Truth Be Told...

“We’re not losing.” -- Nancy Pelosi

“Yes, you are.” -- The Public

Have you noticed the Democrats running around pretending they’re going to win in November? They know they won’t win, but they’ve decided to lie to keep their base from getting demoralized. But it that really a good strategy? I don’t think it is.

If there is one thing I know about the American public, it is that the public is very forgiving. Maybe this goes back to some Christian tradition, maybe it’s just human nature. . . maybe we’re just suckers. Whatever the reason, in this country, you can be “worse than Hitler” one week and find yourself cheered on as the quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles the next. Indeed, the American story is the story of redemption and renewal: it’s in our culture, it’s in our laws, and it’s in our very way of thinking.

But there’s a catch: people want to believe you’ve become genuinely contrite before they will forgive you. It’s really not that complicated. They want to believe that you’ve learned your lesson, and that you won’t ever do anything wrong ever again.

And that brings us to the Democrats.

They blew it. They were given control over the government and they ran wild with influence peddling, rampant corruption, abject stupidity, utter incompetence, and a power-high unlike anything seen since Russia, circa October 1917. Not only did they do nothing to benefit the public, but they actively endangered our country and our economy in the process, and they seemed to revel in antagonizing and taunting the public.

And now that the polls show they are in deep trouble, their answer is to lie about the polls in the hopes of tricking enough of their voters to turn out to prevent November from turning from a debacle into a rout. . . or is it the other way around?

Wouldn’t they be better off tapping into the redemption theme that weaves its way throughout our history? In other words, rather than lying about the polls, wouldn’t they be better off admitting the truth:

“We blew it. We did a lot of things wrong and we’re very sorry. We know you want to punish at the polls in November, but we are asking for a second chance. We understand why you’re upset, and we intend to fix that, and we hope that you’ll give us that chance.”

It may sound corny at first, but if you think about it, it really could prove to be a highly effective strategy. Right now the public has lost faith in the political parties and in individual politicians, and I don’t see how this relationship can be repaired by choosing a strategy of telling obvious lies in the hopes of tricking a handful of non-observant voters. That just highlights the problem, and by doing that, it becomes impossible to convince the rest of the public that they’ve changed and to ask for a second chance.

And it’s not just lies about the polls. The Democrats have been running around lying about. . . well, everything. They lie about their voting records, they lie about their "independence," they lie about things they’ve said, they lie about where they get their money, they lie about what their legislation will do, and they lie about what they want to do if reelected. I understand their reason for telling these lies (the public is angry), but this just seems like a bad idea -- they are trading all future trust for a long shot of short-term gain.

It’s not just the Democrats either. The same thing applies to the Republicans. The more I see them try to repackage the same old policies as something new or as evidence that they understand the public’s anger, the more it seems obvious that they have chosen to go the route of deceit and that we can’t believe that they've changed their ways either.

The public does forgive, but needs a reason to believe you’ve changed. Continuing to tell obvious lies only reinforces the public's distrust. Honestly really is the best policy. Both sides should try it.