Bill Maher was in fine form, as he often is, on July 11 when he applied the much needed term “zombie lie” for a lie that keeps coming back and making the rounds even after it has been thoroughly killed. He is referring specifically to GOP lies about the ACA (or, as it will be forever branded, “Obamacare”), but he quotes other notable examples. And makes some pertinent observations:
Look, I get it. Neither party has a monopoly on lying. And in fact they all do it so often they invented their own word for it. “I misspoke”. .. But how come the rule for one party, the Republican Party, is that when they get caught in a lie, they don’t have to stop telling it?
It’s a question worth asking. And a video worth watching.
The Propaganda Professor 
Bill Maher is in great form as he delivers this satirical take on a subject which all too often is nothing to laugh about. But, I think although it is true that all politicians from any party, are adept lying, it is a bit misleading to say that Democrats and Republicans BOTH do it A LOT—since a statement like this gives the impression that both sides are equally to blame for lying and bogging down congress.
Democrats do have their share of lies, but if one visits any of the fact checking sites, like FactCheck. org. it becomes clear that Republicans are the undisputed winners in the lying competition. Much more of the big lies are told by them, and the viral spiral section could almost be copyrighted by the GOP.
We will always have to put up with some deceit but, the sheer stupidity of the lies told about Obama would qualify them to win some kind of award, rather than the “pants on fire” ratings they usually receive from PolitiFact.
At any rate, it is clear that many of the GOP’s lies really are of the zombie kind since, even if they have been clearly disproved, they still circulate constantly in major News outlets with an ugliness that never yields i.e. Palin’s death panel BS, which has never been confirmed by any reputable independent source.
I think the problem is that Republicans know what many Americans WANT to think–regardless of it being true or not–many of us easily accept their MIDNIGHT ENQUIRER mentality, simply because we are paranoid enough to want our fears validated on a televised news program which bears a striking resemblance to the real thing–Faux News!
If anyone would just stop and consider what lunacy would have to posses a Harvard honor graduated President, who then tried to conceal the wild truth that the ACA includes a license for the government to kill granny, which is flatly untrue and is not found anywhere in the bill, then such a person would instantly understand the level of unreality necessary to make such a false claim believable. It’s not just because the GOP is expert at using bit and pieces of real facts, to convey big fat lies—over and over. It’s also that the political blindness and gullibility we would have to demonstrate when overlooking such claims made about the ACA, as well as our blind overlooking of dozens of other real and actual facts in the legislation, (even though the bill is lengthy), would require that hundreds of Congressmen—each having an army of secretaries and legal aids, as well as verification from dozens and dozens of different news outlets that would certainly feel the need to investigate any such a claims, AND, the millions of American voters would instantly reject such a provision (whether proposed by either Democrats or Republicans). This mass ignorance would only assure that the bill would be DOA before even being voted on, and unfortunately would not have a ghost of chance to become law. But as you and Bill Maher pointed out, POP, lies like this require the stubborn believably they are granted by thousands of gullible people who WANT to believe the worst about the President–especially because he is black and has a Muslim sounding name.
I figure that Obama must have more support from Americans than the polls actually indicate, since against all odds, he was re-elected in 2012. But unfortunately, when it comes to the fact that Democrats are good at passing laws, Republicans are geniuses at manipulating the public by doing and saying any kind of outrageous lie that fearful Americans are willing to believe, they will perpetually require much footwork and strategizing for Democrats to overcome their dishonest Mojo!
Thanks for another good one POP!
I said in my previous post:
“.. ..And the millions of American voters would instantly reject such a provision (whether proposed by either Democrats or Republicans). This mass ignorance would only assure that the bill would be DOA before even being voted on, and unfortunately would not have a ghost of chance to become law. But as you and Bill Maher point out….”
I should have said:
“…And the millions of American voters would instantly reject such a provision (whether proposed by either Democrats or Republicans). it’s also that This mass ignorance would only assure that the bill would be DOA before even being voted on, and unfortunately would not have a ghost of chance to become law. But as you and Bill Maher point out….”
Pardon me.
I think Paul Krugman might have coined the term zombie lie. He’s been using it for some time, but it doesn’t matter who came up with it, it fits!
We liberals have our own Zombie lies, but they generally involve picking a poll or study result that is most favorable to our narrative and running with it forever even after new polls and studies show a different result (do women still make just $.77 per dollar that men make for the same amount of work?). The GOP, on the other hand, just makes stuff up (Death Panels???).
What I find most annoying is when the right makes a claim that is so stupid that anyone who devotes even a single brain cell to evaluating it would recognize it’s absurdity, but then you see splayed all over FOX News for days and people not only believe it but are outraged over it. But, given the religious background of most far right wackos, one understands how easy it is for them to believe the unbelievable.
You are correct. It appears that Krugman has been using the term for at least a couple of years. And from what I gather, he believes he was the first to use it, although I’m not certain even that is the case.
Can anyone tell me what I said in the sixth paragraph of my first post? I think I got lost in my own compound sentence. So if you can decipher what I said please let me know.
Basically that the charges against the ACA contradict their own premises. I’ve seen (and written) more convoluted sentences than this.
Thanks,
I’m glad I made some sense. Still, I think their is virtue in being brief, if limited words still can convey ones feelings and opinions.