Associated Press
Mitt Romney often keeps the truth at arm's length.
David Corn covered Mitt Romney's speech to the Newspaper Association of America on Wednesday, and came away gobsmacked -- shocked not only by the Republican candidate's dishonesty, but by the larger context.
Romney stood before a gathering of journalists. He made a series of incorrect and dishonest accusations. And he was not hooted out of the room. He faced no penalty for this -- just a few slaps from those pesky, fact-checking schoolmarms. He will not be banned from similar forums. The politerati is not up in arms. His campaign rolled on. And this may well sum up one of the fundamental problems with American politics.
That's more than fair. Romney's habitual dishonesty certainly deserves to be taken more seriously, and the fact that a likely major-party presidential nominee had no qualms about lying to a room full of reporters -- most of whom, presumably, knew when Romney wasn't telling the truth -- underscores an unsettling degree of brazenness. He seems to tell falsehoods with confidence that there will be no consequences.
This week was an ambitious test of this proposition, with Romney straying from the truth with breathtaking frequency. Those looking for proof need only consider the 12th installment of my weekly series, chronicling Mitt's mendacity.
1. Campaigning in Wisconsin, Romney complained, "The president put an ad out yesterday, talking about gasoline prices and how high they are. And guess who he blamed? Me!"
That's not true; Obama's ad does not blame Romney for gas prices. It simply tells voters that the oil companies are supporting Romney's campaign.
2. In an ad, the Romney campaign argued that Obama "has managed to pile on nearly as much debt as all the previous presidents combined."
That's not even close to the truth.
3. In the same ad, Team Romney claimed, "President Barack Obama named himself one of the country's four best presidents."
That's blatantly untrue, and the campaign knows it's blatantly untrue because it's been told the truth several times.
4. On the campaign trail, Romney told voters, "The president said something interesting over the weekend. He said that 'in an ideal world,' government could spend as much as it wanted.'"
To say this was wrenched wildly out of context would be a dramatic understatement.
5. At a forum hosted by disgraced Republican lobbyist Ralph Reed, Romney argued that under the Affordable Care Act, "The employees of the Catholic Church have to be provided by the Catholic Church with health care that gives them free contraceptive and free sterilization treatments and morning-after pills despite the fact that this violates the conscience of the Catholic Church."
6. At the same forum, Romney argued that Obama doesn't believe in "American exceptionalism."
Actually, he does. Obama is the only president in American history to explicitly endorse the phrase "American exceptionalism."
7. At a town-hall meeting in Wisconsin, Romney said "Obamcare," if it's allowed to be implemented, would mean government would control "almost half of the total economy."
Romney appears to have made this up out of whole cloth. It's based on the notion that the government would control all of the nation's health care system under the reform law, which just isn't true -- "Obamacare" relies heavily on private health insurers, not socialized medicine.
8. On Monday night, Romney talked to Fox News' Greta Van Susteren, and argued, "The economy is nothing but the addition of all the businesses in the country together."
That's not true. The American economy includes the public sector.
9. In an interview with James Pethokoukis, Romney insisted that Obama has "launched an all-out attack on small business."
In reality, Obama has cut taxes on small businesses, eased the process that allows small businesses to be created, and streamlined the patent process.
10. In the same interview, Romney argued, "[C]ontrary to Vice President Biden and President Obama, I am not cutting taxes for the rich."
Contrary to Mitt Romney, he is cutting taxes for the rich.
11. Rolling out his new stump speech this week, Romney claimed, "Barack Obama presided over the first trillion-dollar deficit in American history."
That's incredibly dishonest. The deficit Bush left for Obama to clean up was $1.3 trillion on the day Obama was inaugurated.
12. In the same speech, Romney said the Recovery Act "promised to hold unemployment below eight percent."
Romney repeats this lie often, but it's still a lie.
13. Romney also claimed "this president attacks businesses for making money."
That's simply never happened in this universe.
14. In the same speech, Romney suggested once more that Obama has been "apologizing for success at home" as well having apologized "for America abroad."
It's the most tiresome lie of them all.
15. Romney claimed this week, "We know that under this president, chronic unemployment is the worst it's been in American history."
Asked to substantiate the claim, the Romney campaign couldn't.
16. The Romney campaign argued this week that Romney, during his only term as governor, had "four years of budget surpluses."
Actually, Romney left his successor a $1.3 billion deficit to clean up.
17. Romney argued in his speech to the Newspaper Association of America, "I'd be willing to consider the president's plan [on Medicare financing], but he doesn't have one."
Actually, he does. In fact, Romney knows the president has a plan because in the same speech, he criticized it.
18. Romney added that Obama "has taken a series of steps that end Medicare as we know it. He is the only president to ever cut $500 billion from Medicare."
That's a blatant, and rather ironic, lie. The only plan to end Medicare as we know it is the House Republican budget plan written by Paul Ryan -- which Romney has enthusiastically endorsed.
19. In the same speech, Romney said, "Through it all, President Obama has failed to even pass a budget."
That doesn't even make sense -- presidents don't pass budgets; Congress passes budgets.
20. Romney also argued, "With all the challenges the nation faces, this is not the time for President Obama's hide and seek campaign.... Unlike President Obama, you don't have to wait until after the election to find out what I believe in -- or what my plans are."
Actually, Romney is the only candidate in either party to say he won't share the details of his agenda until after Americans vote for him.
21. In the same speech, Romney said, "As I have said many times before, the President did not cause the economic crisis, but he made it worse."
And as I have said many times before, Romney's lying. He knows he's lying because he's also said the American economy has improved under Obama.
22. Romney also argued Obama approved "a government takeover of healthcare."
That's just ridiculous.
For those keeping score, yes, this 12th edition is the longest of the year thus far. It's discouraging because it suggests Romney is getting less honest, not more, as the campaign progresses.
Previous editions of Chronicling Mitt's Mendacity: Vol. I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI.
Leave a Comment:
Steve, I'm not sure I find the lie around the "unlimited resources" claim so false. Nor the 4th best claim.
As someone who often has to make judgment calls about truths in other contexts, let me suggest that you always err on the side of omitting arguably weak items. Fewer items that are beyond any reproach -- the 1/2 the economy claim, for example -- will be far more powerful....
Thank you for a sensical post.
I disagree, I think its important to point out abject lies and also insinuations. Ignoring those phrases or statements that lead the listener to suppose or presume something that the speaker will not say -- but would like to, is an old trick of propagandists and one I think people should be privy to when it occurs.
The degree to which propaganda is not called out by the press is absolutely shameful and in my mind is skirting the duty to inform that most regular people assume the press does. When they allow lies or innuendos to go unchecked, then the press sacrifices their credibility and becomes a servant not of the people, but the machine.
Mitt Mendacity Romney is a consummate liar. He'll say and do anything to get what he wants. Will the American People see through him? I hope so. But they'll need the media to help expose this poor excuse for a human being.
There's a governor in Wisconsin who does the same thing - keeps repeating blatant lies in the hope that repeating them will make people think they are true! Please voters ..... check the "facts" to be sure that's what they are!!
That is what amazes me. One can even watch his audiences doing this...applauding when told to and cheering after every cut down of Obama...no matter if it's a blatant lie far removed from anything even resembling the truth. Fox and other media remain quiet and casual about all the dishonesty.
Is it just the hatred of "the other" that makes these groups uncaring about 'the truth'? Bush/Cheney/Rove demonstrated they can do anything they want and get away with it unchallenged by the media. Now Romney and Ryan are taking it to the next level with all the money they want backing them to overwhelm the voters with darkness. If they take control of the net we are doomed. Are the voters alert enough to wade through this onslaught of misinformation and deny the 1% so no House republican gets reelcted??..I can dream can't I?
Why be amazed? The media serves the interests of the corporatocracy, plain and simple. Why has Obama failed to deliver a progressive agenda? Because the corporate funded media/marketing machine will destroy him and the press will do nothing to come to his rescue and the public will cheer along at his lynching, completely unaware that they are next.
Pravda could have only dreamed of having such an efficient, automated machine for their regimes complete with a public that apparently would tilt its neck back on command because the vampires of anarcho-capitalism need another feed.
I wanted -- I really wanted -- to read them all, but I just couldn't. Got bogged down around #15 or #16. It's too disheartening. I'll try to finish them later. How is it that everyone just lets him get away with it, every single time?
Please keep this up, Steve. This is important information to have in discussions with "moderates" and leaners.
If I make a list of 22 things that Obama has said or claimed and write that he is lieing after each of them, without any context, explanation or proof, just a simple statement of "He's lieing," will you feel the same disgust for him?
Let's see the list.
Each one of the items has a word or part of the sentence in BOLD ... try clicking on those and you'll find your wished for context, explanation and / or proof.
Go ahead. We'll wait for you to realize your error and retract your statement.
Oh, George, that's not how it works. First, you must feel disgust over Obama's alleged lies, then and only then will Mr Nonsense (fail to) deliver the promised list.
obviously "nonsense" is ignorant or a troll..
YES YES YES
Your service to the country is back!!
Too bad there can't be a truth-o-meter in operation at all times while candidates talk. When will reporters and questioners stop the politeness and call these clowns out WHILE they are speaking instead of after the fact. Just come out and say, "That is a LIE!". I'd even settle for a, "I think that's false".
Or even a simple, "What's your proof?" question. They NEVER seem to have anything to back up what they say. Ask them to allow us to compare and make up our own minds!
as I said earlier, if they don't lie or cheat, then they can't win the election. The GOP base must be pretty stupid if they believe without checking the facts. The republicans need to make sure they stay stupid or then they are really done.
The democrats are so honest, though... Naive.
Looks like someone around here believes all sides must be equally bad. Don't be ridiculous. All you have to do to convince yourself one side is worse than the other is consider the issue of climate change. One side doesn't deny science; the other does. End of discussion.
No, Mr Nonsense doesn't believe that all sides are equally bad. He is accusing Democrats of being as bad as Republicans in order to exonerate Republicans. In other words, Republican badness is not bad if Democrats are just as bad (but Democrats are nevertheless bad period).
to "disgusted"--same for evolution..
This is also a tactic that is designed to make people feel it's useless, so no reason to vote. It is part of the arsenal to keep more people from voting, enhancing the Republican chances of victory.
There is no substance to this article. "He is lieing" is all I am reading. It sounds like a 2nd grader defending something on the playground of which he knows nothing about (I hear it everyday from my 2nd grader... drives me nuts).
I don't agree with all of Mitt Romney's interpretations of what he observes spewing out of Obama's mouth. I understand, and also disagree with, the twists and stretching of the facts by all politicians, especially Obama. That said, I do agree with some of what Romney has said based on observations of what Obama seemingly implies (take the 4th best Pres. example) and more importantly, what he DOES.
You are aware of the way hyperlinks work in this late stage of the internet's development?When you read a statement like "He's lying" and it is underlined, that means that if you click on the underlined bits, you can find out more about that statement. That's where the facts and logic are kept. Even your suppositional 2nd greater knows that. Your criticism is the same as if someone claimed an argument was invalid because it used footnotes instead of quoting the entire referenced text. There are reasons to question one or two of the lies the author calls (but only one or two), but the fact you aren't capable of following hyperlinks isn't really a reasonable argument.
I was not aware. I stand corrected and apologize.
I clicked on #16 randomly and read teh article. The linked article both supports and rejects the authors claim. That doesn't make it a lie.
So instead of accusing the author of not providing evidence, I will change my accusation to simply misleading the readers... the same way the rest of the Media, Romney, Obama and every other politician picks and chooses bits and pieces of stories, put them together, embelish, or whatever, and call it the truth (ie NBC and the Trayvon case).
Okay, HERE is something I know I heard in full in context. Obama positively did not say that he was the 4th best President. He said that he would put his legislative record up against any President save 4, which he listed. That is NOT the same thing as saying he is the 4th best President. He absolutely did not say that.
hopefully he will not home school that 2nd grader!
The Republican disconnect to reality is a fact that has to be dealt with- actually , just lived with. It's like teaching a pig to whistle- you just get fed up and it pisses the pig off too. There is no answer, these people are on a self appointed mission from their god-head and magic underwear to regain control of what CAN"T be controlled and it drives them insane. All that CAN be done is to fire up the Democratic base and get out the voters to the polls- and get behind Democrats in places like Michigan and slap down the fascist Republicans who pass legislation ILLEGALLY! - and you know what might help?- a few women just slapping a few Republicans on TV in front of God and everyone as if in junior high and a boy just lifted their skirt in the hall!
Disgraceful post.
It's not magic underwear...
Do you where a wedding ring? What does it symbolize?
The clothing worn by LDS are symbolic of personal commitments. Ever seen a nun? Priest?
You need to use a spellchecker then edit your posts. It's wear not where a wedding ring. Maybe you're a second grader.
That's a good metaphor- debating a Republican is like teaching a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig.
I believe Republicans are incapable of distinguishing fact from fiction.
Mr Nonsense is actually correct, this time, in carping about the "magic underwear" tag. I mean, seriously, would anyone (who's not an utter SOB) call a Sikh turban a "magic dishrag"? I'm all for snark, sarcasm and personal abuse if it's in any way witty in an Oscar Wilde sort of way (without the old corpse funk, preferably), but "magic underwear" doesn't fit the bill.
"He seems to tell falsehoods with confidence that there will be no consequences."
Well, Romney knows that there usually aren't any consequences for those with his money and skin tone. Plus, his supporters want to believe what he's saying - they don't care if it's true or not.
I think it would be nice if Steve starts, at the beginning and end of each of these litanies of mendacity, chiding the political press in this country for allowing Mendacious Mitt to continue his assault on reality with no fear it'll be pointed out to the public. The press deserves every bit of condemnation that can be heaped on it for allowing this type of garbage to go unchallenged, and for the irresponsibility it exhibits on global warming.
exactly
Mitt, like many Republicans, understand that the party base is not going to fact check the candidate's statements which are calculated to confirm what the party faithful would like to believe. The question is whether voters in the general election are going to overlook those lies. And that really depends on how the media covers the matter. If they let Mitt slide, then the media is complicit. All politicians should be forced to account for their statements when they are untrue. That is the function of the news media.
For people that aren't fans of Wm. F. Buckley:
men·dac·i·ty (mn-ds-t)
n. pl. men·dac·i·ties
1. The condition of being mendacious; untruthfulness.
2. A lie; a falsehood.
I'm not impressed by MSNBCtv's inability to communicate effectively.
So, you are upset that they don't talk down to you? Damned college educated journalists! When are they going to stop being so elitist and use proper, 4th grade level vocabulary, like Fox News?
Seriously? "Mendacity" is too rootin' tootin' high-falutin for les54tom? Good grief.
God forbid you have to google a new word and learn it's meaning...
But I do know how it is sooo hard to go through the laborious process of highlighting the word and then tediously clicking "copy" and painstakingly "pasting" it into google...
Also, it's "people who aren't...".
I learned the meaning of "mendacity" from the marvelously nasty speech by Big Daddy in Tennessee Williams's "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof."
I do agree that Mittleschmertzzz is the least interesting man in the world and a CONman .
Romney is using the SAME strategy that I have seen Fox News and Rush Limbaugh using since Obama was elected (they may have been using this strategy longer than just the last 3 years but I have noticed it FAR more during Obama's presidency).
They literally take all the criticisms aimed towards the Republican party, or an individual in the Republican party, and then make those exact same criticisms back at the Democrats (using the SAME terminology and phrases)... And it has been working!!
It seems that the key to succeeding in this shameless strategy is the use of the same phrases (example - "Republicans are waging a war one women!"), and using them back at the democrats but louder and more often ("Democrats and their shameless war on women during Obama's presidency! Unprecedented!").
Eventually the stupid masses seem to have their brains scrambled and they get confused and forget that it is the REPUBLICANS doing these things. They begin to genuinely believe that the DEMOCRATS are the ones to blame because now they are hearing the same phrases but they are hearing them from outraged news anchors on fox.
I don't think this is by mistake. I see this happening so much and so often that I truly believe that the people at Fox News and Republican strategists in general have studied and found that if you just turn your oppositions accusations back towards them, and are relentless about it, then you don't even need proof or context, most people just accept it.
A person's brain remembers hearing a buzzword in the media over the past month. And now a Fox News anchor has stolen that buzzword and is using it against a democrat. The person at home hearing it doesn't think, "hey, they are stealing that buzzword from the democrats!" but instead they think "hey, i have heard that word a lot lately and now this guy on television is saying it, and he is saying it often and angrily so it must be true and democrats must be waging a war on women!"
People who pay attention catch it, but i guess the average person these days just doesnt pay attention
See "swift-boating" and Max Cleland.
I get suspicious when I hear buzz words. And the Republicans have been doing lots of projecting and their supporters don't notice they are doing that which they accuse Democrats of doing. Some know it and just go along and others don't notice that's what they are doing. Sad.
Then we have people that cover their eyes when shown the lie, they deflect and change the subject, or turn tables, or pull the "Johnny did it first". But no, they are not saying "here is why that is not a lie".
The echo chamber has the added benefit of making Democrats think twice about voicing legitimate criticisms. It is an effective way of shutting people up.
@Headache - there's something else going on, too. While those on the right scream about the "liberal media" for years and years, those who work in the media can't help hearing it and get defensive. While others who contribute here complain about the "corporate-owned media," I don't think that's the explanation for what's happening; there isn't a Rupert Murdoch looking over shoulders in every print or electronic newsroom. There are still real journalists who go after real stories, but their voices have been muted by a desire - maybe unconscious - to appear "fair." So news reporting has become what public figures say, not whether it's true or not. Some here miss Walter Cronkite. That was a whole different world.
Hey George..suggest you google "Operation Mockingbird" and see how the 'layering' of today's journalism actually operates...behind the scenes so to speak.
I did and well, sure. I could say that was a practice at the height of the Cold War, Red scare, you'd-better-prove-your-loyalty-if-you-want-to-keep-your-job, a practice that died a slow and overdue death. But I also recognize that that sort of thing still goes on today. Only we now we call it “leaks.”
But regarding “something else.” In the early days of broadcast TV, the FCC took the mandate that broadcast licenses be used for the public good literally and seriously. Stations and networks took it seriously, too, which was the origin of the Sunday morning news and public service “ghetto.” This was real journalism, provided by the likes of Ed Murrow, Don Hewitt, and Uncle Walt Cronkite.
Then, in the late '70's I think, Roone Arledge became the head of ABC News and proclaimed that thenceforth, all news shows must make a profit. The bottom line prospered while hard news suffered. And so networks lobbied to make public service requirements looser. The advent of cable TV made this lobbying effort easier and more successful.
Today, of course, all cable news networks exist to make a profit, and hard journalism is harder to find. So my point is that if we owe our dissatisfaction with the state of news reporting today to the “corporate-owned media,” it's not because of some hidden conspiracy or oligarchic agenda. They're just in it for the eyeballs and the bucks, so it becomes more about sizzle and less about substance.
Liberals need to come out with an ad, or just start saying, "Mitt Romney f**ked a goat." And when the other side gets all in a snit, liberals can just say, "Huh? I thought blatant lying was OK. You do it all the time."
I thought I'd add to that, the attempts to conceal his investments.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?node=admin/registration/register&destination=login&nextstep=gather&application=reg30-politics&applicationURL=http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/romney-using-ethics-exception-to-limit-disclosure-of-bain-holdings/2012/04/05/gIQARcVmxS_story.html?tid%3Dpm_pop
Might have to create an account or use Facebook login for the URL, but here's a snippet
I don't care if there is a loophole to wiggle out, people are not going to just trust, when they are not allowed to see the holdings.
*I appreciate compiling the lies, embellishment, the "I'll tell you after the election" weaseling in one place, and well sourced.
*was not supposed to be a quote, I wasn't quoting anyone. Oops.
Ok, let's see:
"President Obama suggested, during his recent CBS interview, that his domestic and foreign policy achievements over his first term surpass any other United States president, “with the possible exceptions” of Presidents Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson.
“I would put our legislative and foreign policy accomplishments in our first two years against any president — with the possible exceptions of Johnson, F.D.R., and Lincoln,” Obama told Steve Kroft, “just in terms of what we’ve gotten done in modern history.”
3. In the same ad, Team Romney claimed, "President Barack Obama named himself one of the country's four best presidents." IT'S GREAT TO LIVE AN ALLUSION. HE FORGOT TO MENTION TEDDY R. WHAT DOES STEVE THINK IS MEANT HERE. READ BETWEEN THE LINES. THE MAN IS SELF POSSESSED.
1. Campaigning in Wisconsin, Romney complained, "The president put an ad out yesterday, talking about gasoline prices and how high they are. And guess who he blamed? Me!" IS STEVE SO NAIVE NOT TO SEE THE HIDDEN MEANING.
5. At a forum hosted by disgraced Republican lobbyist Ralph Reed, Romney argued that under the Affordable Care Act, "The employees of the Catholic Church have to be provided by the Catholic Church with health care that gives them free contraceptive and free sterilization treatments and morning-after pills despite the fact that this violates the conscience of the Catholic Church."
He's lying. EVERYBODY HERE LOVES TO USE THE WORD LIE. HE'S NOT LYING. THE LATEST ACCOMADATION BY OBAMA IS EMPLOYEES OF CHURCH AFFILIATED ORGS WILL BE PROVIDED THE SERVICES WITHOUT THE CHURCH PAYING. TRY TO ADMINISTER THAT FREE LUNCH AND SEE WHO PAYS.
ok, I'll bite...
First,
I guess I am naive, because I'm not sure what you mean by "hidden meaning."
It's pretty clear that you have an agenda. Which is fine. But surely, you can recognize a lie. A lie is a lie is a lie. It's saying one thing when something else is true. Every one of the things you pick out is a clear example of a - wait for it - lie.
NO ONE loves to use the word "lie." The reason so many like this feature is because we are sick and tired of listening to Romney (and Santorum, and Gingrich... and yes, even if a Democrat does it) say things that are simply not true. The press has just ignored little lies for so long that they've become immune to facts. There are 2 types of people when it comes to this issue. There are people who HATE when someone uses the word "lie", and there are people who just absolutely hate it when someone lies.
I for one do not have a problem with lying. Radical? No. People lie all the time; there is plenty of good research on this topic. Virtually everyone lies and is lied too multiple times during a day. I don't care much about how things "should" be but I do care about seeing things as they are, for that is what I must deal with. Romney and Obama both lie. They lie with different frequency, for different reasons and with different outcomes, but it is almost inconceivable that Obama does not also lie. So what.
I'll take it one step further and say that proficiency in the dissimulation of intentions and information (lie) is a vital presidential attribute, not detriment. Yeah, it is "wrong" to lie. Nice bumper sticker but it is only wrong to lie under certain conditions. Apparently lying is built into the human spirit and into our social structures.
The real issue here is not who lies; it is who lies the the best. How often were they caught? What were the reasons for the deception? Did the 'lie actually perform it's function? Does the person remain 'credible' afterward. Yes, I know that last one sounds strange. We are not always unhappy about being lied too, It depends if the lie did damage or good and that is an individual's call.
I am not sure about this but I suspect that a good liar is also reasonably well equipped to detect lies as well. Think about it. Do you really want a bad poker player sitting in the chair of what is arguably the most powerful position on the planet? Really? Me, I want a president that knows when and how to dissimulate information and do it so effectively that it works and something good is accomplished. Now shall we evaluate who is the "better" liar and start using it as one tool among many to help choose the next president because we are sure as heck not going to get someone that never lies.
Like your "best poker player" will actually use his "skills" to help the people for the better
Mitt Romney can't be trusted if he can't control himself
Temptation of power can corrupt
If he gains control of governmental secrets and his position's powers, and he continues his lying streak, he could get away with far worse than dishonesty
Unfortunately, Romney's lies become his listeners facts. The victim of under information.
Not only did the media not report his lies, the speech was generally reported as a riposte to President Obama's in which Romney gave as well as he got.
Mitt 'Zipperlip' is telling millions and millions of dollars worth of lies...