By Berl Falbaum
Those who have followed my scribblings
know that I have spent considerable time haranguing about hypocrisy in our body
politic, simply because it is endless.
So, I decided I would only cover the
subject when we have candidates for my newly established Outstanding Hypocrite
Award (OHA). These are politicians who, in my judgment, have displayed a
special affinity for hypocrisy and, I admit, given the abundance of talent it
is not always easy to pick a winner.
The actual award is beautiful, putting Oscars, Globes, Emmys to shame. It is a 12-inch tube light with colors, which are infinite, changing every five seconds.
After much consideration and study, here
are my selections for the last few.
—U.S. Senator Michael (Mike) Shumway Lee, the senior senator from Utah, became the 21st Republican senator to endorse Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination and, he told us gleefully, that he did so “wholeheartedly.”
In expressing his uncompromising support, Lee gushed:
“Look, whether you like Donald Trump or not, whether you agree with everything he says or not, he is our one opportunity to choose order over chaos and putting America first over America last. It’s time to get behind him.”
Well, Lee is someone who at one time did not like Trump very much. Thus, he may not only be worthy of my award, but he may also be suffering from convenient forgetfulness as well.
In October 2016, after the infamous Access Hollywood tape was revealed in which Trump brags, in profane terms, how he assaults women, Lee was appalled.
He produced a video and then posted the
following message on Facebook:
“It occurred to me on countless occasions today that if anyone spoke to my wife or my daughter or my mother or any of my five sisters in the way Mr. Trump has spoken to women, I wouldn’t hire that person.
“I wouldn’t hire that person, wouldn’t want to be associated with that person. And, I certainly don’t think I’d be comfortable hiring that person to be the leader of the free world.”
I read that statement several times and I found it to be fairly clear and unambiguous. There are no “in between the lines” messages.
Then, in another statement, he admitted, Trump “scares me to death.”
Lee’s decision to endorse Trump follows another hypocritical one: Publicly he did not agree with Trump’s lies about winning the 2020 election, but texts obtained by the January 6 committee investigating the insurrection revealed that Lee was on board in trying to overturn the election.
Lee’s messages to Mark Meadows, Trump’s chief of staff, endorsed support for Sidney Powell, a Republican lawyer who spread false narratives about an alleged stolen election. Powell was indicted, as were Trump and 17 others, for violating Georgia’s anti-racketeering law as it relates to her efforts to overturn the election. She pleaded guilty to six misdemeanors which charged her of conspiring to intentionally interfere with performance of election duties.
—South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, who is Black. He endorsed Trump, a candidate who: Banned Blacks from Trump property; embraced white supremacists; and supported the death penalty for the Central Park Five (all Blacks) whom he continued to insist were guilty even after they were exonerated of raping a white woman.
In addition, Trump spread conspiracy theories on where Barack Obama, the nation’s first Black president, was born; called Haiti and African countries “s—-hole” countries, and labeled the words “Black Lives Matter” “symbols of hate.”
With his endorsement, Scott joined David Duke, a former Grand Wizard in the KKK who called Trump’s election in 2016, the happiest day of his life, and Richard B. Spencer, a white supremacist leader, who also celebrated Trump’s victory.
Scott is also the recipient of my special Et Tu Brutus Award. He endorsed Trump even though it was Nikki Haley, when she was governor of South Carolina, who appointed him to a U.S. Senate vacancy, thereby launching his political career.
—North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum who was a presidential candidate this year but dropped out early. He has endorsed Trump even though he once stated that he wouldn’t even do business with him. Early on, Burgum acknowledged that Joe Biden won the election — that the election was not stolen — and now dances around the issue.
—Texas Senator Ted Cruz. You may recall, in 2016, Trump disparaged the appearance of Cruz’s wife, Heidi, and also implied that Cruz’s father may have had a hand in the assassination of JFK.
That got under Cruz’s skin and he called Trump a “sniveling coward,” “pathological liar,” and “serial philanderer.”
In early January, Trump again attacked Cruz, this time privately — it really wasn’t clear why because Cruz was no longer a presidential hopeful — stating that the good senator from Texas should not even exist.
We can assume that Cruz was not offended because the attack was private and he has endorsed Trump. He probably is grateful that he does exist so he can give his support to the former president.
Those are my winners for the OHA at this writing. We will continue with our awards from time to time. But given, as I have stated, there are so many deserving of consideration that I need your help.
Thus, if you have a candidate who you believe qualifies for this special recognition, drop me an email here at the DLN.
I will give your recommendation serious attention. I can assure you, there is no shortage of candidates.
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Berl Falbaum is a veteran journalist and
author of 12 books.
