All Politicians Lie

[KeithE]

But
Good graphic in article (that would not copy easily ). The worse liars in order are Ben Carson, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. No surprise there. Of the current candidates O’Malley looks best. Guess one has to lie to get attention. Most honest is Bill Clinton since 2007 (yes I didn’t have sex with that woman, man). Kinda of surprising, but when you not running one can be more truthful.

This is based on the research (not just opinion) of a veteran of Politifact Fact Checking.

[Tim Bonney]

Keith, I just can't let that go.

I know some fine Christian people who have run for office and do not lie. Any time I see "All" next to anything, politicians, Christians, Muslims, etc. I can't help but point out that you don't know all politicians, all Muslims, all Christians, all (fill in the blank.)

[Neil Heath]

Or, as a friend of mine said recently, "All generalities are lies."

I had to think about it, but I got it.

[KeithE]

[David Flick]

[Tim Bonney]

[Sandy]

[KeithE]

[Tim Bonney]

Interesting that it appears the top three Republicans are also the top three liars.

But I have to say that I'm a bit cautious about such charts. Outside of factual data (which is true or false) a lot of what people think of when they think of truth and falsehood are beliefs and ideologies. Those are pretty hard to just as a lie or a truth.

Part of what is going on is the GOP and the Dems have very different world views about what constitutes truth.

It reminds me of a section of one of the texts for my ethics class titled, "Why do sincere Christians disagree?"

[Sandy]

[Tim Bonney]

I agree Sandy! It is hard to get anything meaningful out of these speeches or the debates. I didn't watch the full debate but watched some summary videos this morning that highlighted a discussion between Trump and Bush. I'll probably watch some others later today about Rubio and Cruz's back and forth.

I'm not a fan of Jeb. But Jeb seemed a lot more rational than Trump did. The Donald is just a running insult machine. I really have a hard time understanding what people like about him. He reminds me of the school yard bully rather than a serious candidate.

[KeithE]

More information on this study directly from PolitiFact.

,

This study (actually a compilation of PolitiFact fact checking) looked at the "most newsworthy and significant” public statements that can be checked factually - they do not rate “opinions". is their process- read it.

The leading GOP candidates are the biggest liars. It is almost as if the more they lie the better they are doing. Jeb Bush is the most truthful GOP candidate, with Lindsey Graham having no “Pants of Fire” lies. Says something about the American GOP-leaning public.

With Biden out of he race, all three remaining Democratic candidates among all candidates are the least untruthful with Mike O’Malley being the most truthful and Bernie Sanders having no "Pants of Fire" lies. Non-candidate Bill Clinton is the most free to tell the truth.



While no summary of “PunditFact” has been compiled, here is a list of pundits with recent "Pants on Fire” lies:

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[Tim Bonney]

So, do you suppose the size of the GOP field is part of what induces them to make more outlandish claims? By comparison the Dem race is going at a much quieter and lower tone. With only Hillary and Bernie as real contenders does that make a difference to the tone?

Or is most of it a reaction to Trump? He makes all kinds of unsupported claims so everyone else feels the need to make as big a claim for their candidacy?

Like my comment on Trump, I don't see what people get out of the circus that is the current debates.

[Sandy]

I think Trump's presence is the catalyst for just about all of the outlandishness, including the RNC holding secret meetings to figure out how to get to a brokered convention to stop him. That's just unheard of. And I can't ever remember a GOP debate where the candidates attacked and shredded each other like they did Tuesday night. It started not five minutes into the debate, and I sat there thinking that either Hillary or Bernie wouldn't have to employ a PR staff to write their ads, they could just continuously play clips of the candidates being as ugly and negative, and slinging mud like nobody's business. I'd say that within that two hour framework was some of the worst behavior ever exhibited on national television by candidates for the Presidency, and as evidenced by post-debate polling, was a demonstration that no one on that stage is qualified to be POTUS. The "kid's table" debate got better reviews.

With the rhetoric being what it is, if Hillary wins, and the GOP loses control of the Senate, both very realistic, and fairly likely outcomes, will these extremists go get their guns, secede and start a civil war? That's the gist of a lot of the rhetoric. They love the constitution, and they love America as long as they get their way. When the majority disagrees, then they think government is too big, and they aren't willing to live by the rules. I find that attitude both anti-Christian and anti-American, but if you disagree with them, that's what they think you are.

[KeithE]