Politicians and truth have a, uh, troubled relationship. That relationship makes it difficult for us, the voters, to really understand what our politicians are saying and what they’re trying to represent.
Thankfully, The New York Times has put together a chart that clearly shows which politicians lie the most and how they rank.
It’s no surprise that Republicans take the very top of the list while Democrats all sit at the bottom. Meaning, Republicans lie the most and Democrats tell the truth the most.
What’s fantastic for Democrats is that our top two candidates running for president, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, are evenly matched (based on 43 checks of Mr. Sanders and 140 checks of Mrs. Clinton).
The article also has some wise words that fact checking is actually forcing politicians to tell the truth:
Contrary to the prophecies that truth in politics is doomed, I’m encouraged by the effect that fact-checking is having.
So maybe my initial statement that politicians and truth have a troubled relationship is wrong. Let me amend it, Democrats and truth have a fairly solid relationship. Republicans and truth are essentially antonyms.
But truth doesn’t matter if you don’t vote!
When friends conclude despondently that the truth doesn’t matter, I remind them that people haven’t started voting yet. I don’t take current polls too seriously because data suggests that most people don’t settle on a candidate until much closer to casting their vote.
In all, it’s fun to see who’s the biggest liar and it’s fun to analyze polls and pretend you know who might win, but it’s not just about fun. With the primaries fast approaching, rest assured that whether you’re team Hillary or Bernie, you’re voting for someone who seems to want to tell the truth! But don’t rest on your laurels. There’s still a lot of work to do for your candidates. Get out the vote, spread the good word and don’t assume anyone will win. It’s not over until it’s over.
And once a candidate wins the primary, we must make sure they win the presidency...unless you’re comfortable with a liar as president.