Let me finish tonight with this.
This campaign is getting hot. We've got the Republican National Chairman calling the Senate Democratic Leader a "liar." We've got Senator Lindsay Graham, usually a genteel sort, backing him up. Now we have word that the President "hates" the Republican candidate for president.
So here we are — in early August. The conventions haven't even started and the heated words that often come late in the race are already out there.
There are people who say they don't like this kind of politics, the same people who say they don't like negative advertising. But there's another group that wants to see the fight for it. They don't think politics should be a show on public television. They think it oughta be like it is here most nights — people with strong opinions, passionate about who should be running the country, about what the country stands for.
I don't like to see someone call another politician a "liar" for the simple reason that it ends the discussion. How do you respond to someone who says you're not a man or woman of your word? And oftentimes it hurts the person who calls the other one a liar far more than it does the one he's calling a liar.
This thing about a candidate "hating" the other guy also gets to me. But let me throw in a "but" here: Have you noticed that the Republicans who've gone against Romney this time and last tend to have very negative attitudes toward the man? McCain certainly didn't like him. Huckabee didn't. Santorum certainly didn't.
The only people who get chummy with Romney are the folks looking for his patronage. That would be Pawlenty, who wants on the ticket, and Newt, who has the most to hold against him, just wants in the loop.
So here we go. Temperatures rising, anger in the air, nasty words being spoken that cannot easily be taken back. "Sorry for saying your words are no good." Now that's a tough one to take back!
The fact that the Romney forces are making such charges is a sign that their guy is getting hurt. I wonder if he's told his defenders whether he paid taxes or not. It would be the right thing to do given what they're saying about the other guy.
Don't you think?
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Plenty of name-calling in posts, too. Can we expect more of each other?
I'm at kind of handicap because I don't know an alternative to calling someone a liar when they're spouting demonstrable and easily debunked falsehoods...
I do have an advantage in that everyone expects a cabbie to be rude now and then...
Of course I can also nicely remind Chris that he called Glenn Beck a "nincompoop" a few months ago...
Not that I disagree with him...
Serious students of this issue should study the "wedge issue" tactics of Karl Rove as well; the "Intelligent Design" crowd is particularly fond of this one...
Not to mention the rank hypocrisy here. Romney hasn't run a single commercial against Obama or any of his Republican opponents that has been true. Additionally, every single right wing talker and most of the Republican politicians and even right wing businessmen have accused the POTUS of being foreign born and a traitorous plant from a foreign nation so the fact that THEY'RE calling Democrats liars for accusing them of hiding things in documents THEY refuse to release? COMMON REPUBLICAN HYPOCRISY!
sedwinmars, you must live in a cave or something. Watch other networks other than this hack show. right wing hypocrisy lol that is rich. I only vote on results and this guy is running us into the ground with debt, corruption, slander and out right lies. I bet you out right hated president Bush and every number from unemployment, national debt, welfare etc are more than double any of Bush's in 8 years. Please tell what positive affect this president has had on the country of than dividing everyone by race and yearly income. He defines standard politician who will do whatever it takes to get reelected and nothing is ever his fault. Chris Mathews is a hack and his ratings show that. Still have that tingle going up your leg Chris? clown
Perhaps. One thing I admire about Reid, is that he does on occasion fight back. Too many Dems for too long have not. The Republicans have been mean spirited, name callers, who have falsely accused Dems for YEARS, while the Dems have not only sat back and taken it they have been EXPECTED to do so. When they have fought back people, especially in the media, start criticizing them. Not the Republican's though.
I believe it is way past time for Dems to sit back and take it. Jump back in their faces. Call them names back! Stick it to them. How do you fight a bully?
If you expect for one minute that Rush, Fox and the other right wing talkers will stop calling the Dems names, and falsely accusing them, as well as outright lying about them I believe you are naive. They get paid way too much money. But let's see if Chris's cry for decency works, shall we?
Yea! What you said. Like that time ( the time between Clinton and Obama) that Bush was called Hitler. That was when the Republicans were the most mean spirited, Name callers, and the Dems just sat back and took it.
Sed the guy that smokes reefer with the prez.
Ha Ha Ha! I'm laughing so hard at your "one supposed" counter-example, that I just knocked over my bong! Ha Ha Ha!
Politicians need to stop the petty nonsense and distractions and get to work on addressing the greatest existential problem facing the country. This video describes the Federal budget crisis in the plainest and most dire terms: Google or Youtube, United States Budget Dilemma
Republicans have refused to vote on virtually everything including jobs. They have tried to prevent millions from voting. Romney has refused to disclose virtually everything about his life, his business, his religion and refused to discuss his taxes, his policies and his term as governor and he has not run a single commercial against either his fellow Republican opponents or the President that has been even close to the truth according to every monitoring organization. Additionally he has been a fool overseas and on international policy. Which dovetails with the Tea Party fools who have proved they are conspiracy theory nutbags!
This Republican party is a disgrace and perhaps the most corrupt organization this nation has EVER seen.
The republicans have a "peculiar" sense of honor.
In every other area of life, probably. In politics, not likely. It's a tradition, isn't it, smearing the oponent. It's apparent, at least here, that people are passionate about their opinions, and defend them fiercely. That's politics. It does seem worse this time and that could be a result of the additional money available for advertising, changes in the make up of the parties, the candidates, etc.
It seems like the divide between the parties is widening, becoming more extreme, creating an environment where nothing is getting done. Because none of the issues can be discussed rationally, politicians are left to name calling and accusations. Maybe we get it from watching them.
I think it is possible to move name calling a little further down the list of tactics employed in defense of a position. Somewhere below agree to disagree, don't let them get to you, go do something else..............................
I recall seeing the name of a Roman political adversary carved into the side of a pillar at the Forum in Rome saying roughly so and so (I forget the exact name) frequents brothels... or something like that. It was over 30 years ago, that I saw it, but the point is the carving was over 2000 years old and it was a political smear tactic. This crap has been around as long as politics has been around.
Political smears, lies and tricks are part of the process. Some people make a living doing it like Rove, Limbaugh and Murdoch. I don't see any point to complaining about it, none of those guys are going to give up the tens to hundreds of millions they make doing it.
Reid is just taking one for the team. He wont seek reelection so might as well throw it out there. He will retire just like Stupak and Chris Dodd after being strong armed by their leaders. Just my opinion.
AH! You missed the mark. HReid is already reelected through near end 2016. :)@
I believe both parties should keep in mind that on February 8, 1832 Florida repealed its anti-dueling law - but it might be illegal to issue a challenge in FL. Just to be safe - it is apparently not against the law in TX to challenge someone to a duel - just illegal to kill someone in a duel. So the challenge should be made in TX but the duel conducted in FL.
I would suggest that instead of pistols, "fork fulls of pig dung" be thrown until honor is restored. http://duel.askdefine.com/
That could take a lot of pig dung.
Does it really matter who wins elections. We think it does, BUT we are beginning to wonder.
Congress is simply a service business for office holders, selling only to the highest bidders. We, the 99%, do not have the money to buy their services. With very rare exceptions anything that comes out of Congress that happens to help the little guy is truly incidental to the true intent of the bill.
Senator Bob Dole once said, "the poor are not represented, they don't have the money to give to political campaigns". Well here we are at a time when half of the middle class is sinking. Some do not have enough free speech (money) left over from scraping together the rent and a little food for the month to give even a small token to their candidate(s).
"Our" (sic) Senators and Representatives report to the rich, not to us little people.. "Our" Congress has ceased to be a representative form of government. Both Republicans and Democrats have been pushing to privatize functions of government at the expense of the well being of this country.
Unfortunately the Citizen United decision by the Supreme Court that corporations are people has finally fully privatized Congress.
Now that Congress has been privatized we do not even know who the privateers are! Without the DISCLOSE Act passing, foreign corporations and extremely rich foreign individuals have as much free speech in this country as the largest corporations here in America. Romney had his hand out in Europe. What will be the quid pro-qo?
Remember the Clarence Thomas Court* declared money free speech. In comparison us little people have no free speech.. In addition to the banking giants, Wall Street, big insurance and big pharma, we should have a right to know who else actually owns Congress. It is certainly not us.
The very rich from other countries have more control over our American lives than we do. We resent it.
If Romney wins, the White House becomes privatized, AGAIN. Obama took it back once for us, lets keep it..
*only partially tongue in cheek.
After being guard-dog of Obama house for year at least Chris asks is it good to end conversation with lair naming him appropriately. What conversation? Liar lies you are saying truth. It is not conversation. It is process.
a short video about how Bain Capital/Clear Channel use talk radio to poison American politics.