Lies, Politics and Democracy

Great documentary that is history and all need to watch. Of course, the Trumpers wont last one minute watching this but much of it just uses Republicans own words and actions. It is obvious how weak Republicans were acquiescing to Trump, and a horrendous example of politicians getting away with blatant lies to the public. Yes, Trump Republicans in Congress - it is you that killed veteran Ashli Babbit with your lies. I have been saying for a lifetime that a Congresspersons first responsibility is not merely to follow their constituents will. There first responsibility is to report the truth and facts to their constituents that they acquire from being members of Congress, no matter how inconvenient it may be.

On the other hand, the middle part of this documentary is a bit clumsy. I don't know if this was a bad attempt at "both-siding" things. They talked about the media having too much negative news on Trump. One quote was something like, "the Democrats overplayed their hand... united Republicans...and turned some swing voters". Maybe that is correct but that requires data, not just speculation from journalists. Show us data or polls of people turning off CNN/MSNBC and switching to Trump. More to the point, it doesn't fit with where they are in the documentary. "Overplaying your hand" means you lost something. Did Democrats lose 2018 mid-terms? No. This documentary oddly doesn't even cover those mid-terms. Did Democrats lose 2020. Certainly not. So, I don't even know what this documentary was trying to say then. Those quotes occurred when they were talking about the first impeachment. Were they trying to say Dems lost the first impeachment because of the media? If that is what they were saying, they hardly made that clear. Besides, that is preposterous.

I am not saying that possible excessive coverage of Trump did not make things more divisive and partisan. But if that is what they are trying to say, then they could have made that clearer rather than vague quotes like "Dems overpaid their hand". No, Dems won the electorate back! Also, there was still 1000% less lying and bloviating from so-called "mainstream media" than Fox, Breitbart, OANN, and all the other Trump liars.

As "Lies, Politics and Democracy" (2022 release; 114 min.) opens, we get a montage of losing presidential candidates giving gracious concession speeches, going back 75 years. Then it cuts to Trump: "Frankly, we did win this election", when of course he hadn't. We then go to "Iowa, February 1, 2016" as Ted Cruz wins the Iowa primary, with Trump immediately tweeting "Ted Cruz didn't win, he cheated!!" (without the slightest evidence of same, of course). Even more tellingly, we get snippets from 2012, when Trump tweets that the presidential election (where he had endorsed Romney) was "RIGGED!". At this point we are less than 10 min into the documentary.

Couple of comments: this is the latest from veteran documentarian Michael Kirk, and aired as part on PBS' long-running Frontline franchise. While you may think that this documentary is about Trump (and in part it is, of course), it is in fact a very damning examination of what has become of the GOP in the Trump era. Watch how the Republican Party had a choice to stand up to the bullying, the lying and the trampling of America's institutions by Trump, and then time and again remains silent and simply acquiesces: Cruz, McCarthy, McConnell, Graham, and many others pass the review but let's be clear: it's not just them. It 's the ENTIRE Republican Party that sells its soul in a deal with the devil, and along the way loses any and all last bit of decency and integrity, all in the name of getting raw power. Even after Trump stages (and fails) a coup d'etat on January 6, the GOP Senators cannot bring themselves to convict Trump on his impeachment, despite the ample evidence of his guilt. Look where that has led the GOP now 18 months later: a cesspool of lies, lies and yet more lies, led by the Liar-In-Chief, the Biggest Loser there ever was who couldn't even beat a weak candidate like Biden. I have zero doubt that history will judge the GOP very harshly in all this, and a reckoning will be coming for the GOP, be it tomorrow, or next month, or next year, or in a decade. Shame on them all.

"Lies, Politics and Democracy" premiered a few days ago on PBS, and is now available on PBS On Demand. This documentary is chilling on so many levels, and should be required viewing for all HS and college students. If you have any interest in politics, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.