Even Halperin Won't Defend gop Tactics

[babylonsister]

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_04/023421.php

EVEN HALPERIN WON'T DEFEND GOP TACTICS.... It was a lively discussion on "Morning Joe" this morning, when White House economic adviser Austan Goolsbee appeared to discuss Wall Street reform. In particular, he explained why GOP talking points about "bailouts" aren't just wrong, but are in fact the opposite of reality.

Video at link~

Goolsbee also did a nice job highlighting the GOP's motivations for repeating obvious nonsense: "Everybody knows a consultant just handed them that line and they're just reading it. It doesn't matter what's in the bill. It could be a bill about breakfast cereal and they're going to say this is a bailout bill."

But what was especially interesting this morning was the moment when host Joe Scarborough turned to Time's Mark Halperin, and urged him to "defend the Republican position" on the legislation. Halperin, who often seems more than sympathetic to the GOP line, couldn't bring himself to support the Republican arguments.

"I cannot defend what they're doing," Halperin said. "They are willfully misreading the bill or they are engaged in a cynical attempt to keep the president from achieving something."

Note to Republicans: when even Mark Halperin is calling you out for lying, the conventional wisdom is turning against you.

—Steve Benen

[emulatorloo]

1. Willful Misreading = REPUBLICAN 101

It is pretty much all they do

[high density]

2. Opposite of reality

That seems to be where the GOP has been for a while now. So far it's been working OK for them, because the media plays everything as R vs D instead of actually fact checking what is said.

[polichick]

3. The "lying liars" are at it again! nt

[BootinUp]

4. It didn't matter so much when dubya

was in there, he was the decider and all, but they will find it harder to win any battles now with this strategy.