The media have been skirting around the edges, starting to say that the Brigde to Nowhere line has been "debunked" or noting "significant evidence against it". This morning on NPR's Morning Edition they referenced the Bridge to Nowhere line, and that it is unusual for a candidate to keep repeating untruths that have been debunked.
When will the media explain the background of the technique, and highlight the contempt it shows for the American people? When will they contrast it with McCain's claims of "honor" and "Country First"?
A few are starting to contrast the claims of "honor" with the actual dishonorable lies, but not enough. And I haven’t seen one that mentions the Big Lie and where it came from.
Adolf Hitler wrote about it in Mein Kampf:
All this was inspired by the principle--which is quite true in itself--that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation.
At the time, Hitler was claiming that Jews were using "the Big Lie." Goebbels later said
"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State."
Also Vladimir Lenin said, "A lie told often enough becomes truth"
So, before any troll accuses me of calling McCain & Co. Nazis, I am not. I am saying they are using a technique pioneered by the Nazis – the Big Lie. I am also saying that this is harmful to the country, and should completely undermine the "Country First" slogan that McCain claims.
We all know the examples, but I’ll recap a few:
That Sarah Palin said "thanks, but no thanks to the Bridge to Nowhere"
That McCain & Co. are offended and believe that Obama was referring to Palin when using the common expression "putting lipstick on a pig"
That Palin has sufficient foreign policy experience by virtue of living nearer Russia than those in some other states, and that her "command of the Alaska National Guard" somehow gives her military command experience.
And I’ll toss in as a "part Big Lie" that she is a pure reformer, when she is in the midst of an ethics investigation, and evidence that she did some of the same things she turned others in for.
So a large portion of the Republican party (not all, I hasten to add) have become the party of the Big Lie, gleefully spreading what they know to be untruths. And a big part of the campaign is trading on what’s left of John McCain’s reputation for "straight talk" in order to push the lies further.
Lets examine the McCain & Co campaign vs. the Big Lie description:
"... the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily"
Check. McCain’s campaign has gone right to the emotional – "she’s just like us, and that’s enough to take over the country should the need arise," and "she’s a mom and good person and that’s all you need to run the country."
they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods.
Check. People are used to political campaigns stretching the truth, spinning the truth, glossing over the truth. They are not used to outright, self-aware, cynical lies. This is not to say the Big Lie is new in American politics, but that debunked outright lies usually disappear from the candidates’ speeches, sometimes to continue an underground life passed person to person. Of course now they live on in emails and websites.
McCain & Co have broken with the mold in that they continue to brazenly repeat a lie as a centerpiece of Palin’s speech. A lie that has been repeatedly debunked by every non partisan fact check, and several partisan ones, on both sides.
Which brings us to
and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation.
The campaign is expressing its contempt for the American people, deliberately employing the technique of Hitler and Goebbels. A few pundits have referenced Orwell’s "1984" and the techniques we see used by McCain & Co. I haven't seen one reference the Big Lie and where it came from.
What can we do? I don’t have the answers I wish I had. A lot of the solution lies in the media coverage.
If the press is true to their job, they will point this out, not just debunk individual lies. Honest media outlets will continue to point out the lies, will call them such, and will give some background on the techniques used and where they came from. Analytical reporters who are ethical would question why McCain would countenance such techniques, and what it says about his supposed devotion to honor.
They will cover idiocies like the "lipstick" charge by saying "and in the silly season section, the McCain campaign claimed it was outraged by Obama using an expression that McCain himself has used. Next story is about..."