First appeared in the 9/13 edition of Bartcop Entertainment; edited, primarily for format, for DKos.
The right can dish it out, but they can't take it
Continuing from last week, The Campaign Begins: Now it the time to get excited.
I don't really like to go negative, but after 30+ years of an unceasing stream of lies, insults and put downs from the right, the left is getting tired. I tried to start off positively, and asked over at Daily Kos about Suggestions for talking points, and only got mud to sling [but thanks to all who responded].
Continued under the fold.
Okay, I give. I never was particularly good at suffering fools gladly. Bush was a divider, not a uniter, and his poison is deeply ingrained.
I won't sink as low as Rush or Drudge or Fox, but when they sling mud, they're going to have mud slung back. And our mud will stick better, since it will be based on reality.
It's time to come out swinging. Hard. The whiners on the right will just complain about the tone of politics, too stupid to realize that they're getting just a fraction of the hateful lies they've been spewing for decades. They just don't get it. They never will. The moral relativists are lost.
Tough love; call bullshit on anyone who tries to tell you that you're not being civil. Where were they the last forty years of hatred and lies from the right?
The rhetorical gloves are off.
Remind people of what the alternative was... and is
- 2007 Video detailing Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld lies
- Put up or shut up Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times 9/1/10: Re Palin, Beck and Republicans who think Obama is a Muslim or the antichrist, and fanning the flames of hatred. Republicans and teabaggers just don't live in the real world; time to call them on their insanity.
- Paying People Not To Work a DKos Diary from deaniac83; analysis of the Dem and GOP tax plans.
- Reagan's obscene federal deficits turned the United States from the world's largest creditor to the world's largest debtor. The Reagan/Bush/Bush Federal Debt is why we have such a trade imbalance. Democrats can add and subtract.
- Republicans pay apologies to British Petroleum. Democrats want British Petroleum to pay up.
Returning the jabs
Here are some sound bite-sized counter-arguments to drop into discussions/arguments aimed squarely back at the right and the far right. Some of these come from DKos and other sources, but mostly I've just been taking notes.
- On any issue, we know what the Republicans will do: They will lie.
- Republicans will simply lie, and lie again. Their "arguments" usually fall into three categories:
- They will try to change the subject, preferably to a Clinton. You, just stick to the subject and don't let them control the discussion.
- They will dismiss any criticism of a right winger with the "Everybody Does It" false defense (see below), then refuse to admit what they have just insisted: They don't admit that the right wing did it at all. You, call 'em on it.
- They will just make shit up. Don't fall into their trap and try to counter the stupid "examples" they come up with. Just stick to the subject.
- The "Everybody Does It" Defense is a mainstay of the right, and it's a lie twice. For the most part, this is a bald attempt to change the subject and not admit just how bad the right is. Almost any attempt to divert attention from Republican crimes can be shot down easily. First of all, that doesn't excuse the crimes under discussion. Second, everybody does not do it, at least not to the same degree. They're trying to change the subject and get you to admit that some Democrat did something less than bright... at which point they will deny the original charge that they just said "everybody" does. Call 'em on it, and don't let them change the subject.
- Anyone who can't tell an American from a Kenyan is too stupid to own a gun. This isn't about rights. This is about personal responsibility. You remember "personal responsibility"? It's what the right wants you to have while they cynically ignore any accountability.
- Taxes are your money, but the deficit is your deficit. Just to pay for Conservative spending and red-ink accounting, you owe a lot of money. You owe (as of this writing) $43,535.22. Time to pay up.
- Liberals have guns too. And they know the difference between an American and a Kenyan.
- Being a patriot means loving America even if you lose an election. All those who want to secede from the US are traitors. They claim to be patriots, but they're lying. Here's a deal: Real Americans will trade anyone who wants to leave the US with a foreigner who wants to live in America and work and pay taxes.
- In almost every issue facing America, let's follow the people who turned out to be correct and ignore the people who have consistently been wrong.
- Climate Change is a wedge issue, and it's in our favor to push it. Global Warming deniers simply don't live in the world G_d created. Conservative are, quite literally, dirty politicians. The Democratic Party is doing much better, but can't get past the dirty Republicans.
- Democrats are creating jobs, Republicans want to downsize America: Estimates Say Fewer Jobs, Larger Deficits if Republicans Were in Charge Newsweek 8/26/10
- We need to reduce dependency on oil. Not foreign oil; that's a consequence of of a total reduction. No, we need alternative energy sources, and we needed them yesterday.
Soundbites
Hmm... this is more fun than I thought it would be. I can go on making links and finding more dirt on the goppies for a loooong time. Further suggestions from you are welcome.
Next week: More on making the case for the Democrats and other campaign tactics.