By Douglas V. Gibbs
Typically, leftist podcasters and journalists don’t catch my attention. But MeidasTouch caught a Republican Congress Critter in a moment that perfectly encapsulates the growing disconnect between elected officials and the governed. Representative Rob Wittman (R-VA) was caught on camera faking a phone call to avoid answering a straightforward question about Social Security outside the U.S. Capitol.
When pressed by the MeidasTouch reporter about Speaker Mike Johnson’s alleged potential plans to cut Social Security, Wittman pulled out his phone and held it to his ear, telling the phone, “Yeah, I’ll be there in just a few minutes… I’m heading your way right now.” The ruse was exposed because his visible phone screen showed that no active call was actually in progress, with his cheek inadvertently tapping different parts of the display throughout the 90-second performance.
This wasn’t Wittman’s first time using this tactic. Drop Site News reporter Julian Andreone revealed that Wittman had pulled the same stunt just a week earlier, continuing the fake a conversation even after being told “there’s no one on the phone.”
What makes this incident particularly revealing is that Wittman could have easily provided a truthful response. Speaker Mike Johnson and Republicans have no intention of cutting Social Security benefits, despite Democratic talking points to the contrary. The Republican plan focuses on cutting fraud and waste, which would reduce money flowing into the system by eliminating false claims, benefits going to deceased individuals, and other improper payments.
So why resort to such an obvious deception? The answer lies in how normalized avoidance has become in Washington. Politicians of both parties have grown so accustomed to either lying or dodging questions that these behaviors have become second nature. Wittman could have simply said, “Can’t answer that right now, we’ll provide more information as the situation develops,” but instead chose a path that required more effort and resulted in more embarrassment.
This incident is part of a broader pattern. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) pulled a similar stunt on live television to evade questions regarding alternate slates of electors. It’s a symptomatic problem that seems to be rampant of members of Congress from both parties frequently using such tactics to dodge the press.
The American electorate’s frustration with these behaviors is understandable. When politicians can’t even answer straightforward questions without resorting to theatrical deception, it erodes the fundamental trust necessary for representative government to function. The Wittman incident serves as yet another reminder that many in Washington have become more skilled at avoiding accountability than providing it.
As Shannon Taylor, Wittman’s Democratic opponent in Virginia’s 1st Congressional District, aptly summarized: “Rob Wittman faked a phone call to avoid answering for Social Security cuts.” The truth would have been so much easier. The cuts are not to benefits, but to fraudulent and wasteful spending. End of conversation, message gets out there, and you don’t look like a deceptive buffoon. In an election year, all these displays of evasion do is prove more so what we already know – these rotten politicians avoid the truth habitually.
— Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
