Washington DC, January 30, 2020. UP@NIGHT News. Standing beside a cluster of fellow Senate Republicans outside the Senate Chamber yesterday evening, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell provided the clearest explanation to date for why the GOP doesn’t want to hear from witnesses, those who may be able to shed light on the accusations against the President. He did so in responding to a reporter who asked, “Why is the GOP trying to avoid discovering the truth?” A smile crossed McConnell’s face as he faced the reporter and quipped, “What is Truth?” He then turned to walk away and was heard to mutter under his breath, while quietly laughing, “ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
McConnell appeared to be invoking the response that Pontius Pilate gave to Jesus:
“You are a king, then!” said Governor Pilate. King Jesus answered with abandonment, “You say that I am a king. Instead, in fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” (John 18:37)
“What is truth?” retorted Pilate. (John 18:38)
There has been much debate about what Pilate meant, but one interpretation is that truth is relative—it’s whatever you want to believe—and has no efficacy in the real world. Given that McConnell appeared to be snickering as he said, “ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free,” it’s reasonable to assume that this is what McConnell was thinking. This interpretation is consistent with his unwavering support for the President, who has repeatedly lied during his term in office.
Reporters tried to follow up with a few GOP senators who didn’t leave with the Senate Leader. But when a reporter from Christianity Today asked about the Party’s history of attacking liberals as relativists, and whether truth was now an expendable idea for the GOP, all of the remaining Republican senators turned and walked away.
I later asked a Republican Senator, who preferred to go unnamed, what this will mean for the future of the two parties. Are the Democrats now the party of truth and the Republicans of relativism? His response, “Who knows? Who can know? Does anyone know what truth is?”
_________________________
UP@NIGHT 