Jason Smith's words on speaker ouster are deceptive

As an editor, you know that printed words are important and that words have definitions. Words can either inform or deceive the reader. This seems to be particularly true nowadays in the use of words by politicians.

If a politician is using a word to deceive or mislead or lie to his constituents, a newspaper should not blindly print that word without some explanation of the lie or deception. That's what we have come to expect from Fox News and other media. The traditional way for newspapers to do this would be to find some politician with an opposing view and print that along with the other's comment.

Wednesday's Missourian had an article which quoted almost exclusively from a "statement" from Congressman Jason Smith about the ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

In that article, Smith said "House Democrats, in collusion with eight Republicans, pushed to oust" McCarthy.

The word "collusion" is defined by my dictionary as "secret or illegal cooperation or conspiracy, especially in order to cheat or deceive others."

The fact, as reported by most reliable news organizations, is that it was the eight Republicans cited by the Congressman, all on their own, without "collusion" from Democrats, who pushed to oust McCarthy. It was they who forced the vote, and it was their negative votes that cost McCarthy his office. They knew it was unlikely that any Democrat would violate the unwritten House tradition that Republicans always vote for the Republican leader to serve as Speaker, and Democrats always vote for the Democrat leader.

I have no proof; but it is most likely there was no secrecy, and certainly no illegal cooperation between those eight GOP rebels and House Democrats. The Democrats didn't need to "collude" with anyone to oust McCarthy. They had no reason to break the centuries-old tradition; and could just let the Republicans stew in their own juices.

They had no reason to do otherwise, because McCarthy had given no sign that he wanted to work cooperatively with the minority party.

By putting "House Democrats" first in his explanation of the ouster, instead of his fellow Republicans, Smith is being disingenuous, if not actually trying to deceive his constituents.

It's a pity the Missourian did not explain that to its readers. We already have enough misinformation and conspiracy theories to deal with.

Art Wallhausen, of Cape Girardeau, is a former newspaper editor.