Politicians Lie Even When The Truth Would Be Better

Why do so many politicians lie even when the truth would be better.  Why do they work so hard to make a job that already has a bad reputation maintain that reputation or make it even worse?  It’s mindboggling.  Is it just to keep in practice?  Is it because of the job’s reputation and because it is likely that they, like many of us, have watched other politicians lie on a regular basis that they might be constantly thinking; “someday I’m going to need to lie to my constituents and I don’t want to mess up when I do?  Is it that they want it to be a smooth and seamless lie so that it will be extremely unlikely that it will be found out if ever found out at all?  Has their continued exposure to politics and their close encounter with the mud in it caused them to come to believe that a lie is the same as the truth unless it is found out?

Either this manner of thinking gets worse when politicians make it to the big league in Washington (Washington politicians seem to be married to this way of thinking) or it is because political issues are more widely promulgated when Washington is involved so we are more aware of what is happening at that level than we are of the political tomfoolery at the local and state levels.  Or perhaps it is a combination of the two.  Either way, the more that one witnesses this kind of behavior the more disillusioned they become with those that they have elected to represent them and the harder they find it to believe anything that they tell them.  These elected officials have lost all credibility, that is what little bit that they had left, in the eyes of the American people and so are failing miserably at reassuring, comforting and protecting Americans under these current trying circumstances.

An excellent example of politicians lying in a situation even when the truth would be better occurred during a meeting among House Republican leaders shortly before Mr. Trump, who was then the Republican standard bearer, was elected.  According to an article in The Washington Post by Adam Entous dated 5/17/2017, the following exchange took place:

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said, “There’s two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher [McCarthy’s fellow California Republican congressman] and Trump.”  House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis) immediately interjected, stopping the conversation from further exploring McCarthy’s assertion, and swore the Republicans present to secrecy….  Some of the lawmakers laughed at McCarthy’s comment.  Then McCarthy quickly added: “Swear to God.”

Ryan instructed his Republican lieutenants to keep the conversation private, saying: “no leaks…This is how we know we’re a real family here.”  …When initially asked to comment on the exchange, Brendan Buck, a spokesman for McCarthy , said: “The idea that McCarthy would assert this is absurd and false.”

After being told that The Post would cite a recording of the exchange, Buck, speaking for the GOP House leadership, said: “This entire year-old exchange was clearly an attempt at humor.  No one believed the majority leader was seriously asserting that Donald Trump or any of our members were being paid by the Russians.  What’s more, the speaker and leadership team have repeatedly spoken out against Russia’s interference in our election, and the House continues to investigate that activity.”  Why couldn’t they just say this in the first place?!

The crux of the problem does not lie in the fact that a conversation like this took place.  It lies in the fact that these politicians chose to lie until they had virtually no other choice but to tell the truth.  And after they told the truth, even knowing what they knew about Mr. Trump, they still chose not to stand on principle and do what was in the best interest of the American people.  Instead, at that time, they chose to put party above country and pawn Mr. Trump off on the American people by supporting his election.  And now they are continuing to do it by protecting him and enabling him despite all of the red flags that have been raised regarding his bizarre behavior.  And they are doing this all in the name of the hope that he will help them in their effort to assure that their Republican agenda is implemented.

This kind of behavior by our politicians does not engender trust and confidence in them from their constituents but rather the lack of trust and suspicion.  The way that Mr. Trump has conducted himself as the leader of the most powerful country in the world and how he has governed across-the-board should by now have captured the attention of all Americans.  And his conduct should do more than simply raise eyebrows and give pause to those who are observing his actions.  We must hold him and those who are supposed to provide the checks and balances on how he wields his power accountable.

I do not believe that I am the only one who feels exhausted from Mr. Trumps antics and feels like a damp, cold blanket has been tossed over America and those things that we stand for.  That blanket seems to have dampened the spirit of the normally irrepressible feeling of pride that we normally can’t help but to exude in America and the exemplary leadership that we have persistently presented to the world.  Neither do I believe that I am the only one who feels that America’s enemies are feeling emboldened because they sense a weakening in America’s armor and that our allies are confused and have lost a great deal of confidence in us.

In the past, even when we have disagreed we have always been able to come together as Americans.  We have not acquiesced to the suggestion of dividing ourselves into impenetrable racial and religious factions even when encouraged to do so by our leaders or prodded to do so by our enemies.  And whether we are Democrats, Republicans or Independents, we should avoid dividing ourselves now and come together as Americans because we are stronger together.  The only thing that we will do by forming impenetrable factions and pitting ourselves against each other is make America more vulnerable to her enemies.  Think about it; who gains from that?  Therefore, we should be wary of anyone who is encouraging division instead of pulling us together as Americans.  Together, we can solve any differences that we might have.  We have done it before, we can do it again, and we will always be able to do it.  Why? Because “we have far more in common than that which divides us.”

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line