Well, an argument can be made that Republicans are not sleeping dogs. Why not? Because they are neither sleeping, nor dogs, I guess. But then Blue Dog Democrats (the conservative branch of that party) are neither blue, nor dogs, so I think the Sleeping Dog title works pretty well.

Let’s analyze it:

Of course, you have to start with Donald Trump (unless you want to go all the way back to Nixon), who lies, and lies, and lies, and lies, and virtually all the Republicans (with the exceptions we can all name now, and virtually all of whom will be out of office in 2023) have just let him lie.

Then there are all those Republicans who, after January 6, had an immediate reaction to condemn the riots and the then president’s role in them, but who later (and not much later at that) reversed themselves 180 degrees and praised the president, even though they didn’t believe him at all praiseworthy. They too lied and lied and lied.

And then there are the election deniers, some of whom are delusional enough to believe what they have been saying, but presumably most of whom (and especially most of those who are political or media influencers) know the election results were very accurate. Another group who lied, and lied and lied and lied.

There were those who backed candidates like Herschel Walker, knowing that his victory would help the Republican Party retain a modicum of influence over the Senate agenda, even though they knew he was no more qualified to be in the Senate than their own pet dogs. Yet they extolled his qualifications, judgment and virtue, all the time lying and lying and lying.

And now (although there are other examples I could mention if I wanted to turn this into a book) there is George Santos, elected to Congress from Long Island, although the only things on his resume that is truthful is his name. In fact, I am probably concluding this too quickly – who knows what his name really is, after all? What will the Republicans do now? Will they vote to seat him in the House of Representatives that they now will control? Or will there be a half dozen Cheneys or Kinzingers to vote against him? And will the Republican leadership under Sleeping Dog McCarthy even allow a vote to be taken?

So (and you heard/saw it here first) – there may be still some Blue Dog Democrats, but they are far outnumbered by the Sleeping Dog Republicans. And what will the rest of us do? Will we just let the Sleeping Dog Republicans lie??