I think we're doing too much whining about Romney's and the GOP's unending string of lies, from their bullshit claim that Obama ended welfare-to-work rules (race resentment tactic directed at whites) to their bogus assertion that Obama gutted Medicare to fund Obamacare (persuade seniors).
We have to accept the fact that Romney and the conservative Super PACS are going to lie -- enormously and continuously -- from now through election day, and that they have the money -- way more than we do -- to carry out this assault on the truth. Lying is their only path to victory with a ticket headed by the unlikeable Mitt Romney.
So, that said, how do we fight it? How does the Obama braintrust fight it? How do liberal Super PACs fight it? As Josh Marshall noted yesterday, the phony welfare ads may be having an effect in swing states where conservative spending is the highest.
Can the conservatives lie their way to victory in November? They have the money to pound their lies into swing states at rates that our side just can't match.
We need to figure out creative ways to counteract their lies forcefully and repeatedly, especially since we are outgunned in terms of dollars.
So instead of wasting our time becoming outraged at yet another example of an egregious, bald-faced, hypocritical conservative fabrication meant to sway some persuadable element of the voting public, we need to apply our creative and strategic thinking -- our ability to think outside the box and color outside the lines -- and come up with simple, elegant ways to show America just what liars these people are and how damaging their lies will be if implemented.
I'm thinking of simple, clear infographics, video messages, door-to-door flyers/door hangers/hand-outs, ideas for ads (TV/radio/online), anything that easily displays each of these conservative lies.
I know we have the creative firepower to do just that. We need to line up these lies and attack them directly. The claim that Obama is gutting Medicare to fund Obamacare? Who can come up with a simple, clear infographic that pops that balloon and that any voter, no matter how old, can understand at a glance? The lie that Obama eased welfare-to-work rules? How can we produce a printed piece that, at a glance, destroys that lie and shows how destructive this conservative bulllshit is to our nation?
Let's apply our energies to destroying these lies. As another diary on the reclist notes, our current Outrage Meter is pinned in the red. We need to funnel that energy into something useful that advances our cause.
Ideas welcome!
(That said, we still need to do the hard work involved in any election, and that's getting out the vote!)
