The Consequences of Lying to People

Plus: Will Donald Trump be impeached again?

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Hello, everyone. I hope you’re doing well despite… everything. A couple of notes: 

  • Today’s newsletter was going to be about what a Democratic Senate will look like now that they’ve won both seats in Georgia. But we’ll have to save that for another time.

  • The first issue of Uphill tried to prepare readers for the Electoral College counting process. Needless to say, it didn’t quite unfold the way we expected.

The Cost of Lying to People

Republican lawmakers misled millions of people into believing the results of a legitimate election could be overturned. Many of them viewed contesting the outcome as a relatively easy way to gain political currency among Trump supporters, knowing all the while that their efforts would have no real impact on who will be sworn into office in two weeks.

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  1. Bart Martin

    Concerning the security measures taken at the Capitol, two questions occur to me:

    1. If the Capitol Police and the agencies working with them had a copy of the President’s speech in their hands to preview (yes, we have to imagine the President giving forethought to a speech and sticking with the script) 24 hours ahead of time, would the security preparations have been any different?

    2. Did the President inform the Capitol Police and associated agencies ahead of time that he planned to encourage his crowd to march to the Capitol after his speech?

    The first question is a thought experiment, intended only to shed light on the preparation process as it actually was. And I would presume the answer is “Yes!” If it was known ahead of time that the Commander-in-Chief would whip the crowd into a frenzy, and instruct them to march to the Capitol to “let their voice be heard,” that would have changed the security measures drastically. It would not absolve the security planners of responsibility, but it does highlight the huge role played by the ultimate X factor at play: a renegade Commander in Chief.

    The second question is one that can be answered factually. I presume, based on all we know at the moment, that the answer to that question is “no.” And if the answer is in fact “no, the President did not notify the relevant agencies ahead of time of what he intended,” then it becomes yet another line of reasoning supporting removal of the President, whether through the 25th Amendment or through impeachment, conviction, and removal. Because if the President took an action that created a credible security threat without performing his sworn duty as Commander-in-Chief to mitigate that threat, then he bears direct responsibility for the result.

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    Zach Larsen

    I think Massie gives Trump supporters far to much benefit of the doubt particularly after reading the description of the crowd given by Andrew Egger and Audrey Fahlberg.

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    1. Tim Johnson

      And to think Hillary took so much grief for 'deplorables.'

      Turns out she was shooting low.

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  3. @Fakejohn

    The other consequence of lying to people is that it can ruin their lives. I wrote a while back that this rhetoric was so dangerous because if you truly believed our democracy was under siege and that the wrong guy was going to become President because shadowy forces illegally flipped the election, AND the guy they installed was a pedophile and a communist what would you do? I like to believe that I would fight for the sake of my children if I actually believed that. Some of these people likely just wanted to cause mayhem but some likely believed they were the last defense against tyranny. Why did they believe this? Because everyone they looked up to as an authority figure told them that was the case. These authority figures lied to attract eyeballs to their platforms and to curry influence with the liar in chief in a pathetic effort to one day take the mantle and become the next lying President. These politicians and media figures have ruined lives, many of the rioters will likely spend years in prison (those that survived) many more will lose their jobs and be pushed further down the rabbit hole as people in mainstream society turn their backs on them. I don’t in any way absolve the rioters for what they did but it could have all been avoided if the people they look to for guidance had been worthy of their respect.

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    1. Dorsey C

      Thank you, I too have felt that if I thought the election was stolen from my candidate, I too would have been part of that crowd. While I support Biden, I am frustrated he painted all as thugs, as that is not accurate and does not contribute to healing the divide. Many deserve compassion and help to accept they've been betrayed by Trump and those they trust the most. To me the political and media authorities that lied and incited are the ones who should be jailed and prosecuted.

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  4. Terry

    I’m a democrat who started following you guys when you first started. I was looking for a conservative view point on the crazy politics of the day. I don’t always agree with your point of view but I wanted to hear it. I chose you because you were objective. I’m not a fan of tribe politics. Today I joined. Thank you for being honest, intelligent and knowledgeable people. While we may not always share the same view I feel more informed by hearing the “others sides” take. Thanks again

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    1. Bart Martin

      We're glad you are here, Terry! I hope you find this forum a space of productive civic-and civil-discourse.

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    2. Dorsey C

      Well said and me too

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      Bill Dyer (aka Beldar)

      Stick around, Terry. You'll find here some of the most civil and smartest commenters on the internet, IMHO, most with a conservative tilt, but almost all of whom (myself included) enjoy thoughtful debate with others from other inclinations.

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        Keengle

        Beldar, here, is on the very top tier for both civil and smart.

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      Haley Byrd Wilt vertical-nib Author

      Thank you for joining!

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    Victor Clairmont

    Trump will not be impeached.

    A memo from Mitch McConnell has leaked stating that the senate has no plans to reconvene until Jan. 19th.

    There will be no time to impeach even if Nancy puts the articles in come Monday. Trump will not be impeached a second time.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/senate-impeachment-trump-mcconnell/2021/01/08/5f650ad0-520d-11eb-b2e8-3339e73d9da2_story.html

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    1. @Fakejohn

      McConnell has nothing to do with impeachment the Senate is responsible for the trial. He can certainly run out the clock and spend from Monday until January 20th praying that Trump doesn’t do anything else horrible (he is the Commander and Chief still) if he wants but if something else happens he will have a lot more than Viking helmet wearing idiots to worry about.

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      Greenknight

      Nope. Articles of impeachment will be presented to the House on Monday, and will be voted on by no later than Wednesday.

      If McConnell decides to sit on them and hold off the Senate vote until the 19th, he will be hammered every minute of every day about it. To be perfectly clear, Trump is directly responsible for an armed mob to invade the nation's capitol at a time when the Vice President, Speaker of the House, and BOTH houses of congress were all in attendance, for the express purpose of disrupting the peaceful transition of power, in which 5 people lost their lives... ie- an armed insurrection.

      Does McConnell honestly believe that protecting Trump from his own malfeasance (again) will do anything but make the entire republican party look like anything other than a bunch of weak shills, unable to even squeak in protest against anything that Trump does? By failing to act immediately, McConnell is writing the script that republicans will be judged by for years.

      What's hysterical is that I tuned in to Hannity last night to see how he's framing this, and both he and Lyndsey Graham (who was more upset with Hunter Biden than with the Trump supporters assailing him at the airport) were both hitting the Hunter Biden story non-stop. Seriously. An armed insurrection against the nation's seat of power is less important than a guy who has never been in politics having a job once. This won't age well republicans.

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        Victor Clairmont

        We'll find out come Monday. McConnell needs all 100 senators to agree to rejoin congress for an emergency session since it is on break to convene them.

        If i remember anyway. Open to being corrected.

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        1. @Fakejohn

          Again, McConnell is not involved in the impeachment, the Senate is responsible for the trial *after* the President has been impeached.

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    Dante Longfellow

    "But that isn’t looking particularly likely, with Cabinet secretaries who have taken issue with Trump’s handling of the attack, including Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, announcing they will step down from their posts early."

    Resignations are effective Monday. So there is still time.

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    John Meyer

    Thank you very much for your article above. While it is certainly true that some "Republican lawmakers misled millions....", I hope the voices of the Republican lawmakers who were voicing concern and outrage won't be forgotten. Perhaps these voices, while too few, can lead the party forward.

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    1. Mary

      The vast majority of them were too quiet for too long. The MAGA crowd are not Republicans, they are Trumplicans (or however you want to name them)
      Ronna McDaniel still in place....ya really think it is possible to move forward with the power structure in Trump's pocket....I doubt that. There is a rupture. I don't know if it gets repaired.

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    2. Tim Johnson

      Too many of those voices were silent in the weeks leading up to the riot, which tacitly gave those claims credence, which ended up sparking the riot.

      What's the point of being in Congress if not to lead?

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    Victor Clairmont

    Thanks for the information and the article Haley!

    Do democrats even have enough time for impeachment if they start the process on Monday like Nancy Pelosi said they were drafting and presenting?

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      scott

      Think on this...they do. However, Mitch will wait until Jan 19th to start the trial and the next day, guess who becomes the Senate Majority Leader and what party will then control the Senate? I can draw a map, but you see where this is going , eh, Victor?

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        Mike B

        I'm not so sure. I think Mitch is pissed.

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        Victor Clairmont

        Hmmm.... Even if it is outside the scope of the 25th amendment (it was added for medical reasons after JFK was shot), the ultimate crazy troll would be for Pence to invoke it, remove Trump, be president for 11 days, then on the final day resign and Nancy Pelosi would be president for a day.

        Thus, Republicans could claim they seated the first female president, when the democrats couldn't.

        Trolling~~~~~~The Ultimate Trolling~~~

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  9. rob

    The people that went to this rally were not lied to by Trump, they were lied to by the MSM. The MSM that told them:
    -Mail-in voting has been going on for years this is no different.
    -The wuhan virus came from nature, the fact there was a bio 4 lab studying gain of function research on sars related coronaviruses has nothing to do with it.
    -You don't need a mask they are non helpful at all.
    -You must have a mask, now you must stay in your house for the next year and a half.
    -Jeffrey Epstein killed himself, Bill Clintons trips to his island were not proven to be related at all.
    -Trump incited a riot, our actions have nothing to do with anything.

    The government needs to start telling the truth and start trusting people. This is the result of not trusting the people because of the administrative states own imposter syndrome.

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    1. DesertSands

      You just wrote a bullet-pointed “It’s not my fault” list that would be a good argument for my nine year-old, maybe.

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      1. rob

        you 9 year old sounds wise beyond her years.

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    2. Anonymous

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      1. rob

        Cotton is king. King is cotton

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          BrandonAlleman

          As a NW hiker, I'm more in the 'cotton kills' camp!

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    Tom B.

    I would absolutely love to hear or read a transcript of the phone interview with Rep. Massie. Any chance of the Dispatch would release it as a supplementary to this excellent article?

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