This ficitonal satire, Romney Proudly Explains How He's Turned Campaign Around - "I'm Lying More,' He Says, provides a more vivid, compelling, "realistic," and believable explanation of the continuous series of lies, misrepresentations, and half-truths we've seen from Romney and Ryan in this election campaign, and in the debates, than much of the "real reporting" I've seen in mainstream jounalistic articles.
The Onion sets up this piece describing how the Romney campaign was written off as dead, but that a pull-all-the-stops strategy of continuous lying about everything, all the time, has turned things around and has "paid significant dividends." In this fictional interview Mitt Romney is speaking to reporters from the back of his campaign bus in a candid casual chat:
“It’s a strategy that works because when I lie, I’m essentially telling people what they want to hear, and people really like hearing things they want to hear. Even if they sort of know that nothing I’m saying is true.” ... Buoyed by his strong debate performance, which by his own admission included 40 or 50 instances of lying in one 90-minute period, the candidate said he will continue to “just openly lie [his] ass off” until the Nov. 6 election. ...
“For example, if someone accuses me of having a tax plan that makes no discernable sense, I just lie and say that I do have a tax plan that makes sense. I also say there is a study that backs up my plan. See that? Simple. None of it is remotely true, of course, but now we’re moving on to the next topic because people are usually too afraid to ask me straight up if I’m lying, because that is apparently not something you ask someone who is running for president.”
“So, if I’m talking to retirees,” Romney continued, “I lie and say I’ll fight tooth and nail to save Medicare, which causes them to applaud. On the other hand, if I’m talking to the party base, I lie and say we have to cut Medicare, which causes them to applaud. So, you see, my goal here is to get everyone applauding for me, because if everyone is clapping their hands, standing on their feet, and shouting my name, that means they like me and will vote for me.”
I feel like I should append the Samual Jackson video "Wake the F*&k up!" for both the media "professionals" and bloggers who are letting the Romney - Ryan campaign get away with an unprecidented number of bald face lies, with too little challenge.
To her credit, Rachel Maddow, has been an exception. A few days ago, she documented a half dozen examples, in the last two weeks alone, where Romney would say his health plan allow those with pre-existing conditions, or his administration would not restrict abortion access, before big televised audiences in the afternoon, and then Andrea Saul would said "of course, he didn't mean it," in conservative journals. Paul Ryan twice looked into the camera and directly denied he ever sent letters asking for fund from the Stimulus program, and we now have four letters from his proving is bald face lies - but now headlines "Lyan Ryan caught in the act again!"
This poignant paradox deserves discussion from journalists who have somehow fallen into the habit of overlooking repeated Romney - Ryan lies and reporting them as if they are true.
I ask you to join me in this experiment - please go to the Onion, and read this complete article, then take my poll where I will ask you if this Onion "fictional" satire does not more "accurately" capture the true essence of what you believe is really going on in the 2012 presidential election than the vast majority of the articles and TV segments you've seen in traditional media.