Quote of the Day: Deception

When you start to realise how much of what you've constructed of yourself is based on deception and lies, that is a horrifying realisation.-- Jordan Peterson Now I believe I can hear the philosophers protesting that it can only be misery to live in folly, illusion, deception and ignorance, but it isn't -it's human. Desiderius Erasmus

In spite of my exposure to the lies, betrayals and ineptness of our Congress, I can’t imagine that I will ever become comfortable with the way Congress operates. Until recently, I believed that (for the most part), Republicans would be honest with other Republicans. If there were deceptions, they would be minor and annoying.

But few people seem bothered by what appears to be a major deception that Mitch McConnell foisted on his Republican colleagues. (If I’ve misunderstood what transpired, feel free to set me straight.)

From what I know, McConnell seems obsessed with supplying Ukraine with arms and humanitarian assistance. Over time, more and more people have become skeptical about helping Ukraine, in part because of the lack of accountability by Ukraine, the incessant corruption, and the lack of a plan by the US for continuing our support. Regardless of this pushback, McConnell continues the drumbeat for Ukraine support.

Meanwhile, Republicans decided that it would be a clever strategy to link the demand for U.S. border legislation to support for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Secret meetings over months were held to develop the legislation, and when the bill was released, all hell broke loose. Some Republicans stated that at least the border bill provided some improvements; many other Republicans condemned it. Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House opined on X :

‘I've seen enough. This bill is even worse than we expected, and won't come close to ending the border catastrophe the President has created... If this bill reaches the House, it will be dead on arrival.’

Others claim that Republicans were influenced by Donald Trump who didn’t want the bill to pass so that it would remain an election issue. (Even with Trump’s popularity, I have a hard time believing this explanation.)

The observations that I think might be credible is that James Lankford was recruited to work on the bill, because McConnell could “guide” him on the creation of the bill. And Chuck Schumer bragged about how closely he and McConnell had worked together on the bill. I believe that McConnell never wanted the Ukraine funding linked to anything else, and by making sure that an unreasonable border bill was written, there was no way for it to pass. He led Republicans to believe that it was a good bill.

He lied to them.

So the border bill was voted down, without a new one in sight. Since then, a bill with $60 billion allocated for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel is in the works. Mitch got his wish.

As I listened to the podcast, You’re Wrong, with Mollie Hemingway and David Arsanyi, Mollie commented that she believed McConnell was the most despised politician in America; I agree. He has deceived himself about his relevance to the country and to the Republicans. He has deceived Republicans about his intentions for creating legislation. And he has tried to deceive all of us to believe that he is acting in the best interests of the country.

It’s time to step down, Mitch.