Republicans Continue To Push Dishonest View of 2004 Election

Not only did the Republicans win with a campaign based upon dirty tactics ranging from dishonesty in describing their own policies to greatly distorting Kerry's proposals and record, to outright voter suppression, but now they try to cover up their deceptions. Today the Williamsport Sun-Gazette takes issue with recent statements from John Kerry regarding Republican dirty tricks. They claim that Democrats lost not due to Republican tricks:

"We would suggest an alternative explanation for Democrats' electoral troubles at the national level: They've jumped off the left end, openly rejected mainstream American values, devoted themselves to blaming America first in foreign affairs and embraced high-tax, high-spend economics."

It is remarkable how many deceptions they sneak into this paragraph alone! Let's look at them one by one:

• "Democrats' electoral troubles at the national level" This is a common tactic of Republicans, claiming greater support and success, dating at least back to the days of Richard Nixon claiming support of the "silent majority" prior to being forced from office. Their claims of major electoral troubles are greatly exaggerated. George Bush won reelection by a remarkably small margin for an incumbent President, especially during war time. Republicans would have lost House seats if not for their redistricting shenanegans. Republicans did better in the Senate, but primarily by taking Democratic seats in red states as a long process of realignment has continued.
  
  
• "They've jumped off the left end" It is Republicans who won by moving to the extremes, successfully bringing out far more people on the right than anticipated, allowing them to win despite Kerry's greater support among both liberals and moderates. While Republicans may have won the vote, a majority of voters supported Democrats' positions on virtually every position polled. Republicans try to paint their opponents as being far more liberal than they really are, such as when they claimed that Kerry was ranked the number one most liberal Senator, when his overall record was actually at number eleven.
  
  
• "openly rejected mainstream American values" Most likely a code word for not engaging in the gay bashing which helped bring right wingers to the polls. Despite opposition to gay marriage, the general public overall is becoming more tolerant of gays, including support for civil unions--the position held by John Kerry. It is the Republicans who are opposing the principles American was founded on including separation of powers and separation of church and state. They violate American values as they support greater governmental intrusion in people's oppose successful programs such as Medicare and Social Security.
  
  
• "devoted themselves to blaming America first in foreign affairs" A fiction to hide the fact that Republican are clueless as to the real problems we face, with phoney claims that we were attacked on 9/11 because al Qaeda hates us for our freedom, and all the lies to get us into an unnecessary war (while failing to adequately take on terrorism).
  
  
• "embraced high-tax, high-spend economics" It is the Republicans who have run up a record deficit while the Democrats advocated a pay as you go policy. The only high taxes the Republicans care about is having any taxes at all on the ultra-wealthy. The Republicans attempted to reduce taxes for the wealthy alone until the Democrats insisted upon the middle class tax cut. From John Kerry to Howard Dean, Democrats are now led by fiscal conservatives who realize that the only thing worse then higher taxes and higher spending is higher borrowing and higher spending.