Lunacy or Fraud?
"We need to know the full extent of Senator Obama's relationship with ACORN, who is now on the verge of maybe perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history in this country, maybe destroying the fabric of democracy."When Senator McCain said this, several of the people I was watching the debate with laughed out loud -- but I was really taken aback. There may be a few people out there who sincerely believe that ACORN is a threat to the fabric of democracy -- but most of those people also believe that Senator Obama was raised in a vat by the Bilderbergers, and will immediately institute Muslim Commu-Terrorism when elected. It's the sort of lunatic gibberish one doesn't ordinarily hear in a Presidential debate. So what's going on here?
I can only think of two possibilities: either Senator McCain has gone entirely off the rails, and should be encouraged to check into some sort of quiet, restful facility for his own safety; or the Republicans are laying the groundwork for an election challenge. If the latter is the case, then McCain's job at this point is to keep the vote close enough to make a challenge plausible, while sewing as much doubt as he can about the integrity of the process.
At the risk of venturing into tinfoil-hat territory myself, I have to say I think we need to take this possibility seriously. Watch out for a rash of ostentatiously apprehended "ACORN agents" voting under false names on election day. Then, if the vote in Ohio or Florida comes in with a very tight margin, and the state is enough to tip the electoral balance, watch for a couple weeks of agonized hand wringing over whether to challenge the election or nobly let it go for the sake of the country, as Nixon pretended to do.
Then watch for the lawsuits.
Advertisement
I think I figured out something last night .... maybe. My continual outrage, going back to GWB's first term, is the absolute contempt that the Republicans (or at least the right-wing Reps.) have for the intelligence of the American voters. It's like they think all they have to do is wrap some words around something and they will be believed. The most glaring example of this is Palin's recent statement that she's delighted to have been totally vindicated of any hint of illegal or unethical behavior by the Troopergate report ---- it's obviously a flat-out lie and it's equally obvious that she expects to be believed. I just can't process that and have never been able to.
Last night in the debate, however, I had one of those "light bulb" moments (anyone remember the Ford light bulb ads?). When McCain went on about Ayres and ACORN and then really waded into the mire with the "killing babies that are born alive" crap, I was feeling my usual outrage. I mean, it doesn't take much fact-checking to find out that all those accusations aimed at Obama over these issues are simply unsupported. There's no "there" there. ------------ But suddenly I wondered why a normally intelligent person (McCain) would trot out such transparently fake attacks on such a public, national stage, knowing that if anyone followed them up he would be seen for the fraud he is?
And that's when it hit me: could it be possible that they actually *believe* their own hype? I can understand/believe that they look down on and don't mind making fools of the voters, but are they so blind to reality (like the reality of Obama's limited connection to Ayres or his vote on the medical care for viable infants) that they would willingly look like a fool on the national stage.
I don't know -- it's hard to believe, really, but the thought occurred just for a moment. I can't think of other reasons for a national candidate to make such nonsensical claims on a national stage like that other than that 1) they belive voters are a nation of sheep or 2) they actually believe the argument is convincing because it convinces them. If it's the latter, I don't thihk it's so much lack of intelligence as, I don't know ... lack of logical reasoning, or an utter lack of concern about the connection between facts and argument.
Anyway, that's another possible option -- although it does come awfully close to lunacy, I suppose. At least in my view.
October 16, 2008 2:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, I've thought of that, too, Elizabeth. I certainly think some of their supporters believe it; but I'm not convinced that John McCain believes anything at all anymore, except that he deserves to be President.
October 16, 2008 2:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think what got me going in that direction were the moments last night when McCain looked honestly surprised (as opposed to sarcasic disbelief) when Obama made simple statements, such as his vote on the 'born-alive' issue was not needed to protect those infants and supported by the physicians' associations.
Did he not know that? I did, and I'm not campaigning against the guy for president. And if he didn't know, why in the world would he go into that argument before a national audience without finding out first?
Of course, I just described the decision making practices of the Bush administration, didn't I? "Here's a set of possible facts that support our position, so let's go with it. No need to check the facts - they *could* be true."
October 16, 2008 2:50 PM | Reply | Permalink