I’ve been thinking a lot about what Romney’s Jeep ad really means. I’ve been wondering what possessed him to spread such a blatant lie that was bound to be (and has been) so easily debunked.
Besides the obvious conclusion that he’s desperate because the electoral vote projections are just not there for him despite the polls, Romney’s Jeep ad means a few other things to me. For starters it means that he’s counting on an electorate that doesn’t know the facts. Romney believes that he can get away with this lie, just like he could get away with reversing his positions during the debates, because voters are ignorant.
The second thing that this ad means is that the media has been so complacent and so complicit in this “close horse race” narrative, that he feels that even with a little backlash, he can get away with it.
The third thing that this ad means is that Romney is playing the dirtiest of politics, with an utter disregard for the truth and for basic decency. Romney has shown that he has absolutely no qualms about lying in order to achieve his goal.
This, in turn, makes me wonder: if Romney lies so easily, what does this mean for?:
Women: Romney has gone back and forth on his anti-choice position. We really don’t know what he’s going to do regarding the abortion issue, including Supreme Court nominations that will affect it. If you’re a woman, or the father of a daughter, do you want to take this risk?
Seniors: When Romney says that he wants to strengthen Medicare even though he wants to turn it into a voucher system, can you believe him? Even if it’s for future and not current seniors, can we believe that he’s really going to safeguard Medicare?
The Military: Can we really believe that Romney is for peace just because he played a dove during the 3rd Presidential debate? If one of your family members is in the military, are you sure that Romney will not engage us in another unnecessary war, just like Bush did with Iraq, following his party’s hawkish tendencies?
Immigration: Will Romney really come up with an immigration policy that is fair? In the 2nd Presidential debate, he was all for immigration reform as long as “illegal immigrants” would find a path to citizenship by serving in the military. In other words, he’s found the soldiers that he’ll need to wage whatever war strikes his fancy.
However the most important thing that the Romney Jeep ad means to me is that our political process, our country, is in deep trouble. Yes, we are all used to political doublespeak, we are all familiar with political gamesmanship. However, Romney’s Jeep ad confirms that something terrible has happened to the Republican party, that a line that should never have been crossed has been left far behind.
I knew this when Andrew Breitbart edited a tape to grossly misrepresent the position of Shirley Sherrod. I knew this seeing the obstruction exercised by the House GOP in the last two years. But when I see that Mitt Romney, a candidate for the highest office in the land, feels free to propagate a blatant lie against President Obama and about companies that affect the lives of everyday Americans, I truly fear for the future of my country.
We have to stop today’s GOP. We have to show them that obstruction and lies are not acceptable. We have to teach them a lesson. The best way to do this is not only to re-elect President Obama but to have a Democratic Congress, both chambers. There are two problems with this scenario: 1. We will not achieve a Democratic House in 2012, and 2. I’m afraid that the more the GOP loses, the more they will continue on a rightward path straight to hell, dragging us all along with them.
But letting them win, letting them destroy our democratic process and everything that we stand for is, well, unimaginable.
