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In an interview aired this morning with George Stephanopoulos, the host told Mitt Romney that, despite his claims to the contrary, the Obama administration never showed sympathy for attackers in Egypt and Libya. How did the candidate explain the discrepancy? He didn't -- Romney dodged the question and let the lie stand.
Towards the end of the interview, however, Romney looked ahead to the upcoming debates and said he'll have a challenge to deal with: "[T]he president tends to, how shall I say it, to say things that aren't true."
There's no sense of shame and no sense of irony.
A Washington Post/ABC News poll out today shows a plurality of Americans believes the Obama campaign is saying things "it believes to be true" rather than "intentionally misleading people." On the other hand, a plurality of Americans believes the opposite about the Romney campaign.
If anyone's wondering why the public has this impression, consider the 34th installment of my weekly series, chronicling Mitt's mendacity.
1. At a campaign event in Virginia yesterday, Romney said he "couldn't believe" the president said "if you have a business you didn't build it, someone else did that."
Of course he couldn't believe it -- that's not even close to being true.
2. On Wednesday morning, Romney accused Obama administration officials of issuing an "apology for American values."
3. Romney also said, in response to violence in Libya and Egypt, that "the Obama administration's first response" to the violence was to "sympathize with those who waged the attacks."
4. As part of the same statement, Romney also said that the Cairo Embassy "put out a statement after their grounds had been breached. Protesters were inside the grounds. They reiterated that statement after the breach."
Nope, that's not true, either.
5. Pressed by reporters, Romney added, "I'm not going to take hypotheticals about what would have been known what and so forth. I, we responded last night to the events that happened in Egypt."
That's an understandable attempt to cover up the truth, but Romney's statement referred to "attacks on our diplomatic missions," not just Egypt.
6. In a Spanish-language television ad, Romney claims "Obama has cut $716 billion dollars from Medicare to pay for Obamacare."
Sigh.
7. In the same ad, Romney says, apparently to Latino seniors, "The money we have paid to guarantee our health care will be used for a new program that's not for us."
The Affordable Care Act includes extensive new benefits for seniors and to suggest otherwise is dishonest.
8. The ad goes on to say Romney's plan "strengthens" Medicare "for future generations."
That's the exact opposite of the truth. Romney's plan and weakens the system's finances for future generations.
9. In a speech at the National Guard Association Convention in Reno, Nevada, Romney said, "Like you, I remember where I was on September 11th. I was originally planning to be in Battery Park in New York City, not far from the World Trade Center itself. But as it turned out, I was in Washington, D.C. to meet with members of Congress about preparations for the security of the upcoming Olympic Winter Games. A colleague and I were working in the office we had in the Ronald Reagan Building. It was just a few blocks from the White House. Someone rushed into our office and said that a plane had hit the World Trade Center."
Well, not exactly. In his 2002 memoir, Romney offered a different version of events..
10. In the same speech, Romney added, "With less than two months to go before Election Day, I would normally speak to a gathering like this about the differences between me and my opponent's plans for military, and for our national security. There is a time and place for that. But this day is not that."
If Romney believed that, he wouldn't have accused the Obama administration, on 9/11, of "sympathizing" with Libyan thugs who killed four Americans in Libya.
11. In a speech in Mansfield, Ohio, Romney boasted, "If I'm president of the United States, when and if I become president of the United States, I will not take God out of my heart, I will not take God out of the public square, and I will not take it out of the platform of my party."
This is part of a larger attack suggesting Obama took the word "God" out of the Democratic Party platform. That's the opposite of what happened -- Obama put the reference back into his party's platform.
12. In the same speech, Romney added, "It's hard for me to understand how the president would have as his intention not only reducing our military through cuts in his budget, but also proceeding with a sequestration program will which cost about a trillion dollars for our military over the coming decade."
That's two falsehoods in one. First, the sequester would cut about $500 billion from the military budget, not $1 trillion. Second, Romney's not only lying, he's also condemning defense cuts crafted by his own party and endorsed by his own running mate.
13. In the next breath, Romney claimed, "This sequestration idea emanated from the White House."
No, it didn't. This sequestration idea emanated from House Republicans.
14. Romney went on to say the president "does not have a [jobs] plan."
Romney doesn't have to like the American Jobs Act, but he shouldn't get away with brazenly lying about its existence.
15. In the same remarks, Romney said in reference to the deficit, "[I]f we keep on spending a trillion dollars more every year than we take in, that's where we're headed [on the road to Greece]."
16. Romney also boasted, "I will get us on track to a balanced budget."
No, he won't. Romney says his plan "can't be scored," but independent budget analysts have found his agenda would make the deficit bigger, not smaller, and add trillions to the national debt.
17. Romney went on to argue, "President Obama wants to raise taxes on small business."
In reality, Obama has repeatedly cut taxes on small businesses -- by some counts, 18 times -- and if given a second term, his tax plan would have no effect on 97% of small businesses.
18. In an interview with Fox News' Bret Baier, Romney said of Obama, "He'd create more jobs, we don't have new jobs in America."
19. Romney added, "We'd see new businesses start up, as a matter of fact, for the 30-year low in business startups."
20. Romney also told Baier that Obama has "doubled" the deficit.
Maybe Romney doesn't know what "double" means. The deficit on Obama's first day was $1.3 trillion. Last year, it was also $1.3 trillion. This year, it's projected to be $1.1 trillion. When he says the president "more than doubled" the deficit, as he has many times, Romney's lying.
21. Romney added, "I'm very specific as to what I'll do to get the economy going."
I'd love to fact-check this one, but I'm too busy laughing hysterically and can't see the keyboard.
22. Romney also said, "[W]hen this president was elected, he and his team announced to the American people that by now we'd have 5.4 percent unemployment.... He put it out for the American people."
23. Referencing the president's rescue of the American auto industry, Romney told Baier, "[T]he president took the car companies into bankruptcy. They went in bankruptcy exactly as I proposed."
Romney can take credit for Obama's policy, or he can condemn Obama's policy, but to do both is obviously dishonest (and more than a little ridiculous).
24. At a campaign event in Orange City, Iowa, Romney vowed, "I know how to get the private sector to create 12 million new jobs. I know what it's going to take to do that."
Putting aside the pesky detail that Romney doesn't actually have a specific jobs plan, the fact remains that if we do nothing, we're on track to create 12 million new American jobs over the next four years anyway.
25. In the same speech, Romney claimed Obama "is the first since Roosevelt, FDR, not to seek and receive trade promotion authority, to be able to work out new trade deals with other nations."
Obama finalized three separate trade deals in his first term: Panama, Colombia, and South Korea. Why Romney keeps repeating this lie is a mystery.
26. Romney went on to argue, "The Chamber of Commerce carried out a survey. They asked businesses all over America, 'What's the impact of a particular piece of legislation?' And the people came back, 75 percent of the people surveyed said, 'That piece of legislation keeps us from hiring people.' That legislation we have to get rid of is known as 'ObamaCare,' and I'm going to get rid of it."
The "survey" is a joke. The Chamber, a pro-Republican lobbying institution heavily invested in helping Romney, put up an unscientific online survey. Treating this as a legitimate poll of businesses is fundamentally dishonest.
27. On health care, Romney said, "[W]e have to make sure that people who have pre-existing conditions are able to get insured."
There's nothing even remotely true about this.
28. Romney went on to say that voters are going to soon ask themselves, "Do I want a president that's going to continue the policies that he put in place over the last four years, that led to record levels of unemployment?"
Unemployment peaked at 10% a few years ago. We haven't seen "record levels of unemployment" in generations, and the fact that Romney's willing to repeat such obvious falsehoods is disconcerting.
29. Romney added, "The other party will promise you lots of free stuff. But then ask them, how are they paying for it? And they'll say, 'Oh, we're borrowing money from China to do that.'"
First, Democrats actually intend to raise taxes on millionaires to "do that." Second, the implication here is that U.S. debt is financed by the Chinese, but this isn't true -- China only holds about 8% of the nation's debt.
30. At a media availability in Sioux City, Iowa, Romney said, if elected, he'll be "cracking down on China, going after China for currency manipulation, that's something neither President Bush nor President Obama has done."
Either Romney doesn't keep up on current events or he's not telling the truth.
31. On "Meet the Press," Romney told David Gregory that, in his tax plan, "we don't lower taxes on high income people. We're not going to have high income people pay less of the tax burden than they pay today. That's not what's going to happen."
That's extremely misleading. Romney's plan, according to independent analysis, will sharply reduce taxes for the wealthy.
32. In the same interview, Romney added, "I'm not going to increase the tax burden on middle income families."
There's ample evidence to the contrary.
33. Romney went on to say, "I've demonstrated that I have the capacity to balance budgets. I balanced them four years in a row in Massachusetts."
Actually, Romney left his successor with a deficit.
34. Romney added, "I'm not getting rid of all of health care reform. Of course, there are a number of things that I like in health care reform that I'm going to put in place."
Just one day later, Romney said he is going to get rid of all of health care reform.
35. On Medicare, Romney insisted "there's no change for anyone who's retired or is nearing retirement."
That's demonstrably wrong. Under Romney's policy, the cost of prescription drug prices and preventive care for seniors would go up immediately -- for current and future retirees.
36. On foreign policy, Romney argued that the day before his convention speech, "I went to the American Legion and spoke with our veterans there and described my policy as it relates to Afghanistan and other foreign policy and our military."
I wish he were telling the truth about this. He's not.
Previous editions of Chronicling Mitt's Mendacity: Vol. I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII,XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII, XIX, XX, XXI, XXII, XXIII, XXIV, XXV, XXVI, XXVII, XXVIII, XXIX, XXX, XXXI, XXXII, XXXIII
Leave a Comment:
send in rachel maddow ...... they will stop all violence just to be rid of the bitch.
daughter
Looks like you're doing some projecting yourself.
Feeding trolls is the same as feeding hate.
Hello, welcome to the discussion. You are obviously lost. This was a post about the GOP candidate not telling the truth. What you said was directed towards the Islamic nations protesting and attacking US Embassies.
Maybe you would like to correct that and use some tact and manners in the future towards our gracious hosts of our discussions.
So... you're trying to make a point about, what was it again?
Mitt and 'his ship of fools' have taken the 'thousand points of light' from GHWB and have turned it into a thousand points of lies. He has turned GWB's wmd into weapons of mass distortion. He has offered nothing of substance, which reflects his own lack of substance. I am nomoremagical thinking and I approve this message.
Oh brother, do we have to do this yet again?
Yes, that is a perfect direct quote from Obama, as you document. You may not like how it sounds, but too bad. If you're going to lie this badly on the first item, I'm confident the rest will be just as bad. Give it up Benen, the "Big Lie" doesn't work as well in the internet era.
Mitt Romney: Repeating a lie...doesn't make it a truth...even
if you start to believe it…..
Oh brother Shooter, do we really have to school you on the context of Obama's statement again?
Never mind. There is no hope that you will ever understand.
And now for a musical interlude from Coldplay. This one seems to fit Shooter particularly well:
Just because I'm losing
Doesn't mean I'm lost
Doesn't mean I'll stop
Doesn't mean I'm across
Just because I'm hurting
Doesn't mean I'm hurt
Doesn't mean I didn't get what I deserve
No better and no worse
I just got lost
Every river that I've tried to cross
Every door I ever tried was locked
Ooh-oh, and I'm just waiting 'til the shine wears off
C'mon people. Scratching a hemorrhoid is just going to make it worse.
ROMNEY LIES AGAIN: ROMNEY IS THE "DID NOT BUILD THAT" LIAR:
http://factcheck.org/2012/07/you-didnt-build-that-uncut-and-unedited/
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/jul/26/mitt-romney/putting-mitt-romneys-attacks-you-didnt-build-truth/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/an-obama-quote-taken-out-of-context-yet-again/2012/07/27/gJQAcZfbEX_blog.html?tid=pm_politics_pop
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/24/they-didnt-build-that/
I have a question for Shooter, do you ever watch the whole video of what the President has actually said. If you take words out of context you can make them mean anything. That is not a quote. It is only a quote if you give everything the person said word for word!!! He was talking about the roads to the business and the people who helped , but you already know that don't you? You like to stir up trouble! You and Romney are the liars, you just want to win no matter what or how!!!
If he doesn't know, what does that make him? If he does know, what does that make him?
Meanwhile
Pat, do you have a quote from any business person claiming credit for building roads and bridges? No. What we have is a direct steal from Elizabeth Warren's rant claiming Govt. credit for everything ever done in this country.
Just for you here's a little something that illustrates the left very well.
1. Liberals are never wrong.
2. Liberals never apologize for making a mistake. (See #1.)
3. Liberals have the absolute answer for any and all situations, and if only allowed total domination we would have a perfect world. (See #1.)
4. Liberals rarely discuss anything without incorporating hate speech toward the person they are in discussion with, or the subject.
5. Liberals, while being nearly omniscient, seem unable to grasp the fundamentals of making things that are useful.
6. Liberals, while unable to grasp the fundamentals of making things that are useful, hate those that do.
7. Liberals, while hating those people that know how to make things, think they are entitled to everything made, by virtue of being perfect. (See #1.)
8. Liberals, however extreme, are by definition moderate.
So George, what's your point here? Everything you mention was/is built by private enterprise, using money siphoned off from private enterprise. In fact you remind me of another Obama whopper in the same paragraph...
No, the Govt didn't create the internet for business to make money. It created a way for computers to talk to each other in academia and the DOD. The internet as we know it today was indeed built by private enterprise.
Govt. is a facilitator, that's it, that's all. The economic wealth (goods and services) we have is from business. Look around you right now. What tangible thing can you see that's Govt. made by some bureaucrat? A drivers license? Anything else? I doubt it. Everything around you was made by business.
So when government builds things using "money siphoned off from private enterprise," it didn't really build it?
@ shooter
What the President said was "You didn't build that," and although awkward to unsophisticated sorts, it was accurate. it was not referring to a person's business, it was the infrastructure, culture, and social network that made that possible.
Your vocabulary word for the day is A-N-T-C-E-D-E-N-T, Koch head...
And if you're in the mood for some more remedial education, that computer you're typing on was developed as an offshoot of the space program...
Supported by research from universities that received both private and public funding... And attended by students who drove on roads built by the government or who rode public transportation instead.
Look, people. WHY IN THE F CK IS THIS ARGUMENT CONTINUING? It's over. Stop engaging hemorrhoids and asswholes. Good grief.
ROMNEY LIES AGAIN: ROMNEY IS THE "DID NOT BUILD THAT" LIAR:
http://factcheck.org/2012/07/you-didnt-build-that-uncut-and-unedited/
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/jul/26/mitt-romney/putting-mitt-romneys-attacks-you-didnt-build-truth/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/an-obama-quote-taken-out-of-context-yet-again/2012/07/27/gJQAcZfbEX_blog.html?tid=pm_politics_pop
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/24/they-didnt-build-that/
You're right Disgusted, but I need an outlet for my road rage, and Lawrence always takes Fridays off so I came over here looking for a troll or two to kick...
That way I don't take it out on the weekend drunks...
Disgusted - I've been a good boy and ignored this for a long, long, time. But there comes a point, the point where it's up to here.
George, yes and no.
Govt decides a road to be built from A to B. They hire engineers, and contractor for actual construction, paid with taxpayer money. So I have to say Govt commissioned that project. Does that make them the builder?
How to Skin a Snake:
Make an incision down the centerline of the belly, through the skin only, all the way from the stump where the head was attached to the base of the rattle.
Make an incision down the centerline of the belly, through the skin only, all the way from the stump where the head was attached to the base of the rattle. On most snakes, there is a smaller belly scale covering the cloaca. In the picture, this is the last cream-colored scale before the darker tail scales. Simply split this up the middle just like the rest of the scales.
Pull the skin from the flesh by hand, again beginning at the head end, using even tension on the skin to avoid tearing. Pull the skin from the flesh by hand, again beginning at the head end, using even tension on the skin to avoid tearing. Be sure to separate the skin from the membrane underneath right at the head end. You want clean skin with nothing attached to it. The hide should be loose enough that it easily detaches from the carcass. If the skin is a bit "tight", a knife may be used to carefully free it in the tough places. Peeling without the use of a knife can usually be accomplished all the way to the cloaca.
When the cloaca is reached, it is usually necessary to free it from the skin by cutting around the opening with the knife.
When the cloaca is reached, it is usually necessary to free it from the skin by cutting around the opening with the knife. Continue skinning to the base of the rattle. The attachments to the muscles that control the rattle generally make the hide harder to pull off. A knife must be used in this area if the skin is too tight to peel off, as the skin is rather delicate in this section.
After the skin is completely freed from all but the rattle itself, cut through the tail as close to the base of the rattle as possible.
After the skin is completely freed from all but the rattle itself, cut through the tail as close to the base of the rattle as possible. If the skin is to be saved with the rattle attached, it helps for the piece of flesh attached to the rattle to be small.
Remove the viscera (innards) by hand, starting at the head end, using a scooping motion with the hand if the organs are difficult to remove. Care must be taken near the lower digestive region or the snake might excrete unappetizing substances on the meat.
I'm with Disgusted
Yes he was referring to a person's business, I presume the quote Bene provided in his cite is sufficiently comprehensive?
What is Obama talking about here? Roads? No he's talking about an individual's business success.
Has anyone claimed complete and total autonomy in successful business? No one I know.
So the A-N-T-C-E-D-E-N-T is really two paragraphs about successful business. The rest is claiming credit for that success. So yes, he actually meant what he said.
Confucius say: Man who fart in church sit in own pew.
Uh Shooter... You need to see a plastic surgeon for that proboscis you just grew, and a burn specialist where your trousers were...
You want to play English credential with me, you're gonna lose. There are a couple here (one a PhD) who know my credentials (half a Masters, and a couple of teaching certificates), and frankly, you just made an utter fool of yourself.
The President didn't say "You didn't build it" (the business), he said "You didn't build that" (the infrastructure, etc.). You misquoted him in your dishonest zeal.
And you then compounded matters when you engaged in some infantile "because I said so" crapola that wouldn't cut it outside of FAUX Noise circles...
And after you've seen the two physicians, I'd suggest a therapist for that tunnel vision...
Sucks to be a Republican these days; I know. I used to be one....
This is pitiful. A little chest thumping, a little denial of Benen's quote, a little feeble protestation. Sound and fury signifying nothing.
Best description yet of your own words..."Sound and fury signifying nothing." You finally got something right, Shooter.
It frustrates a hemorrhoid when it can't get scratched. Best to just leave it alone.
But never, ever address a hemorrhoid by its name. Never. A hemorrhoid loves the sound of its own name. It craves it.
But much better: ignore it completely. Address any issues in independent threads of the post.
Judy,
Well, in a negative sens his words do signify something...they are illustrative of the persistence of evil.
Disgusted, I actually like snakes (I'm still in deep mourning over Steve Irwin's death), but I understand your use of metaphor... Not all snakes are venomous, and they are interesting. Even Newt agrees with me, and in my compassionate view of the world, I think he would've make a helluva zoo keeper.
I prefer to call my concoction "Roadkilled Troll," and we don't serve it; we just place it outside the camp where the other trolls can get a whiff of it and think twice about breeching the perimeter....
You might be right about not calling 'em by name since they may be cashing in Koch funds... It is a little complimentary to them to consider they may be paid to look stupid rather than just being their authentic selves.
"Troll" has lost all meaning.
I have nothing against snakes other than they creep me out because of the primordial fear ingrained in my amygdala that most of use are born with. I do have a lot against human snakes.
Refer to hemorrhoids/snakes only obliquely. Do not address it directly in any way. Never, ever use the hemorrhoid's name. It is allowable to refer to the hemorrhoid is disguised terms such as "... even when given a free-throw, an Airball was delivered...Airball.... Airball... Airball..."
Do not address issues the hemorrhoid would like to discuss except in other threads of the post. Make it difficult for the hemorrhoid to continue it's train of "thought/irritation" by dispersing the rebuttals outside the thread in which the hemorrhoid has popped up.
Shooter is obviously living in his own fantasy world where he needs to believe his own version of reality. Unfortunately for him it isn't only this site that said that when the President said "you didn't build that" he was clearly referring to the roads, bridges, etc in his previous statement. Just about every major news outlet agrees with that interpretation of this speech, not the one that Romney (or shooter) is trying to peddle. And this final phrase, which he even included in his flawed argument proves the fallacy in his position:
"The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together."
In this single statement the president makes the point that people DO succeed due to their own initiative, but that in addition they do so with the help of others and that without an infrastructure in this country, both physical and financial, they wouldn't have a business at all. To argue that somehow making this statement makes the president anti-business is disingenuous, delusional, or mendacious.
Do NOT mention hemorrhoid name explicitly.
Do NOT mention hemorrhoid name explicitly.
Do NOT mention hemorrhoid name explicitly.
Do NOT mention hemorrhoid name explicitly.
This argument is OVER. It has been over. It has been over for a long time.
Disgusted...,
And yet it is still allowed to infest these threads.
That's why we're going to have to make it unrewarding for hemorrhoids to pop up.
It craves the recognition and attention, the opportunity to argue long-defeated points, the irritation it causes, and the opportunity to be scratched. When it is denied recognition (by name or even indirect reference), it loses that adrenaline rush. When a hemorrhoid's name is not used and issues it brings up are addressed, obliquely, but not directly to it, the hemorrhoid does not get personal satisfaction. If someone wants to address the hemorrhoidal (t)issues and the irritation it brings, it should do so outside the thread the hemorrhoid chooses. Be gentle and do not scratch with sand paper. Never mention it's name. Never. Never say "he." Just address the issue as if not responding to a hemorrhoid.
At the direct site of the hemorrhoid eruption, it should be seen as an opportunity to share jokes about the hemorrhoid, recipes, or just unrelated items of random interest, ..., anything but respond to the exact irritation the hemorrhoid wishes to inflict.
I heard on NPR this morning Romney saying he expects Obama to lie during the debates. Projecting Mitt?
The quesiton is really this: which will there be fewer of in the debates - Obama lies or Romney truths?
One thing is for sure; they will be very few of either. Perhaps none.
Nah, he's preparing his base for the inevitable "it's the lamestream media against us" meme.
So that, no matter how Mitt is busted on his lies, he can play the white male victimized by all us entitlement sucking not rich white guys and the media that for some obscure reason sucks up to us instead of the rich people who own it.
Makes perfect sense to me.
Why yes, Maria. Yes he is. It is also deflection, premeditated. He knows he has to lie to score points with his base so he is deflecting the criticism ahead of time by projecting his own behavior upon his opponent.
Is it a part of Mormon culture to lie like this? If not then I would think some high-placed Mormons would come out and say so, otherwise Mittens is giving their religion an extremely bad image.
Maybe he has promised them to bring back bygomy.
I understand that the Mormon Church did underwrite Romney lying about being pro-choice to try to win the Senate seat in MA. (Interview with Brigham Young's great granddaughter.)
And to Angel#77 it's polygamy or bigamy, not bygomy...
Their religion enjoys "cult" status in most areas of the country. I'm guessing if they can get a President in the W.H. by any means necessary, it will turn the opinion of their religion around. Or as a Mormon he does want polygamy back and figures since some Presidents have used the Oval Office as a de facto brothel it would legitimize it. That's why Ann is on the campaign trail so much. "Look, she loves me, she must be okay with me getting some in the W.H. from interns or she wouldn't be here."
Has anyone told Ann this?
would it register even if someone did?
It is part of the Mormon culture to lie like that. Google "Lying for God" and you'll be shocked.
Is it a part of Mormon culture to lie like this?
It's called "Lyin' for the Lord." They can say anything if it "advances the cause."
"Romney’s biggest fault is that he has a 'serious problem telling the truth. There is flip-flopping, which he has done more than any politician in modern history, and then there is out and out lying,” she says. “This kind of thing has sadly been a part of the church from the very beginning. Some modern apostles actually taught that it is not always the best thing to tell the truth if it interferes with preaching gospel.'" Sue Emmet, great-great-granddaughter of Brigham Young. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/08/07/exclusive-brigham-young-s-great-great-granddaughter-on-mormonism-and-mitt-romney.html
Hey Mike, that is only the half of it. Notice how the closer the election cycle has gotten to election the more the TEATARD lead republican party says everything a democrat or the POTUS says is a lie, and then they either paraphrase and say the same exact thing or don't even bother to paraphrase. It was amusing at first, but now loathing is absolute for such a corrupt party. Never, ever again will I vote republican. I am ashamed to say I ever followed or participated in that party.
I doubt Mormonism condones falsehoods, Ankhtraveler. Max Moblus started to answer your question before he got diverted. The Mormon church is rich and powerful, but not yet a mainstream religion, and not thought of as a christian religion by many. It could well move closer to mainstream status if Mitt's elected [gag], so all it has to do is stay out of his way. If the Mormon church is seen as getting to close to Mitt, those in his base who fear Mormonism will abandon him, and he needs them to hold their nose and vote for him.
If he wins, the winners re-write history, and his falsehoods will be recast as truths uttered in a rough campaign, necessary counter attacks to the loser's deceptions. If he loses, the church as an institution will say it remained above the fray of the particulars, properly focusing on spiritual matters.
John Messerly expressed thoughts similar to yours a week or two ago, so you're in very good company. I just happen to have a contrary perspective.
The LDS Church is a huge corporate entity that is 80% business and 20% a religious organization that claims to meet the needs of its followers, but extracts a heavy toll for that service.
The simple rules that foster "lying for the Lord" are found in dysfunctional systems everywhere when a "collective denial" is operative. Mormons today are generally law-abiding sorts, conservative, but they've been raised in a "flat earth mentality" culture, and anything that "contradicts" the lore they've been raised under is utterly rejected. Even Elder Boyd K. Packer, next-in-line for the LDS Presidency, was quoted as saying "some truths are not useful."
http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,5317,5381
You're wrong, Sofferclese; the LDS Church has a long history of condoning falsehood and suppressing legitimate historical inquiry. Google up "September Six + Mormon" if you doubt me. And regarding the Mountain Meadows Massacre, an area of LDS history I'm particularly familiar with, the church suppressed its involvement for 150 years. That extended to underwriting a "rebuttal" to my friend Will Bagley's monumental and award-winning treatise on the subject. The expense on that one easily ran into the millions of dollars.
Yes. It's called LYING FOR THE LORD. Just GOOGLE it.
I've had the same thought. Once I emailed a devout Mormon about this very thing, and the response was that Mitt was just being a politician.
Number 21 was my favorite and made me laugh. Unfortunately, the only place to find out anything Romney is saying is Mitt's Mendacitys. Maybe he is delibertely sabotaging himself because he knows he really could never handle being The President. He was unaware that he would actually have to tell the truth and talk to real people.
He was also unaware, or didn't care, that he might be asked to release his tax returns going back twelve years, like his own father did when George Romney ran for President... He's made it clear that he plays by a different set of rules than either his father or President Obama... in his (Romney's) rules, lying is perfectly okay if it advances his cause.
Lie number 10 was the one that finally got the average person to realize that nothing this guy says is true. The entire media rose up and called him out for charging President Obama with sympathizing with the enemy who had just killed 4 brave Americans. A statement like that can't be walked back.
What Romney said about the debates reinforces my fervent hope that John Kerry, in the practice debates with Pres. Obama, is playing Romney as a thin-skinned con man, because that's essentially what will be showing up at the debates.
Yes June, this wil be fun. The Obama team should have an easy time developing ways to get Mitt to boil over, and Obama can do it in a way that doesn't even seem aggressive. In fact, Mitt will likely self destruct when his lies are exposed and he realizes he can't think on his feet quickly enough to escape.
Gonna need a lot of popcorn for this series.
It ought to be fun to watch. And watching old Joe take apart Lyin' Ryan should be just as much fun.
And this time Joe doesn't have to hold back like he did with Sarah Failin. He shouldn't have held back, then maybe we could have been spared her crotchety, ignorant sentences she somehow manages to put together.
How about the trial attorney's favorite question
Were you lying then or are you lying now?
I say it every week and mean it: thank you for this service to your country. never did I think when you first started this that you would be on your THIRTY-FOURTH EDITION
I can no longer go out into a social gathering where politics might come up, without having previously briefed myself with the latest edition of Steve's cataloging of Mitt's latest lies. Some lie that Obama ignores his intelligence briefs. I don't skip Steve's.
Steve, how long did it take you to trudge through the MTP interview? I thought that interview alone would have taken weeks to sort through. Couple that with the fiasco over the last 3 days, you deserve the rest of the month off.
Shooter, (and I know you're trolling here) will you please provide us with a cooresponding link from the right listing the weekly Obama lies along with the embedded links indicating the source and proof of said lies? As an informed voter I'd just like to get the rights mandacity perspective on Obama.
I'd love to see something like that. It's kind of like Romney's "doubled the deficit" thing. I always wonder if the statement has any kind of basis of fact at all. I mean, is there some strange way to distort the numbers and play with the dates that makes it sorta kinda true? Kind of like Paul Ryan running a marathon in 4 hours plus, but he 'rounds' the figure down to 3 hours 50?
If there is such a thing it would be not more than taking reality and event and responses that occurred and saying the are lies. These people want us to except their alternative reality. Now being an African American and seeing how things have played out over the last four years, I can truly say I have been a fool follow republican conservatism. Frankly, they would really like to create a system of indenture servitude with have and have nots. That's a scary concept. If they would relegate the less fortunate of their own ethnicity to serfdom, I know as an African American I don't have a snowballs chance in hell.
Crickets. Muahahahaha. No shooter.
Daniel Kim—it was two hours fifty.
To your tenacity and persistence in calling out Romney's misrepresentations and lies, Mr. Benen, I tip my hat.
My brain would've overloaded on this deluge of nonsense long ago.
There is a label for someone who is incapable of remorse, regret, shame or empathy. Mitt Romney is a sociopath.
Just watched the ceremony where the caskets were unloaded for the 4 men who were killed in Libya. Just out of curiosity, switched to Fox to see what they were saying...and there was Mitt - he did a quick 10 seconds of silence before he started telling a story of how HE went to the airport to pick up the body of a fallen soldgier. I am shocked that he went about the business of making it all about him again and used the 4 men who died in service of their country to do it.
I am not shocked, but I am disgusted.
Who will apologize to the families of these four heroes for using their deaths to inflame the passions that they gave their lives to suppress? We cannot trust Mr. Romney to advance the interests of this nation when those he will deal with will have adults in the room. We certainly cannot trust him when there are NO adults in the room. Remeber that November 6.
When a politician says "I'm not going to respond to hypotheticals," get out the hip waders. He's saying of course, "I'm not going to tell you what I would do, because then I'd be nailed down to a position some people might not like."
Now, that's leadership for you.
Esse quam videri
Hard to see Romney in either case, except maybe in an alternate universe. Otherwise, he seems to be an empty suit held upright by hot air. :}
I don't know how you do this week after week--I can barely even stand to read it, as sickening as it is--don't know how you manage to write it & research it all. Sigh, indeed.
Esse quam videri
Great work Steve! There is nothing more dangerous than public officials who lie to the American people thinking the end justifies the means. You think we would have learned that by now in Iraq. Many thanks to TRMS and Maddowblog for keeping the truth out there!!!!!
One of Bush’s biggest failures was to do nothing about 911, because as he said he was tired of swatting flies. But in reality, it was the power craving, corruption, arrogance, being hypocrites, greed, and deceiving that caused 911 by Bush, Chenney, and their cronies. And this is so much what is the same thoughts what these Republicans possess, especially with people in the likes of Romney and Ryan. In all what these types of people have done is empower hatred in the world for their own self interests and we see so much today the affects of such hatred throughout the world. If you have ever had the opportunity to look a man in the eyes so filled with hate, you do realize that this is not of God and the events that this hateful man has caused created nothing but misery, despair, and death in the world. But the other point of it, someone who claimed to be so religious filled this man with such hate with lies. And we do see today these so-called religious leaders that try to push their agenda of lies and hatred. And if you wonder why people leave these churches here is a good reason why, because of their craving for power, control, and greed they prefer to continue with lies and twist the truth of God and/or Jesus.
Still the Party of Nixon.
Bummer.
The Mittster has no "Plan" .....other than to lie at every turn. Gonna be some boring debates!
I look forward to the President - after swatting down all of the bull manure - finally looking at Mittwit and saying "Governor, are you ever going to tell the truth? About anything?"
After all of these mendacities, could it be that Romney no longer knows what truth is?
"[T]he president tends to, how shall I say it, to say things that aren't true."
Incredible. I have yet to hear Obama caught in a lie or an untruth -- so Romney clearly has a very different definition of truth than most people have.
Truth is exactly what to Mendacious Mitt? Has anyone ever asked?
"He will only regert it once, and that will be continuously." - J.E.B. Stuart on his Union general father-in-law's attitude over him joining the Confederacy.
Mr. Romney has lied only once in this campaign - continuously. He has a credibility gap he does nothing to fix. I will believe him only when he says something so patently true it does not need fact checking.
It's his standard lie: accuse Obama of doing what he does. Then the MSM can turn it into "he says/he says". My disgust at this worthless excuse for a human being is as bottomless as his ignorance and mendacity.
Romney is objecting to the fact that Fox News won't be hosting one of the debates. Fox News is the Comedy Central for people with nearly double-digit IQs.
A big number representing the total number of items chronicled in this series (with a "+N added this week") at the top of the page would be useful.
There should be two numbers. One for unique lies and the other for all lies. Maybe a useful graphic would be good. Kind of like one of those "United Way" thermometers.
Actually, I'm just grateful to get this rundown every Friday! :}
As those above have pointed out, just dredging through the BS every week has got to be mind numbing!
Please keep up with these installments. Through the week I become so frustrated at the constant lies it really helps to see them spelled out. In my 70+ years I've never seen anything like it!