BARACK VS. THE ANTI-PC: Laying the Groundwork for a 2016 Donald Trump Presidential Run (2017, Big Table Publishing, $17)
— BOOK: Glossary —
Anti-PC
Anti-PC is this author’s term referring to the war on political correctness, which is simply a defense for the continued use of offensive, bigoted language with apparent impunity. Many Anti-PC warriors are dinosaurs who refuse to grow and mature. And many others are influential GOP leaders and supporters who influence through racism and sexism. They don’t want to change with the times, for the better. Vehemently opposing political correctness gives them a red Anti-PC herring to hide behind. (see political correctness)
binders full of women
In the second presidential debate, Republican Mitt Romney was asked if he supported the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay (for women) Act of 2009, which was the first bill signed by President Obama. Romney evaded the question by trying to illustrate his good record of appointing sufficient numbers of women to high administration positions while he was governor of Massachusetts. Romney said that after he won the election he noticed the number of female candidates was too few. He claimed to have solicited names from several prominent professional groups and received “binders full of women” candidates, which he used to fill many important positions on his team.
But this was not true. The Massachusetts Government Appointments Project, a coalition of nonpartisan women’s groups, prepared a binder full of women’s resumes before the election. Pledges to consider women in this binder were solicited from and agreed to by Romney and his opponent before the election. Moreover, ultimately the percentage of women in important positions dropped slightly during Romney’s governorship. (Bernstein, David S.; “Mind the Binder”; The Boston Phoenix; 10/16/2012.)
birtherism
1) a mental health disorder characterized by the delusion that Barack Obama was not born in the U.S.
2) the tactic of intentionally perpetuating this delusional story as fact
Its proponents often view this as a more socially acceptable way to express their racist dislike of Mr. Obama. It’s part of an unfounded, vague accusation of “otherness”: that Barack Obama is not really “one of us.”
Boston Orwellian Offense
This writer coined the term Boston Orwellian Offense in reference to Mitt Romney’s debate strategy of doublespeak, denial of his past, and blatant policy-stance flips. (And Boston is the location of Romney campaign headquarters.) He rolled out this offense in earnest at the first 2012 presidential debate. It was a shock-and-awe display of extreme misinformation and prevarication that caught President Obama and Democrats by surprise.
Bush 41
George H. (Herbert) W. (Walker) Bush (R-Texas); 41st president of the United States (1989-1993); father of George W. Bush
Bush 43
George W. (Walker) Bush (R-Texas); 43rd president of the United States (2001-2009); son of George H. W. Bush
Bush Doctrine
This refers to the foreign affairs policies of the George W. Bush administration (2001-2009). It included 1) a willingness to pursue — unilaterally, pre-emptively, and militarily — U.S. security and military interests and 2) the right to attack countries that harbor U.S. terrorist threats.
“If there is anyone in the world today who doubts the seriousness of the Bush Doctrine, I would urge that person to consider the fate of the Taliban in Afghanistan and of Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq. … [After 9/11, the president] decided that the distinction between the terrorists and their sponsors should no longer stand.”
(Cheney, Dick, R-Wyo., former [George W. Bush] vice president; West Point commencement address, U.S. Military Academy, Washington, D.C.; as cited in “Vice President Tells West Point Cadets ‘Bush Doctrine’ Is Serious”; Defense.gov; 6/2/2003.)
campaign bailout
This writer coined the term campaign bailout in reference to campaign contributions that are solicited after a candidate has decided to end their run for office. These contributions are primarily used for paying off campaign debt. (see suspension of a campaign)
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
This is a 1958 movie based on the 1955 Pulitzer Prize-winning Tennessee Williams play of the same name. The movie stars Burl Ives (Big Daddy), Judith Anderson (Big Mama), Paul Newman (Brick, one of two adult sons), and Elizabeth Taylor (Maggie “the Cat,” Brick’s wife). It examines the relationships within wealthy plantation-owning patriarch Big Daddy’s family. Brick and Maggie live in the family mansion along with Big Daddy’s other adult son, Gooper (Brother Man), his wife, Mae (Sister Woman), and their brood. The story unfolds over the course of Big Daddy’s birthday party, which is also a celebration of his cancer-free bill of health — fabricated by the family.
In the dénouement, Big Daddy (in the throes of intense, late-stage cancer pain) and Brick have an intense heart-to-heart talk that ultimately breaks through their long-standing mutual animosity. In previous months, Brick had often expounded on the ubiquitous mendacity in the world. During their colloquy, Big Daddy turns the word back on Brick and laments the mendacity that has shrouded their family for years.
In alluding to a pseudo self-modesty (and ultimately committing comedic overkill), this author developed a fondness for referring to the movie most every time he uses some form of the word mendacity.
class warfare
a term Republicans use to combat the accurate criticism that their economic policies consistently favor the rich and powerful, at the expense of the poor and middle class; a false accusation that Democrats are trying to pit the poor against the rich
conservative entertainment complex
a term coined by Republican David Frum to describe narrowcasting ultraconservative media stars who are more interested in making money than in helping the true conservative cause; they tell rabid listeners what they want to hear rather than the truth (see narrowcasting; RWIRS)
“Republicans have been fleeced and exploited and lied to by a conservative entertainment complex [that] immers[es] their audience in a total environment of pseudo-facts and pretend information. … The problem with GOP leaders is they’re cowards, not that they’re fundamentally mistaken. The real locus of the problem is the GOP activist base and the GOP donor base. They went apocalyptic over the past four years and that was exploited by a lot of people in the conservative world. … [Conservatives have] been lied to by people who engage in niche marketing and make tens of millions of dollars engaging in niche marketing. I’m a capitalist, God bless ’em, … but that’s not an electoral strategy, that’s a business strategy for them.”
(Frum, David, R-, former [George W. Bush] presidential speechwriter; MSNBC’s Morning Joe; 11/9/2012.)
culture of life
a term originally used by Republicans to describe an anti-abortion social and political view
Culture of Life Party (true culture of life)
This is a fictional political movement this writer invented to describe people who consider other issues that affect life in addition to abortion. The Culture of Life Party (or true culture of life) perspective asks this: Does the response to the issue at hand generally support life (human, animal, or plant)? And does it support quality of life? Many of these issues represent liberal-leaning causes that affect life such as gun control, war minimization, poverty relief, environmental protection, minority rights, prison reform, animal rights, etc.
debt ceiling (aka debt limit)
“The United States debt ceiling or debt limit is a legislative limit on the amount of national debt that can be issued by the U.S. Treasury, thus limiting how much money the federal government may borrow. The debt ceiling is an aggregate figure [that] applies to the gross debt. … Because expenditures are authorized by separate legislation, the debt ceiling does not directly limit government deficits. In effect, it can only restrain the Treasury from paying for expenditures and other financial obligations after the limit has been reached, but which have already been approved (in the budget) and appropriated.”
(“United States Debt Ceiling”; Wikipedia; 6/17/2015.)
The debt ceiling issue aroused intense passion during the Obama presidency. Before 2009, debt ceiling fights between the president and Congress were rare, and the passage of debt limit increases was routine. One danger of failing to pass a debt ceiling increase is a government shutdown. Congress can negotiate with the president to get something they want, e.g., lower taxes and/or spending cuts (which many believe should not be part of debt ceiling considerations), in order to raise the debt limit. Congress’ gamble is that a government shutdown would hurt their own constituencies and make them look bad.
ditto head
a disciple of ultraconservative Rush Limbaugh; an avid listener of his radio show
dog whistle (dog-whistling)
This rhetorical device implies racist criticisms and characterizations of a person without using blatant, overt, socially unacceptable racist terminology. Dog-whistling can be described as the “code words” or euphemisms some speakers use to transmit implied racist messages or themes. Like-minded listeners know exactly what the speaker means. Dog-whistling can also encourage a listener’s borderline or undeclared racism subconsciously. During the Obama presidency, dog-whistling rose to new heights with the common use of more obvious racist euphemisms for which almost everyone knew their true meanings.
[EXAMPLE]:
“President Obama’s shuck and jive shtick with these Benghazi lies must end.”
(Palin, Sarah, R-Alaska, former governor, 2008 [John McCain] vice presidential candidate; Facebook post; as cited in Krieg, Gregory J.; “Palin: Obama Did ‘Shuck and Jive’ on Libya”; ABCNews.com; 10/24/2012.)
[EXAMPLE]:
“He’s lazy.”
(Sununu, John, R-N.H., 2012 Romney-Ryan presidential campaign co-chair, former [George H. W. Bush] White House chief of staff, former governor; MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports; referring to President Obama; 10/4/2012.)
Don Imus
Don Imus is a classic shock-jock radio host whose show Imus in the Morning had been on the air since the 1970s. Most of his humor centers on satirical, often shocking quips and comments. But April 4, 2007, Imus crossed a line when he “jokingly” referred to the Rutgers University women’s basketball team players (who were contenders in that year’s NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship) as “nappy-headed hos.” It wasn’t Imus’ first racially epithetical “mistake,” but it was his biggest up to that point. After much back and forth between his networks, many celebrities (black and white), and the Rutgers team, Imus’ show was permanently excised from the MSNBC television and CBS Radio scheduling lineups. By the end of 2007, however, Imus had secured new employment with a satellite radio contract. Imus in the Morning was back on television — the Fox Business Network — by 2008.
dumbfounded
what Newt Gingrich was after Republican Mitt Romney did NOT win the 2012 presidential election, and did not win it in a landslide
EIB Network
Excellence in Broadcasting Network; the name was trademarked in 1990 by (apparently) Rush Limbaugh, and he often cites it on the air; though not a real network, it is part of the Rush Limbaugh Show legend and is often mentioned by him as the entity responsible for producing his show
Etch A Sketch
Etch A Sketch was a popular erasable toy drawing board introduced by the Ohio Art Company in 1960. Mitt Romney was excoriated in March 2012 after one of his top communications strategists publicly stated on CNN that their campaign would reset … “like an Etch A Sketch” for the general election. Though this practice of tacking back toward the political center after the primaries is politics as usual, the comparison hit Romney a little too close to home. Etch A Sketch is now part of various catchphrases for Mitt Romney-like pandering, flip-flopping, contradicting oneself, and lying to win votes.
“It’s almost like an Etch A Sketch. You can kind of shake it up, and we start all over again.”
(Fehrnstrom, Eric, R-, 2012 Romney-Ryan presidential campaign senior adviser; CNN with John Fugelsang; in response to a question about whether Romney has gone too far right in an attempt to win over conservatives in the Republican presidential primaries, and that he might be positioned as too extreme to win the general election; 3/21/2012.)
FallacyReport.com
This is the online magazine (don’t call it a blog), founded, written, and edited by this author, in which much of the material for this book first appeared. To the four readers who visited my site during that time, thank you.
false equivalency
This is when two (or more) opposing arguments or occurrences falsely appear to carry the same intellectual or evidentiary weight, often in the context of news media coverage. One example is news outlets giving equal time and intellectual consideration to evidence supporting the existence of anthropogenic (caused by humans) climate change and evidence denying it. The false equivalency is that the supporting evidence is overwhelming — buttressed by a very large majority of scientists and unbiased scientific study — and the contradicting evidence is limited, weak, unscientific, anecdotal, and usually politically/economically motivated.
Another example was the news coverage of Mitt Romney’s “ideological migrations” or lies during his 2012 presidential campaign. Romney’s prevarications achieved a level not seen in recent memory. But the news media often played this down rather than accurately reporting the full extent. In their desire to appear neutral, they didn’t want to report on more Romney discrepancies than Obama discrepancies, though accurate news reporting warranted this. To accurately report on the level of Romney mendacity would have appeared to be piling on.
For the casual observer, consuming falsely equivalent “news” often translates into “both sides lie equally” or “both sides are equally racist,” when the evidence simply does not support these conclusions. (Reference the political right trying to equate Harry Reid’s [D-Nev.] private, outdated though innocent use of the term Negro with Trent Lott’s [R-Miss.] support of Strom Thurmond’s [R-S.C.] segregationist presidential run.)
fiscal cliff
The fiscal cliff (and the going over of) was a feared national financial, believed-by-many-to-be-catastrophic event if it were allowed to occur. It was scheduled to occur at 12:01 a.m., Jan. 1, 2013: 1) when several economic laws passed by Congress would converge to take effect at the same time; and 2) if our government was unable to agree on certain fixes to those laws and America’s taxing and spending issues in general. Ultimately Congress took steps by the end of New Year’s Day 2013 to avert going over the fiscal cliff.
government takeover
a term used by many Republicans to describe any legislation or policy supported by President Obama, no matter how benign or beneficial to the country, and no matter how much support it had from Republicans before Obama embraced it
guff
pushback; criticism; ridicule; complaints; grief; scolding; as in “Any Republican who ever supports President Obama on anything will surely get a lot of guff from other GOP members.”
“I know you are but what am I?”
a popular child’s comeback to any put-down, immortalized by Paul Reuben’s beloved character, Pee Wee Herman, in his movies and television shows
IBATR
IBATR (pronounced “EYE-batter”) is this author’s acronym representing the five legs of a critically thoughtful communication table. When even one or two legs are broken — or missing — the table wobbles. Milk spills. Tables get misquoted. And critical thinking is impeded.
I) Information — Carefully consider the communicated information or question at hand. Assign no immediate favoritism toward information sources and no immediate judgment about accuracy or inaccuracy of the information.
B) Biases — Examine all biases you or the sources might have surrounding the communicated information or question at hand.
A) Assumptions — Examine all assumptions you or the sources might have surrounding the communicated information or question at hand.
T) Truth — Maintain a commitment to truth and honesty, and consider the level of this commitment for each communication or information source.
R) Response — Carefully draw a conclusion and formulate a response. And always remember that this might require modification based upon new analysis, new communication, or new information-source evaluation.
Ibid.
refers to a previous in-text citation somewhere in the same article or essay
ideological migration
This is the intellectual path to Mitt Romney’s policy positions. Jim Rutenberg (apparently) coined the term in a New York Times article:
“Can a onetime Northeastern governor with a history of ideological migration win the Republican presidential nomination in the era of the tea party, with all its demands of political purity and passion?”
(Rutenberg, Jim; “Romney Faces Stubborn Question, Despite Victories”; The New York Times; 2/28/2012.)
(to) illustrate the absurd with absurdity
Popular ultraconservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh uses this euphemistic phrase in an attempt to excuse his propensity to insult anyone and anything he disagrees with. As his ad hominem attacks have become consistently more reprehensible, his use of this concept to inoculate himself from criticism has increased, though its effectiveness has decreased.
individual mandate
An individual mandate, with regard to President Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, is the requirement that (virtually) all U.S. adult citizens be covered by health insurance (with government insurance exchanges and expanded Medicaid coverage helping to subsidize this requirement, based upon income). The principle is that requiring a bigger pool of participants, including young and healthy ones who might otherwise opt out of paying for coverage, keeps average costs down for all participants. In 2012 the U.S. Supreme Court upheld this principle after challenges by several states.
It is noteworthy that before Republicans banded together to block all things Obama, including the Affordable Care Act‘s individual mandate, they developed and suggested the concept (via conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation) as an alternative to Hillary Clinton’s 1990s health care initiative.
irony
when the world’s highest ranking spy (in November 2012), CIA Director General David Petraeus, is brought down by a career-ending scandal after the FBI stumbles upon his illicit communications with his mistress via email — a medium that every office intern knows the boss can check at any time
job creators
Republican gibberish for rich people
Kenyan anti-colonialism
Dinesh D’Souza (discredited Obama basher who once dated Ann Coulter) and his most famous disciple, Newt Gingrich, have made pronouncements on this subject that are complicated and convoluted. (D’Souza, Dinesh; “How Obama Thinks”; Forbes.com; 9/9/2010.) (Gingrich, Newt, R-Ga., 2012 presidential primary candidate, former U.S. House speaker; as cited in Costa, Robert; “Obama’s Kenyan Anti-Colonial Worldview”; National Review; 9/10/2010.)
But essentially, anti-colonialism is the view that former or current superpowers (for example, Britain and America) have used and abused weaker countries for selfish gain (through colonialism), and now those superpowers must be reined in and their powers subordinated through a quasi-sot governing philosophy. Gingrich added the modifier Kenyan (ostensibly reflecting the president’s absent father’s country of origin) as code to promote the myth that Barack Obama is somehow foreign and not one of us.
A simplified understanding of Kenyan anti-colonialism, as applied to President Obama, is that it is the opposite of American exceptionalism, i.e., the view that Obama does not think America is a great country, as demonstrated by — what conservatives characterize as — his “Apology Tour” and his repeated “apologizing for America.”
legitimate rape
U.S. senatorial nominee Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) used this term while trying to express his opinion that actual rape is rare, implying that many women who report “rape” are exaggerating or lying. This is one of several unfortunate rape comments made by Republican candidates during the 2012 election campaign cycle. (see unfortunate rape comment)
“If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole [pregnancy] thing down.”
(Akin, Todd, R-Mo., U.S. House representative, U.S. senatorial candidate; as cited in Schwirtz, Michael & Eligon, John; “Senate Candidate Provokes Ire With ‘Legitimate Rape’ Comment”; The New York Times; 8/19/2012.)
man-up
Don’t ever mention this disgustingly sexist term again. Sharron Angle (R-Nev.) popularized it during her failed 2010 U.S. senatorial campaign against incumbent Harry Reid (D-Nev.), as in Reid should man-up and take responsibility for the supposed economic harm he has wrought upon Nevada. With strong tea party and ultraconservative support, Angle beat out the more moderate Republican candidate Sue Lowden in the primary, whom many observers believed would have beat Reid in the general election.
middle electorate
that increasingly dwindling group of voters, sometimes self-identifying as independents, who do not consistently identify as Democrats or Republicans and can be swayed one way or another from election to election
narrowcasting
This is a type of broadcasting that involves aiming specific content toward a narrow audience rather than to the general public. It is the broadcasting of a narrow, slanted version of news to like-minded listeners.
This type of information flow serves to reinforce its listeners’ existing worldview rather than valuing critical thought and unbiased news reporting. (see conservative entertainment complex; RWIRS)
pivot
to change the subject on the spot, such as in a debate; to soften or harden one’s policy positions; euphemism for blatantly changing one’s policy positions to manipulate voters, e.g., Mitt Romney’s migration from a full-throated promise to fight for repeal of Roe v. Wade to, two weeks before Election Day 2012, reassuring voters that abortion would remain legal
plausible deniability
Plausible deniability is a term coined by aides to President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. It allowed Reagan to (“honestly”) declare that he was unaware of illegal arms sales to Iran (orchestrated by his staff) for the release of American hostages, the proceeds from which were funneled — illegally — to the pro-American Nicaraguan counter-revolutionary fighters, or “Contras.” This became the scandal known as the Iran-Contra affair. The White House staff did whatever it took to carry out Reagan’s high-level policy objectives (to support the Contras, contrary to Congress’ determination), with an unspoken understanding to withhold from him the details, so he would be able to deny knowledge of the plot.
political correctness
Political correctness — aka PC — is the acceptance of reasonable guidelines denoting what terms and descriptions (and policies) are offensive to certain groups of people, then making a good faith effort to avoid those terms and descriptions (and policies). Political correctness is the result of raised consciousness through critical thinking and ethical communication. Society grows and matures, and the effect is increased civility.
“Political correctness (adjectivally, politically correct, commonly abbreviated to PC) is a term primarily used as a pejorative to describe language, policies, or measures which are intended not to offend or disadvantage any particular group of people in society; in pejorative usage, those who use the term are generally implying that these policies are excessive.”
(“Political Correctness”; Wikipedia; 11/22/2015.)
Anti-PC is this author’s term referring to the war on political correctness, which is simply a defense for the continued use of offensive, bigoted language with apparent impunity. Many Anti-PC warriors are dinosaurs who refuse to grow and mature. And many others are influential GOP leaders and supporters who influence through racism and sexism. They don’t want to change with the times, for the better. Vehemently opposing political correctness gives them a red Anti-PC herring to hide behind. (see Limbaugh, Rush; Trump, Donald; et al.)
polling aggregator
This is a person or an organization that, during an election campaign, takes all available polls and attempts to average or balance them according to weighting factors such as a poll’s past accuracy, possible biases, etc. Each aggregation has its own secret formula. Aggregators gained enhanced notoriety in 2012, initially for their perceived liberal bias, followed after the election by their uncanny accuracy. Most notable was Nate Silver’s New York Times FiveThirtyEight.com blog, which correctly predicted 50 out of 50 state presidential outcomes and numerous Senate races.
RWIRS (pronounced “ER-wers”)
right-wing information reverberation syndrome; a term coined by this writer to describe the process of conservatives continually bouncing misinformation among themselves, using each other as reference sources, and turning the fiction they want to believe into “fact” (see conservative entertainment complex; narrowcasting)
refudiate
Refudiate is the unintended portmanteau (joining refute and repudiate) and nonexistent word that Sarah Palin mistakenly used in place of repudiate, for which she received much guff:
“Ground Zero Mosque supporters: doesn’t it stab you in the heart, as it does ours throughout the heartland? Peaceful Muslims, pls refudiate.”
(Palin, Sarah, R-Alaska, former governor, 2008 [John McCain] vice presidential candidate; Twitter post; July 2010.)
After Bristol apparently corrected her mom, Palin deleted that tweet and replaced it with a new one, replacing refudiate with an actual word refute, while misunderstanding its meaning:
“Peaceful New Yorkers, pls refute the Ground Zero mosque plan if you believe catastrophic pain caused @ Twin Towers site is too raw, too real.”
(Palin, Sarah, R-Alaska, former governor, 2008 [John McCain] vice presidential candidate; Twitter post; July 2010.)
sequestration, budget
“Budget sequestration is a procedure in United States law that limits the size of the federal budget. Sequestration involves setting a hard cap on the amount of government spending within broadly defined categories; if Congress enacts annual appropriations legislation that exceeds these caps, an across-the-board spending cut is automatically imposed on these categories, affecting all departments and programs by an equal percentage. …
“… Sequestration was … included as part of the Budget Control Act of 2011, which resolved the debt ceiling crisis. The bill set up a congressional debt reduction committee and included … sequestration as a disincentive to be activated only if Congress did not pass deficit reduction legislation. … The committee did not come to agreement on any [deficit reduction] plan, [thereby] activating …sequestration. … Sequestration was to [be effective] Jan. 1, 2013, and was considered part of the fiscal cliff, but the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 delayed it until March 1 of that year.”
(“Budget Sequestration”; Wikipedia; 6/28/2015.)
suspension of a campaign
a technical, legal euphemism that allows a candidate to continue raising money to pay off their campaign debt after they have effectively ended their run for office (see campaign bailout)
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth
“Swift Vets and POWs for Truth, formerly known as the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (SBVT), was a political group (527 group) of United States Swift Boat veterans and former prisoners of war [during] the Vietnam War. [It was] formed during the 2004 presidential election campaign [to oppose] John Kerry’s candidacy for the presidency. The campaign inspired the widely used political pejorative ‘swiftboating’ to describe an unfair or untrue political attack. The group disbanded and ceased operations on May 31, 2008.”
(“Swift Vets and POWs for Truth”; Wikipedia; 6/24/2015.)
“‘I feel Romney-boated,’ [said Newt Gingrich] … referring to the attack ads launched by a Republican PAC against Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004. … The Romney campaign and the Super PAC supporting the former Massachusetts governor unleashed a barrage of attack ads on the Iowa airwaves against Gingrich last month, likely responsible for sending Gingrich plummeting in the polls.”
(Dover, Elicia; “‘Romney-Boated’ in Iowa: Newt Gingrich Plans to Shift Campaign”; ABCNews.com; 1/1/2012.)
TARP
“The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is a program of the United States government to purchase assets and equity from financial institutions to strengthen its financial sector. [It] was signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush on October 3, 2008. It was a component of the government’s measures in 2008 to address the subprime mortgage crisis. The TARP program originally authorized expenditures of $700 billion. The Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act reduced the amount authorized to $475 billion.”
(“Troubled Asset Relief Program”; Wikipedia; 6/24/2015.)
The following amounts were committed through TARP‘s five program areas:
— Approximately $250 billion was committed in programs to stabilize banking institutions.
— Approximately $27 billion was committed through programs to restart credit markets.
— Approximately $82 billion was committed to stabilize the U.S. auto industry.
— Approximately $70 billion was committed to stabilize American International Group (AIG).
— Approximately $46 billion was committed for programs to help struggling families avoid foreclosure, with these expenditures being made over time.
(U.S. Department of Treasury; “TARP Programs”; Treasury.gov; 6/24/2015.)
theological secularism
Rick Santorum’s presidential campaign press secretary, Alice Stewart, used this term in February 2012 to walk back Santorum’s thinly veiled attempt to question President Barack Obama’s Christian faith. Theological secularism is purported to be an environmental philosophy, supported by Obama and most environmentalists, that is in conflict with the biblical mandate that humans are commanded to take dominion over the earth. Santorum and other opponents of theological secularism believe that “climate science” is actually “political science,” i.e., there is no science, only God; any attempt to make scientific inquiry is necessarily political and, therefore, illegitimate since it conflicts with the “biblical Christian worldview.”
Essentially, theological secularism is religious-right gibberish, used in an attempt to walk back a statement by Rick Santorum that made him look bad. Though Santorum, himself, apparently never spoke the term publicly, this author believes it was discussed in Santorum campaign strategy meetings and authorized for use, which is why press secretary Stewart had it ready to go.
trickle-down government
This is a meaningless term coined by Mitt Romney and his 2012 presidential campaign staff to describe their view of President Obama’s governing style. Essentially the term is a pathetic attempt to confuse voters. It obfuscates the accurate criticism that Republicans support trickle-down economics (aka supply-side economics), a derogatory term that describes the conservative fallacy that lowering effective tax rates on the rich and their businesses (along with less regulation) produces greater economic benefits for all.
trutherism
1) a mental health disorder characterized by the delusion that the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks on the United States were an inside job by the George W. Bush administration, to supply an excuse to invade certain Middle Eastern countries
2) the tactic of intentionally perpetuating this delusional story as fact
truthiness
“Truthiness is a quality characterizing a ‘truth’ that a person making an argument or assertion claims to know intuitively ‘from the gut’ or because it ‘feels right,’ without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination, or facts. American television comedian Stephen Colbert coined the word in this meaning as the subject of a segment called ‘The Word’ during the pilot episode of his political satire program, The Colbert Report, on October 17, 2005.”
(“Truthiness”; Wikipedia; 6/27/2015.)
Another, similar characterization of truthiness is the “intellectual leap” of making something that one wants to be true “true” in one’s mind.
UAMBE (pronounced “WHAM-bee”)
uncastrated adult male bovine excreta; a pseudo-intellectually sounding euphemism, coined by this writer, for bulls**t
unfortunate rape comment
This writer coined the term as a catchall for ill-advised statements concerning rape. During the 2012 election campaign cycle, several Republican candidates across the country made public comments about rape that were embarrassing, insensitive, inaccurate, and/or silly. Because of resulting heightened media alert, even unfortunate rape comments by local personalities made national news. These remarks were a source of consternation for GOP leaders and might have affected some high-level races. Republican leaders vowed to rein in these unartful public reflections in the future. (see legitimate rape)
After the 2012 elections, unfortunate rape comments (among other issues) prompted Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-La.) to admonish his fellow Republicans to “stop being the stupid party” and “stop insulting the intelligence of voters.” (Sink, Justin; “Bobby Jindal: GOP Needs to ‘Stop Being the Stupid Party’”; The Hill; 1/25/2013.)
W.
nickname for President George W. Bush; originally used to distinguish him from his father, George H. W. Bush; generally friendly nickname, used by supporters as well as opponents
WMD
WMD is an initialism for weapons of mass destruction (mainly nuclear weapons). The term infected the English lexicon with a vengeance just before and during the Iraq War (2003-2011). The Bush-Cheney administration believed it had evidence that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein possessed WMD and was planning to use them against the U.S. and other countries of the free world. This (many say fabricated) evidence was used as justification for the invasion of Iraq, even though neither America nor any of its allies were overtly threatened. Some U.S. leaders also perpetuated the myth — in a plausibly deniable way — that Saddam was involved in the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks, which they believed would garner further public support for an Iraqi incursion.
America ultimately toppled Saddam Hussein’s admittedly evil regime, took over his country, and killed him; however, no WMD were ever found in Iraq. This forced the Bush-Cheney administration to fabricate other, after-the-fact justifications for the invasion and subsequent massive loss of life. (Around 4,500 American military personnel died. Tens of thousands of Iraqi soldiers died, plus several hundred thousand or more Iraqi civilians. Many hundreds of thousands on both sides were injured.)
George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and their team were so eager to go after Hussein, under the veil of a WMD threat, that they lacked a plan to “win the peace,” to clean up after the war and establish a healthy Iraqi government. This has contributed to new (and many believe worse) problems in the Middle East.
well-lubricated weather vane
one of several clever metaphors or euphemisms coined by opponents and pundits to characterize Mitt Romney’s political strategy of changing his stated policies to pander to whichever voting bloc he might need to strengthen at any given time in a political race (see ideological migration)
“I would have to say that at a time when the American people are looking for leadership, being a well-lubricated weather vane, being on different sides of the critically important issues of the day as Mitt Romney has found himself over and over again, is not what the American people are looking for.”
(Huntsman, Jon, R-Utah, 2012 presidential primary candidate, former [Obama] China ambassador, former governor; as cited in Roche, Lisa Riley; “Huntsman Expects Success in New Hampshire; Calls Romney a ‘Well-Lubricated Weather Vane’”; Deseret News; 10/28/2011.)
Leave a Reply