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Propaganda tactics the same all over

Propaganda, at its best, convinces the impressionable that they are a part of an inside group that has all the right answers to a problem others can’t seem to identify, like Sharia law might infiltrate American courts, or the U.N. might interfere in county politics, or Colorado was the epicenter of a liberal plot.

The steps are they same: Find an obscure subject, introduce fear, create plausibility around the fear by having a pundit speak of it in public, spread the word through the blogosphere that something bad will happen, have politicians race in to say they will keep the bad thing from happening, spend billions of dollars scaring voters into believing that the fear is real. Set back and count the votes cast by folks who never took the time to research the facts.

Edmund Andersson’s letter (Herald, Nov. 13) stands as the poster board for such propaganda. Andersson’s unveiling of the “plot” perpetrated by Michelle Malkin’s film – hardly a documentary – is writhe with untruths. The easiest to dispel is his claim that Democrats are “championing the only mail-in balloting system in the country...” If Andersson had bothered to fact-check, he would know that Oregon has had postal-only voting since 1998, and Washington instituted it in 2011. It’s the little details that blow holes in propaganda.

Here’s a secret: I was out canvassing for my candidates since last May. We had no help from unions. I’m not sure unions exist in Colorado other than teachers unions. La Plata County is blue because we out-campaigned the Republican Party and spoke to people about real issues like county budgets and law enforcement.

So, put a donkey head on the Arc of History. I’m proud of how we respected voters, provided legitimate information based on verifiable facts – like voting records – and didn’t have to create a hoax to try and scare people. Before jumping to climate change, I refer you to the 1955 work of Gilbert Plass. The science was there long before Jim Inhofe received $1 from Chesapeake Oil Company.

Candace Richerson

Durango



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