Alan Simpson: “I have a comment on a rather elusive matter. We work in an arena where truth is always a rather elusive entity. Many…”

“I have a comment on a rather elusive matter. We work in an arena where truth is always a rather elusive entity. Many statements in this place seem to be repeated ad hominem and ad nauseam, however inadvertently, without regard to any basis in fact. A mischievous speaker may do this because he or she believes that, as has often been said, "A falsehood repeated often enough will be believed." Equally often, this happens because this is simply what the individual has been told, perhaps several times, and thus the rash assumption is made that a statement made so often "must be true." Thus, often, in good faith, speakers perpetuate ideas and statements which are simply and totally at complete variance with the facts. To cite one specific case, I wish I could count how many times it has been stated as an article of pure faith by those on the other side that we have had however many hours of hearings on Whitewater and Travelgate, but only one, or none, on Medicare. The only problem is, it is just simply not true. It is not even close to being true. It is one of those myths which has developed, somehow directly, in the teeth of the facts.”