Thursday, October 28, 2004

Not that the Truth Matters to Anyone but...

As was heartily recommended to me by Gary from "What's Happening to my America?" I have been using factcheck.org to see what shenanigans the candidates have been pulling during the campaign. Gary offered this site as a resource for making sure we make well-informed decisions.

It turns out the latest update from factcheck.org exposes quite a doosey from the Kerry campaign. A new Kerry add claims the same thing that Fahrenheit 9/11 does: that Bush allowed Bin Laden relatives special treatment and safe passage out of the country before air space was reopened after 9/11. Factcheck calls this "one of the worst distortions we've seen."

Now my point is not to say, "Neener, neener, neener" to Kerry supporters. To be sure, on Factcheck there are just as many (if not more) distortions from the Bush camp--though none have been made into a major motion picture that spawned legions of lie-fueled Bush-haters.

I mention this because it causes me to wonder why people insist on spouting these blatant untruths as a basis for their pending presidential choice. Why does each side insist on pointing out the others' lies as a defense for their vote when their side does the same thing? As a dog (see photo) it seems a bit like me insisting that my doo-doo stinks less than yours!

Being truly informed doesn't mean collecting a pile of dirt on the candidate that you wouldn't vote for in the first place! It is disingenuous for a member of either party who believes in the historical tenets of that party to claim support of his candidate based on the supposed misdeeds of his competitor.

Bottom line: Most Kerry supporters will somehow find a way to discredit Factcheck as a source, but even if they choose to acknowledge its accuracy, their vote will not change and was in fact never in danger.

So why do they (both sides) bother making this doo-doo up?

3 comments:

Mr. Grim said...

It's funny you should mention that. . .after the 1st debate I was showing my grumpy, old republichristian some of Bush's errors on factcheck and he replied "Oh that leftist site?" and proceeded to tear the site a new one for being run by those pesky 'liberals'. I frowned, confused, thinking that there were nearly as many Kerry goofs and that he missed the point altogether. People hear and see only what they want to PERIOD.
Unfortunately, people like my republico-worker also equate liberals with more famous leftist groups like the Nazis. Semantics. National Socialism is the most right-wing pie god ever baked. . .but he sees and hears what he wants to, like all of us.

Mr. Grim said...

Hey, Jackington. . .
How can someone who listens to Tool and Tori Amos and who likes such counter-culture movies be such a pushover as far as perceptions go. Do you really think John Kerry kills babies? Or are you just parroting what the GOP told you?
Dude, dudes, dudettes. . .knock it off already with the abortion issue. Kerry, of all people, has summed it up better than anyone. It's a choice between a women, her doctor, and God. Period.

Mr. Grim said...

SORRY, UGLY NAKED GUY. . .
OK, Jackington, I just read your blog and I understand now, you're hopeless. Of course I don't mean that as rudely as it sounds, you have your belief system all woiked out and it adds up to you. . .but as easy as it is for you to say "you know in your heart that Bush is right" or whatever, it is easier for me to say "look into your heart, Bush is in bed with our enemies and is pissing away our once good-standing in this big, round world we live in". Presidents should never claim to act on God's behalf. That is ALWAYS dangerous. But be who you are. I can dig it.