Journal Libby Liberal's Journal: Rampant Dishonesty in Politics 1
And, naturally, since the controlling philosophy right now is one of conservatism, that's the philosophy in which there is the most dishonesty (or at least where it's most obvious).
For example, in the last week I have seen not one, but two conservative posters on slashdot post a list of "liberals" or democrats who made quotes about Iraq's threat in response to charges of inaccurate intel and the misleading way in which it was presented to the American public. This, of course, sounds nice when you're on the defensive in the matter, but the thing it does not address is this one simple fact:
George Bush is the only one out of all of those people who actually started a war.
After all, I mutter under my breath that I'm going to do nasty things to people who make me mad all the time. That, however, does not make me culpable for, for example, an actual murder unless I'm the one who actually did it.
Another common theme is in the abortion debate. I'm fairly uncertain on the issue, but one thing that drives me hard left on the matter is the outright lies that the religious conservatives use as scare tactics. For example, it is not, in fact, a medical fact that abortion increases the risk of any type of cancer. It is also not a fact that a properly performed abortion increases the risk of future pregnancy complications.
Contrast this with the actual fact that pregnancies can and do damage critical portions of the reproductive system making it dangerous for women to have future pregnancies lest they or the baby suffer serious medical complications or even death.
Another lie is the comment that makes the rounds regarding the medical necessity of an abortion. To the contrary, numerous complications including tubal pregnancies and problematic development of the fetus can endanger the very life of the mother and create a situation in which a pregnancy brought to term will almost certainly result in both a still birth and a massive risk of death or serious, permanent injury for the mother.
This is hardly the end. Whether they're making comments about science being "religion" and evolution being nothing more than faith, or claiming that there's no evidence that humans influence global warming, it just seems to me that the hardline right's agenda is primarily focused on spreading disinformation and slander rather than making an intelligent, well-designed case for it's policies.
Despite my chosen name, I am not exactly a cheerleader of the left. However, when I evaluate the left's claims and the right's, I find a strong tendency in the right, and it becomes worse the farther right you move, to supress facts, spread disinformation, and sling slander and libel.
If I have to choose between the two, and they're all equal otherwise, the right's seeming reliance on lies necessitates an alignment with the left.
I think that as people become more aware of the right's real agenda, and the way it is pushing the more hardline policies, they will vote back toward the left. At that time, I will not be surprised to see the disinformation level swing back toward the left which will slowly drive the moderates right again. It seems like a recurring cycle, and we're just at the high point where the extremist right wing is driving the debate and, hopefully, alienating the moderate and intelligent voters in the country.
We will see next year one way or the other, I suppose.
Moo (Score:2)
I understand your point, but note that conservatism is not controlling anything. Bush is not a conservative, DeLay and Hastert are not conservatives, and Frist is only barely a conservative.
George Bush is the only one out of all of those people who actually started a war.
Yes, but the Democrats gave him the *authority* to go to w