What Republicans Call ‘Spin’ the Rest of The World Calls ‘Lies’

An excerpt from Bob Geiger writing at The Huffington Post:

[Last winter my nine-year old son] told me the night before that he heard from one of the teachers that, because of the magnitude of the expected storm, classes had been called off in advance for the next day. We found out later that night that this information was incorrect, that a preemptive snow-day had not been called and my little boy promptly apologized for “lying.”

I asked at the time if he knew that a snow-day had really not been called and, when he replied that he really did believe his information was correct, I explained that he had simply been mistaken and that he had not lied. If he had found out at 6:00 PM that his information was wrong, I said to him, telling me at 7:00 PM that school had already been canceled would indeed have been a lie.

My little boy understands and acknowledges that obvious distinction — Republicans do not.

As if we need more evidence of this, Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman sent out an e-mail blast yesterday lashing John Kerry for allegedly insulting America’s military personnel.

“Listen closely this election season and you’ll hear the truth about what Democrats represent,” wrote Mehlman. “Monday, failed Presidential candidate John Kerry brazenly insulted the brave American men and women serving in our military. In Kerry’s cocoon of privilege, those who serve in our military are failures who never did their homework or ‘made an effort to be smart.'”

Our troops deserve to be honored, not insulted by the likes of John Kerry.”

Mehlman ended his deceptive pitch by getting down to brass tacks and saying “We need you now to keep the John Kerry Democrats out of power.”

By any sensible person’s definition — and what an average grade-school child would understand — is that this was a lie. Ken Mehlman knew when he released this e-mail that John Kerry had not “brazenly insulted the brave American men and women serving in our military.” He knew from a comparison of the prepared text and how Kerry bungled the joke he intended to tell that it was meant for Mehlman’s master, George W. Bush, and not the troops in Iraq and that there was certainly nothing brazen about it.

He knew all of that as a matter of fact, in addition to knowing that, unlike the vast majority of the Republican leadership, John Kerry is a highly-decorated Veteran, who has always fought for America’s Vets and active-duty military and would never lob such disrespect their way.

But Mehlman said it anyway. He knew at 1:00 PM that what he was writing was a lie. But he sent the e-mail at 2:00 PM anyway.