"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations,
or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and
evidence"
John Adams
Hold on. I am about to give the other side some props. When it comes to interpretation of facts, misalignment of history, and besmirching the innocent, the other side is magnificent. Before you might think this is just sour grapes, I am going to give some facts to consider on a variety of issues. As I have said before, it is all about the messaging, and they are as skillful and adroit as they come.
I know in many respects, the Republicans really blew the last election. They allowed Mitt Romney to be painted as ultra rich, cold, out of touch and stingy. Not too many years ago, John Kerry was running for president. His wealth is just about equal to Mitt Romney's wealth. However, he was not painted with the same brush as Mitt was in 2012. In fact, if the Republican convention had been organized better, the story of Mitt in how giving of his time, talent and resources would have been seen by millions. The FACT is this - Mitt Romney gives at a minimum 10% of every dollar he makes to his church. In addition he also gives millions more to other charities. In 2011, he gave 30% of everything he made to church and charity. Compare that to presidential candidate Al Gore who in 1999 gave a whopping $353 to charity. Before his marriage to Teresa Heinz, presidential candidate John Kerry gave $0, $820, 2,039, and $0 to charity in the years 1991 - 1995. George W. Bush, who had nowhere near the wealth that Gore or Kerry had, gave between 9% 15% during the period of 1991 - 1993. Yet Republicans are portrayed as stingy and the Democrats are looked upon as generous. Go figure.
The truth is, facts have shown that Republicans are just as capable of spending money as the other side is - usually only not as fast. Republicans are not cheap. On the contrary they seldom end programs and best case, only cut the rate of growth on a select few. In addition, they don't vote for dirty air, toxic water, killing grandma, or uneducated children. They don't want Medicare and Social Security to end. They do however, want accountability and cost containment on some key programs (should be all programs). For that, their message has been twisted and turned to make them appear tighter as Scrooge. By the way, for anyone who does not think that Republicans are capable of spending gobs of money only needs to go back to 2006, when Medicare Part "D" was signed into law. It was steered through the House by Congressman Tauzin (R-LA) and signed into law by President Bush. It was supported and voted for by both sides of the aisle. One minor problem. There was not the required funding, so it has blown a bigger hole in our debt. Bush has been castigated for the debt issues caused by this bill ever since he signed it. Some of his harshest critics voted in favor of this bill. Again, go figure.
The next time you hear a message from talking heads on either side, do your homework. Quite often the facts on most issues are easy to find. Many uninformed or underinformed voters fall under the trance as they drink the kool aid. There is an old saying - everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts. True then and true now. Facts continue to be very stubborn things. Do your homework. It is of the highest importance we all stay informed with the truth.
The truth is, facts have shown that Republicans are just as capable of spending money as the other side is - usually only not as fast. Republicans are not cheap. On the contrary they seldom end programs and best case, only cut the rate of growth on a select few. In addition, they don't vote for dirty air, toxic water, killing grandma, or uneducated children. They don't want Medicare and Social Security to end. They do however, want accountability and cost containment on some key programs (should be all programs). For that, their message has been twisted and turned to make them appear tighter as Scrooge. By the way, for anyone who does not think that Republicans are capable of spending gobs of money only needs to go back to 2006, when Medicare Part "D" was signed into law. It was steered through the House by Congressman Tauzin (R-LA) and signed into law by President Bush. It was supported and voted for by both sides of the aisle. One minor problem. There was not the required funding, so it has blown a bigger hole in our debt. Bush has been castigated for the debt issues caused by this bill ever since he signed it. Some of his harshest critics voted in favor of this bill. Again, go figure.
The next time you hear a message from talking heads on either side, do your homework. Quite often the facts on most issues are easy to find. Many uninformed or underinformed voters fall under the trance as they drink the kool aid. There is an old saying - everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts. True then and true now. Facts continue to be very stubborn things. Do your homework. It is of the highest importance we all stay informed with the truth.
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