Gage Skidmore

Politics

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Who’s the Biggest Liar in Washington?

No, it’s not Donald Trump. He’s a bush leaguer, a mouthy upstart when it comes to political prevarication. The major league political liars are in the Congress, many of them on the Republican side of the aisle. No, it’s not Paul Ryan either. He’s more the guru of incomprehensible bafflegab than outright lying. The King of Washington Liars is Mitch McConnell. He’s been telling the same stale old fibs for decades, so he’s well practiced at it. He uncorked another big one just the other day. Remember the highest achievement of the current Republican Congress? The massive tax cut for corporations and the filthy rich? The tax cut that was going to pay for itself by supercharging the economy? The economy got supercharged alright, so supercharged that inflation is starting to rear its ugly head.

But something else got supercharged too. The Federal Budget deficit. It rose 17% in FY 2018, $113 billion dollars in a single year. Dear Old Mitch said his signature tax cut wouldn’t cost a penny. That by the end of FY 2019 the deficit would be down by $140 billion. That estimate has now been revised to up by $419 billion. Up to over a trillion dollars. A slight miscalculation? Maybe a rounding error? Mitch has the ready answer, the same tired old answer he’s been flogging for years. Entitlements most foul! Once again they’re wrecking the budget and must be stopped! But what did all those nasty entitlements do in FY 2018? Not much. The cost of government aside from the military grew by 3.0%, roughly the same pace as inflation. Meanwhile $230 billion in tax cuts poured into the pockets of the rich, and the coffers of corporations that used much of it to buy back shares of their own stock and boost their prices.

It’s the same old Republican song and dance we’ve been hearing for years. Run up the deficit then use it to bash social welfare programs and any other government operations they don’t like to “balance the budget.” As if Republicans have ever, at least since the days of Reagan, been interested in balancing the budget. The party who’s Bush and Trump administrations combined to create 80% of the current deficit. And as if Mitch’s load of stale bullshit isn’t already noxious enough he calls the problem he and his party created “bipartisan.” The man who once said his “job number one is get rid of Obama” wants bipartisan action? The man who has rammed every program through on a party line vote. The man who has done everything he can think of to keep the Democrats in the dark until he can cut their heads off. The man who only last week was crowing over his success in putting a partisan Republican on the Supreme Court via a 50 to 48 party line vote…now extends the hand of bipartisan friendship to the Democrats. I hope they bite it off!

Now that’s Major League lying! Compare it to Trump’s babyish babbling on the same issue. “I had to take care of our military.” What? Did they hold a gun to your head Mister President? Or did you think you were in Thailand and a coup was brewing? “We had to do things we had to do.” That really nails it down, doesn’t it? “Hurricanes and fires and the tremendous forest fires all over…” and “very big numbers, tremendous numbers.” Sounds more like an unprepared 5th grader’s book report than a decent lie. But not to worry folks “we’re going to start bringing numbers down.” Now that at least sounds a bit more like Mitch!

No, Donald old boy, you’re just not in Mitch’s league. You’ll never be half the liar he is. You may lead him on sheer volume, but you’ll never be able to beat him when it comes to the sustained boldness and aggressiveness of his untruths. Mitch is the King of Liars. The Prince of Prevarication. The Maestro of Mendacity. A triple threat. He’s got it all!