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Should it be a crime for....

Should it be a crime for US Elected Officials to lie to US Citizens?

  • Total voters
    28
Kal'Stang said:
Should it be a crime for an elected official to lie to the people on open airwaves, in person etc etc? Now I don't mean lying to other governments and what not. I'm talking about lying to US Citizens.
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Although I think lying to the public is awful I think its a slippery slope to criminalize it simply because so many people don't know the definition of a lie, or they do but seek to twist the facts themselves in order to demonize their political opposition. A liar isn't always someone who makes an untrue statement. When George H. Bush said "Read my lips, no new taxes" that was not a lie because he meant it at the time he made the statement. When Bill Clinton said "I did not have sex with that woman..." it was essentially a true statement. When George W. Bush said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, it was not true but it also was not being a liar because he along every intelligence agency on earth honestly thought he did. Then the country could end up expending countless hours debating was it a lie or not a lie instead of trying to help improve the economy, educate kids an run the government. IMHO if a politician lies and the voters are upset about it, the voters express that election day.

Free trivia: FCC rules prohibit TV stations (excluding cable) from broadcasting certain content including profanity and false advertising. These rules DO NOT apply to political ads due to regulations regarding uncensored political speech.
 
Kal'Stang said:
There is a difference between prevarication and out right lying. I have no problem with a politician saying something to the effect of "I'm not sure at this time" or "I cannot comment on that" or something similar. Lying outright however should never be tolerated in those that are supposed to make the laws of this country and uphold those laws and the Constitution.
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Problem is, how do you proof they are lying, when they cover their lies so well?
From current headlines:
One of them is telling us now that it was not his decision to ________

Yet he said:
“I promised _______, and I did”

Is that what you mean? If so, are these promises, speeches, briefings not a matter of interpretation, depending which side of the aisle is doing the interpreting?
 
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