"Not intended to be a factual statement"

A United States Senator stood at his desk in the Senate chamber and boldly, unapologetically lied about an organization he didn’t like in order to score cheap political points and scare people who didn’t know any better. When he was caught in the lie, his office’s response was to say his little fib “was not intended to be a factual statement.”

Understand, what Senators say on the Senate floor goes into the Congressional Record. They are, by definition, public stances by the speakers on the issues.

In case you hadn’t heard, the Senator is John Kyl (R-AZ), and the organization he didn’t like is Planned Parenthood. Kyl insisted that abortions define 90% of what Planned Parenthood does. The truth? It’s actually 3%. And not only do federal dollars not pay for any abortion services, they can’t. It’s illegal, and has been for 35 years, thanks to the Hyde Amendment. Kyl knew that. He knew that the core of Planned Parenthood's mission is about family planning, and keeping women healthy. He was just bloviating to sow fear and hysteria. Jon Kyl isn't a lone wolf. He's a leader in the Senate majority, and he was following the Conservative playbook. Lying – baldface lying – in order to create fear and whip up the base, is standard policy, and has been for years. Don’t believe me?

• Death panels.
• WMD in Iraq
• The President was born in Kenya
• Sharia law is taking over the US, so we have to legislate against it.

Those aren’t points of public policy disagreement. Those are examples of intentional propaganda. Tell The Big Lie long enough and loud enough, and people will believe it. The Big Lie works. Google the term if you want to know where the concept originated.

The conservative right wing doesn’t talk about actual policy, or even helping people. The biggest issue facing millions of Americans right now is unemployment. So far, this is looking like a jobless recovery. When Boehner and company took office, they said jobs would be first on the list. Republicans have controlled the House of Representatives for over 100 days now. Quick quiz: how many jobs bills have they proposed? None. Not one. Watch this....

Academy Award winner Aaron Sorkin perfectly summarized how it works. In the movie “The American President,” President Andrew Shepherd (played by Michael Douglas), is tired of Senator Bob Rumson (Richard Dreyfuss) and his constant pestering of the unmarried President about his girlfriend (Annette Bening). In exasperation, the President takes to the White House press room podium and rants a bit. The best nugget explains the GOP orthodoxy of the current (and past) generation to a tee.

We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious people to solve them. And whatever your particular problem is, I promise you, Bob Rumson is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things and two things only: making you afraid of it and telling you who's to blame for it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win elections.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, doesn’t improve our country one tiny bit. Stop falling for the talking points and consider the source. It’s not reasonable or acceptable for a sitting Senator to knowingly, intentionally spout lies, hoping nobody will notice or call him on it.

Think critically.

Photo credit: Jon Kyl, thinkprogress.org