As Fox “Republican” News and right-wing talk radio propagandists continue to rewrite the lessons of the 2006 midterm elections with eye-opening – and in some cases “side splitting” – tortured logic, one must wonder what lessons ring true. Was the outcome all about the war in Iraq, or did it have to do with other factors?

Polls suggest the war in Iraq played a role in the outcome of national races, but how then does one explain Democrats winning so forcefully at the local level?

With a financial advantage over Democrats and 24-hour-a-day propaganda news parroting GOP talking points, it is unlikely the Republican “message” didn’t get out. The problem for the GOP is that people understood that “message” all too well, and they got tired of being portrayed as a bunch of right-wing Americans, lied to about war, hidden from oversight, among other ills.

One Republican propagandist claimed Democrats muddied the waters of dialogue, deliberately confused voters, and manipulated the media. This coming from a Republican propagandist who soundly defended Bush’s failed privatization of Social Security scheme that was based on misrepresentations of fact. This also coming from a Republican propagandist who uncritically repeats Bush talking points every day.

The elections were a statement about where Americans stand on being deliberately pitted against each other for political gain. Meanwhile, some Republicans are calling for a more forceful repudiation of bipartisanship.

Mark Tardif, Waterville