This attempt at credit shaming AOC has been around for months and been proven false time and time again. The real problem here is the willingness to mindlessly accept these kinds of outright lies and the eagerness with which so many out there, unfortunately both right and left, who without the slightest hesitation will re-post or otherwise further spread known half truths or bald faced lies not even questioning for a moment if in fact these statements are even remotely true.
You see this all the time on Facebook. I know because someone I know who rarely ever fact checks these kinds of statements that evolve into memes, is constantly putting up these kinds of comments and then challenging those who view their page to show their political loyalty by either re-posting it or leaving comments indicating that they completely believe these false comments.
Unfortunately this is one of the major illnesses at the heart of most forms of social media, quite often it does not truly inform and enlighten, instead it has a tendency to merely reinforce existing prejudices and misinformation by playing on peoples in grained biases.
Something we need to be fully aware of. We need to understand how to counter these phony statements as the propaganda arm of the GOP shifts into high gear, with it’s breathless claims that anyone who embraces even the most reasonable and rational proposals put forth by progressive Democrats is somehow a Socialist. And as such is actively involved in a nefarious plot to provide universal healthcare to the American people and enslave all of mankind by handing out free stuff paid for by their heroic billionaires, while our President leads the party faithful and the troops to maintain our liberty and freedoms against the Socialist ( read Communist ) hoards.
This is a completely new level of bullshit from this administration that has not been seen in this country since Joseph McCarthy thought it would be a good idea to label anyone who stood between him and the power to control the federal government a filthy, plotting, murderous, Communist who was intent on locking up half the nation and possibly even eating your children.
That particular freakout, as people irrationally bought into McCarthy’s nonsense, destroyed thousands of innocent people lives based on fear, misinformation, and blatant lies. And it was nothing more than a political ploy by a handful of power hungry, morally starved, ethically challenged individuals who were not shy about their efforts to consolidate their personal control over our federal government. Sound somewhat familiar to what we are exposed to on a daily basis under the Trump Administration ? I think it’s fairly clear now that our President is a student of this form of political assassination and will not hesitate to push it’s application to extreme levels.
Point being that the push back on these absurd claims will have to be very forceful as well as being completely supported by factual evidence of why they are nothing more than the worst form of political rhetoric and full blown politically motivated propaganda designed to induce paranoia and irrational anger. This fear mongering and the attempts to attach and attribute the behavior of some of the worst of our historical villains to common sense proposals made by Democrats will only get steadily worse, not only as we approach the end of the Mueller probe but as we approach the 2020 elections and the point at which the right really starts to freak out about the possibility of completely losing their hold on power.
Extremely powerful push back, supported with clear easy to understand explanations and iron clad facts are critical. We can turn these attacks against the President and his party, even in many cases where his most ardent supporters first response is to unflinchingly accept his fake pronouncements. It will be some tough sledding but a well thought out rational response to his brazen misdirection and lies will eventually win the day. Of course that is if we can quickly understand and act on the obvious and painful fact that the Republicans are going to use the idea that there are differing positions and goals among the Democrats as a club to constantly beat into as many minds as possible that the Dems difference of opinion is actually a sign of disunity and complete discord. The obvious goal is to remain united, focused, and well informed while we continue to refine our aspirations and goals. Hopefully we can finally reach out to the vast majority of Americans who share our frustration and resentment and work together to finally return sanity to our public institutions especially our federal government.