Republicans lie. A lot. Every day.
Yesterday, for example, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) falsely claimed Biden would “mandate” sending kids to preschool and attending community college.
Last week, they falsely claimed Biden would limit Americans to eating 4 lbs. of red meat a year. (N.B., I eat no red meat. It’s unhealthy. But if you want to eat yourself into an early grave, that’s your business and I won’t stop you.)
Today, Indiana’s Republican governor signed a bill requiring doctors to force-feed dubious information to women seeking abortions.
And we all know they lied, and are still lying, about the election. There was no fraud. We really did elect Biden president. A solid majority of us are not conspiracy theory-embracing Trumpers.
So why do Republicans lie so much? The simple explanation is to get votes. A more complicated explanation is they’re afraid of Trump’s voters. An Einstein-level (well, not really) explanation is, “As the party of the wealthy and big business, how [else] can it convince the working class to vote for its candidates?” (Explore that theory here.)
Actually, I don’t think that one works anymore. Business is fleeing the GOP, which Trump’s fan base has taken over, and those people are primarily less-educated white males. They’re mostly working class, true, but they’re drawn together by white nationalism far more than economic ideology.
Obviously, they’re not people who are fastidious about factual correctness or accuracy (as, e.g., scholars and academics, journalists, and scientists are); they believe all kinds of things that not only aren’t true, but defy rational belief. It’s pretty hard to get out in front and lead with the truth when you’re playing to a crowd like that.
Which raises the question: Why would anyone want to play to such a crowd? That is, if you have to throw away your respectability and reputation to be a Republican, then why be a Republican?
Photo: No, Biden won’t make you give up steak. Neither will your doctor, though he’ll try, but he can’t. Your heart will when it stops beating.
