No one seems to be writing opinion pieces quite the way I would, so I decided to do it myself.

The name? Taverns are places where one goes to discuss the interesting events and things in the world, so this is my tavern.

I will offer my views on politics, economics, and whatever else strikes my fancy.
I will occasionally publish the entire article from another journal for purposes of causing discussion.

 

How Do Republicans Run Against the Truth about their Lies? Poorly.

This from Kos at Daily Kos.

"The Bush Administration is now in a quandary, never before faced by a political campaign. EVERY WORD IT UTTERS can be instantly fact checked and vetted against previous administration proclamations. And the press, lazy as it is, doesn't even have to do the research. They simply have to read the blogs (and they certainly do). The party can pick the best bits of the day and mold them into spin and talking points."

"For an administration and a party built on ignorance, short-term memory and outright lies (see post Daily Kos post by HippoRider below), the harsh glare of this new medium must be excruciating. "

Karl Rove, the Bush Boy Genius has been the master of the campaign built on ignorance and lies. But if that set of techniques he has so mastered is failing, where does he go? Can he adapt? The indications are so far that he cannot. Martin Sieff, Senior News Analyst at the Moonie-Owned
UPI questions if Rove may not be on the way out. If Rove can't adapt, then he needs to go before he drags the Bush reelection campaign into the ditch with him.

But where does the Bush campaign go if their campaign cannot succeed if it is based on ignorance and lies? The people who got them into office are not going to change into choirboys overnight. The normal reaction of people who are failing is to put greater effort into more extreme actions.

The Republicans have succeeded so far by skirting the edges of illegality, and successfully (in most cases) staying just to the right side of the line where unethical lies and actions cross over to illegal lies and actions. My prediction is that the Republicans will cross over the line into outright illegality, in hope that they don't get caught before the election.

That is exactly the mindset that Nixon (with a great deal less justification) had going into the 1972 election, and it led to Watergate.

So be on the lookout for Republican criminality. It is as predictable as the nasty nature of Republican conservatism. It is coming.
posted by Richard at 2:23 PM