In a Washington Post opinion piece entitled "How the GOP’s dishonesty led to the rise of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz," Fareed Zakaria would have us know "that the [Republican] party is facing two separate but simultaneous revolts: one led by Ted Cruz, the other by Donald Trump." Zakaria's conclusion:
"Could these revolts have been prevented? Perhaps, if the Republican Party had been honest with its voters and explained that the welfare state was here to stay, that free markets need government regulation, and that the empowerment of minorities and women was inevitable and beneficial. Its role was to manage these changes so that they develop organically, are not excessive and preserve enduring American values. But that is the role for a party that is genuinely conservative, rather than radical."
Remarkable! A self-confessed plagiarizer is lecturing us on honesty.
But more to the point, is it GOP dishonesty or Obama's dishonesty that has led to the rise of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz? As observed by Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. in a National Review article entitled "The Many Lies Paving the Way to Obama’s Legacy":
"On the Iranian threat to Israel: 'The danger from Iran is grave, it is real, and my goal will be to eliminate this threat. . . . Finally, let there be no doubt: I will always keep the threat of military action on the table to defend our security and our ally Israel.'
On health care: 'If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. If you like your health-care plan, you can keep your health-care plan.'
On Syria’s WMD: 'We have been very clear to the Assad regime — but also to other players on the ground — that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized.'
On capitalism: 'If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.'
On religious freedom: 'Let’s honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion and draft a sensible conscience clause and make sure that all of our health-care policies are grounded not only in sound science, but also in clear ethics, as well as respect for the equality of women.'
On immigration: 'They’re going to say we need to quadruple the Border Patrol, or they’ll want a higher fence. Maybe they’ll need a moat. Maybe they’ll want alligators in the moat.'
On world public opinion: 'People don’t remember, but when I came into office, the United States in world opinion ranked below China and just barely above Russia, and today once again, the United States is the most respected country on earth.'
On Benghazi: 'Here’s what happened. . . . You had a video that was released by somebody who lives here, sort of a shadowy character who — who made an extremely offensive video directed at — at Mohammed and Islam . . . making fun of the Prophet Mohammed. And so, this caused great offense in much of the Muslim world. But what also happened, extremists and terrorists used this as an excuse to attack a variety of our embassies, including the one, the consulate in Libya.'
I don’t believe him."
Neither does much of the American electorate. (For several more pages of Obama's lies, have a look at PolitiFact's "All False statements involving Barack Obama.")
Sorry, Fareed, but any explanation of the rise of Trump and Cruz begins with Obama's chicanery.
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