Dan Sherrier

Democrats are taking aim at Sarah Palin’s Facebook posts. Their strategy to shoot her down? Call her a liar.

In their open letter to Palin, the Democrats begin, “You’ve spent a great deal of time spreading lies about health reform, and we’ve had enough. We’re calling you out. And since you’ve spread so much misinformation on Facebook, we’ve decided to come here to do it.”

Oh, no! Her mouth is moving!

The Democrats’ Facebook note has so far generated over 100 comments, mostly from people seizing the opportunity to vent their rage against Palin. Ironically, some people took the time to comment simply to say she wasn’t even worth acknowledging.

On Democrats.org, they state, “A lot of folks use Facebook to stay in touch with family and friends. For Sarah Palin, it’s a great way to spread lies about health insurance reform.”

So, yes…Lies, lies, lies. Or so the Democrats say. And they even cite sources to back-up their assertions!

However, so does Sarah Palin.

People can disagree. Different organizations can conduct different studies that reach different conclusions. That doesn’t necessarily make anyone a liar.

The Democrats’ open letter ended with pure snarkiness, trying to use her own words against her: “P.S.–Quit making things up!”

When she used that statement, it was in response to people making up things about her as an individual–and her family. It was personal. Healthcare legislation has gone through several different permutations, and it’s certainly open to debate as to what each version would result in. Facts about Palin’s personal life are pretty much as she lived them.

The Democrats’ Web site has a link for folks to contribute to their call-Palin-out campaign. There’s also a phone number where you can “call Sarah Palin, tell her to stop lying about health reform.”

Guys, it’s health *insurance* reform. Get with the program.

The number listed is the one used by SarahPAC. I guess some people just miss harassing her now that she’s out of office.

As for the tactic of calling someone an outright liar, I don’t like it, regardless of where it’s coming from. (And yes, that includes Rep. Joe Wilson’s infamous outburst. Entertaining, but inappropriate.)

Calling someone a liar is like dropping a bomb at your feet, so you can take out everyone–including yourself. The accused might actually be lying, but you might be lying about that person being a liar.

An independent third person might see that you both cite seemingly legitimate sources to reach your different conclusions, and this third person might just throw his arms up and say, “You know what? You’re probably both lying. I’m fed up with the whole lot of you, and politics in general. I’m just going to live my life and deal with whatever the government tries to do.”

The call-them-a-liar tactic, then, is most advantageous for the side that has little to lose. Let’s say you’re playing chess, and most of your pieces have been taken down–except your queen. You then find an opportunity to take out your opponent’s queen, but it would be at the expense of your own. If you know you’re not going to win, the queen-for-queen trade is worth it, in the hope that you might at least end in a stalemate rather than an outright defeat.

So you fear that too many people are beginning to distrust your party’s plans for healthcare. What do you do? Call your most powerful individual opponent a liar, even at the risk of looking petty yourself. Cast doubt upon her, even if it makes you look suspicious, too. Muddy up the political waters so fewer people want to dive in. Then, you can proceed with your precious plans with less interference.

That’s what it looks like to me, anyway. Of course, when lies are told, they shouldn’t go unanswered. But throwing in the “liar” card only cheapens your own argument.

I’m not saying that either Palin or the Democrats are necessarily all right or all wrong. But here’s what looks clear to me: Palin is simply using a social networking tool to provide interested readers with another perspective on current events, while the Democrats here are resorting to cheap political games that make them look like children shouting “Liar liar, pants on fire!”

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