The Fish Rots from the Head

The President of the United States does not tell the truth. That is not news. More and more people have become aware of the degree to which he distorts reality. Currently as noteworthy, however, is the extent to which this toxin has invaded the body politic.
Worse than the standard presidential canards has been the Obama’s recent accusation that the Chamber of Commerce—at the behest of Republicans—illegally spent billions of foreign dollars on the current campaign. Without a shred of evidence, he allows his supporters to declare this an assault on democratic institutions.
The real news here is the degree to which this has come to seem “business as usual.” The targets of these slurs are naturally offended. So, in fact, are many news organizations—including the New York Times. But no one is truly scandalized.
When David Axelrod, the president’s point man on the Chamber accusation, was asked for proof, he simply turned the question back on his interviewer. Where, he replied, was proof that the Chamber hadn’t done as alleged?
Aiming a comparable accusation at Obama reveals just how disgraceful this was. What if Republicans claimed Barack has been cheating on Michelle? Surely, the White House would angrily demand evidence. But what if the GOP’s response was to insist on proof he had not? Wouldn’t this be regarded as character assassination?
That Axelrod’s maneuver did not arouse furious outrage, nor even deter the president from repeating this baseless accusation, was symptomatic of where we as a nation have arrived. Karl Rove, a party to the affair, was duly distressed, but few others joined him in his umbrage—the offence having come to seem normal.
To repeat, this is truly depressing news. Nowadays political dishonesty has become the norm, especially among Democrats. The deceit at the top of their party has evidently filtered down the food chain. This means that the moral rot pervading their national headquarters has become the model for lesser operatives.
Amazingly, few members of the president’s team feel any shame in following his example. They, without hesitation, have flooded the airwaves with campaign ads designed to convince voters that they are what they are not. So far as most Democratic candidates are concerned, they were utterly unaware of what transpired during the last two years.
Alan Grayson’s marvel of duplicity, in which he edited Dan Webster’s words to make it seem that he required his wife to submit to him when he said the opposite, is simply the most blatant of these endeavors. Many more commercials make it appear that the candidate opposed the president’s stimulus or health care initiatives, when he or she did not.
When asked about this trend, commentators usually shrug their shoulders and opine that the Democrats are “desperate.” Without anything positive to say about their achievements, they can do little more than vilify the other side. Truth is not what matters in these ventures, only appearances.
But the defense of these activities gets even more egregious. The experts explain that the president and his allies are merely seeking to gin up the base of their party. They only want to get them excited so that they go to the polls.
But consider the implications of this tactic. It suggests that Democratic voters are prepared to believe barefaced lies. Indeed, it insinuates that deception has become the mother’s milk of the party.
So pervasive has lying become among Democrats, that it apparently does not offend their sensibilities. However great the stench, if it succeeds in keeping them in power, they are satisfied. They literally don’t care if they must be dishonest, as long as their lies garner more votes.
This, I submit, is not good news for the long-term health of the Democratic Party. Any political faction that must depend upon dishonesty to keep in power is bound to be found out. And then when it is, it will be in trouble. As Abraham Lincoln warned, you can’t count on fooling all of the people all of the time—even if they are Democrats.
Melvyn L. Fein. Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology
Kennesaw State University