At what point does respect become subservience? This is a serious question because much has been made about respect for our leaders, especially at the federal level. Certainly, it is productive to treat elected officeholders with a measure of decorum. Politeness goes a long way toward getting heard. Nonetheless, it may be time for some tough talk and bold action. Of late, certain officials have told some whoppers: absolute, far-out, nowhere near the truth tales. The press somehow manages to let these pass with nary a challenge. The opposition party members seem to get a case of Timid Timmy, too. They let the bald faced balderdash fly into the ether with a look of consternation if they manage that much.

Think about the double accounting going on in the proposed health care bills, nicely pointed out by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) during February’s Health Care Reform Summit. Mr. Ryan, true to form, graciously described this bit of actuarial legerdemain as if he were quoting from the menu of a fine restaurant one night with his wife. Oh dear, look, they don’t have the Dover sole, would you like to share the Chateaubriand? Please. How about some spine? How about standing up, pointing one finger at the bill, the other at the authors thereof, and saying, “You people are a bunch of liars, cheats, thieves, and no good manipulators.”

Seriously. Mr. Ryan is a fine man with a sharp mind who digs out the details and compiles them into a concise report that most everyone can understand. What Mr. Ryan is not, is a man with a raging fire in his belly.

Think of Patrick Henry, way back in 1775. Imagine Mr. Henry not thundering, “Give me liberty or give me death,” but rather, “Well, you know guys, the King doesn’t quite understand what we’re doing over here on this side of the Atlantic. Maybe we can work out a proposal, a compromise, a sort of win-win deal where he gets to be King and we get to serve but do more of our own thing.” Patrick Henry wasn’t that type of leader, nor was Samuel Adams, or many of the other great leaders in history.

If you’re sitting at the table with the source of the problem, confront it head on. You cannot win on defense. You have to attack. Attacks have to be focused, spirited, and overwhelming. They don’t have to be ugly, but the results will be when the opponent is verbally eviscerated before the public. And a tie is not a victory.

Let’s go back to this little health care show and tell session with the President and select members of Congress. Here’s a rewrite of the script.

Congressman X: “Mr. President, my colleague has shown how the arithmetic of your proposal is full of errors. These are numbers, Mr. President, and two plus two does equal four, except in your proposal where two plus two equals six. Am I to believe that you and your advisors are not capable of calculating sums or is there something else at work?”

The President: “It’s not helpful to bog down in the details. We need to find common ground to help the American people get affordable health care.”

Congressman X: “Mr. President. You haven’t answered the question. Let me rephrase it. How much is two plus two?”

The President: “Are we children here?”

Congressman X: “Two and two is not six, Mr. President, it is four. But you maintain that it is six. Why?”

The President: “That type of rhetoric is divisive. We need to work together toward a common solution.”

Congressman X: “The solution is four, Mr. President. Can you agree with me on that bipartisan point?”

The President: “I can see this is not productive. Let’s move on…”

Congressman X: “No, Mr. President, we cannot move on until you acknowledge that two plus two is four. If you’re going to define the mathematics in some other way, let’s see those definitions because when it comes to paying the price for all this, two plus two equals four.”

The President: “Bickering will get us nowhere.”

Congressman X: “It’s only you who wants to bicker over the result of two plus two. I know two plus two is four and so does every fifth-grader in the nation.”

The President: “That statement is not helpful.”

Congressman X: “Falsifying the numbers is not helpful. It is deceitful for reasons that you must make known to us here today. I await your explanation.”

Many rhetorical tactics can be employed to lay waste to lies and liars. Surely yelling and screaming will not work, but neither will kind words and the hand of friendship. What is required is relentless, unforgiving follow up. DEMAND that the person own up to their position, each and every one. Do not allow time to run out, or a truce to be called. FORCE them to defend their indefensible position by not quitting the field. Give them nowhere to hide, nor the opportunity to regroup behind half-truths or lies of omission. Publish their falsehoods and nail them to the door of honor, through which they cannot pass. This goal can be accomplished with a whisper, but not a sigh.

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