Truthiness: things that a person claims to know intuitively or "from the gut" without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination, or facts. - Stephen Colbert.
The other day at work a news story came on and a non-political co-worker had to ask me, “Have the Republicans gone insane?”
I could only nod in agreement.
With the birthers interrupting town hall meetings, saying “Obama wants to kill your Grandma”, making death threats to congressmen who support healthcare reform, Senator Cornyn (R-TX) equating the Whitehouse wanting to know what crazy rumors are circulating about healthcare, with Nazis and communists, Members of the Texas School Board pushing Intelligent Design as a science, and Tom Tancredo (R-Co) saying vaccines cause Autism; it seems like they have.
But the Republicans are merely searching for Truthiness. Evidence and facts have bombarded them recently. The meltdown of our financial system would indicate that Wall Street Bankers don’t have the people’s best interest at heart.
Millionaires complaining about the high cost of healthcare, even when they have “good” insurance, makes it sound like the for-profit medical-insurance system doesn’t serve the greater good.
When a “socialist” stimulus package like “cash for clunkers” can save more oil immediately than “drill, baby, drill” would produce after 10 years, while saving thousands of jobs; the facts would indicate that green jobs can help the economy.
When every Friday we hear of more banks closing while the top bankers give out bonuses larger than their profits, a rational person would think that the strategy of rewarding failure isn’t workable.
Luckily the Birthers, Intelligent Design Supporters, Tea-baggers, Anti-Vaxers, and Climate Change Deniers don’t let little things like facts, evidence, logic, or intellectual examination change their minds.
They know in their guts that the truthiness is out there, and facts, evidence and logic are just part of the greater conspiracy. Just like Fox Mulder, they just need to keep digging and eventually they will find “The Cigarette Smoking Man” who has planted all these pesky facts and evidence.
In order to help them out, as a Public Service Project Savior will reveal the identity of this mysterious “Smoking Man”
