Media Endorsements of Presidential Candidates

[DeistPaladin]

I know the theme this month is to insist that everyone who is, or is for, Republicans is lying...

Probably because Republicans are lying their asses off. We have an unfinished discussion on that point in another thread.

Now the relevant part of the President's speech:

"Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you've got a business – you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen. "

The President did say those words, and was addressing small business owners, so this quote isn't a lie. Your statement is. So, you do realize you lied, right?

Really?

Do I have to explain to you what quote mining is and why it is deceitful? One would think as an atheist you would already be familiar. Here's a link to bring you up to speed.

In quote mining, the target always does say "those words". The lie is when you edit the quotation or wrench it out of context in order to deceive your audience as to what the target said. This is precisely what Romney did to the Obama speech.

Now as to your argument about what the President meant by it - yes we've all heard the explanation that the "it" is the government infrastructure, and not the business. You believe that explanation. I don't believe it.

The point isn't what you or I believe. The point is what he said. While I know it is part of modern conservative custom to live in a post modernist world where everyone is entitled to their own facts, I'm afraid that reality doesn't conform to what you believe. Again, why I have to explain this to an atheist is beyond me.

So why start it with "If you've got a business..."

To counter the Randite philosophy that dominates our economic discourse. There is the attitude among the 1% that they work their magic and prosperity follows. In reality, it takes many parts of a society to create a strong economy.

Too much has been focused lately on concentrating more wealth into the hands of Wall Street, assuming what is good there is good for Main Street. In reality, a robust middle class and working class are needed for a prosperous first world economy. If you own a small business, you should be aware of this, because who is going to buy your products if the middle class disappears?

I fear that if America stays on its course toward tax cuts for the wealthy, deregulation and outsourcing, we will eventually find ourselves a third world nation, with the top 1% owning everything and the rest living in squalor. Actually, when it comes to wealth distribution, we're already comparable to many third world nations.

And no comment on the failure of trickle down economics?