Whoops! Top Republican Admits That GOP Is Running "Ministry Of Truth" Against Obama
Wow -- a leading Republican appears to have just inadvertently admitted that the GOP's spin machine set up to counter Barack Obama during the convention is a propaganda machine spewing nothing but lies.
The GOPer in question is Colorado GOP chairman Dick Wadhams, who accidentally made the admission when describing the GOP's war room in Denver set up to hammer Obama during convention week.
Wadhams described the GOP's outfit thusly to the Denver Post: "Just consider this the Ministry of Truth."
Um, as anybody who has ever read George Orwell knows, the Ministry of Truth exists to disseminate false propaganda about how great the ruling regime is, continuously rewriting both history and the present-day facts in order to maintain total control over the population.
"The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, the Ministry of Truth with lies, the Ministry of Love with torture and the Ministry of Plenty with starvation," Orwell wrote. "These contradictions are not accidental, nor do they result from ordinary hypocrisy; they are deliberate exercises in doublethink."
I can't wait for the MSM to pick up and run with this!
Oh wait...
August 26, 2008 11:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
Agreed.
And I can't wait for Obama to start fighting this campaign!
Oh wait...
August 26, 2008 11:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, many of these bozos have even read Orwell?
Plus, they've been acting as stenographers for the Orwellian propaganda put out by Bush, Cheney, Rove et al. And in their coverage of this election, nothing seems to have changed...
August 26, 2008 11:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
Orwell? Is he in the Bible? Was he an American? Don't think that was part of the curriculum at HomeSchoolU.
August 26, 2008 5:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, no, they read his stuff, they just thought it was a "how-to" manual. You know, like it would be "Fascism for Dummies" if it was coming out this week.
August 26, 2008 8:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Bingo!
August 26, 2008 8:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Slience; is that what we hear from the MSM?
August 26, 2008 12:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm sure he doesn't have any idea what the implications were of his statement. He probably thought he literally meant the GOP was telling the truth...
We know better, just sayin'
http://strategy08.wordpress.com
August 26, 2008 11:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
Well, yeah. That's how doublethink works.
August 26, 2008 11:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yes those Celeb ads are double think too.
He not only is a celeb but he is also 'the other'
'To hold 2 thoughts which simultaneously cancel each other out'
August 26, 2008 12:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
I have a headache from reading that explanation. I need Soma.
August 26, 2008 5:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Of course he doesn't know the implications of his statement. If you've read Orwell, you are by definition an "elitist."
August 26, 2008 12:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh please. Like the the people in the media are going to call out 1984 doublethink when they're part and parcel of it all.
If the media ever had the ability to call out doublethink and doubletalk, we'd be campaigning for Kerry's second term right now.
August 26, 2008 11:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
Personally I think we'd be celebrating the 8 successful years of Gore. And we probably wouldn't have heard much of Obama until a decade from now.
No war, no 2004 speech, etc.
August 26, 2008 11:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
THIS IS HUGE! Mr.Wadhams, thank you so much.
You just proved the real purpose of the GOP.
People, spread the word. The reckoning is coming!
August 26, 2008 11:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
Of course they're doing this, and of course the larger implications will be lost on a media that is intent on exposing the "rift" between Clinton voters and Obama voters.
Face it: Obama has to run against McCain, Clinton "supporters", and the media, simultaneously.
August 26, 2008 11:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
You liberals and your fancy book learning.
Besides, how many books did John McCain get to read as a POW?
August 26, 2008 11:49 AM | Reply | Permalink
Ha! I was waiting for it.
"Does Barack Obama want to have a debate over how many books John McCain has read? Keep in mind this is a man who spent five and a half years without a kitchen table, a house, AND a book!"
...meh, I tried to hard with that.
August 26, 2008 12:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
He read about as many books in the Hanoi Hilton as he did when he was a midshipman at the US Naval Acedemy .... none!
August 26, 2008 12:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Great hit!!!
August 26, 2008 12:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
I guess it is doublethink that allows me to both laugh at these POW jokes and feel ashamed for doing so.
The most effective doublethink is logic against logic, without it our brand of capitalism would have died long ago.
August 26, 2008 12:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Except, if McCain and his staff don't respect his former POW status enough to stop hiding behind it at every question, why should anyone else?
Just as with the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth - if they as fellow veterans don't respect other veterans' service, why should anyone else?
What they do is far more disrespectful than anything any Democratic candidate for President is alleged to have done.
August 26, 2008 12:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
These guys have been running slime campaigns for so long that they no longer even care enough to high what it is that they are doing.
August 26, 2008 11:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
high = hide
August 26, 2008 12:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
The RNC website has a new clock counting "the time until Joe Biden's next gaffe". Only problem is, it's counting UP.
August 26, 2008 11:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
Karl Rove will arrive in Denver today as a part of Faux News team. Who else represents Orwell better than Rove and I only hope people in Denver will find that asshole and show "true love" in an Orwellian way by protesting and conducting a citizen's arrest. I love how he looks the part of a true facisit pig with his nose!
August 26, 2008 11:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
If you haven't read 1984 yet, you really should -frighteningly prescient, esp. in regard to the Bush years.
I guess lying is one of those Republican family values you hear so much about.
August 26, 2008 11:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
Its always been on my "re-read frequently" list, but thinking back, it seems like I've been reading it more or less continuiously since the run-up to the Iraq war started. I've just been kind of picking it up, opening up a page at random and dive in for a few chapters.
August 26, 2008 12:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
If the GOP response is that they never heard of George Orwell, who will doubt them?
August 26, 2008 12:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
GOP response: Books are for elitists and liberals.
August 26, 2008 12:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Don't worry about books. If McSame wins, the Rovians will implement their Fahrenheit 451 solution to deal with those pesky books as the perfect complement to their doublespeak/doublethink machinations.
August 26, 2008 2:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Never heard of him? Hell, they love him. The problem is that they think "1984" is an ops manual rather than a cautionary tale.
August 26, 2008 12:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't know anymore - maybe things are so fucked up that they won't ever be right again -
Serve the oily Victory Gin, keep the TV tuned to American Idol.
Who cares?
August 26, 2008 12:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
And the Democratic response to this will be to point out how Orwellian it all is, and then expect the media to pick up on that and point it out to an American public that just won't give a damn.
August 26, 2008 12:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
With great respect Eric, your post assumes that Wadhams is familiar with Orwell and the meaning of "Ministry of Truth" as it is used in 1984. My guess is Mr. Wadhams is a nearly illiterate bufoon who actually meant that the Republicans were putting out the truth and that he believes that is the case even while he knows that they are actually putting out nothing but lies. In essence, if I'm correct, this is actuially a surreal demonstration of the effectiveness of doublespeak among right wing Republicans because if I am correct, Wadhams is thinking and acting in Doublespeak already.
August 26, 2008 12:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
I do not think that Eric thought Wadham knew anything. that was the complete irony. Wadham does beleive that if itis labelled Patriot Act, it protects his civil liberties, and if it is called the Ministry of Truth, then it means they are disiminating the truth.
No one for one second beleives that Wadham wasn't illiterate.
August 26, 2008 12:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hell look at the theme nights for the GOP Convention, it is right down this line of 1984 thinking.
Day One: Service. Speakers include Lieberman, Cheney and Bush
Day Two: Reform. Speakers include Giuliani, Huckabee and Ridge
Day Three: Prosperity. Speakers include Mitt Romney, Carly Fiorina, Meg Whitman and Cindy McCain
Day Four: Peace. Speaker John McCain
No, this is not a joke. I double checked the source just to make sure.
August 26, 2008 12:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Good points. These modern day Republicans have clearly internalized lessons from Orwell's classic. The problem is, they've internalized all the wrong lessons.
Someone should turn your post into a political ad, and run it throughout their convention.
August 26, 2008 12:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Interesting...there is only one prosperous man among the women.
August 26, 2008 12:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
And one of them - the candidate's wife - inherited her prosperity.
Don't know anything about the backgrounds of the other two.
August 26, 2008 2:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
Wow - what a line-up - every one of the worst war criminals and fascists, right there.
Jeez - it takes one's breath.
August 26, 2008 12:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
Day One: Service [Opportunism]. Speakers include Lieberman, Cheney and Bush
Day Two: Reform [Crony Capitalism]. Speakers include Giuliani, Huckabee and Ridge
Day Three: Prosperity. [Corporate predation and mismanagement] Speakers include Mitt Romney, Carly Fiorina, Meg Whitman and Cindy McCain
Day Four: Peace. [Let's reignite the Cold War to give McCain the WH] Speaker John McCain
August 26, 2008 3:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Lets not forget "inherited wealth".
August 27, 2008 4:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
Poor choice of words but as for "Truth" there has been no real counter to any of McCain's daily ads to suggest that any are even remotely false. The best and only retort came yesterday, not from Obama who is hapless in addressing the truth of his past, but from Clinton who responded to Debra Bartoshevich's ad for McCain with a simple "I'm Hillary Clinton and I do not approve this ad."
McCain has the truth on his side, Obama and the Dear Leader's cult following can only sputter complaints and accusations but not much more. Calling for DOJ criminal investigations and so forth are humorous at best.
As a Clinton supporter I am disappointed to see her lose and now have to follow the party line and support Obama. I and many others have drawn a line in the sand and said No, No Way. I'll support Clinton in 2012 for president should she again choose, else as a NY resident for her reelection in the Senate next time around. For the moment, once Obama's coup is complete this week I'll simply support McCain who has readiness, integrity, and experience to be president.
After November we can clean house of Dean, Pelosi, Brazile, and their ilk.
I personally look forward to more McCain and other ads addressing the truth about Obama. Seeing Clinton, Biden, and even the Dear Leader himself quoted in their own words is very satisfying.
August 26, 2008 12:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
You are not, and never have been a Clinton supporter, Matt. Don't start lying now, it's unseemly.
August 26, 2008 12:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
What that spew an unsupported and false accusation, why don't you address the topic of discussion? Oh, that's right, because truth is not on your side, nor apparently something you can talk to.
August 26, 2008 12:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
A bit of dyslexia, that should have read:
August 26, 2008 12:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
McLame has "the truth on his side"?
Dude - that lobotomy went a little far -
August 26, 2008 12:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
You are a troll and you are trolling.
August 26, 2008 12:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Silly troll, be gone.
Your as much a Clinton supporter, as Limbaugh is sober and drug free.
August 26, 2008 12:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
why take a shot at Rush?
August 26, 2008 1:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'll simply support McCain who has readiness, integrity, and experience to be president.
What flavor Kool-Aid are you drinking today?
McSame is ready to step into Chimpy's shoes and follow the existing policies while expanding our military presence where it is not needed or wanted. He's also ready to take a nap too.
Integrity? You've got to be kidding. His father and grandfather being Admirals are the only reason he was admitted to USNA. That fact also kept him from being kicked out for misconduct and poor grades. The same for his getting into flight school and staying in despite crashing 3 planes before he qualified. Then there was the Forrestal incident where this man of integrity was responsible for over 130 sailors dying because he "wet started" his engine on a crowded flight deck.
Experience? McLame has experience in being a bad Naval Aviator, being a POW and being the Navy's Senate Liaison. He's also experienced in adultery, both before and after the 1st wife's accident as well in backroom politics where he takes care of friends and special interest over the interests of his constituents.
John McInsame is just what the people of the United States DO NOT need, now or ever.
August 26, 2008 1:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm not going to correct you point for point as I suspect you know how false and rediculous you post is. But for one point, the accident on the Forrestal began with a weapon launch/misfire from another plan that hit McCain's and others' planes. This had absolutely nothing to do with McCain, except that he was very lucky to be alive afterward.
Look, I know you all want to dump on McCain and previously/still Clinton, but at least get your facts straight or not so painfully distorted to be blatant lies.
August 26, 2008 3:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Dick Wad hams"
say no more.
August 26, 2008 12:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
To Quote BO:
"It’s like these guys take pride in being ignorant."
August 26, 2008 12:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
John McCain was a POW in 1984 so couldn't have known... oh, wait.
Never mind.
August 26, 2008 12:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Dick Wadhams, compensating for a name that must have brought a lot of ridicule in high school
August 26, 2008 12:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Georgia incursion brought up GOP flashbacks to the Cold War, but even Reagan would be shocked at their being on the Soviet side!
August 26, 2008 1:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Then we can finally correlate,
Ministry of straight talk = Ministry of Hypocrisy
August 26, 2008 1:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
I have a question to the ministry of truth.
Where is Vicki Iseman?
Is she dead?
And if so, under what circumstances did she die?
August 26, 2008 1:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
With all those houses at McLame's disposal and Cindy headed to Georgia one could only guess where Johnny Boy has Vicki stashed. Let's wait for Cindy to leave town and then see if John appears with a just-got-laid-shit-eating-grin on his face while she's away.
August 26, 2008 1:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
GOP doesn't do books.
OR, in GOP speak:
"Book bad. Grrrrrr. Terrorist!"
August 26, 2008 1:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Dude, we do all kinds of books:
THE OBAMANATION...THE CASE AGAINST BARACK OBAMA...FLEECED...
August 26, 2008 1:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
LOL >> very good sad but guess its true. i am guessing those are ones with pictures as we know its hard to read them right.
Gerry Owens
August 26, 2008 2:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Obama Nation" is published by Threshold, (a Regnery imprint and) a division of Simon & Schuster run by Mary Matalin, ex-aide to Dick Cheney.
"The Case Against Barack Obama" is also published by Regnery/Threshold:
Regnery Publishing Inc.
In the 1980s, Alfred S. Regnery, son of Henry Regnery, took control of the company. In the 1990s, the Regnery family sold the publishing company to Phillips Publishing International, which put the book publishing company into its Eagle Publishing subsidiary, which also publishes the weekly Human Events. Alfred Regnery has subsequently left his post as President of Regnery Publishing to become the publisher of The American Spectator magazine. His books are now published by Threshold Editions, the conservative imprint of CBS-owned Simon & Schuster which is run by Republican strategist Mary Matalin. He still holds a seat on the Regnery Board of Directors. Pat Sajak also is a member of the board. Alex Novak, son of political columnist Robert Novak, is director of marketing.
Regnery also published Unlimited Access: An FBI Agent Inside The Clinton White House (1996) by Gary Aldrich, which Max Blumenthal, writing in The American Prospect, claimed "... painted images of Hillary Clinton hanging crack pipes on the White House Christmas tree".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regnery_Publishing
August 26, 2008 3:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Like TPM "concerns" itself with progressive ideas.
August 26, 2008 1:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ministry is such a foreign word. If Dick Wadhams were a real American, he would have said, "Department of Truth." Damn elitists and their elitist words! Loved the book.
August 26, 2008 1:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
what is scary is that it's all working.
only in america can this dickwad come out and clearly state how they intend to lie and be ignored. If bush went nuts and just ran out onto the street naked yelling and screaming about all the lies he has told, no one would believe it.
I think that if john McCain wins, it's over.
which makes me think, would it too desparate of an attack line for the obama team to claim that McCain is a dangerous person and might end up destroying the world?
August 26, 2008 2:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Puleezz, do not hold your breath.
August 26, 2008 2:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
I only read it once many years ago.
I see it happening all around me these days. Anyone that read 1984 recognizes doublespeak
and Big Brother. (think...all the cameras up around town these days, wiretapping and mail, snail and electronic surveillance)
It was a great book.
August 26, 2008 2:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm hardly surprised about hearing this about the GOP and will venture a bet that the MSM does NOT pick up on this. Heck, if anything they will help the Ministry along, point by point.
How totally sad and pathetic our media has become...
August 26, 2008 3:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Am I the only one struck by the chariman's name? Dick Wadham?
August 26, 2008 7:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
"The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, the Ministry of Truth with lies, the Ministry of Love with torture and the Ministry of Plenty with starvation," Orwell wrote.
Umm, No. I have a copy of 1984 on me right now, and that is not the quote. Not sure if this is an intentional misquote or not, but this is the real passage.
"the ministry of truth, which concerned itself with news, entertainment, and the fine arts; the ministry of peace, which concerned itself with wat; the ministry of love, which maintained law and order; and the ministry of plenty, which was "responsible for economic affairs"
August 26, 2008 7:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Josephcast said, "If you haven't read 1984 yet, you really should -frighteningly prescient, esp. in regard to the Bush years." which is true enough. I showed my son the movie, "Network" last year. It was just to see the shouting out the window scene, but in the veiwing I became aware of just how prescient Paddy Chayevsky was, way back when.
August 27, 2008 9:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
It's sad but true unfortunately, so this story will never see the light of day in the MSM! In fact, THEY are literally insuring that that white-haired wrinkly dude gets elected!
Guess they LOVE reporting on wars, foreclosures, bank crises, and will be able to add the overturning of Roe v Wade next year too.
August 27, 2008 12:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Frankly, if the only prep for the Presidency is his POW time, let's see how that qualifies McCain. "I'm gonna remind the guards that I'm the son of an Admiral and my daddy is gonna get you, ummm You C***', OR :"You better be nicer to me, I am an Admiral's son", or "Better be careful, or I will sign you up as a contestant in the topless, bottomless contest and then see how you like that", or "you better respect me cause I graduated 5th from the bottom of my class from the Naval Acadamy and besides, my daddy and my granddaddy are both Admirals". If one is short on character, no matter POW status, being a Senator means nothing. You simply are a POW or a Senator with no character.
August 27, 2008 2:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Josephcast said, "If you haven't read 1984 yet, you really should -frighteningly prescient, esp. in regard to the Bush years." which is true enough. I showed my son the movie, "Network" last year. It was just to see the shouting out the window scene, but in the veiwing I became aware of just how prescient Paddy Chayevsky was, way back when.
"Posted by Wanser"
"Face in the Crowd" was superior -- and at least 15 years before "Network". One exaggerates the value of the latter -- not a new idea with Chayevsky -- if one doesn't know a whole lot about about that theme in US political/"popular" culture.
"Network" is actually a predictable, inferior presentation of a cliche -- a premise which was common during the McCarthy era/1950s.
August 28, 2008 1:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Dick Wadhams indeed has a hell of a name, especially for the Minister of Truth. However, he is not illiterate or unaware of the significance of the words coming out of his mouth. Here is a brief bio on the man from Wikipedia:
Dick Wadhams (born 1955) is a Republican political consultant, known for his role in guiding John Thune to an upset victory over then United States Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle. He has additionally worked for former Virginia senator George Allen, Colorado Senator Wayne Allard, former Colorado governor Bill Owens and former Montana senator Conrad Burns.
Wadhams is a longtime friend of Karl Rove. The two met during their days together in the College Republicans, and Slate Magazine and others speculated that Wadhams was Rove's heir apparent.[1]
Wadhams was elected to the Chair of the Colorado Republican Party, in March 2007 [2] hoping to stem the losses that party has suffered in the last two elections. In 2008, he was hired by Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer to help manage Schaffer's campaign, while continuing to Chair the Colorado Republican Party.
August 30, 2008 4:39 PM | Reply | Permalink