Tuesday, November 9, 2010

How The Game Works

Over at Balloon Juice, Mistermix nails the Right Wing Noise Machine.

Here’s a great illustration of the cycle and danger of the nontroversy. Last week, Mike Huckabee was one of the morons who insisted that Obama’s trip to India was a waste of money because it cost $200 million per day. After serious consideration, the sage and thoughtful Huckabee changed his position yesterday:
Still, the former governor acknowledged that bagging the trip altogether — as some conservatives have suggested — would have been “very insulting” to India, an increasingly important ally to the United States, given its proximity to Pakistan. “They’ve been a good friend of the United States, not only in terms of diplomatic friendship, but they’ve also been a good trade partner,” Huckabee told Van Susteren. “For him to abruptly cancel the trip would have been a snub of epic proportions and would have had long-lasting implications and created damage that, frankly, we don’t need right now in the international community. We need all the friends we can get, and India is one of them we need to keep.”
This is typical of the nontroversy cycle. The same jackasses who tell us lies to get the cycle started are able to come back again and again to comment on it, without repercussion. This would be harmless except that that subjects of these nontroversies are important institutions that are de-legitimatized every time that lies about them are mainstreamed.

And Mike Huckabee, possible Republican candidate for President, will be able to go on his FOX News show and pretend he never bought or propagated the "India is a $200 million a day trip" lie.  Meanwhile the next time the President goes on a trip, that lie will be repeated.

Six months from now another FOX host will say "this is just like the time President Obama went to India after the midterm elections and that cost what $200 million a day?"  It won't be challenged.  It will be repeated.  And it will continue again and again because there will be plenty of opportunities to parade the lie unchallenged.

And soon it will become accepted truth, because that's how the game is played.

10 comments:

  1. No, here's how YOUR game works.

    Someone comes along and blows a huge hole in your argument like SteveAR and that Johnny Dollar video destroying Rachel Maddow's argument, PROVING that the hosts on MSNBC do everything she accuses Fox News of doing, and you lock the thread like a fucking pansy.

    He had you dead to rights and that's why you locked the thread.

    Free speech my ass, you liberal fuck.

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  2. Oh for... I should not expect an intelligent response from someone who does not understand what "free speech" is and what "free speech" is not.

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  3. Then I challenge Zandar to post this video so that we can discuss why Rachel Maddow is a lying hypocrite and why Zandar still believes she has any credibility after today.

    He's too much of a chickenshit to do it.

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  4. The anonymous guy is calling me chickenshit. Excellent.

    Get your own blog, sparky. Post what you want. Proclaim yourself WINNAR.

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  5. "johnny dollar" commits the sin of omission by not bothering to show much of the maddow piece. she gives many examples of fox hosts interviewing and praising people they've donated money to.
    but it is kinda silly arguing with you guys. i'm all in favor of Z blocking and/or deleting your posts. i say that from the perspective of somebody who thinks trolling political blogs is a fundamentally worthless activity. it's boring. you're boring. at least have the decency to come up with something mildly original. please?

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  6. "Get your own blog, sparky."

    Seconded!

    Come off it, you lazy parasitic loudmouthed POS. Why keep leeching of Z's hard work? You've got so much to say, put the effort into setting up a blog, building up a readership, and keeping at it day after day. Then maybe we'll come and troll you and see how you enjoy it. Or maybe just ignore you because you've nothing worthwhile to say.

    Bet you won't because you're full of it. You're a frikkin GUEST here, and a perpetually fucking rude one. Commenting is a privilege, and one you're constantly abusing, so put up or STFU.

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  7. The damage done by those that parrot these faux news stories will some day regret what they have said.

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  8. translated as: buy a car from me!

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  9. wtf?

    my opinion is not relevant because i sell cars?

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  10. your opinion was incoherently stated.

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