Orwellian speech--Scrambling to help Obama

Ed Rodgers:

The talk of panic among Obama supporters is overstated, but the left is scrambling to help him in a suddenly close race with Mitt Romney. Not all of their efforts are particularly clever or even effective. Here is a quick look at some of the contortions that the near-panic has produced.   

1) The left meets Orwell: The left has had to create a new vocabulary to accommodate liberal tax-and-spend policies and the ballot-box defeat that could accompany them. The new vocabulary was on vivid display during the recent G-8 and NATO meetings — the phony debate about "growth" vs. "austerity." To liberals, "growth" doesn't mean robust traditional growth policies including low taxes, rational spending and a balanced regulatory touch. "Growth" to them just means more government spending. And "austerity" means nothing more than some budget constraints. Greece, ground zero of this debate, is the best example. There, President Obama and the Democrats hear grave talk of severe "austerity" creating needless suffering and warnings that America must avoid a similar mistake. A look at the facts shows otherwise: Greek spending has gone down relatively little while taxes on individuals and businesses have ballooned. So far, job losses have only occurred in the private sector, which is being strangled by new taxes, while there have been no layoffs among government workers.  Don't be fooled, the only thing that grows under the new "growth" policies is what used to be called debt. Debt that someone has to pay.

2) and 3) Journeys and evolutions, not confusion and flip-flops:The New York Times decided to help its friends on the left by crediting the president with having engaged in a "journey" to reach his latest enlightened policy on Afghanistan.  This is a lovely piece of trickery. The decision isn't characterized as the flip-flop it was or even, more reasonably, as an on-the-job-training debacle. In truth, anyone would have to contract amnesia to forget what Obama said when he took his formerly muscular, hawkish position. This is just like how his forced reversal on gay marriage was declared an "evolution" by his fawning followers. This was saluted as a mature "evolution," not an acknowledgment of the expedient position he took in 2008 in order to appear more moderate.  

4) The matter of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright: Nothing to see here; move along....

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The reaction of the left to the Wright matter suggest just how toxic he is too them.  I agree that he is not a big issue this go round and Romney should not waste any time on him, conservatives in the media will continue to discuss him because we have recently learned he was offered money to shut up in 2008 and has been advised to not reveal more until after the 2012 election which suggest some people think he can still hurt Obama.

Rodgers is right about the Orwellian language used by the left.  "Growth" appears to be replacing "investment" as a euphemism for spending.  When you cut spending you reduce their opportunities to buy votes, but spending cuts and low taxes have led to prosperity in the red states while investments and growth have failed in the high tax blue states.  I see "journey" and "evolution" as more Orwellian double speak.  Heck, Obama said he was all for "change" four years ago.  Why can't he just say he changed his mind?

One other piece of Orwellian language is used in the war on women meme.  It is "reproductive rights" which really means finding ways to stop reproduction.  I am surprised they have not been called on this one too.  Apparently "choice" which means choosing abortion has been co-opted by those suggesting other alternatives.