They know the rumors they spread about Obama are lies. Yet they keep spreading them. What kind of person could do that? How can they stand to look at themselves in the mirror? And a lot of these folks are self-proclaimed “christians.” Did they miss the part about “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour”? I guess hell is worth the risk if it means keeping the black man down.

Like nearly all recent presidential elections, the right has felt they couldn’t win in a fair fight, so have resorted to baseless lies against their competitors to hedge their bets. Even more sad is that so many people are falling for the lies, even though the facts are well documented for those who need only open their eyes.

Remember the election of 2004, and all the lies spewed forth about John Kerry? In Kerry’s own words:

As a veteran, it disgusts me that the Swift Boats we loved while we were in uniform on the Mekong Delta have been rendered, in Karl Rove’s twisted politics, an ugly verb meaning to lie about someone’s character just to win an election.

The election of 2000 was as much about out and out cheating as it was lying. “1TinSoldier”, of I Know What You Did Last Election notes the following:

1. Top Hypocrisy. Bush fighting the count of indented chads in Florida despite the fact that he made the counting of indented chads the standard in Texas.
2. Top Irony. Bush was making preparations to fight the election results in anticipation that he might win the popular vote and lose the electoral vote. “We’d have ads too,” said a Bush aide. [NY Daily News]

Again, it’s despicable how some will lie to get what they want. It’s also despicable how so many opt to spread those lies even when they know that’s what they are. It’s truly despicable how many of these lie-spreading, rumor-mongering hypocrites will attend church this weekend and not have one pang of guilt for what they have done. Sure cheapens one’s faith, doesn’t it!

The man behind the whispers about Obama

The most persistent falsehood about Senator Barack Obama’s background first hit in 2004 just two weeks after the Democratic convention speech that helped set him on the path to his presidential candidacy: “Obama is a Muslim who has concealed his religion.”

That statement, contained in a press release, spun a complex tale about the ancestry of Mr. Obama, who is Christian.

The press release was picked up by a conservative Web site, FreeRepublic.com, and spread steadily as others elaborated on its claims over the years in e-mail messages, Web sites and books. It continues to drive other false rumors about Mr. Obama’s background.

Just last Friday, a woman told Senator John McCain at a town-hall-style meeting, “I have read about him,” and “he’s an Arab.” Mr. McCain corrected her. [...]

But an appearance in a documentary-style program on the Fox News Channel watched by three million people last week thrust the man, Andy Martin, and his past into the foreground. The program allowed Mr. Martin to assert falsely and without challenge that Mr. Obama had once trained to overthrow the government.

For Andy Martin, FreeRepublic and FOX News, I think a good ol’ fashioned slander/libel case is in order. Facts are facts. These folks are flat out liars! They should have to pay for their lying. And maybe others who spread lies will think twice about doing it again.