Associated Press
President Obama greets troops at Camp Victory in Baghdad.
After spending the last several months paying attention to Mitt Romney's habitual dishonesty at a granular level, I've become largely inured to his more routine, casual lies. Some of the deliberate falsehoods are just too common to get upset about.
But once in a while, Romney tells a lie so blatant and offensive that it raises questions anew about the candidate's character and what standards of decency he's prepared to abandon to advance his ambitions.
As Rachel explained on the show on Thursday, voting rights in Ohio have been a mess in recent cycles, and new voter-suppression tactics imposed by state Republican lawmakers are inviting "chaos" at the polls this fall. Of particular interest is a state policy that restricts early-voting rights: active-duty troops can vote up to three days before Election Day, but no one else.
To that end, President Obama's campaign filed a lawsuit a few weeks ago, asking a federal court to "restore in-person early voting for all Ohioans during the three days prior to Election Day." Three weeks later, Romney came up with a new response to the lawsuit, posting this message to Facebook:
"President Obama's lawsuit claiming it is unconstitutional for Ohio to allow servicemen and women extended early voting privileges during the state's early voting period is an outrage. The brave men and women of our military make tremendous sacrifices to protect and defend our freedoms, and we should do everything we can to protect their fundamental right to vote. I stand with the fifteen military groups that are defending the rights of military voters, and if I'm entrusted to be the commander-in-chief, I'll work to protect the voting rights of our military, not undermine them."
Got that? Obama wants all eligible Ohio voters, including servicemen and women, to have the same ability to vote, which Romney says, in writing, means Obama is trying to "undermine" the troops' ability to vote.
This is as loathsome a lie as Romney has told all year -- and given his record, that's not an easy threshold to meet.
It's important to realize that this isn't a matter of opinion. CNN's headline over the weekend said, "Romney campaign jabs at Obama over voting rights suit." The headline on the Politico homepage yesterday said, "Obama, Mitt camps spar on military voting."
No. Wrong. No one is "jabbing" or "sparring." One candidate lied and got caught. Full stop.
Indeed, when pressed, Romney's spokesperson could point to "no place in Obama's lawsuit that seeks to restrict the rights of military voters," and Romney's legal counsel failed to "offer evidence that Obama's lawsuit would make it tougher for members of the military to vote."
After the campaign's dishonesty was exposed, Romney put a twist on his lie, saying Obama now opposes giving the troops special treatment. But even by Republican standards, this is insane -- by this reasoning, Romney supports a policy that discriminates against military veterans in Ohio who would be legally prohibited from the same early-voting rights as active-duty servicemen and women.
Does Romney want to deny special treatment for veterans of foreign wars? Does Romney think it's befitting a Commander in Chief to deny equal voting rights to those who put their lives on the line to defend the United States?
Yesterday, the Republican presidential campaign said the Obama campaign's lawsuit calling for equal voting rights is "despicable."
It's as if words no longer have any meaning, and Americans politics has become so blisteringly stupid, candidates believe they can say literally anything and get away with it.
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I will believe Harry Reid than I believe Romney. Romney told Harry to shut up. How cool is that. He better release his tax return just like everyone else in America. He has nothing against Harry Reid because he is running for president lol
God forbid anyone gets more rights than the dead people that voted in the 2008 election.
Proverbs 8: 13
The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.
That's why I HATE Mitt Romney !!!
Tell me it isn't so? Mitt lied? OMG. I've lost all hope of humanity. The world is ending. How could someone trying for the most powerful position on earth expect to get it with lying? I'm distraught. I was so hoping he was our saviour. Who could have been better? He wears magic underwear for God's sake! Can Obama claim that? CAN HE? We are destined for ruin without the magic underwear. It stops bullets. It saves you from plane crashes. How can we NOT elect such a stupendous indivuiual? Yet he LIES?
We are doomed to another 4 years of that black guy. Woe is us. Golly. We have met the enemy, and he is them.
Oh, and of course, Obama NEVER lies. Uhuh.
they all lie. But there is difference when you try and you have big group in Congress and wealthy people who is determined to get you out in the first term knocking you down and all of your proposed plans- 88% of Americans and56% of politicians has NOT read the Obama Care Health Care plan, not one page.and they are determined it is wrong based what others has told them. but they wont read it .
heres a question: based on Presidential Photos of George W Bush, Dick Cheney , Joseph Biden and President Barack Obama, I notice that President Obama had better responds and greetings by the Military people and was more affectionate than George W Bush. What do you think the Military prefers Obama than George W BUsh and Romney. Sadly People are seeing that the Republicans has been working to do evil to the Democratic. not talking about the Politicians, I am talking about the tax payers. stripping the rights of the Tax Payers, stripping the rights of the Poor, stripping the rights of the disable. This is the WORSE politica sight i have ever seen and even the Tea party is not out, they are hiding under the rock what happen to that big group of Tea partys
it has become more and more apparent that the populace cannot and MUST NOT rely on the national media and its now very questionable integrity to determine what is actually being said and, more importantly, what of that said is true or false, fact or spin (approaching propaganda), questionable or outright and purposeful lying (propaganda pure and simple), or more basically, actual truth versus twisted and tangled falsehood. such “information” can be twisted and tangled in such an engineered way as to keep the legal wolves away from an easy kill. it is no revelation that the side with the deep pockets has the ability to manipulate the “game” to achieve its ends and steer clear of legal “responsibility” or “accountability.” that lack of true and honest accountability is a first priority by such groups; it is also a priority currently supported by an obviously politicized Supreme Court thanks to the Bush Administration that has brought this country to its knees. After so many decades of true “greatness” post WWII, the question needs to be asked AND answered: WHAT HAS HAPPENED; TO WHOM; BY WHOM; and WHY ? ? ?
the answer seems readily apparent and obvious: clearly, it is NOT the properly/honestly informed middle class ! ! ! that middle class is most responsible for the now historically temporary “greatness” of the country. rather it is the element or sector that finds itself able to buy “influence” and more with its deep coffers. that deterioration will continue, if allowed and not arrested, until the total annihilation and essentially the total enslavement of the previously prosperous middle class. this extreme and socially unnecessary imbalance will benefit whom, and to what end? as a democratic nation comprised primarily of a working middle class, the leaders were entrusted with the protection of the populace AND entrusted with the preservation and strengthening of the “democracy” fought for and defended by that “middle class.” those “leaders” responsible for the current socio-political alignment failed miserably and can be shown to be traitorous by their actions in a number of ways.
Its amazing the long nothingness the conservatives write on this site, its quit similar to the things the candidates u champion do, say freedom liberty, throw in tyranny a couple times and say it over and over then what do u have mumbo jumbo, the one who speaks the mist really has less to say
Romney is displaying a characteristic common among a lot of powerful executives and most tin pot dictators. Surrounded by yes men (rarely females,except for those like Mary Matalin and the Fox News pom pom girls) they remain unchallenged and their every utterance is treated as though it had come from the Almighty. They're so comfortable lying it just doesn't occur to them that anyone is going to call them out. Well done, Rachel. Well done.
Rachel should be ashamed of herself for printing such low life garbage as this, This know that what she says is a lie, If is obvious that she is an Obama shill. Read the real truth at redstate.com/paulkib/2012/08/03/obama-vs-ohio-soldiers/
This propaganda smear piece by Rachel show how bad Obama is doing, and how their is no bottom to his evil, good old Chicago Mob tactics. Notice that the Liberal press NEVER attacks a Dem for anything. Obama is stealing our money, funneling it to his friends, a imperial president grabbing power, and not one word from these so called journalist.
I wonder if anyone heard Paul Ryan call Mitt Romney a man of Integrity and Character??? Please!!!
Also, isn't Paul Ryan from the same State that upheld Scott Walker??? Do we really want these guys running the national government??
Rachel, I agree with a lot of the things that you have said in this cycle. I also thing that we should be able to rely on the press to point out all of the facts so that we can make an informed decision. I do think that we should go a step and call these guys out when they play fast and loose with the truth. If we make it costly for them they will stop doing it. We shouldn't stop with the Politicians, We should also clearly mark these folks who are funding these guys and let everyone know that they do not always speak the truth. I would also like to see a comparison between President Obama and Mitt Romney as to how many times they have openly mislead the public. I would be willing to bet that the Mitt side of the list would be significantly longer than the Obama side.
i think political lies should be considered as felony regardless what source those lies are coming from( whether from MEDIA or dirty politicians) . Also , i think they make it too easy for dumb people to become Senators or Represents , or even President in this Country . in my view they must take a high level educated test ( No white cheating or white color crime whatever you may call it) before coming a candidate in any post of public office. I believe, we are in grand need of Media's reformed and change the way politicians should be behaved. People who manipulated the laws for their own personal good should serve time prison and should never be able to work as public servant. I believe, politicians have to have a decent pay to avoid frauds. Finally, one of the most important thing is law enforcement reformed. Some of law enforcements who are breaking the laws should be investigated and served their time in prison as they should.
Rachel.....but mainly the ill-advised network she (and others) work for....MSNBC...is nonsense. Interesting to see another blogger here disavow CNN....guess all you folks have left that thinks like-mindedly (think about that) is the NBC consortium of networks.
Let us move onto Mr. Obama and his finances. How much have Barack & Michelle given to charity over the past 10 years? Again, everybody has to ask....given their substantial wealth....how much have Barack & Michelle given to charity over the past 10 years? I think you'll find that their %, and/or amount, is MINIMAL. Let's look at THEIR tax returns!!!!
Compare their dismal record to the Romney's, who give away 30%+ of their income every year to charity. The Obamas keep writing the books, pocketing the profits, and don't seem to belong to any particular church.
Yo, "Michael 1033656"....you've got a beef with foreign affairs?......I saw the pictures of our Libyan ambassador being tortured before he was executed (assasinated)....yet the Democrats have insisted for a week that it was NOT an act of terror....what kind of country do you want to live in?
"DisgustedWithItAll".....I, for one, am disgusted with your sexual logo. You likely think that the New York Times is the most intelligently written newspaper ever. By the way, what have you read in the past 50 years, BESIDES "1984".....anything?...a single novel?
Hey, "Ned Carter"..... Your "They" refers to about 50% of the population....how do you sleep at night?
Amazing....For an Obama Supporter to accuse Romney of lying is comical.
Do you realize the number of lies Obama has told?
Obama promised to cut the deficit in half...A HUGE lie...
Obama promised to repeal Bush's tax cuts before they expired in Dec 2010..A lie
Obama promised to close GITMO...Another lie...
The list goes on and on....
Sheesh..
When are we going to see unemployment below 8%?