In your opinion, do Republicans embrace lies more than ever in the past?

[Buckeye_Democrat]

Last edited Mon Mar 6, 2017, 04:53 PM - Edit history (1)

I tend to think so, but I'm only in my 40's.

I still remember seeing William F. Buckley make arguments on TV when I was a kid, and my impression was that he at least tried to remain factual while trying to bolster his conservative beliefs. Was I wrong?

When I first heard Rush Limbaugh on the radio in the 80's, his unsubstantiated arguments made him seem like a kook. I assumed that he'd never survive. Yet he's still around and now he seems pretty mild compared to people like Alex Jones.

Before I came to DU, I was on another message board that was full of Republicans. It wasn't a political site, but politics was mentioned frequently. When I'd see a thread that denied climate change, I felt compelled to reply with detailed counterarguments supported by science. As far as I could tell, it was a waste of my time!

They would post bullshit stories from Breitbart, so I would "fact check" them to show it was false. That seemed to be a waste of time too. Instead of conceding anything, they'd just keep using the same sources like Breitbart and InfoWars to offer new outrageous lies.

During debates, most of them seemed quite willing to lie. One of them often replied that he was misquoted by me while writing, "Like most liberals, your reading comprehension skills are lacking yet again." After I cut-and-pasted what he wrote earlier in the thread, showing that I didn't misquote him at all, he simply repeated that he was misquoted. It was NOT a case of misinterpretation! I showed him evidence that contradicted him, and he simply didn't care!

They were like trolls, but only when it came to politics. Most of them seemed reasonable and averse to lies UNLESS it was politics-related! Then it was "anything goes" in their minds. More than anything else, I came away thinking that they believed "the ends justified the means," and if they had to lie to achieve their conservative goals, then so be it!

They also liked to claim that "everyone lies" in politics, trying to equate* Democrats and Republicans in that manner.

Does this sound familiar to others, or did I somehow encounter a particularly nasty group of right-wingers on that message board?

* Edited. I originally wrote equivocate here. D'oh!

[Doreen]

1. Sounds like what I used to see

on a couple of now not running poll sites called BuzzDash and SodaHead.

[get the red out]

2. I see this all the time

It may be a reaction to demographic changes. JMO.

[Rhiannon12866]

3. I agree with you.

In years past, it would have been a scandal if a public official was caught in a lie, let alone the POTUS. We still regularly discuss incidents when former presidents were less than honest, or we suspect he was. Jimmy Carter ran on always telling the truth and he was regularly called on it. But Trump lies all the time, contradicts himself in the same sentence, but he doesn't seem to care. I guess one lie is a national scandal, but if it's nothing but lies, it becomes the norm.

[Cosmocat]

4. Not to be crass, but is water wet?

They have gotten exponentially worse over the last three decades.

In the 90s they had well crafted "talking points" that to you and me made no sense, but had a simplistic veneer to them that you couldn't debate without a longer explanation- ex. Gay marriage was a threat to marriage, states rights, they clung to the constitution and were in complete lockstep with the founding fathers.

They got lazy post 9-11, and simply ran around saying you hate America and are in league with the terrorists if you questioned them. We seriously had County level office holders saying you can't change recorder if deeds during a time of war.

W was not to be questioned because he was commander in chief and we had troops in the field! He kept us safe!

That, of course came to a complete end in January 2009 and they devolved to simply making shit up and throwing fits.

I have tried to engage in fact filled, realty based discussions with rs on message boards since the early 2000s, and it always ends up with me feeling bad about myself because I end up falling to their level.

I take a break, think I can reason with them, it turns to shit, I step away for a few years, then am stupid enough to think I can reason with them again.

The more wrong they are, the more cock sure of how right they are. And, they honestly feel like victims when you are so mean as to knock their sand castles of bullshit over with simple reality.

They are gone, walking dead gone. And conservatism is like a Chinese finger trap, the more you show them how wrong they are, the more they cling to it.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

5. That's obviously been my impression too, but...

I'm not old enough to remember how the behaved in the 60's and earlier.

Truth has been downgraded substantially by Republicans that I've encountered, and not just from right-wing media. The common Republicans seem more that way too. I think most of them have definite goals, like reduced taxes and smaller (non-military) government, but now they're more willing to outright lie to push the country in that direction.

They got lazy post 9-11, and simply ran around saying you hate America and are in league with the terrorists if you questioned them.

That's probably the time frame that shocked me the most other than Trump's election.

[Cosmocat]

6. We are past the point of any reason

it is this simple to these people.

Liberal bad, conservative good.

SO, to them, any rationalization, thought or action is justified if it is "conservative" and anything the liberal advocates for is evil incarnate.

Honestly, our only hope at this point is if we could somehow collectively start pushing for the crazy shit they want ...

[Buckeye_Democrat]

7. That thought has crossed my mind a few times.

Honestly, our only hope at this point is if we could somehow collectively start pushing for the crazy shit they want ..

There's a part of me that feels that way, like let them see how the country turns to shit once they're in complete control. It's a little like trying to teach a little kid a lesson by handing him a machine gun, though, so it's probably not a good idea.

It wouldn't surprise me if we have another banking collapse without more regulations, so maybe that kind of "lesson" is what's needed? With so much right-wing bullshit being spewed on the media, that could somehow be blamed on liberals too!