"There Are No Facts, Only Interpretations."

“There are no facts, only interpretations.”  “Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies.”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Nietzsche

Most people have better things to do with their lives than fact check the daily spin that pours out of the mouths of politicians.  These “interpretations” when repeated often enough become part of our social commentary and form the basis from which people make decisions.

That said…we would like to comment on some of the more glaring “interpretations” being uttered by those who occupy the conservative side of the aisle.

Republicans are on a sugar high over Scott Walker’s recall victory in Wisconsin.  They see this vote as a referendum on their small government agenda and a national mandate to continue their attack on unions.  In fairness, Democrats billed this election as having significant national implications.  So it isn’t too big a stretch for Republicans to paint this win with the same broad brush. 

The facts are that we do not know what implications Wisconsin will have on a national level.  While the events in Wisconsin have framed the current debate; the outcome does not necessarily reverberate on a national scale.  Just last November voters in Ohio, a key swing state, rebuked their Republican governor’s efforts to curb the collective bargaining rights of government employees.  They repealed Ohio SD 5; dealing a severe blow to Governor Kasich’s small government agenda.  Perhaps more significantly the same voters who returned Scott Walker to the governor’s mansion were asked who they were voting for in the Presidential election.  51% said they were voting for President Obama; 44% said they were voting for Mitt Romney.

While non-union voters may not like the high salaries and hefty retirement plans that unionized employees enjoy, they understand that unions were largely responsible for the creation of the middle class in the 40’s and 50’s. Their negotiation of competitive wages and benefits during the manufacturing and construction boom in the years following World War II resulted in a class of people that could buy homes and send their kids to college.  As union wages increased so did the wages of non-union workers.  A rising tide lifts all boats. But  as globalization took jobs overseas the influence of labor unions declined and so did middle class.  From 1973 to 2007 union membership declined from 34% to 8%.  At the same time wage inequality increased by more than 40%.  The unions are dying…and so is the middle class.  So Republicans might want to curb their chest thumping over Walker’s victory.  While voters may not like unions they do like good wages and benefits.  Voters may “interpret” that win in Wisconsin differently; and it may have unintended consequences.

Bill Clinton has been in the news a lot lately.  As a former President and important and effective surrogate for Obama it is only natural for people parse and analyze his every word.  So it is with great fervor that Republicans take to the airwaves whenever they believe they have caught the former President uttering anything that seems contrary to President Obama’s message.  Such was the case the other day when Clinton, in a CNBC interview appeared to say that he was in favor of extending ALL of the Bush tax cuts.  President Obama has said repeatedly that he would not approve extending the Bush tax cuts for the top 1% wage earners.  Republicans, who want to see all of the tax cuts extended, jumped all over this apparent conflict.  Republican heavy weights Boehner, McConnell, Thune and Henslering all took to the microphones to weigh in.  “Even Bill Clinton agrees that this is not the time to raise taxes on the job creators.”  Casual listeners will believe this “interpretation” of Clinton’s remarks to be gospel.  However when examining the entirety of Clinton’s comments on the subject it is clear that he is in lockstep with Obama.  Never mind what the former President actually said. ‘Interpretation” and distortion can be effective when repeated often enough.

We believe that far more interesting than the selective editing of sound bites for political advantage is the difference in overall strategy of the two campaigns.  The Obama Campaign is eager to trot out former President Clinton as a key spokesperson.  They feel that Clinton’s experience and record are a benefit to their efforts.  So we wonder why the Romney Campaign hasn’t employed the talents of former President George W. Bush as a surrogate for their campaign.  After all the plans that Team Romney has for the country are mirror images of the policies George W. Bush employed while serving as our 43^rd President…