For starters, they’re liars.
I’m not talking about little political fibs. They lie prolifically, tell jaw-dropping whoppers, and embrace fantastical conspiracy theories. They also reject truth: They’re vaccine deniers, climate deniers, and criminal-conduct deniers (e.g., Sen. Ron Johnson calling the Jan. 6 rioters “tourists”).
Another reason they have no credibility is because they’re inconsistent. Take, for example, Sen. Lindsey Graham’s infamous flip-flopping on impeachment and Supreme Court nominees; and the Republicans condemning Hillary Clinton’s careless use of a private email server for government business, while defending Trump’s deliberate theft of far more sensitive intelligence documents.
On Friday, June 9, 2023, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis asked, “Is there a different standard for a Democrat secretary of state versus a former Republican president?” Implying, of course, she got special treatment Trump didn’t get. But they weren’t treated differently. Both were investigated, their actions were reviewed by federal authorities, and based on the same objective criteria one case was prosecutable while the other wasn’t, due to differences in facts and willfulness.
As CNN says (here), the two cases “are not in the same universe” because Trump’s behavior was deliberate.
But wait! Republicans have argued all along that Clinton should have been prosecuted, and in 2016, Trump argued that should have disqualified her from running from president. Well, if that’s true, then why shouldn’t he be prosecuted and disqualified for doing what they claim is the same thing?
Because Republicans have only one standard: Blame Democrats for everything, and accept responsibility for nothing.
I’ve written about Republican hypocrisy before (e.g., here and here). There are many reasons for not trusting Republicans, but few things undermine credibility as hypocrisy does. Even nursery rhymes address this: “What’s good for me, is good for thee,” and “what’s good for the goose, is good for the gander.”
Republicans will say and do whatever is good for Republicans, without regard for facts or truth, or their own conduct. Which calls to mind another old saying: “There’s no honor among thieves.”