Give ’em Hell Joe exposes Lyin’ Ryan, the media villagers cry

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

During a speech a supporter yelled out "Give 'em Hell, Harry!," to which President Truman replied, "I don't give them Hell. I just tell the truth about them and they think it's Hell."

I have written at length about how this election is the first time in American history that a political party is fully invested in a Big Lie propaganda campaign. The "Galt – Gekko 2012" campaign has said that we are going to lie to you and we are daring the media to call us liars, but we will continue our "big lie" propaganda because if you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth for many low information voters. The audacity of this strategy is breathtaking, and if rewarded by voters, poses a serious threat to the continuing survival of our democracy.

So how does one deal with an opponent in a debate who is invested in "big lie" propaganda? One is forced to point out that his opponent is lying, through words and mannerisms that his opponent is lying.

This is what President Obama resisted doing during his debate with the shameless shapeshifter and pathological liar, Willard "Mittens" Romney. Obama later explained that he thought pointing out that Romney was lying would be "too repetitive." He has resisted calling Romney a "liar." Romney has worn out whole teams of fact checkers with his lies in the hope that they will simply give up out of sheer exhaustion. Obama cannot afford to do this, he must point out that Romney is lying each time he does it and be willing to call him a "liar" to his face.

Vice President Joe Biden did his job last night in his debate with Rep. Paul Ryan. Through his words and mannerisms, Give 'em Hell Joe exposed Lyin' Ryan for the liar and con man that he is.

How did the feckless media villagers respond? Chris Cillizza sums up the consensus view of feckless media villagers everywhere: "Biden’s derisive smiles and laughs while Ryan tried to answer questions weren’t great optics for the vice president . . . it felt to us like he went a little bit overboard and, at times, bordered on bullying Ryan." Winners and losers in the vice presidential debate. Joe was mean for pointing out that Lyin' Ryan was, you know, lying!

Not all media villagers shared this "optics over substance" media villager formulation. Fellow media villager Dana Milbank gets it right. "Many will criticize Biden’s antics on the debate stage: loud guffaws, grimaces, raising his arms and looking heavenward, interjecting with “Oh, God,” and “this is amazing.” But all of the scoffing and incredulity was to an end, and one that Obama would be wise to emulate: It indicated outrage." Damn right! One should be outraged when one's opponent is engaging in "big lie" propaganda. 

A 'big lie" propaganda campaign relies on media complicity to spread and continuously repeat the "big lie" propaganda. There are many in the media today who are guilty, knowingly or duplicitous, in aiding and abetting this strategy. Hell, there is an entire closed-loop right wing noise machine media built upon this premise.

It is the duty of the media, the only business given explicit protections in the Constitution, to be the "watchdog of democracy." Far too many of our corporate media villagers are failing miserably in their duty.