The Lies of Mike Pence

Posted on 08/02/2009 at 9:42 am by Bob Cesca

Yglesias on Mike Pence’s MSNBC lies:

Politicians engage in a volume of misrepresentation that is, at first, quite shocking. Then you realize it’s not shocking. Politicians wouldn’t lie of lying was likely to generate newspaper headlines like “Pence Lies About Health Insurance” or got bookers to say things like “sorry, Senator, you can’t come on our network anymore since you were so dishonest or ill-informed in your two previous segments.” But nobody does business that way so why not lie? It’s easier to campaign against $1 trillion in new taxes than $540 billion in new taxes.

That headline, “Pence Lies About Health Insurance”, almost seems surreal. What would it take for a corporate media source to print such a thing? I can’t imagine it. And that’s sad.

In the case of Mike Pence’s dual appearances on MSNBC this week in which he obviously mislead viewers about the taxes attached to one of the healthcare reform bills, the press has a duty to report this, at least on MSNBC where this deception occurred. Maybe Rachel or Keith or Shuster, but this isn’t a matter of opinion. This is hard news. Pence lied about taxes on national television — twice. And there ought to be headlines and hard reporting about it.

Then again, if he were exposed in the corporate press as the flimflam artist he is and if MSNBC banned him, they would be stuck having to fill that extra nine hours of airtime each day normally occupied by The Mike Pence Show.

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  • http://www.dugshop.com pea

    I think you’ve got the headline for your next HuffPo piece.

  • http://nanotyrnns.blogspot.com/ Nanotyrannus

    Oh they only use the “Lie” word when it’s sensational-”Mike Pence Lies About Whereabouts, Was in Costa Rica Hiring Male Prostitutes”"Mike Pence Lied About Car Purchase, Was Given Special Deal by Local Dealer”But on certain subjects, like torture, health care reform, War on Terra, and the like, it’s gets treated merely as “policy differences.” And if there’s anything Dick Cheney taught these monkeys, it’s to look right into the camera and lie and if you’re called on it (not called a liar, but simply challenged in the weakest way), say you’re not lying, say up is down, black is white, accuse the “Democrat Party” of not defending America and keep going. Over the past eight years, the media has been cowed into just going along with it, lets the guest get away with it, then later the whole panel declares white being black “a great debate.” And with so many tv opportunities out there now, none of these serial liars have to go on Keith, Rachel or Shuster and be challenged when they can go on Hannity, Beck or Scarborough and be told how awesomely American they are. Wait for it. Crazy Thomas Paine guy will be giving out Patriotic Hand Jobs any day now.Good journalism is being done on the fringes now, banished it almost seems.

  • brutlyhonest

    That headline, “Pence Lies About Health Insurance”, almost seems surreal. What would it take for a corporate media source to print such a thing? I can’t imagine it. And that’s sad.

    The headline after this would be, “Journalism lives! Not just stenography after all!”