The truth is dead...long live the truth
By Frank Salvato
web posted September 10, 2012
Not long ago I opined about how we need to make truth and honesty a major litmus test in this year's General Election. Not only do I stand by that declaration, I am doubling down on it. At a time when politicians – and especially Progressive and Liberal Alinskyite Democrat politicians – have successfully conditioned the American people to disregard the truth where the hard realities facing our nation are concerned, I can't in good conscience pretend that their dishonesty – disguised as political spin – isn't affecting the country. At a time when our fiscal house is teetering on collapse, our stature on the world stage dramatically diminished, we cannot afford to continue to allow Chicago-style Alinskyesque politicians to play ideological games with our future. The stakes are too high.
It is important to understand that the manipulation of the truth – both in words and in deeds – occurs on both sides of the aisle. Such is the nature of politics, or, rather, such is the state of politics We the People have come to tolerate. How many times have you heard a friend, neighbor or acquaintance say of a politician's dishonesty, "Hey, they all do it!" To that end, we reap what we sow; we get what they pay for.
That said, the Progressive Movement has sired a special kind of dishonesty; one that serves an ideological purpose, and a purpose that seeks to reinvent the United States as something our nation was never meant to be.
According to R.J. Pestritto, the Charles & Lucia Shipley Chair in American Constitution and an Associate Professor of Political Science at Hillsdale College:
"...progressives wanted a thorough transformation in America's principles of government, from a government permanently dedicated to securing individual liberty to one whose ends and scope would change to take on any and all social and economic ills.
"In the progressive worldview, the proper role of government was not to confine itself to regulating a limited range of human activities as the founders had stipulated, but rather to inject itself into whatever realms the times seemed to demand."
Mr. Pestritto goes on to say that Progressives endorse and chart an ideological course based on evolution rather than revolution, a process by which society in moved incrementally but inescapably toward the ideological "Left."
One of the tools of the early Progressives of the Wilsonian Era was the manipulation of public opinion and, therefore, the truth. Honesty in politics – and, thus, honesty in government – was the victim of the Progressive Movement's agenda.
According to Jonah Goldberg in his book Liberal Fascism, excerpted at DiscoverTheNetworks.org:
"Under President Wilson, Progressives perfected the art of government propaganda. Wilson appointed the journalist and former muckraker George Creel to head the Committee on Public Information, the first modern ministry for propaganda in the Western world. Thus empowered, Creel methodically assembled an army of nearly 100,000 ‘Four Minute Men,' each trained by the CPI to deliver, at a moment's notice, four-minute propaganda speeches at town meetings or any other public venues where they might be heard. In 1917-18 alone, these operatives delivered some 7.55 million speeches in 5,200 communities."
Understanding this tactic it is not a stretch to see that the "truth teams" of today's Obama re-election campaign are literally born of Wilson's creation.
Goldberg continues:
"Identifying fear as ‘an important element to be bred into the civilian population,' Creel said: ‘It is difficult to unite a people by talking only on the highest ethical plane. To fight for an ideal, perhaps, must be coupled with thoughts of self-preservation.' The public-relations pioneer Edward Bernays learned the science of what he termed ‘the conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses' during his time on Creel's committee."
So, we see that the manipulation of the truth by Progressives and Liberal Alinskyite Democrats has been ongoing for over one-hundred years. We also see that the dishonesty of this devious faction exists, alive and well, in 2012 presidential politics.
Perhaps one of the most blatant acts of dishonesty comes at the hand of the Democrat National Committee chair, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who was caught – on tape and bald-faced – lying to constituents and the media.
The Washington Post reported:
"Democrat National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz denied a report from Washington Examiner columnist Philip Klein, who quoted the Florida congresswoman as saying that Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren described Republican policies toward Israel as ‘dangerous' for the Jewish state.
"Wasserman Schultz said the Examiner misquoted her, saying she never attributed the comments to Oren and that she really just said the GOP was treating the Middle East nation ‘like a political football, which is dangerous for Israel.' Klein defended his reporting, saying it was accurate..."
Mr. Klein had quoted Wasserman Schultz as saying, "We know, and I've heard no less than Ambassador Michael Oren say this, that what the Republicans are doing is dangerous for Israel." Wasserman Schultz made this comment during a Democrat National Convention training session meant to instruct Jewish Democrats on how to manipulate other Jewish Americans to vote for Obama. The damning point in all of this being Ms. Wasserman Schultz was recorded saying exactly what Mr. Klein had reported.
Then there was the misstep that occurred during the establishment of the Democrat platform at the convention; the misstep regarding the capital of Israel and God.
Politico.com reported:
"Two platform planks sparked division at the Democratic National Convention here Wednesday. Things got so bad that President Barack Obama was forced to personally intervene, ordering language mentioning God and naming Jerusalem as the rightful capital of Israel be added...
"And even then, it had to be forced through a convention hall full of delegates who nearly shouted down the change...
"Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the convention's chairman, called for a voice vote on an amendment offered by former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, who chaired the platform drafting committee. Facing boos and nays, he tried again, before announcing that in his judgment, a two-thirds majority had approved the measure. He was booed again as he walked off the stage."
What Politico.com failed to report was that the verbiage used by Mayor Villaraigosa in adopting the amendment was scripted; presented on a teleprompter for him to read. It wouldn't have mattered if the entire venue would have shouted "No!" during the voice vote, the measure was going to pass because the Progressive leadership in the Democrat Party wanted it to be passed (as I said earlier, this type of manipulation is not exclusive to the Democrat Party. Read this article and view this video to see and understand that there are Progressives on both sides of the aisle).
In addition, we have what was described by most of the "in-the-tank" mainstream media as the best speech ever made by a living soul in the DNC nomination speech delivered by former-President Bill Clinton. During Mr. Clinton's speech he went to great pains to portray Mr. Obama as a masterful compromiser; someone who bled just to have the chance to meet his opposition halfway on the major issues. That portrayal isn't really truthful.
The New York Daily News fact-checker reports:
"Right from the beginning Obama brought in as his first chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, a man known for his getting his way, not for getting along.
"One of the more high-profile examples of a deal that fell apart was the outline of a proposed ‘grand bargain' budget agreement between Obama and House Speaker John Boehner in 2011...The deal would have required compromise from both sides...[But] Obama found himself accused of going too far by some Democrat leaders. The deal died before it ever even came up for a vote...
"In another instance, Obama appointed a bipartisan group, known as the Simpsons-Bowles Commission, to recommend ways to fix major fiscal problems like Social Security and Medicare. The commission issued its recommendations...and Obama mostly walked away from the report...
"The notion that Republicans are the only ones standing in the way of compromise is inaccurate."
And perhaps the biggest deception executed by the Progressives in Washington, DC, is the grotesque manipulation of jobs numbers and the unemployment rate.
While Mr. Obama and his team, led by Chicago Progressive operatives David Axelrod, David Plouffe, Valerie Jarrett and Stephanie Cutter, insist the economy is turning around, that the number of jobs created stands at 4.5 million and unemployment is going down, the facts simply don't bear that out.
According to Christopher Rugaber, an Associated Press writer on economic issues:
"Romney and other Republicans have stressed that the unemployment rate has topped 8 percent for 42 straight months. That's the longest such stretch since government record-keeping began in 1948...The unemployment rate has stopped declining recently. It's now where it was in January...
"Obama and other Democrats point out that the private sector has added jobs for 29 straight months. And over that time, 4.5 million jobs have been added...But that positive trend depends on a carefully selected time frame. It counts job gains dating from February 2010. It ignores Obama's first year in office, when employers shed an average of 357,000 jobs a month. And by counting only private-sector jobs, Obama's claim excludes hundreds of thousands of layoffs by local and state governments...
"Many analysts point out that the unemployment rate would be even higher if it included millions of Americans who have given up looking for work...Nearly 12.8 million people were unemployed in July...When you [include people no longer looking for a job and people working part time who would prefer full-time work], plus the unemployed, you end up with 23.5 million. That produces an ‘under-employment' rate of 15 percent."
And then, of course, you have the declaration by the Obama Administration that the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) was "not a tax" when they were pushing it through Congress, only to see them argue that "it was a tax" when they argued it in front of the Supreme Court...only to say "it wasn't a tax," yet again, after the Supreme Court ruled.
These are just a few of the examples of the dishonesty and deception of the Progressives who currently control our federal government, who control a significant influence on our guaranteed "pursuit of happiness"; our freedom.
The question this election has to be this: Are you okay with your elected leaders – those empowered with representing you in the seat of government, are you okay with them lying to your face about things that not only will eventually reach into your wallets, but extinguish an ever-increasing amount of your freedom?
For me, the answer is very clear...the answer is no, it is not okay. Honesty and truthfulness must matter this election. That's the truth. 
Frank Salvato is the Executive Director for BasicsProject.org a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) research and education initiative focusing on Constitutional Literacy and the threats of Islamic jihadism and Progressive neo-Marxism. His writing has been recognized by the US House International Relations Committee and the Japan Center for Conflict Prevention. His organization, BasicsProject.org, partnered in producing the original national symposium series addressing the root causes of radical Islamist terrorism. He is a member of the International Analyst Network and has been a featured guest on al Jazeera's Listening Post, Radio Belgrade One and on Russia Today. He also serves as the managing editor for The New Media Journal. Mr. Salvato has appeared on The O'Reilly Factor on FOX News Channel, and was featured in the documentary, "Ezekiel and the MidEast ‘Piece' Process: Israel's Neighbor States." He is the author of the series Understanding the Threat of Radical Islam, an educational pamphlet series. Mr. Salvato is a regular guest on talk radio including on The Captain's America Radio Show, nationally syndicated by the Phoenix Broadcasting and ABC Starguide Satellite Networks, catering to the US Armed Forces around the world. He is also heard weekly on The Roth Show with Dr. Laurie Roth syndicated nationally on the IRN-USA Radio Network. Mr. Salvato has been interviewed on Radio Belgrade One. His opinion-editorials have been published by The American Enterprise Institute, The Washington Times, Accuracy in Media, Human Events, and are syndicated nationally. He is a featured political writer for EducationNews.org, BigGovernment.com and Examiner.com and is occasionally quoted in The Federalist. Mr. Salvato is available for public speaking engagements. He can be contacted at contact@newmediajournal.us.