The Romney campaign is fabricating things again and the right's media machine is again echoing the lie to the public. Repetition, repetition, repetition and soon the lie becomes a 'truth.' This one is absolutely preposterous, designed to distract attention from continuing calls for Romney to explain what he is hiding by not showing his tax returns.
Sunday headline at far-right Washington Times: Romney: Obama lawsuit targeting military voting law an ‘outrage’. What?
This is Sunday. Tomorrow right-wing radio will pick it up and amplify it. And, as with the "He didn't build that" lie, the corporate "mainstream" media will likely join that amplification.
Background - Republicans Cut Off Early Voting Except For military Families
- Ohio passed one of those laws to keep groups that vote Democratic from voting. This one blocks "early voting," except for military families.
- Ohio HAD early voting for everyone. In 2008 more than 93,000 Ohioans voted in the three days before the election.
- This year, as part of the GOP voter-suppression effort that is happening in several states, Republicans cut off early voting three days before the election -- except for Military families.
- The Obama campaign is suing to reinstate early voting for everyone.
This is the basis of Romney's flat-out lie that the Obama campaign is suing to stop military families from voting.
Romney Again Tries To Trick Low-Information Voters
Last month, the Romney campaign edited an Obama speech to make it sound like the president had said that business owners didn't build their businesses, when in fact the President had said they didn't build roads and bridges. The Romney campaign and associated "Super PACs" spent tens of millions of dollars on TV ads repeating the doctored audio, and the right-wing media machine echoed the lie, using repetition to turn it into a "truth."
The idea was to reinforce a narrative that Democrats are "anti-business."
This appears to be the tactic again, in an attempt to reinforce a narrative that Democrats are "anti-military."
Mitt Romney on Saturday called the Obama lawsuit an “outrage.” Romney said in a statement,
“The brave men and women of our military make tremendous sacrifices to protect and defend our freedoms, and we should do everything we can to protect their fundamental right to vote,” the presumptive Republican candidate said on his campaign’s Facebook page.
“I stand with the 15 military groups that are defending the rights of military voters, and if I’m entrusted to be the commander-in-chief, I’ll work to protect the voting rights of our military, not undermine them,” he said.
Right-Wing Media Spreads The Lie
So here we go again. The Romney campaign just fabricates a claim, and the right's media spreads it to low-information voters.
FOX: Obama campaign sues Ohio over early voting law for military
Washington Times Editorial: Obama frags military voters
Washington Examiner: Obama angers military groups with lawsuit against Ohio early voting law
NewsMax: Obama Campaign Sues in Bid to Suppress Military Vote
Daily Caller: Ohio ‘concerned with the premise’ of Obama campaign military voting suit
Blogs:
Obama Campaign Sues To Eliminate Ohio Military Early Voting Rights
Obama Trying to Suppress the Active Duty Military Vote? Of Course He Is
Romney calls Obama’s lawsuit against Ohio military voting law an “outrage”
Obama campaign sues to restrict voting by military
It is also being posted on "message boards" of all types.
"Mainstream" Media Echoes
The corporate "mainstream" media is beginning to echo the Romney claim.
ABC: Romney Says Obama Lawsuit Blocks Ohio Military Voters
CNN: Romney campaign jabs at Obama over voting rights suit
Chicago Tribune: Romney: Obama lawsuit seeks to 'undermine' military voters
The Hill: Romney: Obama trying to limit military voters’ rights, calls Ohio lawsuit ‘outrage’
Question: why does it seem like the entire Republican Party is based on lies like this? And what kind of country will this be if they succeed?
