No comparison in scale of lies by parties

To the bditor:

When I was in grade school I played organized football. In some fundamental ways this game resembled the one the NFL plays: The dimensions RI WKe fieOG were e[DFWOy WKe same. The rules were basically the same. The strategies and tactics were very similar. But really there is no comparison between the two. bssentially it comes down to a difference of scale. NFL players are huge compared to young kids; they KLW wLWK PD[LPuP IRrFe DnG precision. Kids are just out to have some fun and learn.

Some people say that “both political parties lie.” Technically, this is a true statement. But it’s only as true as saying that the game I used to play and NFL football are the same sport. The difference in scale is staggering.

See for yourself. Go to the independently run factcheck website politifact. com. Check out the “Pantson-Fire” category under the “Truth-O-Meter” tab. ves, yRu wLOO Vee fiEV SerSeWrDWeG by both parties. But look closer. Count how many more Republicans lies there are. Then do an analysis of them. See how the Republicans simply make things up out of nothing (e.g., birth cerWLfiFDWe). 1RWe KRw, ORnJ DIWer ERJuV FODLPV KDYe Eeen e[posed, Republicans continue WR DVVerW WKeP. FRr e[DPSOe: In his nomination acceptance speech, Paul Ryan blamed President Obama for an auto plant in his home state that closed, but that plant was actually closed a month before 2EDPD WRRN RIfiFe. HRneVW mistake? Nope. This lie — along with dozens of others — was rated as false many weeks ago, yet Mr. Ryan continues to say it. bven the communication arm of the 5eSuEOLFDn 3DrWy, FR[ 1ewV, declared that Paul Ryan’s speech was riddled with lies (KWWS://www.IR[newV.FRP/ opinion/2012/08/30/paul-ryDnV-VSeeFK-Ln-WKree-wRrGV/). In a rare candid moment, Romney strategist Neil Newhouse said, “We’re not going to let our campaign be dicWDWeG Ey IDFW-FKeFNerV.” He really said that! Think about that for a minute ...

This year Republicans have a 9-1 fundraising advantage over the Democrats. With that kind of money they know they can lie with impunity. The fact-checkers refute their claims, but they continue to assert the lies anyway. Apparently they have calculated that they can run hundreds of false ads for every one time a voter hears D IDFW-FKeFN. DeFDGeV RI e[perience has shown them that with those numbers, the factcheck always gets lost in the noise.

Should we care? Absolutely! Remember the previous administration and how it falsely told us over and over that we needed to go to war with Iraq because it had weapons of mass destruction? It even outed a CIA agent because her KuVEDnG GDreG WR e[SRVe WKe WMD lie!

ves, both parties are guilty of lying, stretching the truth. But the Republicans are NFL-scale liars, while the Democrats are more like I was in grade school — no comparison. We can’t afford another administration that blatantly lies to us.

Matthew Cooley Ambler Democratic

Committee