I heard some talking head on TV say President Obama can't call Mitt Romney a liar because that would make the President look crude and desperate. To that I politely say: Bullsh!t!
Sometimes you have to call a liar a liar--especially when if his lies are left unchallenged he could become the next President of the United States of America. Calling Romney a liar on behalf of the American people would make the President look like the beacon of truth and fairness that he really is.
Congressman Joe Wilson infamously interrupted President Obama by calling out to the President, "You lie!" when the President was speaking to a joint session of Congress in 2009 saying that his healthcare reform act wouldn't cover illegal immigrants.
Wilson went on to become a darling of the right, raised lots of money off his unprecedented insult and won reelection. No doubt, he sparked his reelection bid by calling the President of the United States of America a liar.
Not only did Wilson reveal what a disrespectful lowlife he was and is, he also revealed his own ignorance. Like the President was saying before being so rudely interrupted, his healthcare reform effort wouldn't apply to those in this country illegally. According to PolitiFact.Com (http://www.politifact.com/...): "...it seems that health reform leaves in place the status quo on illegal immigration, and certainly does not provide any new benefits particularly for illegal immigrants."
So in effect, the willfully ignorant Wilson lied when he called the President a liar. Calling someone a liar who isn't a liar is a travesty because you're sullying their reputation under false pretenses. It's quite another thing to call a liar a liar...as is the case with Romney and his running mate. They deserve to be called out and the President and Vice President must do so in the upcoming debates.
Here's the proof they're liars, unworthy of the American people's trust: Fred Clark wrote an article highlighting how Washington Monthly contributing writer Steven Benen documented that Romney told more than 500 lies over a 30-week-period that ended around Aug. 29, 2012 (http://www.patheos.com/...). I thought it was more like 1,000 lies, but wasn't counting. Not sure if anyone has been counting since August 29, but it's probable good old Mitt has told a couple hundred more whoppers since then.
Anyway, here's an excerpt from Clark's article:
I’ve written about or linked to a great deal here “chronicling Mitt’s mendacity”— to borrow Steven Benen’s phrase.Catch the Nixon comparison?Mitt Romney says many, many things that are not true. He says this despite being in possession of the correct facts of the matter.
Which is to say that Mitt Romney lies. A lot. He lies more than any other national candidate for office in my lifetime. And I was born before the Nixon administration.
Anyway, here's a bit from one of Benen's articles posted to the Maddow Blog on Aug. 17, 2012 that chronicled Romney's lies:
8. In an interview with Fortune magazine, Romney said the president's stimulus measures "have not put Americans back to work."Those are just six of the hundreds of lies this man who would be President has told while trying to bamboozle us. Sadly, thousands, if not millions of Americans appear to be buying his line of BS.Yes they have.
9. In the same interview, Romney said he would create jobs by "taking advantage of America's energy resources, particularly natural gas, as well as coal, oil, nuclear, solar, and wind."
Much of this is contradicted by Romney's own agenda. He opposes the wind production tax credit, no matter how many jobs it costs the nation, and has vowed to cut off investments in renewable energy programs (Romney has said wind and solar do not constitute "real energy.")
10. Romney went on to say, "A nation which is a highly productive nation as we are benefits by trade with others... The Obama administration has negotiated no new [trade] agreements."
Did Romney not hear about the trade agreements with Panama, Colombia, and South Korea?
11. Romney added, "We have to cut the deficit and get America on track to a balanced budget in order to convince investors that America is a good place to invest long term.... The president has done virtually nothing other than to propose a series of tax increases."
Actually, Obama proposed a massive, $4 trillion "grand bargain," most of which was made up of spending cuts. Congressional Republicans turned it down anyway.
12. Romney also said, "We're at a 30-year low in new business startups."
Still not true.
13. Romney went on to say, "I indicated as I announced my tax plan that the key principles included the following. First, that high-income people would continue to pay the same share of the tax burden that they do today."
At a minimum, this is ridiculously misleading. Under Romney's plan, high-income people would get an enormous tax break.
A man who lies like that needs to be called out like the reprobate that he truly is. I know President Obama wants to remain above the fray and maintain his likability and dignity, but when engaged in a knife fight you have to bring your own sharp knife...and use it (figuratively speaking, of course). There is no greater weapon against a lie than the truth. A lie cannot stand against the truth. If President Obama comes prepared to fight and brings the truth. He'll knock Romney out faster than Mike Tyson put away Marvis Frazier.
I keep hearing how it's not Presidential or gentlemanly to call another man a liar. I beg to differ. It's a duty...a responsibility to challenge a liar with the truth and to hold him accountable for lying--especially if those lies stand to negatively impact the lives of others. If the shoe fits, and it fits Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan like stink on sh!t, then they deserve to be called exactly what they are: LIARS who say anything to sully the President, fool people and steal this election.
Now is not the time for being polite or Presidential. Now is not the time to use the "rope-a-dope." Now is the time to come out swinging with the truth. This is a brawl. This is a knife fight. This is like a take-no-prisoners street fight. This is a brawl. Did I say that already? I'm not saying the President needs to bite off somebody's ear, but he's gotta go Tyson on Romney. Hit him hard early and often with the truth.
Put the script aside and attack that liar with his own lies like there's no tomorrow. The same goes for VP Biden on Ryan. They must go on offense DURING these debates...not the next day via attack ads, which have much less impact. This is live TV. It's now or never. They've got to go to battle using the "L" word to describe Romney and Ryan with passion and gusto. They've got to be fired up and ready to go from the jump.
Can't wait for Thursday night.