John McCain and the Art of the Big Lie

[jefferson_dem]

John McCain and the Art of the Big Lie
from Firedoglake by Ian Welsh

...they more easily fall a victim to a big lie than to a little one, since they themselves lie in little things, but would be ashamed of lies that were too big. Such a falsehood will never enter their heads and they will not be able to believe in the possibility of such monstrous effrontery and infamous misrepresentation in others; yes, even when enlightened on the subject, they will long doubt and waver, and continue to accept at least one of these causes as true. - Mein Kampf, Chapter 10

John McCain on fighting for equal rights:

I am proud of that record, from fighting for the recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday in my state . . .

John McCain's actual record:

McCain Supported Gov. Evan Mecham’s Decision In 1987 To Rescind Martin Luther King Jr. Day. As reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer, “In a vote likely to haunt him for the rest of his public career, McCain voted against 1983 legislation establishing the third Monday in January as the federal holiday marking King’s birthday. Back home in Arizona, he supported Gov. Evan Mecham’s decision in 1987 to rescind an executive order creating a state holiday for King, but later reversed his position.”

Ari Rabin-Havt has more.

This is a pattern for McCain, and it's a pattern learned from Bush and Rove. Lie, lie big and lie often and enough people will believe you. Even if your lie is rebutted many people will never read the rebuttal and even of those who do, many will forget. People tend to believe not that which is true, but that which they hear most often. This is how over 70% of Americans came to believe that Iraq was behind 9/11 (false). Sure, folks eventually came around, but it took years, huge casualties and a long nasty insurgency. If the US had had what Bush expected - a quick and easy war, most Americans would always have believed Iraq was behind 9/11.

Now that was a much bigger lie than this, but the principle remains. Don't shilly shally, don't dance around a question—act like a truth teller and say it straight, even if it's a lie.

http://firedoglake.com/2008/08/02/john-mccain-and-the-art-of-the-big-lie/

[FrenchieCat]

1. McCain is a small man and a big liar!

[BlooInBloo]

2. Rule #1: Make sure you're talking to fucking idiots who already 1/2 believe the shit you're spewing.

[Gabi Hayes]

3. whose profile is this?

His primary rules were: never allow the public to cool off; never admit a fault or wrong; never concede that there may be some good in your enemy; never leave room for alternatives; never accept blame; concentrate on one enemy at a time and blame him for everything that goes wrong; people will believe a big lie sooner than a little one; and if you repeat it frequently enough people will sooner or later believe it.<3>

[Gabi Hayes]

4. then, there's this

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”