“If you tell a lie big enough & keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it."
For a current-day embodiment of Goebbels' sadly timeless quote, look no further than Carly Fiorina. Among the savviest of marketers, she knows that the bigger, bolder the lie, the more likely a targeted demographic will believe it. Said over & over & over & over, even people who would naturally rail against it will become unlikely believers.
Today's "Carly Watch" is about this morning's appearance with Chuck Todd. Every effort to get her to acknowledge the video footage she referred to in the 2nd debate not only failed, each attempt gave her the opportunity to underscore her utterly unfounded but vehemently expressed diatribe against Planned Parenthood. Yes, the diatribe was rife with flat-out lies & flagrant falsities disguised as half-truths ~ but Carly seemed so utterly sincere, so genuinely horrified.
So, what made my jaw drop this time?
Her assertion that the scene she described in such vivid detail exists, in spite of the fact no one but Carly seems to have actually seen it.
When Chuck pointed out that the footage in question is - at best - a reenactment, that even the people who made the them admit it was stock footage & had zip to do with Planned Parenthood, she ducked & weaved the topic over to an earlier interview he did with Hillary Clinton.
Then there's her comment, "And that voice saying what I said they were saying, ‘We're going to keep it alive to harvest its brain,’ exists as well’.” Give her points for at least a half-truth ~ the voice does exist, but the woman saying it is repeating what she claims hearing another person say. Seriously. Yet Carly leaves the impression a Planned Parenthood official said it. .
Next up...
“Planned Parenthood will not and cannot deny this because it is happening,” Fiorina continued. “It is happening in this nation. And taxpayers are paying for it. Planned Parenthood desperately wants everyone to think this isn't going on."
Brilliant wordsmithing. Is Carly talking about abortion or harvesting fetal tissue for research purposes? Could be either. If you nailed her on the statement, my guess is she'd admit to the latter. Yes, fetal tissue harvesting is happening in this nation. But as she says it, an overwhelming number of listeners, especially viewers, would assume she's talking about abortion. In the marketing game, that is called "bait & switch." Carly is very good at it.
Carly is famous for her marketing ability. Whether it's selling corporate real estate or phones or decrying Planned Parenthoon, no matter what's thrown at her, she stays on point, driving home the messages that develop a particular meme.
When she gets a question that refutes her messaging, she flips the subject. This morning, she fired back at Chuck Todd when he accused her of ducking the issue by dodging the question, turning it around to an accusation that he didn't ask earlier guest Hillary Clinton for her take on the controversy. rt of her
But the most stunning statement came when Carly discussed protestors who lobbed condoms at her on Saturday. "I don't know what that has to do with this. They're trying to distract the American people from the hideous reality that Planned Parenthood is aborting fetuses alive to harvest their brains and other body parts. That is a fact.”
Carly Carly Carly - if that was a fact, Planned Parenthood's reputation would already be shredded, Cecile Richardson & other PP personnel would be facing indictments from every state across this great nation of ours.
But you know that time is on your side. Say a big lie often enough, loud enough & people will ultimately talk about it as if it is fact. To them,it will be. Having proof doesn't matter to you, doesn't matter to them either.
Your willingness to use every marketing sleight of hand in the book says a lot for your sales savvy, very little for your character.
09/28/15 addendum, from Insidethe Religious Right’s hive mind from Digby for Salon - Fiorina made a big mistake (skipping the Values Summit) since this group is extolling her for her relentless Planned Parenthood lies and she could have expected to get a very warm reception. (They admire a politician who is blatantly dishonest for their cause. It shows commitment.)
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