KJS from DC, the untruth factory bankrupting those who need good government most. 1.26

I’ve had it with all the lies. All the lying.

It’s this simple: Since MAGA, politicians on the right think it’s completely fine to lie. There’s a song sheet full of lies and they keep launching them.

Are we supposed to just put up with it since it’s become normal? We’re expected to go along as the bottom falls out of truth in our public spaces?

I’ve been angry all year because our foundation of truth and values is being fully attacked by a corrupt and dishonest governing party.

I was always taught to distrust people who lie to you. I’m still following that advice….are you?

Here’s another few examples of how the American right is campaigning to have less truth in our world:

Republicans in charge throw around “overreach” like it’s a principled position. It’s not.

It’s an interchangeable weapon they deploy selectively—screaming about government tyranny when California tries to prevent Latino birth defects, staying silent when Trump seizes Venezuelan oil or terminates nonprofit leases to grab DC golf courses for his personal brand.

Principled Republicans used to know what overreach actually meant. Now? Watch the hypocrisy play out in real time.

The Credit Card Reversal

Trump just called for a one-year 10% cap on credit card interest rates, saying Americans are being “ripped off” by 20-30% rates . The banking industry—which donated heavily to his 2024 campaign—immediately opposed it, claiming it would “reduce credit availability and be devastating for millions of American families” .

This is massive federal intervention in private markets. Trump didn’t specify if he’d use executive action or legislation, but he wants it effective immediately. Where are the Republicans screaming about government controlling private business? Where’s the “free market” rhetoric?

Silence. Because it polls well.

The Tortilla “Tyranny”

California just enacted a law requiring corn masa products contain folic acid to reduce neural tube birth defects in Latino babies. Research shows folic acid can reduce birth defects by up to 70% . Since a 1998 FDA mandate added folic acid to bread and pasta, birth defect rates dropped by a third for most populations—but remained high for Latinas because corn masa wasn’t included .

Health Secretary RFK Jr. called this law “insanity” and said “California is waging war against her children—targeting the poor and communities of color” . Conservative influencers claim folic acid is a “toxin,” despite zero scientific evidence .

This is the “overreach” they rage about: adding a vitamin to tortillas that prevents spina bifida and anencephaly in Latino babies. Government tyranny, apparently.

But seizing another country’s oil reserves and personally controlling the proceeds? Invading Venezuela without congressional approval to go to war? Terminating leases on public golf courses to redirect them to Trump’s personal empire?

That’s just a Tuesday.

The Child Care Shakedown

The Trump administration just froze $10 billion in child care and family assistance funding to five Democratic-led states—California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York—over allegations of fraud . The action was triggered by a YouTube video posted the day after Christmas claiming to show empty child care centers in Minnesota .

These subsidies serve 1.4 million children and 857,700 low-income families nationwide through the Child Care and Development Fund . The subsidies enable poor parents to work.

Let me connect those dots: We’re cutting subsidies that allow poor people to work, claiming we want more working poor incentives, while the same administration proposes capping credit card rates (market intervention), seizing foreign oil (imperial overreach), and taking public golf courses (eminent domain abuse).

It doesn’t line up. It never does. Because “overreach” isn’t a principle—it’s a talking point deployed when Democrats help people and ignored when Republicans grab power.

The Pattern

Here’s what Republicans call overreach:

• Adding folic acid to tortillas (prevents birth defects in Latino babies)
• Enforcing civil rights in schools (called “prioritizing racial parity over student safety”)
• Providing child care subsidies (enables poor parents to work)
• Climate regulations (protects air and water quality)
• Voting rights protections (ensures fair elections)

Here’s what Republicans don’t call overreach:

• Trump seizing Venezuelan oil and announcing proceeds “will be controlled by me”
• Terminating a 50-year nonprofit lease on DC golf courses five years in to redirect them to Trump properties
• Withdrawing from 66 international organizations via executive order
• Issuing 225 executive orders triggering at least that many lawsuits
• Unilaterally dismantling U.S. Agency for International Development despite federal laws governing USAID’s structure

When asked about Trump’s unconstitutional actions, Republican Senator Thom Tillis said: “That runs afoul of the Constitution in the strictest sense. But nobody should bellyache about that” .

Read that again. A sitting senator admitting constitutional violations and telling Americans not to complain.

The Real Overreach

During the government shutdown, the Trump administration cut energy grants to states—but only to states Trump lost in elections. Federal lawyers admitted in court filings that “consideration of partisan politics is constitutionally permissible” .

That’s not governance. That’s extortion.

When Trump can:

• Take over countries without congressional war authorization
• Seize public assets for personal profit
• Freeze funding to states based on how they voted
• Withdraw from international treaties via executive order
• Terminate contracts when he wants the asset for his business

…and Republicans stay silent or make excuses, you need to understand: They don’t believe in limiting government power. They believe in consolidating it for themselves.

The Question

Every principled Republican—if any still exist—needs to answer: What makes tortilla fortification to prevent birth defects “overreach” while seizing golf courses for Trump’s brand isn’t?

What makes child care subsidies that enable work “fraud” while freezing funding to punish Democratic states is just “politics”?

What makes adding vitamins to food “tyranny” while invading countries and seizing their oil is “strength”?

The answer is simple: They’re lying. “Overreach” is whatever helps Democrats or constrains Republican power. That’s it. That’s the whole principle.

Trump is governing contrary to checks and balances—neither Congress nor the Supreme Court wishes to give him anything other than a green light. With Democrats likely to regain control, the question isn’t whether they’ll prevail but whether elections will be free and fair .

So when you hear Republicans scream about “government overreach” next time, remember: They don’t mean it. They never did. They mean: Don’t limit our power. Don’t help people we don’t care about. Don’t constrain us from doing exactly what we accuse others of doing.

That’s not principle. That’s hypocrisy wrapped in propaganda. And I’m done pretending it’s anything else.