So many, many lies straight from the pit of hell

Many people have already called out U.S. Rep. Paul Broun, R-Ga., for saying that evolution, embryology and the Big Bang theory are “lies straight from the pit of hell” designed to keep people “from understanding that they need a savior.”

Sure, it’s an odd remark coming from a guy who is a medical doctor and a member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. But I’d remind you that Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo. – who said recently that doctors had told him women rarely get pregnant from “legitimate rape” – is also a member of that committee. (In fact, I think we now have a good idea which doctors told Akin that.)

Now, Republicans may distance themselves from Broun and Akin, but they can’t run from the underlying philosophy, which seems to be more widely shared than most would care to admit.

Evolution, after all, is hardly the only lie straight from the pit of hell.

For example, conservatives were adamant last week that the latest unemployment figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics – which showed the national unemployment rate falling from 8.1 percent to 7.8 percent – were cooked. Rush Limbaugh said it. Former General Electric CEO Jack Welch tweeted it. And plenty of people believed it.

Sure, there were the lie-enablers, such as the bloggers at the socialist media outlet The Wall Street Journal, who quoted a former commissioner of the bureau to say it would be “impossible” for the administration to cook the numbers.

But that is just another lie designed to keep people from understanding that they need a savior in the person of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who over the weekend promised to restore “the prosperity that comes with freedom” to America.

Still skeptical?

There’s more.

What about the lie straight from the pit of hell that President Obama was actually born in Hawaii, and thus constitutionally eligible to be president of the United States? That one fooled many people, but not Donald Trump, who despite being heaped with scorn was still able to attract celebrities such as Romney to his Las Vegas hotel in February to cast in his ongoing reality show. (That’s not to be confused with Trump’s NBC program.)

What about the lie straight from the pit of hell that Democrats keep telling, the one where Republicans want to “kill Medicare”? They don’t want to kill Medicare! They simply wanted to erase the single-payer, government-run program and replace it with the equivalent of the Entertainment.com coupon book, redeemable for health care at many local participating providers (assuming you have the cash to make up the difference).

But now, they’ll give you a choice between the coupon book and “legacy” Medicare, at least until the latter goes broke after all the healthy patients are swept into profitable private plans.

Why do Democrats keep telling that lie? Probably to keep you from understanding that when it comes to health care, you’ll need a savior – preferably one who can heal the sick with a really low co-pay.

And don’t forget the biggest lie straight from the pit of hell, the one in which Democrats try to argue that government should not run like a business, and thus a successful businessman isn’t necessarily the best person to run it. They’ll try to tell you that the goal of business is to maximize profits for shareholders and owners, while the goal of government is to create a more perfect union for all citizens regardless of income.

But that lie is just to get you to understand that you don’t need a businessman savior.

Steve Sebelius is a Review-Journal political columnist and author of the blog SlashPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter (@SteveSebelius) or reach him at (702) 387-5276 or ssebelius@reviewjournal.com.