Despite what they say, over and over, lying matters.

The Washington Post reports that “House majority leader to colleagues in 2016: ‘I think Putin pays’ Trump“.  The article quotes House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California) in a meeting of ‘GOP Leaders’, where he purportedly said:

“There’s two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump,” McCarthy (R-Calif.) said, according to a recording of the June 15, 2016, exchange, which was listened to and verified by The Washington Post.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-California) was apparently considered a strong Russian and Putin defender.  Trump was… well, Trump, you know?  This was the day after the DNC hack was reported, but I can’t see whether that matters.

Some of the lawmakers laughed at McCarthy’s comment. Then McCarthy quickly added: “Swear to God.”

That leaves me thinking McCarthy was most likely joking.  Embarrassing stuff, sure, but pretty minor.  I don’t think McCarthy meant more than Trump being strongly pro-Putin, something we’d figured out on our own by then.  If McCarthy had meant that Trump was actually compromised, the conversation would have been a huge deal, and the reaction would have been completely different.

Paul Ryan, one of the unnamed GOP Leaders, shut the topic down instantly, presumably to try to avoid exactly this kind of story from getting around.

So what’s my big deal?  How Paul Ryan lied about it later.

When the Washington Post reporters first contacted Ryan for comment, they didn’t mention they had listened to a recording, they only said they had a report of McCarthy’s quip.  Ryan’s spokesman not only denied the quote, he told them there had never been such a conversation.  Ryan’s office was unequivocal.  The reporters called back later, saying they had transcripts that showed that same quip.  Ryan’s office admitted the event, but said the quip was completely fabricated. McCarthy had never said that, Ryan’s office insisted.

It wasn’t until the Post reporters went back to ask Ryan’s office a third time, having listened to the recording, and McCarthy had clearly said exactly what was in the report and the transcript.  Ryan and his office finally caved, and admitted that it had all happened they way they described, but that it was really a big joke.

I’d have laughed at the joke back then.  Not a big deal.  I’m not laughing now, though.

This shouldn’t have been a big deal.  An off-color joke that would cause people minor embarrassment if it’s repeated in print.  And yet the Speaker of the House had his office lie about it over and over, and only admitted the mildly embarrassing truth when he couldn’t squirm away anymore.

How ingrained is lying, that Ryan would bother lying about something this small?  How brazen does the Republican culture have to be, to lie so often and openly when there’s a decent chance they’ll get caught?

The only way this makes sense is if there are no consequences to lying.  If there was any strong penalty left for lying, Ryan and his spokesman would have been more circumspect, getting mealy-mouthed about it.  “I’m not sure we remember exactly,” that kind of thing.  Instead, the spokesman — who has to have checked with Ryan — simply denied it.  Twice.  Neither Ryan nor his staff are known as intellectual giants who always act correctly (Ryan is at best an ideological pretender) but it’s clear he believes there’s no cost for him and his people to act that way.

Unfortunately, Ryan appears to be correct.  I seriously doubt either Ryan or his staff will be called to task for even really stupid lying.  Not in any substantial way.

But not for me.  Paul Ryan is a liar.  Honestly, he’s been a liar for years, but for convenience, let’s start here.  Now and going forward, nothing he says can be trusted until a real source confirms it.  Not him, not his spokespeople.

I’m not being mean or vindictive, I’m being practical.  I don’t have time to waste on someone with no standing.  Any story with “Rep. Paul Ryan said…” will be an article I skip.  I’ll know the ‘reporter’ is a hack who’s only quoting a pro-forma press release.  Paul Ryan joins Kellyanne Conway, Sean Spicer, and, of course, President Donald Trump himself in that category.

You only listen to liars for entertainment.  While I sometimes love theater, I don’t have the time for this level of bad acting.