Lyin' Ted.

Shamelessness worked for Trump. 

     "There are six things that the LORD strongly dislikes, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers."

                Proverbs 6

Trump displays an odd kind of honesty. He appears to be unabashed, unafraid of being impolite. He says what is on his mind, bluntly, at least when he is off the teleprompter.  He is cruel to people he dislikes because his honest emotion appears to be contempt for them, and he doesn't temporize or apologize for it. In the political realm, it is almost refreshing to see someone to speak plainly, at least when one shares the target of his dislike. 

Trump is shameless in his dishonesty, too. He says things which are--objectively, demonstrably--not accurate. He says them with apparent conviction. It sells. It works in this media environment and possibly it has worked for as long as humans had speech and followed leaders. Humans interpret confidence in manner as confidence in veracity.

Ted Cruz is once again on the hunt for the White House. Big issues of war and peace, of the economy, of the epidemic, are all complicated and muddled as issues. There are multiple sides to complex issues. Trump showed that the route to the GOP nomination for president is through a simpler target of cultural resentment.  Pat Buchanan knew it was there, but couldn't make it a political force. Trump could. GOP voters are have mixed feelings about many issues on the political table but they are clear in their dislike of the liberal, scolding, woke left. They understand that some people on the left think they are racist, misogynist, homophobic--in short, deplorable. They resent the implication. They think they are just being themselves, normal Americans, feeling what they honestly feel, perfectly acceptable things to think and feel.

Ted Cruz sent me the email below yesterday. I attended a few of his events in 2016, so I am on his list.

Ted Cruz is creating and demolishing an imagined straw man of cancel culture tyranny. To remind readers, the decision to pull six books from the oeuvre of forty Dr. Seuss books was a decision by the publisher, at the request of the Dr. Seuss copyright beneficiaries. They were private property owners, protecting the value of their own property, on their own volition. They recognized that some of the early drawings and text were "off brand" for what Theodore Seuss Geisel intended, and it complicated the reputation of the Dr. Seuss brand. It was smart business.

Cruz creates an entirely different story, based on shock and indignation over something simply untrue, calling the books "BANNED," referencing the wrong book, saying some cancel culture villain wants to CLOSE businesses and schools, ABOLISH police, and SIDE WITH OUR ENEMIES."

What is going on here?

First of all, this is about branding for Ted Cruz. He positions himself as a fighter against a great, powerful evil force, the American left. It is also about fundraising and list-building. To motivate people to donate he needs to "sow discord." He validates anger as an emotional response to people who "hate America."  

He also validates shameless dishonesty. Ted Cruz is affirming that when it comes to political communication, the rules of civil interaction do not apply. It is OK to lie. Openly. Proudly. The Judeo-Christian tradition disapproves of bearing false witness. Lying is not merely un-civil and destructive of social relations, it is an offense against God, a sin. In community relations, in family relations, in commerce, telling the truth is an essential part of being in a functioning society. There are thieves and con men, but good people tell the truth. Lying is wrong. We eat bread from stores because the baker doesn't adulterate the bread. The gallon of gasoline is really a gallon. An an accountant does not fabricate entries. The District Attorney does not destroy exculpatory evidence.  

We know that happens, but when it does, we consider it a breach of faith. It is morally wrong and shameful. If you do it, you hide it.

Cruz is openly, proudly, displaying the rules of politics. It doesn't need to be remotely true. It is true to the team's interest in demeaning the left. It doesn't need to be true to "reality." It is a kind of crooked "truth," because the standard is what serves the purpose of winning, not the reality of honest communication. It the equivalent of the accountant proudly and openly saying that darned right he fabricates and cooks the business' books to fool the stockholders and the IRS. More important, it is the equivalent of the public hearing that accountant and thinking the accountant a good one to hire.

The GOP voters and potential donors are the people who matter, and they do not appear to be shocked by Cruz. If they were, they would not keep giving. I keep getting them.