This isn’t from some liberal blog, it’s the Associated Press.
This convention is making me really confused. Politicians of both sides are often devious, but these speeches aren’t the usual exaggerations and clever uses of phrasing; they’re high school bully insults and blatant lies.
“Palin opposes earmarks.” “Palin has foreign policy experience.” “Obama will raise your taxes.” “Palin got more votes running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska than Joe Biden got running for president of the United States.” These are all flat-out lies. Not in the sense that I disagree with them; in the sense that they are objectively factually inaccurate statements.
And then you have these strange claims that big government liberals control Washington, as if George W. Bush isn’t the President and Republicans haven’t controlled the House & Senate for 7 of the last 8 years. Romney called Democrats “big brother,” when Democrats spent years fighting against the Bush administration’s increased spying under the Patriot Act. They’re the party of fiscal conservatism, but we’re trillions of dollars in debt. They’re pro-life, but against stricter gun control. They’re all about the sanctity of marriage but are against sex education and protection, leading to teen pregnancy and guilt-induced marraiges (see Palin’s daughter).
Here’s the thing. I want to believe that Republicans and Democrats have different views, and I just agree with one and not the other. I want to believe that both sides have strong, valid points, and it’s just a matter of opinion. But from what I can tell, one side is just hypocritical, lying, and wrong. I want an informed, intelligent Republican to sit down with me and explain to me why this is not the case; I don’t want to contribute to the insufferable din of uninformed debate by yelling my views and being deaf to opposing ones.
I’m serious: I want to believe that I am missing something important, and that I should not be as jaded and cynical as these last eight years have made me. I’m just not sure that it’s possible.
