Shading the truth has been a part of American politics since the nation’s founding. But the exponential increase in dishonest communication, mostly driven by social media, is no longer just alarming. It poses a direct threat to our democracy.
One of the nation’s democratic hallmarks is the peaceful transition of power every four years following a presidential election. Yet before the 2020 election, then-President Donald Trump was asked if he would commit to that transition. His reply: “We’ll see what happens.”
Given what followed was hardly surprising.
Before and after the presidential election, Trump raised doubts about the integrity of the results, telling a crowd of Arizonans the election would be “the most corrupt election in the history of our country.”
That was one of many examples of sowing false “truth” to undermine voters’ faith in democracy. That commitment flourished even after courts tossed lawsuits claiming, falsely, that his re-election had been “stolen.”
It’s doubtful the 2022 midterm results will include a minor-league version of the “Stop the Steal” movement since off-year legislative and congressional races lack the drama of presidential elections.
Those who closely follow politics have noted that Trump also is collecting substantial donations for a 2024 campaign. And if he releases an early announcement of his candidacy, that could prompt other aspirants to drop out.
Well, maybe. Much depends on whether many Republicans will remain comfortable with Trump’s iron-fisted control of their party. If they do, history is likely to judge them harshly for abandoning the party of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower and George H.W. Bush.
Months after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by thousands of MAGA men and women, House leaders set a vote to form a select committee to investigate every aspect of the riot.
It came as no surprise that 175 House Republicans, a substantial majority, genuflected to Trump by voting against the proposal. Among his political acolytes were all seven GOP House members of Tennessee’s congressional delegation: Tim Burchett, Scott DesJarlais, Chuck Fleischmann, Mark Green, Diana Harshbarger, David Kustoff and John Rose.
It was troubling but hardly surprising that the seven Volunteer State enablers could not summon the courage to uphold important tenets of our democracy.
To their everlasting credit, however, 35 Republicans voted in favor, rejecting their party leaders’ instructions – and of course the former president for whom fidelity is oxygen, political integrity be damned.
It should be said that lying is perhaps not the worst act of political “sinfulness.” If subservient GOP officeholders and thousands of Americans don’t rebel against the exponential increase in lies, to what extent will our nation’s global leadership be compromised? After all, lying not only reflects contempt for the Ninth Commandment but also contempt for those to whom one lies.
The next few months could be crucial. It’s unclear what the congressional committee will learn after the Supreme Court’s ruling ordering the release of documents Trump fought desperately to withhold.
But he is potentially vulnerable to civil and criminal charges by New York’s state attorney general and Manhattan prosecutors involving financial malfeasance relating to his properties.
Whatever the future holds for Trump, his political hangover resulting from his 2020 defeat should warn others about the consequences of dishonesty.
It’s worth noting that the Republicans’ votes for a committee to investigate the Capitol riot reflected a passage from the novel “Cancer Ward,” by Alexander Solzhenitsyn.
He wrote: “You can resolve to live your life with integrity. Let your credo be this: Let the lie come into the world, let it even triumph. But not through me.”
Michael Loftin is a former editorial page editor at The Chattanooga Times.