OPINION:
In politics, there is no greater superpower than shameless dishonesty.
“Slick as snot on a doorknob” is about the highest compliment you can pay someone in Washington. Just ask House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
She has perfected shameless dishonesty to the point she no longer even has to be “slick” about it. She babbles incoherently, chewing on words — and the assembled press simply nods. Only in Washington could a pair of washed-up old geezers like Mrs. Pelosi and President Biden be taken seriously.
For years, the two have presided over a loco political party hell-bent on upending basic law and order — at least for average American citizens.
In cities across the country, Democrats vilified the police, slashed funding for law enforcement and fanned the flames of bloody riots.
Last summer, Mrs. Pelosi accused cops of “lynching” suspects. Vice President Kamala D. Harris actually raised money to get violent rioters out of prison — so they could get back to throwing Molotov cocktails, smashing windows and gunning down innocent American citizens.
If these people were not a political party in Washington, D.C., they would be listed as a terrorist organization.
I mean, how stunning is it that foreign criminals launched a cyberattack on a private American company earlier this month by doing precisely what Mr. Biden did on his first day in office — shutting down an American oil pipeline.
But these same Democrats who provided succor and support to violent mobs attacking police last summer went full “back the blue” when a rowdy mob of “mostly peaceful” goofballs raided the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
Literally overnight, Democrats went from “defund the police” to spending more than $500 million providing law enforcement for themselves in the Capitol.
Equally laughable was the massive wall Mrs. Pelosi erected around her office building — after years of protesting a wall at the southern border because walls supposedly do not work. Also, walls are somehow hateful and anti-American. Mrs. Pelosi’s wall around the Capitol cost taxpayers $1.9 million per week.
But her shameless dishonesty does not end there. She also “militarized” her wall with thousands of National Guard troops — after harshly criticizing the use of American troops to protect our border or even our federal buildings in U.S. cities that came under attack during the fiery riots she and fellow Democrats encouraged.
Democrats’ shameless dishonesty continues this week with renewed fake outrage over supposed threats to the law enforcement agency charged with protecting the president. A new book by a Washington Post reporter breathlessly reports that former President Donald Trump supposedly undermined the Secret Service.
This assault, according to the book, came in the form of at least two members of the Trump family falling in love with Secret Service agents — like steamy scenes ripped from that cheesy movie called “The Bodyguard” featuring “actors” Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston. (At least Whitney Houston could sing.)
Anyway, it seems like a strange way to express hatred or disregard for the Secret Service. But this is Mrs. Pelosi’s party — logic is no obstacle.
Perhaps the gravest “attack” on the service was Mr. Trump’s supposed removal of agents from his security detail for not being in “tippy top shape,” which — to be fair — totally sounds like something Mr. Trump would do. Also, “tippy top shape” totally sounds like a Trump phrase. It both evokes a phrase from an earlier era, while also being absolutely hilarious.
These offending agents were either too porky or too short to meet Mr. Trump’s standards for protection.
“I want these fat guys off my detail,” Mr. Trump supposedly said. “How are they going to protect me and my family if they can’t run down the street?”
The only reason to dismiss this as “fake news” is that it is being reported by somebody who works for The Washington Post and that it pertains to Mr. Trump. But, boy does it sound like something he would say.
And — like most Trump “scandals” — it is hardly a scandal if you actually think about it.
First of all, the Secret Service should not be hiring fat guys — or gals — to protect presidents and their families. Unless, of course, these agents are simply providing important fat cover — in which case where might Rep. Jerrold Nadler apply for a position?
Second, did these people sleep through the last four years? Did they learn nothing about Mr. Trump?
Of course, the guy cares about image. Of course, the guy doesn’t want to be out in public surrounded by a bunch of panting, overweight slobs. It is just a bad look.
Yes, it is a bad look for Mr. Trump. But it is a bad look for the Secret Service. And it is a bad look for America.
• Charles Hurt is opinion editor of The Washington Times.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.