The "big lie" is a technique where an individual or an organization in a position of authority distorts the facts and the truth so much that many of those listening would believe what they are hearing because they couldn't fathom that someone would purposely distort the facts and the truth to that degree. It is a technique that relies on the lack of intellectual curiosity of the audience it targets. It also preys on the fearful and the ignorant.
Fox "News" is the perfect example of this. They have flourished on the "big lie" technique with their slogans "fair and balanced" and "we report you decide." And although those are their slogans, it was not their practice. In the last six years it has been revealed that the network has had a cozy relationship with GOP officials and the Bush administration. And that it had contributed millions to GOP candidates and the causes they championed. "Fair and balanced"? Really? But hey, if you say it often enough, some will believe it.
The "big lie" technique is what today's GOP readily uses during their campaigns. The technique is also being used by the GOP to re-write America's history. In the upcoming days, it will be used by the GOP as they celebrate the centennial of President Ronald Reagan's birth. And the more that time passes, the bigger the lies regarding his presidency will become. The revisionism of President Reagan shows that the GOP isn't really celebrating his presidency but is perpetuating the myths that have been spread by his supporters. The GOP is relying on the bad memory of their audience to continue the myths that their platform is built on and further their agenda of taking America backward by any means necessary.
We will hear how Ronald Reagan cut taxes more than any other president. But the facts show that he actually raised taxes. He signed The Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 which, at the time, was the largest peacetime tax increase in U.S. history. In fact he increased federal taxes every year of his two-term presidency except the first and the last year.
The Tea Party will claim that Ronald Reagan was against "big government" but they will fail to mention that during Reagan's presidency, federal spending grew by almost 2.5 percent a year and the national debt grew from $700 billion to nearly $3 trillion. And although he promised to get rid of the Departments of Education and Energy, he kept both and added another, the Department for Veterans Affairs. So the BIG government he campaigned against got bigger on his watch.
Also, many on the right will talk about his conservative family values. We will hear how he was against a woman's right to choose. But they will not mention that as governor, Ronald Reagan legalized abortion in California and never pushed for its constitutional ban while he was president. The same was true about prayer in schools. Although he advocated prayer in public schools, he never proposed legislation for it. Reagan talked the talk but never walked the walk.
So is the GOP really celebrating a president who raised taxes, grew the government, and abandoned the issues important to the social conservatives who they regard as their base? No. They are celebrating the fact that Reagan showed the GOP how to win elections. He showed them that people love great speeches about serious issues, but they don't follow up and hold their elected officials accountable to the speeches they make. This is the legacy that the GOP is really celebrating. And it reveals what the GOP is really about. All talk and no action. This was the GOP's operating procedure during the Bush years. And as we will see, it will happen again as they shed the promises they made during their last campaign and continue the same ole policies that severely hurt the economy, watered down our liberties, and gave greater control of our democracy to corporations foreign and domestic.
And really, if you have to revise Reagan's presidency this much in order to celebrate it, is it really worth celebrating?
