Remember, Remember This 5th of November
Words offer the mean to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. Or in the case of the 2024 Election: the tools of deception, and for those who believe, the veil of illusion
Gaslighting, noun
psychological manipulation of a person usually over an extended period of time that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and typically leads to confusion, loss of confidence and self-esteem
the act or practice of grossly misleading someone especially for one's own advantage
The 2024 United States Presidential election - aka reality TV on steroids - consistently features high stakes for the American people:
“The most important election of our lifetimes” - a phrase used to emotionally motivate voters for over 200 years.
“Democracy is on the ballot” yet again.
The Republican candidate is labeled as a “fascist”, continuing a tradition that’s been ongoing since 1964.
Emotional drivers, specifically fear, have unfortunately become a leading driver for the Democratic Party. Regardless of the opponent, there’s been a consistent focus over the last 16 years toward pathos-oriented messaging compared to highlighting their candidate’s logistical strengths. Even the Obama campaign, which was primarily centered around hope and change, also strategically included a dose of fear-mongering - that the 2012 Republican Presidential nominee would, “drag America back to a dark past”.
Sound familiar? If the current, “we’re not going back” being run by the Harris campaign rings a bell, it should: it was utilized 14 years ago in 2010 by Obama during the midterms.
Beyond using the same playbook to get voters motivated via what they feel vs what logically makes sense, the modern-day (2020 & 2024) campaigns have resorted to full-blown deception at levels not previously seen.
Here’s an ongoing list of some of the misinformation being pushed:
Project 2025:
Despite the Republican Nominee’s disavowal, noted here, here, and here - there are still ads & stories being run to manipulate voters into thinking that it is something that would be implemented should Harris lose.
This is blatantly false. And they know it. The Vice President herself repeated these falsehoods during the debate last month. The actual policy agenda that would be implemented in the event of a Harris loss would be Agenda 47. Why push something that has been disavowed?
National Abortion Ban:
Abortion, understandably, is one of the most important issues in 2024. The current messaging about what would happen in regards to reproductive freedom, however, should Harris lose, is largely based on the above - Project 2025.
The Republican Nominee has clearly stated that he would not sign a federal abortion ban and then going even further on X (fka Twitter) that he would, “VETO” a national abortion ban. Should abortion be left up to the states and voted upon (as done so already in states such as Kansas, Michigan, and Ohio) - 63% of Americans support it. Why mislead voters on such an important issue?
Bloodbath, Suckers & Losers, and Mischaracterizations Galore:
The Vice President’s campaign has knowingly pushed out of context and even made up quotes to stoke fear and division among voters:
Micharacterized the use of the word bloodbath by the Former President, claiming that he implied there would be a “bloodbath” if he loses the election. This was checked in real-time as he was referring to the impact of economic policies.
On multiple accounts - even as recently as during her closing speech in DC - the Vice President has taken an alleged quote (“suckers and losers”) - that has been denied by over 10 individuals including former national security adviser John Bolton - and used it to insinuate disrespect by the Former President towards the military community. The quote in question originated from anonymous sources and was only “confirmed” by one individual.
During the final week of October 2024, there were misleading articles from Politico, Reuters, The Washington Post, CNN, and even the Vice President herself claiming that the Former President was pushing a violent rhetoric against Liz Cheney. These claims were quickly proven to be misleading and lacking context as the Republican Nominee had simply suggested that those who send Americans to war should imagine what it feels like to be on the front lines themselves.
Very Fine People
One of the longest-running misinformation campaigns against the Former President is that he called neo-Nazis and white supremacists “very fine people” in 2017. This alleged quote was even used as the reason for President Biden to start his campaign.
It took seven years, but even Snopes certified that the claim was false. Despite the claim being debunked and verified as a hoax, the Vice President repeated this blatant lie during the debate last month.
Even Former President Obama, as of November 3, 2024, is also pushing this lie to influence and mislead voters across the country.
A Common Theme
The six examples given above, as well as those not listed, share a common theme amongst them: all are designed to invigorate an emotional response; all are designed to invoke fear - that should Harris lose on Tuesday, America will “go back” to a dark age; should Harris lose, women and members of the LGBTQ+ community won’t have rights that others do. Those examples are not accurate and are designed to scare folks as they head to the ballot box.
These tactics are not rooted in intellectual honesty. They are not rooted in joy. Nor hope. Nor unity. Stoking fear, creating confusion, and sowing this division amongst the populace only works to further divide instead of focusing on the values and common ground many Americans share.
A campaign that is confident in its nominee, its policies, and what it feels it can offer to the American public would not need to resort to blatant falsehoods. It would not need to resort to twisting their opposition’s words. These decisions are unfortunately intentional - because it works.
Running a campaign that is based on division, while accusing the other of doing exactly that (accusation through confession), is the sort of hypocrisy that many are fed up with. Yet, the emotional driver behind these claims, that inflict guilt and uncertainty, have tremendous success. Humans are emotional creatures, that want to feel like they are doing the right thing.
But if one has to lie. To mislead. To manipulate the public to prop up their candidate. Who, is not a product of the democratic process but a coup, as detailed below by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh.
Where Former President Obama and Vice President Harris threatened to utilize the 25th Amendment should President Biden not step aside. Usurping the democratic process and the will of over 14 million voters that participated in the democratic primary process.
One party continues to mischaracterize the January 6 capital protests, claiming that the Former President was attempting to overthrow democracy, lying about the number of deaths attributed to that day. Then in the span of 3.5 years, that same political party actually succeeded in the same allegations.
That is not fighting for democracy. It’s gaslighting at the most basic definition. Even after he was shot by a democratic donor, the Vice President continued to further amplify the violent rhetoric against the Republican Nominee.
The Right is not exempt from spreading misleading claims, such as one of the most memorable moments from the ABC Presidential Debate, “they’re eating the cats, they’re eating the dogs”. A moment that instantly became the top trend on X.com as viewers discussed what they were seeing. This was also not accurate as while there were reports of an Ohio woman eating a cat, this was not a migrant and to impose that sort of fear towards immigrants was unacceptable. Furthermore, while there is a massive illegal immigration problem, the Former President’s framing that migrants have the “highest rate of criminality” is also not accurate as immigrants are 60% less likely to be incarcerated.
This 5th of November
As voters head to the polls this Tuesday, they’re faced with a reminder:
Do they support a candidate who has directly lied to the American people: about President Biden’s health, about Project 2025, and a potential National Abortion Ban, while usurping the democratic process as they campaign for the most powerful position in the world? On a ticket that features putting a serial liar one heartbeat away from the Oval Office.
A known felon who has been arrested and has numerous flaws from the way he speaks to the public, the press, and other world leaders to how there will likely be major reform across numerous government platforms.
Fear has become the ultimate tool of this sitting administration. People should not be afraid of their government - not knowing who is in charge as the Commander-in-Chief reads off a teleprompter written by a public relations practitioner.
Governments should be afraid of their people. Citizens that will hold them accountable. That will stand up when enough becomes enough. To reject the lies, manipulation, and inauthenticity as one people, one nation, indivisible, together.