Friday, September 5, 2008

GOP Values Demand Greater Response to Charges of "Lying"

Public Support for Senator Lieberman May Be Key to Winning Independent and Jewish Vote

My maternal grandmother taught me that to level the charge against someone of being a liar was the gravest of allegations, an attack against someone's character, integrity and that of their family.

Obama's operatives and the ruling elite of the DNC obviously didn't have the benefit of a moral grandmother.

Obama's key campaign people--led of late by David Axelrod--have been kicking and squirming about "lying" in one way or another since the beginning of the campaign, a useful slander that comes out whenever the opposition's comments about their candidate's statements or policies hit a little too close to the mark.

The tactic smacks of a style of politics that has never been well received by American voters. Self-righteousness is a turn-off for people who believe themselves to be beholden to something larger. That's a demographic that I don't think the Dems want to have stay home in November.

When it comes down to it, all any of have to offer is our word. Far ahead of our skills, or any amount of superficial charm, our integrity is the currency that binds all of our relationships, personal and economic. Calling someone a liar should never be done frivolously, or as a way to distract from some amount truth in what another person is saying.

It is time for the GOP and its members to put our mouths where our values are. While the party fights back against the scurrilous charge of lying the shell-shocked Obama campaign has leveled at the Day 2 Truth Squad, it is vital to stand publicly and vocally in unbroken support for Senator Joe Lieberman.

The GOP is a big tent party, as President Reagan proved, and by his actions Lieberman has shown that he is a courageous and principled man whose first priority is doing what is right, not what will make him the poster-child for the special interest group that the Democrat party has become. He has those basic values in common and it is time the we give him full faith and credit as an honorary party member.

Clearly, the Democrats and Obama have every reason to want to punish Lieberman. After all, he is voicing truths that they would rather remain undiscussed, but to call these things lies? That isn't just nipping at the toes of slander, it's biting it off at the knee.

Lieberman suggested that Obama, during his time in the U.S. Senate, did not work with Republicans, as the great Obama has tried to have us believe. Really, when one takes a moment to think about it, it does really seem silly to believe that someone could actually have worked with Republicans in Congress when he voted in lock-step with his party 95% of the time.

(Note to Senator Obama: Waving and saying "hi" to your Republican colleagues in the airport, on your way back home for campaign fund-raisers, does not equal working together.)

What the American people need is true leadership; leading begins with character. The GOP must show it is fair, benevolent and that we value our friends. Write letters to your community or city newspaper. Send an email of support to Lieberman, and communicate your disgust to your elected public officials. But most importantly, remember that integrity and character matter when you go to the polls in November.

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