Exploring the Gas Giants
Funny observation from the folks at 'Sadly, No!' (They got it from one of the bigger right-wing sites)I've mentioned in the past that a favorite right-wing media tactic is to find one person willing to make an outrageous and demonstrably false claim. From that moment on, you've got it made. Any subsequent right-winger is free to say "Some are saying that..." or "It's been reported that...." No personal accountability, since you can claim to have been misinformed or misled. And you get to keep even the most dishonest claims in the he-said/she-said headlines of today's press. Anyway, here's what they've found:
THE HEADLINE: 9-11 panel hammered for ignoring Atta intel Staff dismissed info about ID'ing of hijackers, ex-Bill Clinton aide Jamie Gorelick fingered
Wow! It really was Clinton's fault! And the accursed liberal media is covering it up!!!! Oh, wait a second....
THE LEDE: Online commentators are taking aim at the 9-11 commission for its failure to include in its report that intelligence officials reportedly ID'd hijack ringleader Mohamed Atta as part of an al-Qaida cell in the U.S. over a year before the September 11 tragedy, saying the panel was acting politically instead of factually.
Oh. So there are people saying that it was Clinton's fault. People with access to the Internet, no less. Very prestigious.
The downside of this free-floating meme tactic is that the GOP is also prepared to stymie the most genuine efforts at spreading the truth. When your opponent mentions a source, first demand a title, date, author, and publication. If the progressive is prepared with that info, well never fear, GOP foot soldier! You've still got a ringer: "Well, I'd have to see it myself to understand the context." As a debating tactic, it's straight out of elementary school. On a sound-byte "news" show, it effectively eats up the ten seconds devoted to that particular issue. Very frustrating.
THE HEADLINE: 9-11 panel hammered for ignoring Atta intel Staff dismissed info about ID'ing of hijackers, ex-Bill Clinton aide Jamie Gorelick fingered
Wow! It really was Clinton's fault! And the accursed liberal media is covering it up!!!! Oh, wait a second....
THE LEDE: Online commentators are taking aim at the 9-11 commission for its failure to include in its report that intelligence officials reportedly ID'd hijack ringleader Mohamed Atta as part of an al-Qaida cell in the U.S. over a year before the September 11 tragedy, saying the panel was acting politically instead of factually.
Oh. So there are people saying that it was Clinton's fault. People with access to the Internet, no less. Very prestigious.
The downside of this free-floating meme tactic is that the GOP is also prepared to stymie the most genuine efforts at spreading the truth. When your opponent mentions a source, first demand a title, date, author, and publication. If the progressive is prepared with that info, well never fear, GOP foot soldier! You've still got a ringer: "Well, I'd have to see it myself to understand the context." As a debating tactic, it's straight out of elementary school. On a sound-byte "news" show, it effectively eats up the ten seconds devoted to that particular issue. Very frustrating.
posted by Matt Sandwich | 8:58 AM
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