The New Right-Wing Smear Machine »
Posted by: bruhaha 10 months, 1 week ago256 Comments Report this Story
A web-savvy form of conservative propaganda, written anonymously and forwarded via email, is altering the political landscape.
Read Full Story at thenation.com
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bruhaha10 months, 1 week ago
If you've ever wondered where some of the right-wingers get there info, this may be it.
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tiredofwhiners10 months, 1 week ago
I don't recall ever getting a smear type email. I've had some good jokes forwarded from friends. You have to take all emails from unknown sources with a grain of salt. Most of us, liberal and conservative alike are capable of sorting out the BS from the real thing. There are a few who will believe anything if it coincides with their beliefs. How about you? Are you skeptical across the board when you hear/see something that reinforces your beliefs or discredits those who you disagree with?
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Candida10 months, 1 week ago
tiredofwhiners: "Most of us, liberal and conservative alike are capable of sorting out the BS from the real thing."
Perhaps most of us, but obviously not all of us. Judging by some of the posts I've seen about Obama, Carter, Kerry and Gore here on Propeller, there are a fair number of people who either believe everything they see/hear or deliberately distort the facts.
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NoWayMan10 months, 1 week ago
not amazed that the right would lie and use the web to smear an opponent.
but I am amazed that the right is ready and willing to use a group like the gold star mothers to do it.
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MonkeyBiz10 months, 1 week ago
They have no shame! They'll smear war heroes and 9-11 widows, and then turn around and use flag covered caskets as background for political ads.
They have to use these ugly tactics to defeat their opponents because they have no policies or positions that can be rationally argued as in the best interests of those whose votes they are courting.
The repug party is only in power because they figured out that character assassination and wedge issues work and got very good at them. They have hijacked religion and use it to produce anger and fear in the religious right so they will all come out and vote for them.
They claim a higher moral ground (family "values," anti gay etc.), but the actual fact is they are morally bankrupt hypocrites that use religion and fear as a weapon.
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ETproductions10 months, 1 week ago
I was just thinking that with all the closet cases getting outed on the Repug side of the isle, it's doubtful that the far right can send enough e-mail lies to make themselves look better than the vast majority of Americans that they so passionately hate.
But if they insist in doing this, two can play the same game.
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cowboygrandpa10 months, 1 week ago
When the American citizens begin to figure out why they are being sent this drivel. They will begin to have wisdom about the repukes and their agendas. Having seen the smear of John Kerry. A silver star, bronze star, and three time purple heart recipient. I can honestly say they do like real soldiers. They like the cowards like Bush who couldn't even fulfill his air national guard duty. Now there is a real hero for you. How about Cheney Five deferments. Rush Limberger, couldn't cut it. Ronald Reagan acted in hollywood movies while Jimmy Stewart and Clark Gable did their duties. So why do the repukeagains claim to be patriotic? To get the vote and money. So never again believe their lies. Close the book on them. Thanks for the story Bruhaha, thanks for the heads up Aidenag.
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crespi10 months, 1 week ago
Don't be so modest.
Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, L. Brent Bozell, Reverend Pat Robertson, Bill O'Reilly, Laura Ingraham, (the Late) Reverend Jerry Falwell, Glen Beck, Brit Hume, Michelle Malkin, Jon Gibson, Dinesh D'Souza, Bill Crystal, Newt Gingrich....
The Right has a MUCH BETTER STAFF of lying haters than the Left ever could.
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NoWayMan10 months, 1 week ago
does the left lie? sure.
but I've never seen the left do anything like the smearing of john mccain, or the swift boaters, or how a group like the gold star mothers were used for deceitful purposes.
I've never seen the left be as hateful as ann coulter, sean hannity or bill o'reilly.
I've never seen the left steal a presidency.
I've never seen the left trying to destroy the constitution.
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hyperbola10 months, 1 week ago
You haven't the slightest idea what you are chanting about. Here is what real american conservatives are calling for.
The 10-point American Freedom Agenda would work to restore the roles of Congress and the federal judiciary to prevent such abuses of power and protect against injustices. In particular, the American Freedom Agenda would:
Prohibit military commissions whose verdicts are suspect except in places of active hostilities where a battlefield tribunal is necessary to obtain fresh testimony or to prevent anarchy;
Prohibit the use of secret evidence or evidence obtained by torture or coercion in military or civilian tribunals;
Prohibit the detention of American citizens as unlawful enemy combatants without proof of criminal activity on the President's say-so;
Restore habeas corpus for alleged alien enemy combatants, i.e., non-citizens who have allegedly participated in active hostilities against the United States, to protect the innocent;
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Klarissa10 months, 1 week ago
At last, a repub group that is equal to moveon.org. Everyone seemed to want balanced news. lolol
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Grrr10 months, 1 week ago
MoveOn is a crock and does nothing for the Liberal movement except for blunt it into ineffectiveness.
How many Dems out there really felt like "Moving On" after the 2000 elections? Or 2004? Or thought after ANY of their ad campaigns "oh yeah, that's what they should have blown that money to say"? BS!!
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obiefrommuskogee10 months, 1 week ago
The problem is that if the "propaganda" (cuz that is what it is) is not from an established news source, how do you hold someone accountable in court? Slander? Libel?
These people DO need to be held accountable for slandering or libeling someone's name, reputation, or character. That is what the laws are there for.
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cowboygrandpa10 months, 1 week ago
scriberlus1: Oxymoron huh? What is an intelligent republican? One who converted to a democrat. LOL
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joeeddie10 months, 1 week ago
Intelligent Republicans do see this. Then they realize that it's bipartisan, political, dirty trick deja vu all over again.
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Spadecaller10 months, 1 week ago
Bill Reilly should have the editor of NewsMax on his show; they can compare lies.
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bruhaha10 months, 1 week ago
It really shows the intelligence of some of the people who forward and send out these anonymous emails when, as the article states, they just change the names in the smears to some other Democratic politician.
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ETproductions10 months, 1 week ago
Yesterday it emerged that Rumsfeld was so busy writing disinformation memos from his office in the ramp up to the Iraq invasion that he sometimes sent over 60 a day to various staffers and other Bush agency heads. The memos were so numerous and regular that they came to be called snowflakes, since the fell onto desks with the regularity of a snow storm.
Things like Muslims avoid "physical labor," and the need to "keep elevating the threat," "link Iraq to Iran" and develop "bumper sticker statements" to rally public support for an increasingly unpopular war.
From the Houston Chronicle: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/52...
No wonder the post invasion was so poorly planned. Like I have been insisting, New Repugnicans are so focused on propagandizing to get what they want that they have no intelligence left to plan how to actually do anything. The New Repugnicans are TERRIBLE at defense planning. Elect them and die.
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wasntme10 months, 1 week ago
I remember an advice that was given to a bunch of college students who were complaining about the other groups of students who were slandering them with lies and deceptions and what have you..The advice was (of course not in a literal sense)"Why do you let them beat you up and then you call the cops, why don't YOU beat them up and let them call the cops." Not a bad thought. :)
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engineer10 months, 1 week ago
The right has done this continuously. How else can they win!!?
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