"When people show you who they are, believe them."
~ Dr. Maya Angelou
There's been a lot of punditry going on about Mitt Romney and the GOP's loss of the presidential election. It just isn't all that deep. Just ask Dr. Maya Angelou.
Dr. Angelou has been quoted a bazillion times for saying, "When people show you who they are, believe them." Simply put, Mitt Romney and the GOP showed the American electorate who they are. And we believed them.
Mitt Romney showed us he's the kind of man who would strap his family's dog on the roof of the family minivan in a pet carrier. And we believed him, hugging our pets closer to us all the while.
Paul Ryan showed us he was the kind of person who would decry entitlements for everyone else despite the fact that he collected Social Security as a minor after his father died. And we believed him.
The GOP showed us they have hated President Obama since day one of his presidency, when they vowed to make him a "one term president." They showed us over and over again during the primaries, when more than a few of their candidates made making President Obama a one term president their rallying cry, with little to no substance in their campaigns. And we believed them.
Mitt Romney showed us he was willing to tack hard to the right on immigration and abortion during the primaries and then attempt to Etch-a-Sketch his way to the center during the presidential campaign, backing off of his hard right positions. And we believed him.
Mitt Romney showed us, albeit inadvertently, that he had contempt for 47% of the country. And we believed him.
Mitt Romney showed us he was not only willing to outright lie about his position on the auto industry bailout, but to lie and say that the auto industry planned to ship jobs to China, so much so that the CEO of Chrysler had to blast him publicly. And we believed him.
The GOP showed us that they were willing to lie about voter fraud to make the case for making it more difficult for minority communities to vote, even down to the outrageous curtailment of early voting in minority communities and the enactment of voter ID laws. And we believed them, so much so that we flipped the script and voted absentee, since most states don't require an ID for absentee ballots because the GOP STILL thinks that only old, white Republicans vote absentee.
The GOP showed us they were willing to lie about President Obama's record, creating this false narrative of him being a failed president. And we believed them - not the false narrative, but that they were willing to lie to create such a false narrative.
Mitt Romney showed us that he was willing to make a tragedy political, to wit, the raid on the U.S. Embassy in Libya. In a presidential debate, no less. And we believed him.
Mitt Romney showed us that he was willing to back away from his most significant accomplishment in elected office -- health care reform, or "Romneycare," because it was politically expedient. And we believed him.
And even after defeat, Mitt Romney ungraciously stated that President Obama won because of the "gifts" he bestowed on minorities and women.
No, Mitt, you lost because you showed us who you are. Despite the mainstream media's pathetic failure to hold you to account for your flip-flopping, despite the Super PAC money that the titans of industry poured into your campaign, despite having Karl Rove on your team, the voters were not distracted. You showed us who you are. We paid attention. And we believed you.
That's why you and the GOP lost.
Just ask Maya Angelou.
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