John Adams said: “Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among people” (Independent Letters 3/2/2023) timed perfectly with Fox News CEO Rupert Murdoch’s testimony under oath in the Dominion lawsuit where Murdoch acknowledged that Fox and its prime time anchors endorsed the Trump lie that the election was stolen because Fox felt it would lose viewers and, therefore, money if Fox presented the truth. The Fox viewers, according to Murdoch, who made his millions knowing what conservatives want to hear, would leave Fox for other right wing media endorsing the Trump/Putin propaganda lie that American elections are rigged. Tucker Carlson was so afraid of the truth being told that he wanted to fire Fox reporter Jaqui Heinrich for pointing out that top election officials had said there was no evidence of any voting systems deleting, losing, or changing votes in the election.
What’s astonishing isn’t the usual treasonous grift and greed that defines today’s MAGA Republican values but that the Fox viewership would consciously choose lies over truth. But then, again, Rudy (“Truth isn’t truth”) Giuliani had over 60 cases lying about voter fraud and many were thrown out of court, many presided over by Trump appointed judges. Perhaps Republicans, who’ve been vocal about the importance of character in our democracy, could address the issue of why millions of Republicans demanded unsubstantiated Big Lies and complex conspiracy theories rather than simply conceding the election was lost and moving on, which is what really made America great to begin with. Instead, Republicans continue to run pro-Putin election deniers, like Trump, who shamelessly asked Putin for dirt on Biden one month after Russia began its fascist genocidal war lying about Ukraine being run by Jewish Nazis.
Voltaire said if they can make you believe absurdities, they will make you commit atrocities, as Hitler and Putin demonstrated with their wars and Republicans threatened with their Jan 6 insurrection attempt which Republicans, like Marjorie Taylor Green, regret only because it wasn’t armed and successful.
“We don’t want higher bread prices. We don’t want lower bread prices. We want National Socialist bread prices.” was a fascist rallying cry heard by Peter Drucker in 1930s Germany. Today’s MAGA base isn’t that different from Hitler’s base. They aren’t concerned with solutions and truth. They’re primarily concerned with avenging grievances based on lies and following whatever their leader says.
“Tell me lies. Tell me lies. Tell me sweet little lies” – Fleetwood Mac
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