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Whoops! Top Republican Admits That GOP Is Running "Ministry Of Truth" Against Obama
By Eric Kleefeld - August 26, 2008 TPM Election Central
Wow -- a leading Republican appears to have just inadvertently admitted that the GOP's spin machine set up to counter Barack Obama during the convention is a propaganda machine spewing nothing but lies.
The GOPer in question is Colorado GOP chairman Dick Wadhams, who accidentally made the admission when describing the GOP's war room in Denver set up to hammer Obama during convention week.
Wadhams described the GOP's outfit thusly to the Denver Post: "Just consider this the Ministry of Truth."
Um, as anybody who has ever read George Orwell knows, the Ministry of Truth exists to disseminate false propaganda about how great the ruling regime is, continuously rewriting both history and the present-day facts in order to maintain total control over the population.
"The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, the Ministry of Truth with lies, the Ministry of Love with torture and the Ministry of Plenty with starvation," Orwell wrote. "These contradictions are not accidental, nor do they result from ordinary hypocrisy; they are deliberate exercises in doublethink."
I'm by no means sympathizing with the GOP, but I have to wonder if maybe he didn't realize the significance of his claim. Is it possible that he thought he was declaring that the GOP is literally spreading the truth?
I mean, I haven't read Orwell since high school, so I'm a bit fuzzy on the exact details regarding the "Ministry of Truth" myself. Maybe Wadhams had heard the term, but hadn't read 1984, and didn't understand the implications of what he was saying....?
Or maybe he's just an idiot and a liar, who admitted such...
As a former Coloradan who well remembers Wadhams, I think it is safe to say he's acquainted with how the Ministry of Truth operates, and when it comes to doublethink, he is a cheerful participant.
Does he understand or appreciate the *implications* of his statement?
Probably not. To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully-constructed lies...
I'm by no means sympathizing with the GOP, but I have to wonder if maybe he didn't realize the significance of his claim. Is it possible that he thought he was declaring that the GOP is literally spreading the truth?
I mean, I haven't read Orwell since high school, so I'm a bit fuzzy on the exact details regarding the "Ministry of Truth" myself. Maybe Wadhams had heard the term, but hadn't read 1984, and didn't understand the implications of what he was saying....?
Or maybe he's just an idiot and a liar, who admitted such...
Many Republicans don't read literature. That's for the elitist Democrats.
They also don't read intelligence reports that contradict what they already know. They don't read the fatwas released by the terrorist organization that gave us 9/11. They don't read the assessments of the surge/war created by our own government agencies. They don't read the reams of paper released by Comptroller General David Walker about the state of Social Security/Medicare. Some have never even read the bible they believe our Constitution is based on. So I guess it goes without saying that they've never read the Constitution either.
Or maybe, the guy knows exactly what he was saying.
The "Ministry of Truth," of course, comes from Orwell's 1984. Its responsibility was to create bogus propaganda and re-write history, all in the interests of lying to -- and ultimately, maintaining control over -- the public.
Kleefeld quoted Orwell's description: "The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, the Ministry of Truth with lies, the Ministry of Love with torture and the Ministry of Plenty with starvation. These contradictions are not accidental, nor do they result from ordinary hypocrisy; they are deliberate exercises in doublethink." SOURCE
"The GOPer in question is Colorado GOP chairman Dick Wadhams, who accidentally made the admission when describing the GOP's war room in Denver set up to hammer Obama during convention week.
Wadhams described the GOP's outfit thusly to the Denver Post: "Just consider this the Ministry of Truth." REPUBLICAN BOASTS ABOUT 'MINISTRY OF TRUTH' Washington Monthly August 26, 2008
"Now, I will gladly concede that the word "Orwellian" is used a little too often, sometimes in instances in which it doesn't really apply.
But in a case like this, Republicans like Wadhams is just making it too easy."
Hmm...quite an implicit admission. Why should we brush this aside as if it were a gaffe of an illiterate? Politicians are Professional speakers, and it is disingenuous to believe they do not understand the nature of their words, nor the intent of the delivery.
Perhaps we should ask for the definition of Liberty next?
Liberty, in the eyes of the current Congress and administration, means that we have every right to impose our wants on other countries even if we have to invade them. It also means we can tell other countries not to do what we did in the 21st century. Time horizon.
Time Horizon....That, in any other era would have been the "spin of the Century". Sadly it's a long, long way down the list.
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Interesting
