The rabid partisan shills of the right wing blogosphere never stop parroting their assigned talking points, and one of the stupidest talking points of them all is the “Obamaphone.” The entire wingnut universe just keeps repeating this idiotic falsehood, even though it was debunked long ago.

The Lifeline program that provides phones to low-income Americans (so they won’t be cut off from emergency services) was actually started in 1984, as this Wall Street Journal article points out: Millions Improperly Claimed U.S. Phone Subsidies.

The U.S. government spent about $2.2 billion last year to provide phones to low-income Americans, but a Wall Street Journal review of the program shows that a large number of those who received the phones haven’t proved they are eligible to receive them.

The Lifeline program—begun in 1984 to ensure that poor people aren’t cut off from jobs, families and emergency services—is funded by charges that appear on the monthly bills of every landline and wireless-phone customer. Payouts under the program have shot up from $819 million in 2008, as more wireless carriers have persuaded regulators to let them offer the service.

Nevertheless, the right wingers keep squawking “Obamaphone! Obamaphone!” Notice that they’re all linking to this WSJ article that explicitly says the program started in 1984, under Ronald Reagan for Pete’s sake, yet they just ignore that troublesome fact and keep ranting.

Do they know they’re lying, or are they so locked into their closed loop that they really don’t know the difference between reality and fantasy? I think a lot of them are deliberately telling lies, but some, like Jim Hoft, are genuinely that dim-witted.