Ministry of Truth Quotes

“Increasingly overt GOP hostility toward democracy is multifaceted and takes a variety of forms. Republicans at the national level, for example, are reflexively skeptical of election results that disappoint them. They have few qualms about erecting new barriers between voters and ballot boxes. They identify institutions that undergird our politics—a free press, the rule of law, civil rights guarantees, et al.—and degrade them with partisan ire.”
― Steve Benen, Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past

“When GOP voices tell voters not to believe their lying eyes, using a combination of shameless dishonesty, partisan coordination, and relentless repetition, the rhetorical strategy is predicated on the idea that they can safely get away with it.”
― Steve Benen, Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past

“When looking for major events in modern American history that would be easy to whitewash, the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol would appear to be near the bottom of the list. The riot was simply too well understood to be recharacterized as anything other than what it was: insurrectionist violence, fueled by partisan lies, targeting the American seat of government for the purposes of helping a defeated presidential candidate claim illegitimate power.”
― Steve Benen, Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past

“the GOP, in pursuit of power, abandoned democracy and accountability in ways that invited future violence.”
― Steve Benen, Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past

“Republicans have nevertheless taken on the bold challenge of convincing people that their eyes have deceived them; their memories are wrong; independent sources of information are not to be trusted; and partisan changes to the recent past deserve to be embraced without question.”
― Steve Benen, Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past

“Rank-and-file Republican voters have been conditioned to distrust independent sources of information, and with the help of allied far-right outlets, the party now believes, with good cause, that counternarratives can become the prevailing accounts—at least among those the GOP relies on for support, money, and votes.”
― Steve Benen, Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past

“Leading GOP voices aren’t just lying; they’re also manufacturing narratives, hoping to replace accurate stories the party finds inconvenient, embarrassing, or both.”
― Steve Benen, Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past