Politics is a dishonest business…and dishonest too. Did I mention it’s dishonest? For this reason, I have friends and acquaintances who would just as soon write in a vote for their dog, or more likely, just not vote at all, than to actually pull the lever at the polls for one of these self-serving, corrupt, insincere politicians. I understand their sentiments. Year after year both parties campaign on draining the swamp, but neither ever does. Like clockwork, candidates continue to promise reform only to suddenly lose their way after winning an election. Again and again and again, Republicans and Democrats alike exclaim to the masses, “we need change in Washington!” only come to find out the only change they really ever wanted was them in office instead of the other guy. It can be disheartening, to say the least.

Therefore, it seems that many folks believe the primary goal of political candidates is nothing more than to tell whoever is listening whatever they want to hear in order to get elected. While this perception is very intuitive, and more often than not, correct, it is also dangerous. It is dangerous because it can lead one to believe that there is no elemental difference in platforms between candidates or political parties. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

In addition, telling people what they want to hear can be done honestly. For instance, it’s shrewd as a candidate to try to appeal to your audience. John McCain is smart to highlight his maverick record of bucking his own party when speaking to a bunch of Independents and Democrats, just as he is wise to boast of his conservative credentials when courting his right-wing base. That’s ok for him to do. It’s called campaigning. What would not be tolerable, though, is if McCain started openly lying about what he believes, you know, like the Democrats do all the time (and for the record, McCain does have his own list of flip-flops. None of them, though, blatantly contradict his core values, and virtually all of them could be potentially explained as evolving positions over several years. They’re not bold-faced lies, such as promising to accept public financing and then just not doing it, for example).

It’s funny, even though there are stark policy differences between Democrats and Republicans, sometimes it’s hard to tell, since on most of the issues both parties present themselves to the American public the very same way…as Republicans. Unfortunately, every election season many people get fooled and end up voting for the imposter.

Think about it.

- Democrats are always telling us that they support the troops all while sabotaging them by fighting to cut off their funds.
- Democrats are always telling us that they would like to reduce the number of abortions in this country, yet they oppose ideas such as requiring minors to consult with their parents before aborting their baby.
- Democrats are always telling us they’re patriotic all while they dishonor our flag, act embarrassed of it, and continue to provide us in list form the ways in which America is the root of all evil and the cause of all calamity in the world.
- Democrats are always telling us they support the free market, but they try like crazy behind the scenes to hand the government power to regulate everything.
- Democrats are always telling us they won’t raise our taxes but constantly vote against tax cuts and vote for tax hikes.
- Democrats are always telling us they respect the 2nd Amendment but enact harsh gun control laws whenever they can.
- Democrats are always telling us they value the sanctity of marriage while appointing judges who rule otherwise.
- Democrats are always telling us that they will keep America safe, but they oppose measures like the Patriotic Act, wiretapping terrorists, building a fence along the Mexico border, or any and all attempts to do just that.
- Democrats are always telling us that they are the party of free speech, yet they overwhelming support blatant attacks on free speech such as the Fairness Doctrine.
- Democrats are always telling us about their deep admiration for people of religious faith as they simultaneously try to remove any semblance of God from American culture.
- Democrats are always telling us that they’ll be tough with our enemies but then turn around and give them the same judicial rights as Americans.
- Democrats are always telling us that they take seriously the threat of rogue nations acquiring nuclear weapons but would meet with them without any pre-conditions.
- Democrats are always telling us they work for the people, yet everything they do centers around increasing the power and scope of the federal government.
- Democrats are always telling us that they oppose amnesty for illegal aliens, but then they try to give them free healthcare, drivers licenses, welfare, and the jobs of hard working Americans.

I could go on and on.

According to their words, Democrats support many of the same things as Republicans. The problem is that their actions tell a completely different story. Democrats know that their gutless, socialist, pandering, godless, progressive views don’t remotely line up with the values of the vast majority of Americans, so they lie. They lie, and they lie, and they lie some more. They know they’d never get elected if they didn’t.

So yeah, politicians tell us what they think we want to hear all the time. It’s part of the game. There’s a world of difference, though, between catering to a specific group of people by accentuating your strengths and flat out pretending to believe in things you don’t. Strategic talking points and lying aren’t synonymous. Therein lays the difference between the campaign tactics of the Republican and Democratic parties. The core principles of the Republican Party fit hand in glove with the viewpoints of most Americans. Therefore, they proudly stand on them. The true beliefs of the Democrats, however, only really appeal to a select view, so they lie about them and hope you don’t catch on until it’s too late. Regrettably, it often is.

That being said, regardless of who is elected this November, we can be assured that they will be lucky to deliver on 1/10th of the promises they’ll make in September and October. Candidates never do. In fact, from now until then, most of the time, be it McCain, Obama, or members of their parties, they’ll just be telling us what we want to hear. Often, their respective messages will even sound eerily the same. They’re not, though, and neither are their fundamental beliefs. Therefore, do me a favor. Listen with a discerning ear, and regard record and actions as far superior to rhetoric, and you’ll be able to easily separate the truth from the lies.

Or to be on the safe side, you can just assume any time a Democrat opens their mouth that they’re lying. That works too.