The Pernicious Lies Of Sarah Palin I

We'll keep chronicling the odd lies of the whackjob from Wasilla, but there is another category that she has been peddling in that requires real scrutiny. The odd lies are demonstrable denials of empirical reality. Her novella, Going Rogue, was riddled with them. But she is also adept at putting lies out there that are much more familiar - classic political lies, either to defend allies or attack opponents. Ben Smith captures this Facebook quote:

My, have things changed. I was honored to have Rev. Franklin Graham speak at my Governor’s Prayer Breakfasts. His good work in Alaska’s Native villages and his charitable efforts all over the world stem from his servant’s heart. In my years of knowing him, I’ve never found his tempered and biblically-based comments to be offensive – in fact his words have been encouraging and full of real hope.

It’s truly a sad day when such a fine patriotic man, whose son is serving on his fourth deployment in Afghanistan to protect our freedom of speech and religion, is dis-invited from speaking at the Pentagon’s National Day of Prayer service.

His comments in 2001 were aimed at those who are so radical that they would kill innocent people and subjugate women in the name of religion. Are we really so hyper-politically correct that we can’t abide a Christian minister who expresses his views on matters of faith? What a shame. Yes, things have changed.

But there is no way to parse Graham's 2001 statements the way Palin does. Here they are verbatim:

"We're not attacking Islam but Islam has attacked us. The God of Islam is not the same God. He's not the son of God of the Christian or Judeo-Christian faith. It's a different God, and I believe it is a very evil and wicked religion."

He reiterated this view in 2006. Palin lies. All the time. Keep your eyes and ears peeled and we'll keep her under the scrutiny she deserves.

2006-2011 archives for The Daily Dish, featuring Andrew Sullivan