become some thing akin to The Lathe Of Heaven. Keep it up, if you need any suggestions I'm sure we all have plenty of 'em.

Michael said...

You are correct, of course, that is what they DO...lie. All the time, constantly, that is their method. They learned long ago that they will NEVER win a logic war, or a debate with their opponents. The alternative is to blanket the area with disinformation, lay it on so thick that the lies start to stick. Eventually it creeps into the public discourse and they reap the benefits. Without the media in their pocket they would be nothing more than the crazy neighbor who spouts nonsense out of fear and hatred. The media is a more than willing participant due to the profits it produces by displaying the nonsense in all its diseased glory. Until civility, honesty and humility make a BIG comeback in this country the problem will only get worse. I hold out hope that this Tea Party nonsense will eventually eat them alive. It's hard enough to harness the outrage of the left in all its feline glory (damned near impossible to herd cats) but it's all but impossible to placate those that embrace hatred and stupidity. Good luck to us, and to them...you deserve everything you get!

mahakal said...

When lies are permitted in debate, there is no debate.

steeve said...

O'Donnell is just wrongly perpetuating the cult of character. Child support is what gets him fed up, more than being chronically wrong about the reality that affects millions?

I will take a deadbeat politician who is mildly conversant with reality every single time over a man-of-the-year politician who buys into conservatism.

Character doesn't count in politics. Nobody looks to politicians for moral guidance. Only job performance counts in politics. There's only one requirement for office -- don't suck.