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Truth Reconstituted is Less True

By Henri - Posted on 17 February 2009

Or How Spin Makes Liars Out of the Best and Worst Alike

It is sometimes fun to watch the pundits and politicos spin. These modern Dervishes are, after all, there for our entertainment; not to expose us to the truth. The strange Gods they worship have only one side, a right or a left, and little breadth and depth. Parody is almost always more fun than reality but it seldom serves as a sound basis for policy. This is especially evident in the outcry about the Stimulus Bill coming up for a vote today in both houses of Congress.

To hear the Republicans decry the expansion of our national debt as unconscionable after voting for tax cuts like tomorrow never comes is irony enough. Watching them reach beyond that into the shopworn reasons why expanding the role of government is evil exceeds irony. They voted for the largest expansion of government’s policing powers in our history in the last eight years. They also doubled our national debt while developing torture as a government policy. Conscience is not apparently something they understand or accept into their lives along with their savior,Ronald what’s-his-name.

To hear the Democrats define the only cause of our financial problem as a lack of regulation is also rich and fertile territory for developing hypocrisy sensors. Programs that released too much money into the economy at too rapid a pace are their main calling card. After eight years on the fringes they are certain to go too far in their rush to fix these problems with big bursts of money. Inflation and devalued currency will inevitably follow the destructive Bush years. Even if the Democrats are finally right this time, their failure to fight against the Bush agenda dooms them to struggle through their years of ascendancy.

The Days of Wine and Roses are over; both parties need to reckon with that fact. It will be a long hard climb back out of the hole we have dug in the last eight years. Easy to spend, easy to print, government money will not replace rebuilding a seriously damaged economy. There is room enough on the blame train for everyone. Get onboard, but bring your pick, shovel and sledgehammer. We are going to have to lay down a lot of new track before we come to the end of this trip.

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