Lies Lying Liars Lie About While Lying

In gauging the opposition's tactics as crude and ugly discourse, democrats miss their overall effectiveness. Also, what is missed is the sophistication that is behind them.

For instance, when the SBVT press releases first started to appear in early May they were fairly low-key jabs. O'Neill's group said they objected to some veteran's photos being used in ads without permission. Throughout June and July the sniping from this group was not of the caliber to mobilize against. Then, by the time of the Democratic Convention, the careful groundwork that had been laid could begin to pay off. Appearances had been made in the national media and each notable booker and editor was familiar with the leading demagogues from the group and had them in their rolodexes. Then the attacks became more severe.

Perfectly timed, their book "Unfit for Command" was released 8/15. The most controversial assertions, such as Kerry self-inflicting his wounds, lying about hostile fire episodes, and being overly ambitious in pursuit of medals that he orchestrated wounds all in order to further a political career as soon as he could get stateside, got tremendous play in a servile press that loved the fact that these guys were playing the media game like pros and their fact sheets were well formatted (even if the facts were murky).

Now, as the Swift Boat controversy is getting tattered and discredited, Judicial Watch, a group financed by Richard Melon Scaife, files a complaint on August 18th with the U.S. Navy and the DOD noting:

"The claims against Senator Kerry – both concerning his fraudulently obtained awards for valor and combat wounds, as well as his dishonorable and potentially illegal conduct as a commissioned officer of the Naval Reserve – are gravely serious matters that demand...immediate and direct action."

Just as one attack subsides, another takes its place. Every moment the Kerry Campaign spends responding to these attacks is a moment when they cannot convey any message relevant to today and the world we live in now.

The point is: this broad political attack tooks months to coordinate and execute, but was relatively inexpensive to produce; a book, a website, a bunch of free media and the next thing you know everyone in the country is quoting these goons and booking them for appearances. No sooner does Kerry answer one charge, then another more infuriating charge creeps forth. Kerry is left playing "whack-a-mole" with fellow veterans and is robbed from the opportunity to pursue a rhetorical offensive ahead of the Republican Convention.

The damage is done. Most people have already made up their minds regarding who gets their vote in November. The election will be decided by less than 3% of people. It is possible that around that many now doubt Kerry's truthfulness and valor. Unless Bush can be pinned to his own failings in office by an incisive Democratic offensive, that 3% may be enough.

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"All The Gold In New York City Is In Bank Vault of The Federal Reserve In Bush & Cheney's Name

Yahoo! News - Gatlin Bros. to Perform at GOP Convention

Well, here 'tis. I was curious who the Grand-Ole-Plutocrats would hire to rave up the crowd. I pretty much figured Wayne Newton would be a draw, but there's no mention of an act of such stature. The Gatlins haven't had a hit or changed hairstyles in 25 years. The DNC could readily line up live appearances by Patti LaBelle, John Mellencamp, Carol King, and Willie Nelson, not to mention that terrific band led by drummer Steve Jordan. The GOP are not going to capture the youth vote with surfer-turned-singer Daize Shayne. Go ahead, ask all the young people you know if they have heard of this person.

Of course, Republicans have hopes that Michael W. Smith will cause all the Christian Right faithful to scream in Beatle-manianical glee. But I have this fantasy where the neocon goons get the booking screwed up and Michael Smith shows up instead. I once took a songwriting class here in Chicago from this glorious cat. He apprenticed with Quincy Jones back in the day and could hep up the precedings considerably.

These people are grieviously behind the musical times. Back during the start of the War, they sent Wayne Newton over to Iraq to entertain a Metallica-starved bunch of grunts. That was hardly compassionate to either party. And with Russel Simmons and MTV responsible for registering about 410,000 new voters, the GOP needs to pump up the beat a bit. Where in the heck is Toby Keith!?

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This Land Is Their Land Too

Yesterday on CNN's Crossfire co-hosts Tucker Carlson and Donna Brazile had Vic Kamber, a democratic strategist, and L. Brent Boswell III, the founder of the conservative Media Research Center, on for a pseudo-lively discussion on whether or not songwriters should keep their mouths shut in regards to national politics.

BOZELL: I'm reminded that muzzles, dog muzzles, for people's mouths sometimes are a very good thing.

Following the recent forced controversey regarding Linda Ronstadt's remarks at the Alladin, there seems to be a desire from the political right to marginalize the opinions of artists or "entertainers" so that their thoughts are perceived as coming from an uninformed or possibly less-than-literate party who is merely trying to sell records or concert tickets. The fact that the twenty acts lined up for this MoveOn tour raising money for Democratic candidates are, artistically, a fairly hefty bunch is causing some consternation in conservatives who are not as able to counter in this particular arena with symetrical force.

But songwriters, singers, and musicians are always going to be avatars of social change. They travel the country in caravans not every election year but each and every year carrying large public address systems. In the words of Ronald Reagan, they "paid for this microphone." Part of the job of being onstage in front of a group of strangers is to create a sense of instant community and to try to make your art speak to and for the people as much as possible. Artists who have a body of work spanning more than 15 minutes inherently have achieved a position to speak from that is not easily discounted. Moreover, they risk alienating some fans and have more to lose in staking a position than the average citizen. But they needn't be muzzled or denigrated by speaking their views. It is part of their job and part of their tradition.

Woody Guthrie wrote on his guitar "This Instrument Kills Fascists", and he wrote of social injustice in songs, prose, poetry, and even in drawings. In doing so, he evoked the message of the troubadour who were perhaps the first pundits. When Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Brown, Bruce Springsteen, REM and others wish to address something about society that concerns them, the medium of song and the locale of the stage is altogether appropriate. When Bob Dylan wrote "With God On Our Side" and "Masters of War", he made an artistic statement that outlived all the speeches explaining the "domino effect." He lived up to a moral responsibility for artists to create consciousness out of chaos and to serve up something with a point of view rather than some treacle that will move product.

The Right shouldn't worry so much. If the policies of George Bush are sound and the nation is resolved in its present course, then all the minstrelsy in the world will fail to persuade The People. If songwriters are writing songs of discontent and finding a wide audience willing to listen, then there is something out there that probably needs to be spoken. The artists can only speak from the stage into a microphone connected to 15,000 to 20,000 watts of power; The People have the power of the ballot box which can transform a nation.

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