The Big Lie has been Altered in Orwellian Fashion

This piece of news gave me a chuckle, but made me sad as it is an attempt to take advantage of the gullibility of followers. For those of who still pay attention to the machinations of the most recent former president, apparently, he does not care for the term “The Big Lie” to define his planned and staged deceitful efforts to call the outcome of the 2020 election into question.

In my view, the reason is it aptly describes his attempts to convey this message of election fraud are untruthful. This is evidenced by his inability to prove in court or get even Republican election officials to say what he wants them to say. My favorite pushback came from his own Attorney General William Barr, who told him in a group meeting that “his claims of election fraud are b*lls**t.” This of course got the AG forced out in a few days.

Now, with an Orwellian flair from the novel “1984,” the former president has repurposed the term “The Big Lie” to mean the election was stolen, not that he is trying to steal it. So, the former president has, in fact, stolen the counterpoint slogan for his own purpose. So, when his followers here the term “The Big Lie,” they will be confused or think the person is siding with the former president’s untruthful ploy.

I used “1984” as a key point of the novel is disinformation. As an example, there are three world powers, with the country the protagonist supports allying with one of the other two against the third. Midway through the book, the alliance shifts, so that enemy is now allied with his country against the former ally. The totalitarian government uses disinformation to convey that this was happening all along and there was no change.

Think of that when you see what the former president just did. He does not like the term “The Big Lie” being pointed at him, so he appropriates the term in an attempt to tell his followers The Big Lie is the election was not stolen. The Big Lie is too on point as the former president is following his modus operandi of deceitful behavior. So, it must be dealt with.

In a nutshell, this is why the former president does not warrant a lot of trust. He has not earned it. So, I will side with AG Barr on this one.

28 thoughts on “The Big Lie has been Altered in Orwellian Fashion

    • Kim, well one thing is for certain,. They will use any means to do it – cheating, lying, disinformation, a few distorted facts, etc. The party is following the lead of their party head, who will name call opponents with actions he is in fact doing. It is straight out of the attribute list of narcissists to project your failings onto other people. This Big Lie misdirection is a good example. Keith

  1. This is an extract from the Wikipedia entry entry ‘Big Lie’

    U.S. psychological profile of Hitler
    The phrase “big lie” was also used in a report prepared during the war by the United States Office of Strategic Services in describing Hitler’s psychological profile

    “His primary rules were: never allow the public to cool off; never admit a fault or wrong; never concede that there may be some good in your enemy; never leave room for alternatives; never accept blame; concentrate on one enemy at a time and blame him for everything that goes wrong; people will believe a big lie sooner than a little one; and if you repeat it frequently enough people will sooner or later believe it. ”

    The above quote appears in the report, “A Psychological Analysis of Adolph Hitler: His Life and Legend,” by Walter C. Langer,

    A somewhat similar quote appears in “Analysis of the Personality of Adolph Hitler: With Predictions of His Future Behaviour and Suggestions for Dealing with Him Now and After Germany’s Surrender,” by Henry A. Murray,

    “Never to admit a fault or wrong; never to accept blame; concentrate on one enemy at a time; blame that enemy for everything that goes wrong; take advantage of every opportunity to raise a political whirlwind.”

    The next entry on this subject has the heading:
    “Trump’s claim of a stolen election”

    I do not think I need to add anymore….

      • For most of Trump’s tenure I tried to avoid the comparison, but since his disgusting display during your election day process and beyond, the gloves are off.

      • Roger, I fully understand. And, all of this because his fragile ego cannot stand the thought of losing. His niece said it so well, her Uncle will burn it all down to avoid losing. As my old AA who did not curse used to say euphemistically, “Bad word, bad word.” Keith

  2. I should always want to distance myself from Trump and the big lie he has performed, rather than the one he is appropriating. Though I find Barr’s description apt, I think veracity and him were just strangers passing at some point in time.
    Hugs

    • David, the answer I want to hear from the MAGA crowd is why would people, who know they will be vilified and threatened, tell the truth anyway and suffer the consequences? Keith

  3. Note to Readers: I made three phone calls this morning leaving messages. Last, I called Rep. Liz Cheney and congratulated her on her political courage. I also shared the message I left with two other representatives, mine (Dan Bishop) and House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, which encouraged them to speak in favor of the truth tellers, and against those who are lying on behalf of the former president and his Big Lie about the election. Keith

  4. The former guy actually does remind me of something from Orwell’s “1984” … the words “integrity, honesty, truth” simply do not exist in his world. Roger beat me to the punch on the connection to Hitler, but it is an apt comparison … always has been. Good on you for your 3 phone calls. Liz Cheney is a woman of integrity and courage, one of the few Republicans to stand by her convictions, risking the wrath of her ignoble party.

    • Jill, I think it gives us all a reason to call our Republican representatives to define how much we admire her, Adam Kinzinger, Tom Rice, et all’s courage and how it is a shame more Republicans will not come to their defense choosing to defend a former president known for lying. Keith

      • You are so right. I won’t call, for I have great difficulty with phone conversations, but I WILL email both Liz Cheney and my rep, the ignoble Warren Davidson. Thanks for the reminder!

      • Jill, well The Untruthful Gang just ousted Rep. Cheney from her role in the Republican House caucus. The message is loud and clear – truth only matters when it serves our purpose. Lies are totally acceptable. It is also OK if the president betrays his country, as long he is in our tribe. And, that is even true if I am in endangered by his actions. Keith

  5. Note to Readers: I just placed this comment on a post by claytoonz regarding the recount audit in Arizona.
    ********

    And this is all because a person with a very fragile ego cannot handle losing. His niece Mary said it well before the election, her uncle will burn it all down to avoid losing. The fact he planned the election fraud scheme several months before the election should be relevant. The fact he hired 1,000 attorneys months before the election should be relevant. The fact he naysayed the process and hobbled the post office months before the election should be relevant.

    I am no reporter, but I knew as did others he would do precisely what he did post election. It was not a surprise. In fact Senator Bernie Sanders laid out precisely what Trump would do with eery accuracy in October before the election.

    The fact Trump has won only one small court case and lost well over sixty, many with Republican judges should be relevant. The fact Republican election officials would not go along with the former president on his claims should be relevant. The fact his Attorney General said his claims of election fraud are bulls**t should be relevant, especially when he got fired for telling the president the truth.

    And, let’s not lose sight this president fomented an insurrection on the Capitol putting many of his own sycophants in danger and placing a target on his Vice President. That is unforgiveable.

    These are relevant, but they don’t seem to matter to 78% of Republican voters who think the election was stolen from the former president. It was not. MAGA fans, you are being lied to by person who has a well known history of lying. But, I knew he would lie, as he cannot help himself. What troubles me is those sycophants who have defended and rationalized the most corrupt, deceitful and seditious acting president in my lifetime.

    Oh and by the way, I am not a Democrat. I am an Independent, who has been member of both parties. That is what I think, whether folks agree with me or not.

    • PS – I called and left messages with Reps. Kevin McCarthy, Steve Scalise, Dan Bishop and Liz Cheney. Cheney is a hero and should not be vilified for being a truth teller. I also gave a similar message to my two Senators and Joni Ernst who came out in support of Cheney.

  6. Much as we may hate to admit it, the buffoon is a cunning manipulator. Psychopath may be a bit strong, but…he isn’t far behind that descriptor. There is much to be concerned about at the end of Biden’s term.

    • Linda, I hope more than a few Reublicans pay attention to Liz Cheney’s op-ed. Her inconvenient truths will unsettle many in the party. Also, the Wall Street Journal editorial board has not been kind to the GOP leadership trying to unseat Cheney. Keith

      • I just read a rather scathing article about the GOP’s foolishness in the National Review this morning. I hope this perspective is enough to last through the 2022 elections. But I fear not. Something else will come along to distract everybody.

      • Linda, the National Review, like the WSJ, have credibility with conservatives, even though the sycophants will rationalize it away. Right now, it may not seem that way, but the dam continues to crack in the Trump world. Those who have lied for him or rationalized his seditious actions and words are beginning to fret more. And, they should.. The lies do come back to roost at some point and they have known that for a long time, but continued to lie. Right now, Tucker Carlson has taken on David Frum, who is one of the most credible journalists around (and a very astute person). Keith

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