As you might imagine, I receive quite a bit of right-wing hate mail. Most of it is your standard off-the-shelf "STFU" loud noises, but, occasionally, I'll receive an email from someone who at least attempts to make a point. In and amongst a diatribe about how "robotic" and "laughable" I am, one emailer tossed this into the mix:
Oh yeah.. here's some questions... how many poor people do you know give jobs? Why are the so-called (Soros- Barack sponsored) Occupy 'losers' trying to destroy the golden goose? Hey... when they run out of our money, then they'll
really be in trouble. Seems to me, they should be storming the gates of the White
House, who's responsible for their plight.....
There are the usual far-right gripes. The poor don't create jobs. Uh-yeah. The Occupy Wall Street people are using this person's money somehow. Right, the "unemployed people are freeloaders" (even though they paid into the system via their former employer's unemployment insurance fund).
But here's the infuriating one: the White House is responsible for the economic collapse -- "the White House, who's responsible for their plight." How can anyone look themselves in the mirror, much less sleep at night, making up history like this? It truly confounds logic and reason. 30 years of Reaganomics and deregulation created this mess and the president has been trying like hell to fix it while the Republicans are trying to deliberately stifle economic growth for the sole purpose of making the president lose in 2012. When President Obama took over, the economy was hemorrhaging 800,000 jobs a month. Since the president passed the stimulus bill, the economy has been adding jobs. The reason the economy hasn't entirely bounced back is a testament to the depth and severity of the recession -- that, and the aforementioned sabotage. After all, the Republicans filibustered the American Jobs Act last week.
Sadder still, this meme is all over right-wing talk radio. There are literally millions of people who believe the recession and the unemployment crisis began on President Obama's watch. In 2009. This disaster has been brewing for 30 years and finally collapsed in 2008. The Bush tax cuts didn't prevent it. I repeat: tax cuts didn't prevent it. Further tax cuts won't fix it. Never in the history of America have tax cuts and spending cuts resolved a deep recession. Never. Ever.
It's so crucial now more than ever to work diligently to dispel these far-right myths. Even if it hurts. We can't let them rewrite history like this.