The Land of Cotton

I was starting to write about something else today, but I came across a tweet yesterday that bothered me so much that I was responding to it throughout the day on social media.  But there’s only so much you can put into 188-character tweets that I figured I’d continue the vent here.  It wasn’t anything new, or even surprising.  But it was just so gallingly brazen – and from a source that (while not surprising either) continues to misuse its position of responsibility just as brazenly.

That would be United States Senator Tom Cotton (R-AK), who like all senators swore an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.  Yet helped enable the Insurrection to overthrow democracy.  The issue at hand has nothing to do with defending the Constitution, though it’s certainly a part of preserving, protecting and defending what that Constitution allows to flourish.

It came about in a tweet he posted.  He wrote –

Actually, this is literally (in every true sense of the word “literally”) a lie.  And as blatant and clearcut a lie as one can imagine.  That not only WASN'T what President Biden said (he only said he'd sign a crime bill), but he later tweeted (literally) "I support D.C. statehood." 

Okay, as far as I can tell, looking at “I support D.C. statehood” from every conceivable angle, that’s about as clear and provable a statement written in black-and-white that he supports D.C. statehood as I can imagine.

Cotton’s lying tweet is what I'd expect from someone who enabled the Insurrection.

Side Note:  To be clear, other things that Biden wrote in the tweet bothered some Democrats, that had to do with a crime bill passed by the D.C. city council.  To be equally clear, not only did he say he only opposed “some” of the provisions, but the Washington, D.C. mayor opposed it, as well, and even vetoed the measure (which the council then overrode).  But this is a totally separate matter.  Debating whether Joe Biden should or shouldn’t oppose the D.C. crime bill is a fair matter to discuss.  But this isn’t about the crime bill – it’s about Tom Cotton ignoring the very first sentence that President Biden wrote, "I support D.C. statehood" and then blatantly lying to claim that the President doesn’t support D.C. statehood.

I’m not remotely shocked when a Republican in Congress lies about something clearly factual.  Sadly, it’s gotten to the point where I almost expect it.  How can one not?  After all, the foundation is a party leader who has 30,573 documented lies.  So, the seed is planted that and sprouts like weeds.  But not being shocked does not mean you just accept it as the New Norm and let it slide by.  Further, I just found this lie all the more reprehensible.

Some GOP lies are about facts that – while facts -- can be disingenuously twisted improperly and wrongly interpreted for the people you’re trying to confuse.  But you can’t mistake, “I support D.C. statehood.”  You can’t twist that into meaning the person is against D.C. statehood.  It’s not possible.  Unless you have lost all core decency, don’t believe in facts, don’t accept reality and just want to lie because you can -- and know your base will believe your lie, and you don’t want others to hear the truth.  This isn’t even Kellyanne Conway’s “alternative facts.”  It's not Trump Pathological Lying since that's almost how he breathes and can't help himself.  This is just brazen lying.  “I don’t care” lying.  Stupid, infantile lying like when a child insists to you he didn't eat the cookie but has crumbs all over his face.

Further, it's unnecessary and counter-productive lying, because if you're against statehood for the District of Columbia, then just make your case.  It's easy.  There are many reasons to be either for and against it.  So, when you clearly lie, it suggests you don't have a valid argument.

And all the more, it's lying about what the President of the United States says, which the whole world pays attention to.  But then that's what we expect when the person lying helped enable the Insurrection to overthrow the government and democracy, and is an elected official sworn to uphold the U.S. Constitution in order to defend the country.

No, this isn’t a shock that Sen. Tom Cotton openly lied.  Nor that a Republican official lied.  Even in such an infantile, obvious, unnecessary way.  It’s not something new, and it’s something all too common.

But it’s still repulsive.  All the more so, perhaps, because it is so GOP-common.  Lots of things are all too common that sicken us.  Here’s one more.

Up is not down.  Black is not white.  Right is not wrong.  And blatant, brazen, galling lies by Insurrectionist enablers must continued be called out for their outrage, whatever the issue.  Because otherwise if any are allowed to slide, you risk accepting them as normal.