Monday, July 18, 2011

Reality vs. Democratic Scare Tactics

In the past I've repeatedly laughed at those who accused the GOP of so-called "fearmongering," and pointed out that scaring voters with worst-case scenarios (and outright falsehoods) is a standard political tactic used by both sides. We've seen dishonest scare-tactics used repeatedly by Democrats in the struggle over the debt ceiling, with the most dramatic being President Obama's attempt to make seniors believe that might not get their social security checks because of those evil, irresponsible Republicans. Scaring seniors is a time-honored Democratic political move.

There's an excellent article at Reason.com by Veronique de Rugy called, "The Facts About the Debt Ceiling." It counteracts the myths being spread point by point. The bottom line is that the U.S. can use various fiscal maneuvering to stave off a default, even if an agreement isn't reached. The August 2 deadline is arbitrary. Eventually there has to be an agreement, the debt ceiling has to be raised, or spending has to be cut dramatically. I'd be willing to bet that despite the GOP's valiant stand, the last option is the least likely.

5 comments:

  1. there is no difference between the two....

    and the winner of the ORWELL PRIZE is...

    freethinking.sotoman.info/index.php?topic=1995.msg10504

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  2. You excuse the fallacies of one as "a standard political tactic" while condemning the other explicitly in the title, even though you freely admit it is done by "both sides?" I don't really get it...

    Also, I'm a little off-put by your implication that there are only two sides, especially since the two sides you present are not fair representations of what people who on either side actually claim to be. I guess I just see a difference between liberals and Democrats, as I see a difference between conservatives and Republicans. The former are people, like the latter are politicians and the wealthy interests who purchased them.

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  3. "You excuse the fallacies of one as "a standard political tactic" while condemning the other explicitly in the title, even though you freely admit it is done by "both sides?" I don't really get it..."

    I'm commenting on a specific instance.

    "Also, I'm a little off-put by your implication that there are only two sides"

    We have a two-party system. When I'm talking about political fights (especially in Congress), there are usually two main sides.

    " guess I just see a difference between liberals and Democrats, as I see a difference between conservatives and Republicans. "

    There can be a difference yes. People can be generally conservative or liberal and be politially independent. There are also liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats. But you'll notice that I didn't say anything about liberals or conservatives in the post.

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  5. UN PRESIDENT HUGH HEWITT, US PRESIDENT HUGH HEWITT, US SENATE HUGH HEWITT, US HOUSE HUGH HEWITT, GOVERNOR HUGH HEWITT, LT GOVERNOR HUGH HEWITT: BEST MAJOR CANDIDATE.

    ReplyDelete