Matthew Yglesias: The Lies, The Lies of Andrew Sullivan: Hoisted from the Archives

Always remember that Andrew Sullivan glories in misleading the public by telling them lies: "The Krugmans and the Chaits will shortly have a cow, if not a whole herd of them.... To which my response is: Hoorah.... Commentators... get steamed because Bush has... claimed his tax cut will cost less than it actually will... is using Medicare surplus money today that will be needed tomorrow and beyond.... The fact that Bush has to obfuscate his real goals of reducing spending with the smoke screen of 'compassionate conservatism' shows how uphill the struggle is." When somebody tells you he is an evil, deceptive f---, believe him: HOLLYzoy: Besides @ezraklein 's Point About Andrew Sullivan, a Few Others: "'But the banality of the god of progress, the idea that the best life is writing explainers for Vox in order to make the world a better place, never quite slakes the thirst for something deeper'. I think that sneering at this impulse makes sense only if you don't ask the people involved what 'making the world better' means. Suppose you thought: democracy is the best political system. But it requires a reasonably informed citizenry to work. It's always hard for people to be adequately informed (they have lives.) But doubly so now, when entire networks etc. are actively trying to mislead them. Then those of us who have a knack for it should try to step up, and make it easier. How is this shallow or banal? If done right, it is a way of supporting democracy, and of empowering our fellow citizens. It also helps them to spot demagogues and charlatans. If you think that democracy is an inspiring ideal (I do), then this is an inspiring thing to do...


#shouldread #orangehairedbaboons #journamalism #publicsphere

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