The Democrats' Big Lie

[Geee]

American Thinker:

Charles Krauthammer is doubtless one of the most astute and knowledgeable members of the conservative commentariat. But once in a while even he stumbles while trying to interpret what the far left is doing. Such was the case a few days ago when he was a guest on Bill O'Reilly's FNC show and the host was wondering, in his distinctive fashion, at the stupidity of the mainstream press, as evidenced by the latest epithet for the Tea Party -- "terrorists", and the "mindless" repetition of it on all channels.

That O'Reilly, who justifiably likes to refer to himself, in mock humility, as a "simple" man while also reminding the viewers that he is a "Harvard man", would fall into this trap is no surprise. But Dr. Krauthammer, who ascribed the parroting of the stupid moniker by the leftist MSM to their mental slothfulness and paucity of imagination, should know better. This is not to defend the mental acuity of leftist JournOlists, though quite a few of them are glaringly stupid. But the "mindless" repetition of DNC talking points has nothing to do with their intellectual prowess or lack thereof; they are merely doing their part for the progressive cause, using a technique as old as demagoguery and equally effective -- the Big Lie.

The theory of the Big Lie was succinctly expounded by Adolf Hitler, an acknowledged master of the genre. Here is what Der Führer wrote in vol. I, Chapter 10 of Mein Kampf (in James Murphy' translation):

"...in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation. For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying."

Another equally renowned expert in the field, Dr. Josef Goebbels, put it even more starkly in an article "From Churchill's Lie Factory" dated 12 January 1941:

"The essential English leadership secret does not depend on particular intelligence. Rather, it depends on a remarkably stupid thick-headedness. The English follow the principle that when one lies, one should lie big, and stick to it. They keep up their lies, even at the risk of looking ridiculous."

There are very few things the left is really good at, but one of them is propaganda, its bread and butter, the biggest arrow in its quiver. While extolling "the working class", the socialist movement has always been an almost exclusive preserve of radical intellectuals. These people, whose primary habitat is the ivory towers of academia, are far removed from reality. They spend their lives talking non-stop, engaging in verbal games and coming up with slogans and catch-words and phrases, sometimes quite ingenious. You have to admit that the NYT's headline "General Betray Us" mocking Gen. Petraeus, while sickeningly impudent, was very good as a cute piece of propaganda.