A Bad Sign

I suppose that depends on one's point of view. I actually think it's a good sign, but perhaps I should clarify. It is a bad sign, when Fox News calls you out for being full of it. At least when you are a Republican. Many Republicans would call it par for the course when the New York Times does the same thing, although who are we kidding, the Times has real journalistic standards, and Fox News is, well Fox News. Enough said.

More importantly than who did the calling out it the issue at hand. I know I'm almost a week late on this, but Paul Ryan's speech at the Republican National Convention last week was deceiving in the extreme. In fact it was full of lies. Paul Ryan, a man who I have described as one of the more palatable Republicans, stood on stage and lied to the American people again and again and again. And again.

I could start listing all the times Ryan lied. I could point out each inaccuracy - a generous term - I could reflect for the umpteenth time on how Republicans are the party of hypocrisy, of ignorance, of utter foolishness. Or I could just ask the simple question, really?

Mitt Romney's campaign has already stated publicly that it will not be defined by fact checkers. That's good for the campaign because fact checkers have already rendered most of what it is peddling as filth. When the NYTimes editorial writers slam a Republican perhaps some people can write it off, but when Fox News and the Washington Post level the same criticism, it carries more weight. Republican dogma, flawed though it is, is still dogma which some people will buy into no matter how silly it seems.

Lies, on the other hand, are lies. Plain and simple. Republicans tell us that tax breaks for the wealthy are the way to grow the economy. It takes a lot of faith to believe that since there is no data to back it up, but it isn't a lie. In fact, it's not even a horrible idea (taken outside the context of their other much worse ideas). But when Paul Ryan says that Obama is responsible for America's credit downgrade, that is a lie. At least according to S&P who downgraded our rating. According to S&P:

"Compared with previous projections, our revised base case scenario now assumes that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, due to expire by the end of 2012, remain in place. We have changed our assumption on this because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues, a position we believe Congress reinforced by passing the act. Key macroeconomic assumptions in the base case scenario include trend real GDP growth of 3% and consumer price inflation near 2% annually over the decade."

The issue here isn't what Ryan said so much as that he had the audacity to say it. America didn't become great by ignoring truth, eschewing reality, and poisoning the electorate with ideas that are bad and words that are false. Ideas can and should compete in our nation. That is how we improve. Lies are lies are lies. And when the Republican party thinks it can tell blatant lies to the American people to promote a flawed ideology, the bad ideas become secondary to the willful propagation of the myths on which they are based. Paul Ryan sold us an alternate reality, and he did so willingly. America deserves better, and I hope we remember that in November.