Unworthy Representation

 I have read comments recently that bother me because they are from people who should have higher standards. Representative Boebert of Colorado said Texas has not reported any Covid deaths since it "opened up" on 2 March. They reported 58 deaths yesterday or the day before, and about 3,600 deaths since 2 March. She told this obvious falsehood in the context of accusing Democrats of ignoring facts and science. So, pretty much everything she said is attacking Democrats was false, and easily shown to be false. If I were from Colorado, I'd be embarrassed by her representing my state. In fact, she is an embarrassment to Congress.

Sadly, she's not the only one. Representative Greene of Georgia compared mandates to wear masks to the holocaust. Seriously. The holocaust was the Nazis forcibly imprisoning Jews and others they deemed undesirable into concentration camps and systematically murdering them. Mask mandates are public health measures with proven efficacy in preventing the spread of respiratory infections. Ms. Greene suggests that in her mind these are morally equivalent. This seems to suggest she has no working mind.

While these two are obvious examples of mindless comments, they are sadly not much worse than the leadership of the Republican party in Congress. One representative said the events of 6 January were like a normal day of tourist visits to the Capital. There are pictures of him helping barricade the rooms where Congress had assembled for security. His statement also ignores the violence. The list of deaths and injuries is appalling.

Representative McCarthy, who is the Minority Leader in the House of Representatives said that a commission to investigate the events of 6 January wouldn't learn anything new. That is clearly false, as there are still investigations in progress, and much of the story hasn't been told. In his case, he is clearly lying for political reasons. He is aware that many Republican, him included, opposed certification of the election, despite the insurrection, and that having public attention focused on those events and realities would be bad for his party in the midterm elections. But it is still an obvious lie.

I think we Americans deserve better leaders, but I could be wrong about that. People say that in a democratic republic, you get the government you deserve. So apparently we Americans have committed some terrible sins and deserve incompetent and dishonest representation in Congress. What can we do to change that?