Lies, Damn Lies and Republicans

October 1, 2024 (Vol. 18 No. 42) - Call me old fashioned, but I remember the days when most politicians didn't openly lie to voters. Instead, they would engage in what is known as "spin," where the candidates would disclose only those facts that are most advantageous to them. For example, politicians may say they are experienced in the private sector, not mentioning that their only "experience" was running a lemonade stand in their neighborhood at the age of five. Maybe it's not the whole truth, but it's not an outright lie, either. However, as we were reminded yet again tonight, the Republican Party has abandoned all pretenses of telling you the truth. In tonight's vice presidential debate, we witnessed J.D. Vance living in his own warped reality. I agreed with CNN's Abby Phillip who said Vance's role was "to launder Donald Trump's policies to Middle America." Remember, it was Vance who first accused Haitians of eating people's pets, later admitted that he had lied, and then continued to double-down on the lie. Even this evening, he tried to weasel-word his way out of that crazy word salad. Hell, Vance couldn't even admit that Trump lost the last election. Of course, he is an amateur in disinformation when compared to his running mate, The Cowardly Liar. Just this past weekend, Failure 45 accused Vice President Harris of being "mentally impaired." It doesn't take a Sigmund Freud to determine that it is Former President Pinocchio who is a few fries short of a Happy Meal - not to mention that he is also morally and criminally corrupt. Of course, Vance is the classic Trumpian sycophant, one has sharply criticized The First Felon in the past, only to flip 180 degrees to curry favor with the devil. I was once a proud Republican, even when it put me at odds with my fiercely Democratic community. Those were the days Republicans had backbones. However, the Republican Party of Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan - and, yes, even Richard Nixon and both George Bushes - is dead. It has been replaced with a confederacy of jellyfish. When the facts are against them, the Republican go-to strategy is to lie and make up crap. This trend continues down ballot, where Republicans such as Josh "Senator Skedaddle" Hawley run television ads filled with racist sludge and full-blown falsehoods. They have no idea what integrity is. Many of them can't even spell the word. Sure, tonight's debate was far more civil than the one last month. However, putting lipstick on a pig doesn't change the fundamental fact that it is still a pig. The fact remains: There are lies, damned lies and Republicans. And we don't need any of them. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.