Whoops Top Republican Admits That GOP Is Running "Ministry Of Truth" Against Obama

[southern_belle]

Source: Talking Points Memo

Wow -- a leading Republican appears to have just inadvertently admitted that the GOP's spin machine set up to counter Barack Obama during the convention is a propaganda machine spewing nothing but lies.

The GOPer in question is Colorado GOP chairman Dick Wadhams, who accidentally made the admission when describing the GOP's war room in Denver set up to hammer Obama during convention week.

Wadhams described the GOP's outfit thusly to the Denver Post: "Just consider this the Ministry of Truth."

Um, as anybody who has ever read George Orwell knows, the Ministry of Truth exists to disseminate false propaganda about how great the ruling regime is, continuously rewriting both history and the present-day facts in order to maintain total control over the population.



Read more: http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/08/whoops_top_republican_admits_t.php

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More to the story also at http://www.politicswest.com/28818/republicans_set_war_room_near_downtown

[DisgustipatedinCA]

1. Dick Wadhams?

Nevermind, it's just too easy; it wouldn't be fair.

[southern_belle]

3. Thank you for the k & r

:hi:

I appreciate any and all kicks to get this story out.

[Froward69]

8. the news papers will not let

us type his name "dick" but will allow "DickWad-hams". yeah it is easy and fun!

[CTyankee]

9. The guy should at least refer to himself as Richard...

that's as bad as the name of a male R.N., a prostate counselor with a urology practice, whose name was Greg Jackowsky...

[volstork]

16. Oh, I'LL do it...

Dick. Wadhams.

Heh, heh, heh.

You just can't make this stuff up!

[cliffordu]

17. Really.

:rofl:

[lonestarnot]

23. Dick wad hams OMG

:spray: :rofl:

[KamaAina]

26. The '-hams' is silent

There! Ahhh, that felt good...

[racaulk]

41. !

:rofl:

Nice one! :thumbsup:

[Botany]

60. meet Dick Wadhams

[rasputin1952]

81. That guy looks creepy! the kind of guy everyone in the neighborhood

watches because you know sooner or later, this guy's gonna wind up in the paper...:scared:

[madamesilverspurs]

64. Well, there IS a reason

that we in Colorado refer to him as Dick Wad. . .

[Richard Steele]

73. He's the kind of guy who gives Dicks a bad name. nm

[Robbien]

2. They are doing a great job at it

Less than one percent of coverage has to do with the issues with most of the rest of the time the media pontificates about the so called lack of unity in the Democratic party. And lots of air time given to the GOP response to the Dem convention.

[southern_belle]

5. Oh, yes. They know they can't win on the issues

:shrug:

[Matariki]

4. They've been using Orwell's book as a 'user manual'

instead of the cautionary tale it's meant to be.

[southern_belle]

6. I never did read Orwell's book, but

I guess I won't have to - just watch the Democratic coverage on MSM!.

I think it's time for another donation to Barack's campaign. http://www.barackobama.com/index.php

[Otto DeFay]

30. 1984 was great but

'Politics and the English Language' was a brilliant essay. Kind of like the little book 'How TO Lie With Statistics", a veritable user manual that no one should be unfamiliar with

[BrklynLiberal]

34. I took statistics in College, and our teacher showed exactly how that is done...

[intheflow]

37. Donate through DU!

(See banner, above. :hi:)

[AlbertCat]

44. Read it! It's great!

I had never read it either. But I started reading it January 1, 1984 and couldn't put it down.


And see the film with John Hurt and Richard Burton. Very good book-to-screen adaptation.

[southern_belle]

62. I HAVE to read it now!

:D

[GTurck]

77. Read also...

"Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley. Coupled with "1984" you have the perfect description of the past 30 years.
It is so bizarre to confront that at first but when you are embedded in insanity it is extremely difficult to realize what is going on and both these books - called dystopia's by the way - really help to see it.

[WhoIsNumberNone]

83. Then rent "They Live"

Suddenly everything about the Bush administration will make sense

[JerseygirlCT]

32. Oh yes. It's really scary. nt

[margotb822]

47. You mean the Protect America Act

and the PATRIOT Act are not actually for patriotism and protection?!?!?

:sarcasm:

That's been this disgraceful administration's best tool...

[Greyskye]

7. What an illiterate turd

Props for speaking the truth for once, anyway. :eyes:

[ChairmanAgnostic]

58. dickWad hams.

he knows how to rit his name.

[RedLetterRev]

10. Kick

Dickwad hams indeed. His mama had to have been prescient.

[Gamey]

11. This is news how?

[PassingFair]

12. I am sure the idiot has NO IDEA where Winston Smith worked.

Really, NO IDEA.

He probably thinks it sounds "religiony".

[nxylas]

15. Hey the guy's a Republican

His party's official policy is that books other than The Bible and My Pet Goat are only good for kindling.

[valerief]

21. Religiony. Groovy adjective. nt

[progdonkey]

25. and probably thinks Orwell was a hardcore right-winger...

Since the villain of Animal Farm was a Stalin stand-in, and the omnipresent Party in 1984 is English Socialism, Orwell was obviously a right winger. Just as the Ministry of Truth is completely literal.

This isn't a case of a Freudian Slip--it's a case of a stupid, illiterate dumbfuck who has no clue what the words he's speaking mean.

[demo dutch]

dupe

[demo dutch]

13. That's how they play and .... I'm not sure what the Obama campaign is waiting for

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

14. ...with the aiding and abetting of the M$M, of course...

[CitizenPatriot]

18. my response on DIgg

McSame -- bringing you four more years of failed Bush policies, broken laws and constitutional violations.

"Just consider this the Ministry of Truth," ...George Orwell's '1984.'?

The Ministry of Truth is involved with news media -- Its purpose is to rewrite history and change the facts to fit party doctrine, for propaganda effect. For those of us in the know, this is no different than Bushco, eh?

Saw a McCainer driving a Hummer through the convention streets which accused dems of "plagerizing" something (wtf?). What a riot! Sadly misinformed, ignorant to boot. They don't realize their own candidate has plagiarized and so has his wife-- and there's proof of it. That's what happens when you're a mainstream media sheeple -- you don't even have a clue what's really going on. They will all be saved by us, the very people their small minds are attacking.

And for a little humor, let's not forget that the McSames claimed Mother Theresa told them to adopt a baby. They told this to Vanity Fair and had it on their website. Ooops, turns out Cindy never met Mother Theresa and she kinda...lied. Is that like "plagerizing"? Were the recipes Cindy stole from the Food Network and passed off as "family recipes" plagiarism? Nah. Of course she doesn't have any recipes and of course she stole them. Par for the course. It's called character, people!

Don't forget she was cheating with a married man for years and had a marriage certificate filed the day after he filed for divorce. I hope the old Ministry of Truth overlooks her "plagerism" of prescriptions. Or is that just fraud? yeah, I think it's illegal. Well, what are charities for if you can't use them to steal drugs for yourself?

Wish the Republican followers would learn to spell and use factcheck or snopes before spewing out their ignorance on national tv and embarrassing the nation. It hurts everytime I see it.

What happened to No Child Left Behind, Bush? Why are all of your followers willfully ignorant, uneducated and misinformed?

[CitizenPatriot]

20. p.s. these are my "talking points" of the day

and I will reply to any questions with these talking points, and then finish off with the economy.

Fahrenheit 451 is hitting it too; sisters and brothers talking to us from TV walls, TV destroying greater knowledge through soundibtes and for kicks, the govt drugging it's sheeple.

[barack the house]

22. One person said George Orwell got it so right on his prediction of the future as he knew the elite.

[Amonester]

74. Yeah. Why are all of * followers willfully ignorant, uneducated and misinformed?

And the true answer is:

Because. That's. How. *&Co. WANT. Them. To. Be.

Because. That's. How. *&Co. Can. Steal. Trillions. And. Get. Away. With. Their. Fraud$&MurderS. Unpunished.

Now. To. CHANGE. That. Wrong. Track. Is. Absolutely. Mandatory.

[nvme]

19. Orwell reference

interesting point but the people who he is targeting Probably will confuse George Orwell with Orson Wells and think he is selling more wine.

[Wetzelbill]

24. That might be the best Republican name ever.

I mean seriously guy, if you want to go by a nickname go with Rich. Every single time somebody ever says his name they say "Dickwad" that can't be a good thing for him. Funny for everybody else on earth, but not for him.

[Ian David]

27. J. Michael Stravinsky didn't sleep for days when he learned Cheney was a fan of Babylon 5.

<snip>

Rise of a Dictatorship

In the years after the Earth-Minbari War, the Earth Alliance began a massive effort to rebuild its military strength. Great emphasis was placed upon the development of new and improved weapons and warships. By 2257 a planetary defense grid protected the Earth; the defense grid consisted of orbital platforms armed with antiship missiles, particle-beam cannons, and plasma energy cannons. Additionally, larger and more powerful warships, such as the new Omega-class Destroyers, were built, and a new class of fighter was developed that was faster and better-armed than the older versions, and which could fly into a planetary atmosphere as well as space. The Earth Alliance also hoped to prevent another war by starting the Babylon Project. With help from the Minbari, the Earth Alliance planned to construct an enormous space station which would serve to create better understanding between humans and aliens, and would allow ambassadors from various galactic governments to peacefully debate their differences without resorting to war. The first three Babylon stations were sabotaged or destroyed by anti-alien terrorists from Earth. The Babylon 4 station was successfully built, but it mysteriously vanished just a few hours before coming on-line. Finally, the Babylon 5 station was built and opened in 2257 to interstellar commerce and diplomacy.

However, despite the successful opening of Babylon 5, trouble was brewing within the Earth Alliance. A growing number of people within Earthgov - including high-level politicians, generals, and members of PsiCorps - became determined to sabotage the Babylon Project. These people were deeply suspicious of alien races (especially the Minbari) and wanted Earth to become more isolationist and xenophobic. Eventually this group was aided by a mysterious man named Morden, who spoke for an ancient and extremely powerful alien race known only as the Shadows. With Morden's help and encouragement, a group of Earthgov officials, led by Vice-President Morgan Clark, conspired to kill Luis Santiago, the President of the Earth Alliance. In 2258 Santiago was killed in an "accidental" explosion of his starship, EarthForce One, and Vice-President Clark assumed the Presidency. Once secure in office, Clark secretly but steadily put his loyal followers in positions to control EarthForce and EarthGov. He also began turning the Earth Alliance into a fascist, Orwellian military state, organizing groups such as "Nightwatch", a secret police force, to spy on "disloyal" humans. He also renamed several Earthgov agencies, so that the Ministry of Defense became the "Ministry of Peace", and the Ministry of Information became the "Ministry of Truth". These names hint to George Orwell's novel 1984. However, the Chairman of the EarthForce Joint Chiefs of Staff, General William Hague, suspected foul play in Santiago's death. He covertly formed his own network to uncover the truth about Santiago's death. ("All Alone in the Night") If Clark was implicated, Hague planned to present his evidence to the Earth Senate to have Clark impeached and removed from office. One of the members of Hague's network was Captain John Sheridan, a hero of the Earth-Minbari war and the commander of Babylon 5. Sheridan eventually brought the rest of Babylon 5's command staff into the network, and together they slowly but steadily accumulated evidence implicating Clark in Santiago's death. ("Hunter, Prey", "Voices of Authority")

In 2260 Commander Susan Ivanova, B5's executive officer, uncovered solid proof that Clark had planned and participated in President Santiago's death. When this evidence was presented to the Earth Senate, Clark suddenly declared martial law and suspended the Earth Alliance Constitution. Now a dictator in all but name, Clark disbanded the Earth Senate, placed military troops in charge of all the Earth's major cities, crushed any open opposition, and seized control of the news media, such as the Interstellar Network News. He used the news media to spread propaganda supporting his views and to broadcast the lie that he declared martial law to prevent aliens from taking control of the Earth. Such traditional rights as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and free elections were all abolished by Clark.

However, a resistance movement quickly developed. Led by General Hague, a number of EarthForce warships refused to obey Clark's orders and started a rebellion. Several Earth colonies, such as Mars, refused to carry out Clark's martial law orders; EarthForce ships loyal to Clark then bombed Mars and attacked any colony which resisted Clark's rule. Two major Earth colonies, Proxima 3 and Orion 7, seceded from the Earth Alliance; they were joined by Babylon 5. This led Clark to send a sizable fleet of warships loyal to him to seize control of Babylon 5 and arrest its command staff. However, Captain Sheridan joined with the rebel Earth warships EAS Churchill and EAS Alexander, and Minbari warships, to defeat the attacking Earth fleet and force them to retreat. ("Severed Dreams") Babylon 5 then became an independent state, and was cut off from the Earth Alliance for the next two years. However, the Civil War quickly took a backseat to the second Shadow War, and Babylon 5's command staff paid little attention to events in the Earth Alliance until that epic conflict was over.

Earth Civil War

More:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Alliance_(Babylon_5)

[jeff30997]

57. Thanks for refreshing my memory.

That was a great SF TV show.Hey,I guess we should call Cheney Dick Clark don't you think? :)

[TechBear_Seattle]

28. I think it is much more likely that Wadhams is abjectly ignorant

He made the reference because he never read Nineteen Eight-Four and has no comprehension of the context of "Ministry of Truth."

On the other hand, maybe he is just incapable of doublethink.

[Forrest Greene]

35. I Think That's It

You have to be able to singlethink before you can doublethink.

[Overseas]

29. K&R !! Great find!! /eom

[DinahMoeHum]

31. Wadhams is the guy who advised George "Macaca" Allen's campaign

in Virginia in 2006.

Y'all know how THAT turned out.

:evilgrin:

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

76. Wadhams put Jeff Gannon to work...

... in Senator John Thune, R-South Dakota 2004 campaign that beat Tom Daschle by some 4,000 votes. Do a Google or Dogpile search on Wadhams Thune and look at all the disgusting "crap" that comes up:

[BrklynLiberal]

33. Wow, He accidently told the truth... He will punished for that!!!

Will they put his head into a cage of rats???

[KansDem]

36. I can't wait to see what CorpMedia does with this story!!!

Wait, did I say that?

Perhaps they should interview Mr. Dickwad Hams.

[intheflow]

38. I smell an Olbermann "Worst Person in the World" segment. n/t

[EstimatedProphet]

39. That means he doesn't understand the Ministry of Truth

not that he's revealing anything. But we all do know the GOP propaganda organ invents lies.

[NewJeffCT]

40. How many actually *get* that reference, though?

Most people will just pass it by in the newspaper and say, "they're just fact checking Obama..."

without ever realizing the ominous implications of 1984.

[racaulk]

42. Only those that actually have an interest in literature, history, and politics.

Which, sadly to say, excludes a whole lot of people in our country.

Life imitates art, indeed. :(

[Indenturedebtor]

51. So Democrats then? This comment by penisspittle was clearly a taunt n/t

[nebenaube]

71. but...

It was required reading in my senior year of high school (CCHS TX '79)...

[nebenaube]

70. in 2004

In 2004, during the campaign, I stood on the foot bridge to the University of Wisconsin in Eau Claire and asked about 200 students if they had ever read George Orwell's book: '1984'. Not one of those students had a fucking clue what I was talking about...

[Earth Bound Misfit]

43. Repukes LIE...

In other news: Baseballs round, sun rises in East-sets in west, and Dick Cheney eats live babies.

K &R :kick:

[liberal N proud]

45. If it truly is about truth, all they will be able to do is repeat what Obama says

But we all know like everything else with these neocons, black is white, up is down and therefore the truth would be lie.

[maui9002]

46. Hasn't it been tradition that each party essentially doesn't try to upstage the other's convention?

This is the first time I can remember where either party is intentionally trying to upstage the other during the convention. War rooms, scores of Republican supporters in Denver seeking face and interview time, Republican ads running more frequently during convention coverage. Perhaps it's happened before, but I think this behavior is further evidence of the Republican Party's complete lack of decency. I hate them less for what they stand for than for the way they go about trying to accomplish their goals.

[harun]

48. They get more juvenile each year. It's repugnant.

[savistocate]

54. Like this discussion you'll like "Why do Republican Have All The Scumsucks"

[jimlup]

49. We won't see this covered by the media

They really do grade the repuklians on a curve...

[happygoluckytoyou]

50. GOP and TRUTH in the same sentence.... what are the odds of THAT happening

[redqueen]

52. Dirtbags.

They are scum.

[boobooday]

53. Illiteracy kills

literally.

[SalmonChantedEvening]

55. We had no way of knowing there was a Ministry of Truth. n/t

[Wabbajack_]

56. He likely didn't read Orwell

or understand it if he did.

[Botany]

59. All right which one of you has worked on his wiki page

The record indicates that he has a horse fetish. :rofl:

[ljm2002]

61. Yes looks like he let it slip all right...

...I always said that when these guys read Orwell's "1984", they read it as a how-to manual rather than a cautionary tale.

And with such tragic consequences for us and for the world.

[scarface2004]

63. ministry of 'i m a freakin asshole' is more like it!!

is anybody really gonna vote republikkkan???

[GoddessOfGuinness]

65. What a dickwad.

:rofl:

[Historic NY]

66. And some people here think we shouldn't attack, attack, attack...

I want to smear them with my heel. Nice guys finish last and it time for extreme hardball.

[AlbertCat]

67. 2 Minute Hate

Does this mean the GOP Convention is gonna be an extended "Two Minute Hate"?

[peacetalksforall]

68. A question. I read 1984 decades ago. The fear it instilled changed me and stayed with me always.

However, I can't remember some of the details so my question is - did Orwell introduce really stupid tactics that could be said to parallel duct-taping windows or turning on the colored lights including their overly theatrical announcements?

[Frank Cannon]

80. Orwell actually assumed a certain level of intelligence in his audience

Stupid people, unfortunately, require stupid tactics.

[minnesota_liberal]

69. Sometimes it slips out

er, the truth, that is.

[Trajan]

72. Wow .. the sky is blue ...

... and the sea is green ....

Im shocked .... shocked .....

[caseymoz]

75. He's grown so cynical he doesn't know how sick the statement sounds.

[Kablooie]

78. The Ministry of Truth - from Wikipedia

The Ministry of Truth is involved with news media, entertainment, the fine arts and educational books. Its purpose is to rewrite history and change the facts to fit party doctrine, for propaganda effect. For example, if Big Brother makes a prediction that turns out to be wrong, the employees of the Ministry of Truth go back and rewrite history so that any prediction Big Brother previously made is accurate. This is the "how" of the Ministry of Truth's existence. Within the novel Orwell elaborates that the deeper reason for its existence is to maintain the illusion that the party is absolute. It cannot ever seem to change its mind (if, for instance, they perform one of their constant changes regarding enemies during war) or make a mistake (firing an official or making a grossly misjudged supply prediction), for that would imply weakness and to maintain power the party must seem eternally right and strong.

[4_TN_TITANS]

79. There's ole' Wadhams again...

Dick Wadhams - you just can't make this stuff up. :rofl:

[agentS]

82. Unintentional Honesty?

:evilgrin: