Everyone expects politicians to exaggerate. A hyper-positive pose is what successful politicians assume. However, Republicans have taken this to an exorbitant level that so distorts the truth that many voters will find it difficult to determine what they should support. The most damaging example of this is Donald Trump’s insistence that he won the presidential election but his victory has been denied by fraud and corruption.
Trump or his supporters have filed 62 lawsuits to have the courts overturn the victory for President Joe Biden, but not one has provided the result Trump seeks. What is worse, Trump’s misguided campaign has driven his rabid supporters to insurrection against the government. Also, Trump’s effort to retain the presidency by any means possible has generated intense racial hostility against Blacks who have ardently opposed his political policies.
A recent example of gratuitous anti-Black attitudes is a remark by Dan Patrick, the Republican lieutenant governor of Texas, on a Fox News show. Patrick asserted that Blacks are responsible for the worsening record of COVID-19 infections in Texas and elsewhere. However, the national record of vaccinations is just the opposite. According to a recent NBC News poll, while 69% of all American adults are vaccinated, 76% of Blacks are vaccinated, compared to only 66% of whites. The higher rate of vaccination for Blacks also holds in Texas.
It is absurd for Patrick to level such a criticism. According to the NBC poll, 88% of adult Democrats are vaccinated compared to only 55% of Republicans. Some Republicans seem to have little interest in what’s true or false. Such depraved character and lack of respect for election results is necessary for Trump and his supporters to deceive Americans and disrupt their support and belief in a centuries old democratic process.
