Failing to Counter the Big Lie

Failing to Counter the Big Lie [Michigan Capitol Confidential]
It is difficult to decide which is the more infuriating – those who persist in advancing a lie or those who stubbornly ignore the possible means of combating it.
The State of Michigan is spending more state tax dollars on K-12 education than the $6,844 per pupil it was spending the final budget year of former Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s administration.
At the beginning of this year it was spending $7,545 per pupil. Beginning Oct. 1, that amount was increased again by $50 to $175 per pupil, with the lowest funded school districts receiving the largest boosts.
As students of propaganda learned long ago, however, if you tell a big lie long enough and loud enough people will tend to believe it. 
Polls show that, in spite of what simple math reveals, a majority of Michigan voters believe K-12 spending has been cut under Gov. Rick Snyder.
...As maddening as it may be to see a big lie perpetrated successfully, Gov. Snyder and the Republicans deserve much of the blame. 
Their longstanding ineptitude in dealing with the lie has been frustrating — and all the more so because it was rooted a dismissive ambivalence.
At a base level there’s a temptation to say “it serves you right.”
....According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Michigan ranks 8th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in per-pupil spending when adjusted for per-capita income. 
Without the per-capita income adjustment, it ranks somewhere between 22nd and 26th depending on mid-decade measuring variations.
The per-capita income ranking means that only six states and the District of Columbia make a greater spending effort toward K-12 education than Michigan. 
....Let’s say someone wants to promote the idea that the Detroit Tigers are a lousy baseball team. 
They could cite whatever comparatively weak statistics they could find involving fielding, relief pitching and the absence of a World Series title over the past 30 years.
If your job was to defend the Tigers, wouldn’t it be sensible and obvious to change the perspective by pointing out that they have won their division four straight years and appeared in two of the last eight World Series?
This is exactly what Gov. Snyder and the Republicans failed to do regarding the K-12 spending issue. They made it easier instead of harder for their opponents to sell the big lie. 
That’s never a good strategy.