The disconnect between reality and Donald Trump's campaign rhetoric was beyond anything in this observer's memory. Evidence now begins to accumulate to verify that we are truly in an era of post truth politics. Truth has become mostly or completely irrelevant to political campaigns.
Lie #1: Trump's famous wall with some built in doors, may have been just a garden-variety politician's lie to the American people. According to Trump advisor Newt Gingrich, a key player in the passage of NAFTA in the 1990's, “He’ll spend a lot of time controlling the border. He may not spend very much time trying to get Mexico to pay for it, but it was a great campaign device.”
Right. “A great campaign device.” Great campaign device. Got it. Just another politician's lie to deceive voters. Let's wait and see how that blither turns out. Time will tell.
Lie #2: Trump was adamant and consistent that he would completely repeal Obamacare and replace it with some completely unspecified who knows what. It looks like that 'campaign lie' just might turn out to be a real world lie.
Trump said in a Wall Street Journal interview that he would like to keep some parts of the Obamacare law and only “amend the statute rather than repeal it. Trump said he came to the conclusion after Obama, during Trump’s Oval Office visit Thursday, suggested areas of the law that should be preserved. Trump suggested provisions that prevent insurers from refusing coverage for preexisting conditions and which allow children to stay on their parents’ health plans until age 26 should stay. 'I like those very much,' he said.”
Repealing Obamacare is just another Trump campaign lie, at least so far.
Lie #3: Trump seems to also be backing away from another pledge to lock crooked Hillary up: “Trump also avoided answering whether he would follow through on a campaign vow to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state. “It’s not something I’ve given a lot of thought, because I want to solve health care, jobs, border control, tax reform,” he said.”
Locking crooked Hillary up is shaping up to be just another of Trump's many campaign lies.
Some context: And, for context about how meaningless political rhetoric really is, Trump said this in 2012: “The electoral college is a disaster for democracy.”
It's a good bet that Donald Trump wouldn't say that today** since he lost the popular vote and owes his election entirely to the electoral college he called a “disaster for democracy.”
Pragmatism yet?: Are we ready for reality-based pragmatic politics yet? No? OK, we'll do more of these little fireside chats as events unfold. Patience is a virtue. The handwriting on the wall is pretty clear from here, but more time is needed to shed more light and more certainty. These are just early days in Trump's dance of the lies. Questions: Do lies in campaigns matter since they are constitutionally protected free speech and all is fair in political war? Do political ends justify the means, i.e., lies, manipulation and deceit? If so, where is the line, or is there no line if the cause is just and/or in the name of what God wants or demands?
B&B orig: 11/12/16
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