The New Republican Apologists' Strategy Emerges? "Shotgun" Talking Points

[ChoppinBroccoli]

Over the past few weeks, but especially recently, I think I've caught on to a new trend in the ongoing "debate" between right-wing mouth-breathers and the rest of us. I've been noticing that all the righties seem to do is spew out crap and then move on, leaving us to then go do the actual research to debunk it (and by the time it's debunked, they've already spewed forth about ten more pieces of crap). It's a strategy I've termed "shotgunning" talking points, and I've been noticing it with alarming frequency from Republican Apologists lately.

It all started (or at least I first noticed it) a few weeks ago. My wife, who is a reformed Republican, but whose family is still staunchly Republican (including a father who never takes his TV off of Faux News and thinks Bush was the best President we've ever had), has been getting rides to and from work from her father (she's in the late stages of pregnancy and is so big that she has trouble walking, so he takes her to work every morning and picks her up in the evening and brings her home). In addition to having to deal with Rush Limbaugh being played in the car on the way home every evening, she also gets talking points spewed at her on the way home, which she then repeats to me and asks me, "Is that true?" I then, like most people on our side, go right to the internet and show her that it is absolutely NOT true. But the problem remains, there's a new one every day. For example, he keeps telling her about things she needs to do "right now, before the government raises the prices," or before the government bans or taxes it. He also likes to scare her about her pregnancy (an issue she's very sensitive about), by telling her things like, "the government is trying to crack down on women having C-sections" (this one upset her because she's very tiny, and she was unable to have either of our first two children WITHOUT C-sections, and this third one is a scheduled C-section as well). So, after a few weeks of this happening almost every day, I got frustrated and started wondering why we on the left are ALWAYS on the DEfensive, always running to debunk the latest pile of crap the righties have just MADE UP and hope people will believe. Why aren't WE "creating some realities" for THEM to believe? But the problem is, I'm now starting to see this "tactic" show up almost everywhere.

Just today, on another message board that has absolutely NOTHING to do with politics (it's a sports message board, however, most of the people on it are southern redneck Republicans), a discussion was started that referenced the price of gas. Not even with the intention of starting a political discussion; it was just REFERENCED in regard to a different, unrelated topic. Within a few posts, here's what popped up:

1. Gas is almost $1.00 more per gallon now than it was last year (a veiled reference to high gas prices being the fault of the Democrats).

2. When someone pointed out that gas prices always go up when the economy is in recovery, he got this response: "When and IF this nation recovers. Right now the odds are not looking so good."

3. "Tell Obama to keep his hands out of the cookie jar."

(Numbers 4 through 12 were all statements made by the SAME poster in a SINGLE post)

4. Fuel prices are expected to rise all summer.

5. "The unemployment figures were adjusted to remove seasonal unemployment this last month so to say it is evening or leveling off is ridiculous at best."

6. "Florida's current Unemployment just exceeded over 12% for the first time ever since the crash of 1929."

7. "The current real unemployment is around 18% due to many running out of unemployment checks and still unable to find work."

8. "AT & T just announced they will be spending an extra 1 BILLION dollars just to cover the NEW Health Care Bill passed...so expect a lot of businesses to start dropping coverage they currently offer and just pay the penalties to the IRS."

9. "Taxes are expected to increase for everyone who currently works due to the end of the President Bush tax cuts this year. They were not renewed by Congress at the demand of the current President."

10. "Most people did not receive a COLA this last year and many took pay cuts and were pretty well glad they still were able to work....while prices have been steadily rising on most consumer goods."

11. "There are a lot of hurting people out there and a lot of good economist do not see any real good news in the near future."

12. (In response to a statement that oil is finite and eventually we will run out): "Not gonna happen for many & many years yet. They discover more and more oil everyday but currently the President and Congress refuse to allow the U.S. to recover the oil due to pressure from the greenies. Do you not find it ridiculous that Russia just announced they had struck a deal with Cuba to start drilling off OUR SOUTHERN COAST for OUR OIL...yet our hands are currently tied."

13. "i think we will have a program here shortly that will make the middle class pay for all the people who cant affoard a car to: 1) Buy a car, 2) Pay for their gas."

14. "I have a friend who's wife is 7 months pregnant and their company just told them that they no longer had health insurance. They've go to foot the rest of the bill and she's having complications. No telling what it's going to cost them."

15. "I had a better solution to solving health care. How about this, why is health care not affordable? 1) Out of control medicine prices 2) out of control doctor bills 3) out of control ability to sue anyone for anything. how about we attack those ******* things and make it so WE CAN BUY HEALTH CARE and not just continue to pay outragous prices. A good 1/4 of my check goes to taxes, this will make it worse."

16. "Ive been asking all along how, and who is paying for this. Someone else I hear said taxes are going up across the board. I saw on CNN and or Fox that the average dues taxes are going to go up 140 bucks."


And bear in mind, ALL these talking points got "shotgunned" at us over the course of just a few hours on an internet message board geared toward something OTHER than politics. I actually tried to go do some searches and debunk a lot of the craziness I saw spouted above and just decided that the the sheer volume was so much that it just wouldn't be worth it (and it's not like they'd believe any of it anyway). I think that might be the very root of the reason why this has become the new right-wing "strategy." Just keep throwing shit on the wall in such volume that the brainwashed will eat it all up and the people concerned with truth will either be so overworked trying to debunk it that they'll get tired of it and give up, or in any event, they'll be so busy that they won't be able to mount any Offense of their own.

So again I ask, why isn't OUR side engaging in some of this stuff? I'd LOVE to see Boner constantly being harassed about something completely made up, like he molests Collies or something, and has a Collie puppy mill somewhere in Ohio (for those who don't know, puppy mills are a big deal here in Ohio--one of the worst States, if not THE worst, in the country for puppy mills) where he inbreeds Collies specifically for his own sexual fulfillment (they have to be inbred so they don't fight back and/or run away). You know, something like that. Then link him to Michael Vick or something. I'm telling you WE should be doing some of this dirty shit just to show the righties that they don't have a corner on dirty pool. Wouldn't you just LOVE to see him confronted at EVERY press conference about this issue? His orange spray-on tan running as he sweats profusely under the media interrogation? People shaking signs with pictures of Collies on them, etc.?

[WCGreen]

1. Those people are nuts...

Gas hasn't gone up a buck this year...

It went up over a $ 2.00 back in 2006...

[kestrel91316]

2. I dunno. I don't waste my time talking to people like that, online OR in person.

[tom_paine]

3. The Left has no comparable structure to the RW Lie Machine and the Corporate M$M

which enables them and is essentially fused with them.

That is how they control the "Center of Gravity" and wrench it ever-further to the RW Authoritarianism and Corporate Neofeudalism.

You see, most people get their news from Cable TV or broadcast news. The Corporate M$M have been Gleichschaltung-ed by the incessant RW multiple assault tactics, which have been evermore successful mostly because the Left (at least it's leadership) is either clueless or refuses to see what is in front of them.

Things are so far gone now, it's too late. The RW launders their lies much in the same way money is laundered, by getting a compliant, cowed and ofetn complicit Corporate M$M to inject it into the national Dialog.

It doesn't have to be true, because the Corporate M$M seldom investigates RW claims and even when they are debunked,continue to repeat them as if they were true.

So, the strategy you suggest, while lowering ourselves to their level of autoritarian propaganda, is also impossible because the Corporate M$M works for the RW Corporations.

Ultimately the problem is that we in this nation have allowed the RW Nazi Propaganda Machine (v2.0 - The American Version) to grow to such a point that it is impossible.

There is no fact the RW can't obfuscate, no matter how clearly demonstrable. There is no lie, however demonstrably incorrect, that can't be laundered into "conventional wisdom" by the RW Lie Machine and Corporate M$M that follows in it's wake like an obedient puppy dog, even after the lie has been debunked.

How do you beat something that has grown so large, is so entrenched it is pretty much a part of the Corporate M$M, and rewrites reality a hundred times more subtly that their RW Nazi counterparts that even full debunking can't stop?

[Warren Stupidity]

4. "a new trend "?

The bullshit barrage strategy has been part of the game plan since at least '92. Ain't nothing new about it.

[pscot]

5. Some of that stuff is true

1, 2, 7, 8, 10 & 11. The rest is either made up bullshit or uninformed speculation. Unfortunately it's like living in mosquito country. Ya can't kill 'em all. Some people are just gonna believe what they want to believe. He's her dad and he knows just where to stick the needle. Be patient and stick to the truth. She'll get over it after the baby comes and she's not riding in his car every day. And get a goddamned vasectomy so she doesn't have go through any more fucking c-sections.

[Enthusiast]

6. You are right.

On any kind of message board or forum you will find these right wing bullies. They are EVERYWHERE. And they spout the same kind of nonsense you are speaking of. Apparently they see this as war.

Check out this interesting segment of a motorcycle forum. But this one has good left wing representation, unlike most I've seen. http://www.advrider.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=49

[ChoppinBroccoli]

7. Aaaaaand It Continues............

Here's more from the SAME poster who shotgunned about 10 talking points into one post above:

1. (Responding to the statement that there is no downside to exploring alternative energy sources): "I agree but there is also no downside to drill for oil off our coast instead of letting other nations rob our own oil. Why can't both be done at the same time? That way we could finally do away with having to base our own strategic interest around the middle eastern fanatics."

2. "As far as the science of both pro & con on this global warming? Until the side that is demanding all the press and shutting out all opposition decides to actually open up their books and have meaningful dialog...there are going to be people who see it as only a political agenda. I am strongly against pollution and have been since back in the 60's...but as far as this Global Warming stuff goes...I actually await to see both sides of the argument before making what then I would believe an intelligent informed decision. Until then...I have severe doubts."

He was then hit with the following response: "There is absolutely a down side to drilling for oil, its invasive to the environment (which is kinda the point of finding alternate fuel sources). And its hard to have meaningful dialogue with the other side when all they keep saying is, "We think you count your numbers wrong" and "It snowed a bunch today in New York, must mean climate change isn't real"...... And it makes it especially hard when the other side has a vested interest in the preservation of the oil industry."

And logged the following reply (again, this is all in a single post):

3. "See...there you go so this is the last time I will address this to you.

We were not the ones who were caught falsifying data and refusing to open up the books on information gathered and research. Your side was also ORDERED by the COURTS to publish the figures but refused to do so and got caught manipulating not only the figures but also the system to exclude any other dialog by scientist or the press.

Saying drilling for oil is invasive to the environment is meaningless as the new technique is quite user friendly except in the hands of third world governments and countries like Russia...which I previously mentioned will be drilling off our coast stealing our oil and most likely doing it in a much more unsafe way I might add.

Your side wishes to cripple the USA to the point of no longer Americans being able to travel or deliver goods all in the feeling that ...that is the only way to have new research. Pretty dumb idea as this nation is already reaping terrible jobs losses and high unemployment. Our debt limit is already out of sight and we are on the verge of losing our triple A bond status...but by all means let us go down the tubes all in the face of claiming CO2 is killing us. OPEN the books and be honest and then we can have meaningful dialog but until then...you only are on one side of a two sided argument."


I about fell out of my chair when I read the whole "falsifying data" thing. Yeah, there WAS one side that was caught falsifying their data, but it WASN'T the pro-science side. See what I mean? This is how shit gets twisted around and a war hero becomes a coward while a deserter becomes a war hero.