All politicians lie! This is a truth, of course, but like all truth, it can be, and often is, used or abused in a way that ends up being a deception. This is one of the tactics that makes up what is generally called "SPIN." SPIN is basically twisting (or spinning) the truth to cause the listener to arrive at a false conclusion and thus hold a false belief.
Politics is the area where SPIN lives and is used the most, and where SPIN has been refined to the point of being an art form. It is true that both sides (in our basic two-Party system) mislead, lie, embellish, deceive, and SPIN. However, stating that fact in an attempt to have people view both sides as equal in the deception business is, in itself, an extreme SPIN.
Why is this SPIN? This is deception by omission, and in this case what is being omitted is the scope of the SPIN, and an evaluation of the IMPACT. What is the IMPACT of the lies told on each side? What is the IMPACT of Republican SPIN vs. Democratic SPIN? What is each side lying about, and how blatant, serious, large, and destructive are the embellishments and deceptions of each side?
Those of you who have read some of my posts will not be surprised to learn that, in MY opinion, there is no comparison between the Republican SPIN and that of the Democrats. Perhaps the most popular recent comparison is the IMPACT of Clinton’s lies about Monica compared to the IMPACT of Bush’s lies about the Iraq war. The Republicans are not only the masters of SPIN (being MUCH better at it and MUCH more organized about it), but they have applied this expertise to the abuse of the very structure of our form of government, to the destruction of our most sacred and cherished values, to an attack on our liberties and freedoms, and to the commission of hideous war crimes. I’m sorry people, but when it comes to SPIN and deception, the Democrats are relatively innocent and complete amateurs compared to the Republicans.
In addition to impact, another variable involved in political SPIN that needs to be considered is INTENT. What is the motivation for the deception and SPIN? What are the goals, and what is the politician/Party trying to achieve? Of course, getting elected and keeping their jobs is part of the motivation for all politicians. However, as a whole, what is the end-game for the Republicans and Democrats? Again, it is no surprise that I consider the Republicans to be nothing more than a single entity with a single goal of making the United States a playground for the wealthy, corporations, and Big Business, at the expense, and to the detriment, of the people. I consider this to be un-American, contrary to the values and philosophies upon which this country was built, and just plain evil. I also consider this to be illogical, self-defeating, bad for the economy, and bad for the country as a whole.
I believe that Democrats, on the other hand, generally have an end game that includes the enabling and empowerment of the common people, that upholds and honors the Constitution, that embodies the values and philosophies that define America, and that protects the liberties and freedoms of the people. The sad thing is that the end game of the Democrats, in the long run, will be good for the wealthy and big business.
The bottom line here is that, considering the relative scope, depth, impact, and intent of the SPIN from both sides, the Democrats should not even be mentioned when discussing the subject of SPIN. So, for instance...
As an experiment, try googling the phrase "the crimes of the Bush Administration." In the results, select a link that you would consider reputable (if you do not consider any of them reputable, just select one and do some fact-checking and research on what the site lists as crimes of the Bush Administration). Now, we know that the Bush Administration, the entire Republican Party, the Conservative power structure & media empire, and pundits like Rush Limbaugh have done nothing but lie and deceive and SPIN these crimes as either not crimes or not having been committed at all. So, I challenge anyone to come up with SPIN, deception, or lies from the Democrats that have even 1% of the impact, scope, or devastation of SPIN about invading another country under false pretenses, of committing torture and other war crimes, of exposing and outing a CIA agent to punish her husband for exposing some of your lies, of firing federal judges because of their beliefs and political leanings while attempting to completely politicize the entire Judicial branch of the government, or of committing illegal privacy-invasion and liberty-reduction acts against the American people.
And the evil continues even now! What have the Democrats ever lied about that compares to lies that perpetuate the monopolistic, cash-cow policies of an industry that result in the death of 40,000 American every year? What SPIN from the left compares to lying to promote more deregulation in an industry that almost collapsed the entire US economy LESS THAN A YEAR AGO because they were so deregulated over the last 10 years??
All lies are definitely not created equal, and to pretend that they are is to participate in the deception, and to take on some of the responsibility for the impacts.