Demagogue

I wrote the other day about the story that Maryland Governor Ehrlich and Lt. Governor Steele are peddling about evil, racist liberals throwing Oreo cookies at Steele, a black Republican. ("Oreo" is derogatory slang, stands for black on the outside, white on the inside.)

It turns out there may have been an Oreo or two at the September 26, 2002 debate, but they were not thrown as reported (one allegedly rolled on stage and ran into Steele's foot) and it is very unclear whether their presence was anything other than an audience member having a snack. A Maryland professor traces the myth of the Oreo Cookie Conspiracy.

In Ehrlich's recent defense of the Oreo story I noticed something interesting. Both Ehrlich and Bush have used the same odd term in the past week. Apparently whenever someone, especially a Democrat, questions the validity of a story that a Republican is telling it is called "revisionism." Ehrlich and Bush have stated that they think "revisionism" is "dangerous" and "irresponsible." It's an interesting attempt to communicate that asking questions about the past is off-limits. I suppose I would too if I were in either of their shoes.