When I ask about the source of this information, invariably the response is: This is well-known; check the Internet and you will find thousands of pages referencing it.
A closer examination reveals journalists and intellectuals quoting each other, infinitely repeating what others have said. The response to this finding is: "Well, there has to be some truth in all that." A strange truth indeed!
This is a well known and used Republican smear tactic. They use it all the time; spread a rumor without any substance, then keep it alive because, as the logic goes, it must be true to have such legs...
When someone tries to find the source, or argue the facts, or engage any of the rumormongers in a factual discussion, the rightist melt away. Sometimes they'll cut-and-paste some of garbage that is also built on innuendo or what I like to call 'Coulter research'; sprinkle a few distorted facts into pages and pages of pejoratives.
An example is this book The New Soldier by John Kerry that shows what a traitor he is. Well, in fact, the book isn't really by John Kerry, and actually contains very little material by Kerry. In fact, it is the rememberances of a whole lot of other Vietnam vets, who recount stories of not only atrocities, but waste, brutality, corruption, and lack of competent leadership in Vietnam. In fact, the little that Kerry contributes consists of a recounting of his Senate testimony and an epilogue which is basically a pro-peace article that is fairly thoughtful and mild.
But, to hear the rightists, it is the biography of Benedict Arnold. Yet, few if any are familiar with its contents. In fact, they simply repeat the factless story that Kerry is attempting to suppress the long out-of-print book.
The rightists are using the internet to create, spread, and keep alive rumors and lies that take on a life of their own, and thus 'must be true'. They are the urban legend creators of our day, but have twisted that bit of Americana for their own political evildoing... |
