@_dm this is an interesting analysis, but it’s worth noting Republicans lied flagrantly when there was the opposite of a legitimacy crisis, when a US administration thought it could basically shape reality by fiat. there may be multiple, different situations that encourage political dishonesty: the hypotheses aren’t mutually exclusive. but it’s interesting how the variegated circumstances have a through line in the Republican party. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality-based_community