Beyond the Big Lie by Bill Adair

BEYOND THE BIG LIE is a new book by Bill Adair, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, creator of PolitiFact, and professor at Duke University. He subtitles the text: “The Epidemic of Political Lying, Why Republicans Do It More, and How It Could Burn Down Our Democracy.” Although Publishers Weekly referred to some content as “overly partisan,” Adair clearly believes in the importance of being truthful with the electorate and outlines numerous examples of being less than truthful in a dozen chapters. The text is very accessible, and he frequently refers to input from his college students. One example is in the chapter called “Lying Hall of Fame” where students nominated candidates like Big Tobacco, Exxon, Rupert Murdoch, Roger Ailes, and numerous politicians from both parties as part of a research project. Adair points out that political lying “crippled our discourse and made it impossible for us to have a serious discussion on the vital issues of our day -- the climate crisis, public health, or the future of Social Security and Medicare.” Adair also chronicles the evolution of Mike Pence, a personal friend and neighbor of his when Pence first served in Congress. In that chapter, Adair notes that “attitudes have changed” and also quotes from an interview with Anthony Fauci: “there is no shame in lying now. There is no shame in developing your own alternative facts -- untruth, conspiracy, lies have become normalized.” A final chapter explores “How Can We Stop the Lying?” and Adair argues “research suggests there is fertile ground for a citizen movement to hold politicians accountable for lying, …. I believe politicians will respond if enough people speak up.” Sigh, people need models – AARP has published candidate responses to their questions with no fact-checking at all (“We allowed the candidates to present their views and positions without commenting on the accuracy of their claims.”) BEYOND THE BIG LIE is an intriguing, if disturbing, read. Roughly twenty percent is devoted to Notes, a list of Sources (from over four years of interviews), a Selected Bibliography, and an Index.