Why do we allow politicians (from all parties) lie to us? Why is this not challenged?
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Because no one can be bovvered to cross reference the manifesto with real time events and, the commentators that do have usually got their own agenda anyway.
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Sadly journalists and news interviewers don’t do a very good job nowadays.
It would be possible to have a team fact check live during broadcasts an interviews but they don’t bother.
Also politicians get away with not answering the question far to much including PM’s question time. It should be a breach of the rules of the house for a PM to avoid or not address the question.
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The threat of castration would certainly concentrate their minds.
Not much of a threat for the women though.
People only believe politicians when they agree with them ,anyway.
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Mastectomy? Cut out their tongue? Michaelia Cash would be vastly improved.
True!
The article does not consider the issue of political commitments that fail to come about. That is not lying as the manifesto may well have been full of good intentions until circumstances change. So that example is not lying. It is an example of politicians being dismally poor, but not necessarily lying.
The article was referring to blatant misrepresentations - such as stating that the economy is growing faster than anywhere else when in fact data says it is not, or stating that the prorogation of parliament was needed for administrative reasons when it was not, it was done to avoid debates on Brexit. Those a knowing, calculated lies than can be fully demonstrated to be knowing lies.
So I don’t think bodily mutilation for making empty promises is on the agenda.
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Guess that leaves Trump out then. He believes all his lies.
That is a very interesting point. The concept of I only told what a truly believed to be correct, even it turns out that it was completely false. Perhaps a test of “reasonable” might be applicable. Is it reasonable for a senior politician to be so misinformed that he/she believed something completely false - and then went around repeating that falsehood? In Trump’s case, most often, it is not reasonable and thus it seem fair to conclude that he is knowingly lying but just claiming that this is what he believes.
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I agree, If they don’t come up with the promised goods then hit them hard, where it hurts most…In their grubby pockets.