Republicans are good for something - lying!

Republicans know how to do one thing well. We all know it's not the economy and it's not health care and it's not education, and it's not foreign policy, and it's not protecting the environment, and it's not fixing our infrastructure...it has nothing to do with governing.

What the Republicans do really well is lie. We've already written about Palin's lies with regard to the "bridge to nowhere" and her so-called opposition to earmarks, so we'll not rehash her skill at manipulating the truth.

She will be a good "partner" and "soulmate" for old John, though, as both are truth-challenged.

1. John McCain praised Palin saying "She's been governor of our largest state, in charge of 20 percent of America's energy supply ... She's responsible for 20 percent of the nation's energy supply."

That's not quite true. Jim Kuhnhenn notes that "Palin is governor [for 20 months!] of a state that ranks second nationally in crude oil production, but she's no more 'responsible' for that resource than President Bush was when he was governor of Texas, another oil producing state. In fact, her primary power is the ability to tax oil, which she did in concert with the Alaska Legislature. And where Alaska is the largest state in America [geographically], McCain could as easily have called it the 47th largest state -- by population."

In other words, it's the third smallest in terms of number of residents!

2. "She's the commander of the Alaska National Guard. ... She has been in charge, and she has had national security as one of her primary responsibilities."

Makes one want to laugh!

Kuhnhenn points out that "While governors are in charge of their staste guard units, that authority ends whenever those units are called to actual military service." Furthermore, "Alaska's national guard units have a total of about 4,200 personnel, among the smallest of state guard organizations."

I think she did order the guard to fill sandbags once.

3. The former governor of Arkansas, Christian theocrat/dominionist, Mike Huckabee said that Palin "got more votes running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska than Joe Biden got running for the president of the United States."

This is a huge lie, but it's what we've come to expect from "Christian" pastor Huckabee. "Palin got 616 votes in the 1996 mayor's election, and got 909 in her 1999 re-election race, to a total of 1.525. Biden dropped out of the race after the Iowa caucuses, but he still got 76,165 votes in 23 states and the District of Columbia..."

4. Former governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney also lies. "We need change, all right -- change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington! We have a prescription for every American who wants change in Washington -- throw out the big-government liberals, and elect John McCain and Sarah Palin."

Oh, oh. Who's been president for almost eight years? Which party controlled Congress until January of 2007?

Sheesh!

5. Mitt Romney again. "Just like you, there has never been a day when I was not proud to be an American." Nothing like slamming the wife of a candidate over a misconstrued statement she made many years ago!

Joe Sudbay at Americablog says Mitt is lying. "There is someone at the GOP convention who didn't love his country every day. According to his own words, that would be the GOP nominee, John McCain. McCain said, 'I really didn't love America until I was deprived of her company.' McCain said versions of that repeatedly. But, he didn't become a POW til he was 31."