The Borowitz Report

[Howey]

I've been following him on Twitter. Quite insightful!

http://www.borowitzreport.com/

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) – In what some critics are calling the most radical tactic ever employed in a State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama risked alienating congressional Republicans last night by repeatedly using facts.
 
Mr. Obama stirred controversy throughout the speech with his relentless references to facts, data, and things that have actually happened, all long considered the third rail of American politics.
 
As the President made reference to tax rates and unemployment numbers, as well as sixteen separate mentions of Osama bin Laden, congressional Republicans’ blood began to boil.
 
After the speech, a furious Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters, “It’s been a longstanding tradition in our politics not to use facts in a State of the Union Address, a tradition the President chose to ignore in an outrageous way tonight.  I won’t stand for it and the American people won’t stand for it.”
 
“We want to work with the President for the good of the American people,” added House Speaker John Boehner.  “But he’s going to have to take facts off the table.  That’s a deal-breaker for us.”
 
The President did not mention any of his GOP presidential rivals by name in his speech, but at one point said that government should be “leaner,” a blatant jab at former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

[ekg]

Bill Maher was talking about the same thing.. Not the SOTU, but the 'facts' part.. A guest of his (R) California started to condemn Obama and the democrats for trying to take way guns and the right to own them.. Maher laid into him saying 'bubble.. you're in the bubble because that never happened, Obama actually extended gun rights".. after a lot of exchange on that and with this guy also saying Obama wanted to gut the defense, where Maher again had to tell him the 'facts' of Obama increasing that budget twice and only asking for a 1% reduction this time.. and saying "sure, that 1% is really 'gutting' it'" .. after being given facts, the guy finally spilled exactly what the problem is..

Paraphrased of course

"Well, all you have to do is look at the democratic opinions over the last decade and you can see these are things they want to do, and Obama is the head of the dem party, so he wants to take away guns and cut defense"

Maher nailed it when he said "There you go, you're admitting that it's not Obama you are against.. it's the make-believe guy in your head that you're against..."

So many talking heads have been picking up on the same thing.. the GOP isn't running against the real Obama, they are running against the boogey-man in their head...

and since they are running against their own fairy-tale.. facts don't matter..

[Howey]

Bill Maher was talking about the same thing.. Not the SOTU, but the 'facts' part.. A guest of his (R) California started to condemn Obama and the democrats for trying to take way guns and the right to own them.. Maher laid into him saying 'bubble.. you're in the bubble because that never happened, Obama actually extended gun rights".. after a lot of exchange on that and with this guy also saying Obama wanted to gut the defense, where Maher again had to tell him the 'facts' of Obama increasing that budget twice and only asking for a 1% reduction this time.. and saying "sure, that 1% is really 'gutting' it'" .. after being given facts, the guy finally spilled exactly what the problem is..

Paraphrased of course

I should hope so...wouldn't want you accused of plagiarism or failing to include links...

the GOP isn't running against the real Obama, they are running against the buhlack boogey-man in their head...

fixt.

[uselesslegs]

There's so much to be said about the dynamic that gets set up before the actual Presidential elections.  Ad campaigns, debates, more rumors than you can count, all in hopes of creating enough negativity, enough doubt...to hopefully pull votes away.  It's been this way, for as long as politics has existed in this country.

Hell, I can remember the absolutely CRAZY rumor/*bullshit fact* making the rounds during Clinton's bid for a second term.  He was going to manipulate and create a false nation wide emergency, that *forced* him to institute sustained martial law AND THEN...set things in place so he, Bill Clinton, would be the last U.S President, no more elections...and he'd become our King.  I shit you not.  I called a MOUNTAIN of bullshit, but talking to the people who were fed this crap, they believed it as surely as the sun coming up.  They pointed to policy, legislation that had passed during the first term, all the SIGNS were there and undeniable, THIS SHIT WAS GOING DOWN MAN! MONARCHY WAS MAKING A COME BACK!  Fast forward to 2000 you'd think those people would own up and be like, "Jesus, I can't believe I ever bought that shit.  I feel so stupid."  But noooooooo.  Instead it was a, "Well things, luckily for us, didn't go down the way Bill wanted...it COULD of happened!"  Just the *prospect*, is as good as *fact* to many people.   

[Howey]

There's so much to be said about the dynamic that gets set up before the actual Presidential elections.  Ad campaigns, debates, more rumors than you can count, all in hopes of creating enough negativity, enough doubt...to hopefully pull votes away.  It's been this way, for as long as politics has existed in this country.

Hell, I can remember the absolutely CRAZY rumor/*bullshit fact* making the rounds during Clinton's bid for a second term.  He was going to manipulate and create a false nation wide emergency, that *forced* him to institute sustained martial law AND THEN...set things in place so he, Bill Clinton, would be the last U.S President, no more elections...and he'd become our King.  I shit you not.  I called a MOUNTAIN of bullshit, but talking to the people who were fed this crap, they believed it as surely as the sun coming up.  They pointed to policy, legislation that had passed during the first term, all the SIGNS were there and undeniable, THIS SHIT WAS GOING DOWN MAN! MONARCHY WAS MAKING A COME BACK!  Fast forward to 2000 you'd think those people would own up and be like, "Jesus, I can't believe I ever bought that shit.  I feel so stupid."  But noooooooo.  Instead it was a, "Well things, luckily for us, didn't go down the way Bill wanted...it COULD of happened!"  Just the *prospect*, is as good as *fact* to many people.   

Oh shit Chuck! Now he's going to ignore your excellent point and come back and say that's what we said about Bush and cite some nonexistent thread on the Muche to prove his point!

[lil mike]

Oh shit Chuck! Now he's going to ignore your excellent point and come back and say that's what we said about Bush and cite some nonexistent thread on the Muche to prove his point!

I don't have to cite one.  We both know there were plenty like it!