Charlataner och bluffmakare

Jennifer Rubin är en konservativ, republikansk kolumnist på Washington Post. Hon är oroad över kvaliteten på dem som nu slåss om partiets nominering inför nästa års presidentval.

Aktuellt nu är stolleteorin att den federala regeringen planerar ockupera Texas:

Then there is Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), who cynically chooses to pander to the conspiracy-mongers who turning a military exercise primarily in Texas into a secret plan to impose martial law. Cruz has taken their nonsense as legitimate and made inquiries at the Pentagon. Rich Lowry hit the nail on the head on ABC, calling this “pandering to a vocal minority.” He continued, “I’m all in favor of a healthy distrust of the government but not paranoia. There are many threats to our liberty. The U.S. military isn’t one of them. And besides, federal control of Texas is something that was pretty much established in the mid-19th century by President Polk. So, the idea that the federal government is going to go in and retake over Texas is just nonsense.”

Rubins kommentar:

Responsible conservatives should follow Lowry’s lead — name and shame — lest the GOP be seen as a haven for the unhinged. It is only when they are repeatedly and consistently called out that pols will stop fanning the flames of paranoia and ignorance. On one level it is amusing, but it is also a sign that social media have made it increasingly easy for charlatans and con men to gain an audience. And worse, it also debases our political culture, hampers serious debate and further erodes self-governance itself.