Media Spectacle and the Crisis of Democracy by Douglas Kellner

Author:Douglas Kellner [Kellner, Douglas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Sociology, General
ISBN: 9781317256168
Google: Lx8eCwAAQBAJ
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 1031316
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2002-12-12T00:00:00+00:00

Big Lies, Bold Lies, and Brazen Lies: Welcome to Bushspeak

I’m the master of low expectations.

—George W. Bush, June 4, 2003

There’s an old saying in Tennessee—I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee—that says, fool me once, shame on—shame on you. Fool me—you can’t get fooled again.

—George W. Bush, September 17, 2002

It was obvious that the Bush-Cheney Gang was exploiting the 9/11 tragedy to advance its campaign, just as it was used to push through a right-wing agenda. But the Bush administration failure to address Al Qaeda and terrorism before 9/11, their unilateral military action in Afghanistan that renounced offers of help from U.S. allies, and invasion of Iraq did more to destabilize the Middle East, win recruits for terrorism, and make the world more dangerous and less safe than any policy in recent history. Having no positive record to run upon, the Republicans attempted to present themselves as the party of national security and George W. Bush as the leader to fight the war against terrorism. Obviously, such a strategy requires completely neglecting facts and history and substituting words for reality. The overall Republican strategy since the stolen election of 2000 and in the 2004 election campaign had been to engage in Big Lies about the actual achievements and policies of the Bush administration. Adolph Hitler’s Big Lies involved repeating a falsehood over and over until people thought it was true. During his 2000 campaign and throughout his four years in office, Bush had regularly deployed lies concerning who his tax cuts would benefit, how much his Medicare package would cost and add to the federal deficit, why he went into Iraq, and how his administration represented forces of freedom, democracy, and small government (Corn 2003; Waldman 2004). But the Big Lies had played out and Bold Lies were needed where falsehoods about John Kerry’s policies, character, and history could be told and repeated day after day, even after they had been refuted and countered.

Bold Lies involve knowing that you are lying and doing it anyway, boldly proclaiming whoppers that informed people know are lies, and in the face of facts, counterevidence, and arguments, continuing to intrepidly and resolutely repeat the untruth. Karl Rove and Karen Hughes have long been producers and purveyors of Big Lies, and with George W. Bush and Dick Cheney as reliable performers, the Big Lies could be morphed into Bold Lies. For Bold Lies to work, the media must be complicit and not contradict what is obviously and demonstrably a falsehood. The standard media format of presenting both sides of an issue and remaining neutral between opposing parties helped the Republicans purvey their Big and Bold Lies with minimal mainstream media criticism. Such was the chutzpah of Republican liars that they could boldly lie to media reporters and pundits knowing that the media knew they were lying. Once Tucker Carlson of CNN recounted a surreal experience with Karen Hughes where she lied boldly to him, knowing that he knew she was lying.

It is a Brazen

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