Another post about Republican politics — because, cf. Heinlein, this is currently the greatest threat to the advancement of American society. Trump is a buffoon; Carson a mild-mannered religious zealot; Cruz an megalomaniac, evangelical religious zealot; Christie a political clown; Fiorina an unrepentant liar; Jindal and Huckabee religious zealots. Is anyone left? Perhaps Marco Rubio? Well, no.<\/p>\n
Slate: Rubio Is Lying About Hillary Lying<\/a>.<\/p>\n He accuses Hillary Clinton of lying about the Benghazi attacks. But “The Republican candidate\u2019s claims about Hillary Clinton and Benghazi fall apart under scrutiny.”<\/p>\n Narrative over reality:<\/p>\n \nOn right-wing websites, you\u2019ll find plenty of affirmation for this myth. National Review<\/em>, Red State<\/em>, Townhall.com<\/em>, the Daily Caller<\/em>, and other outlets agree<\/a> that Clinton \u201cblamed the \u2018awful Internet video\u2019 for the massacre<\/a>,\u201d told \u201cthe American public that the anti-Islam video was what caused the attack<\/a>,\u201d and \u201cwas the author of the lie about what caused the attack<\/a>.\u201d But when you click their links and study their evidence, the case falls apart.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And conviction over honesty, as the writer William Saletan concludes:<\/p>\n \nClinton avoided saying what she didn\u2019t believe to be true. She\u2019s careful with her words. Rubio isn\u2019t. His butchery of the Benghazi story\u2014the intelligence, the context, the public record\u2014betrays a disregard for evidence that doesn\u2019t fit his agenda. He delivers his falsehoods with absolute self-assurance. What unites Rubio with Cruz, and distinguishes him from Bush, isn\u2019t that Rubio sometimes says things that aren\u2019t true. It\u2019s that he does it without compunction.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n My bold: What unites Rubio with Cruz, and distinguishes him from Bush, isn\u2019t that Rubio sometimes says things that aren\u2019t true. It\u2019s that he does it without compunction.<\/b><\/p>\n Politics. Narratives. Social groups. And the realization that the history of the world, acknowledged to be written by winners, must be affected by this same kind thinking, in which powerful speakers say things that aren’t truth, but which their audiences want to believe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Another post about Republican politics — because, cf. Heinlein, this is currently the greatest threat to the advancement of American society. Trump is a buffoon; Carson a mild-mannered religious zealot; Cruz an megalomaniac, evangelical religious zealot; Christie a political clown; … Continue reading