It has long been rumored that, somewhere in the bowels of Republican congressional offices in Washington, D.C., lies, under a canvas covering, the dreaded Fabrication Printer. 

It is reserved to be used only under the direst circumstances when gerrymandering will not save the party alone and even voter suppression applied by brute force is insufficient to stem defeat. 

When the moment comes that demands digging into the most insidious alternatives to save Republicanism from the voters’ most harsh judgment, the canvas comes off, and the Fabrication Printer is called into service. Now is just such a moment.

In 2024, Republicans face the potential of having a presidential candidate they support who is a convicted felon on his way to prison with more trials imminent. 

But that will not be the only drag making winning any congressional seat dangerous and risky for Republicans. The party must also face voters angry over the loss of abortion rights at the hands of Republicans. 

Were these dual threats not enough to make Republican candidates not want to see their names on a ballot, This week, House Republicans proposed their intent to both raise the retirement age of Social Security to 69 and to privatize the program. It is the perfect trifecta!

 So, out rolls the Fabrication Printer. Simply plug it in and out comes lies about the opposition Democratic candidate. No need for facts, research or evidence, the machine forgoes all of those for its formula…claim and repeat the boldest lie possible, with righteous indignation, from now until the last ballot is cast in the 2024 election.

Here is the machine’s brilliant history:

 • The Clintons are accused of murdering deputy White House counsel Vince Foster. No evidence is ever found.

• Birtherism is born with Donald Trump leading the claim that Barack Obama was born in Kenya. Obama was born in Hawaii.

• The Clinton Foundation is accused of filtering money to the Clintons while doing little or no grant work. The Clintons are accused of selling U.S. uranium to the Russians. The Trump Administration appoints U.S. Attorney John Huber in 2017 to uncover “Crooked Hillary” and her illegal schemes. Nothing is found, and no evidence is produced.

 • Hillary Clinton is investigated by seven congressional committees, mostly Republican, for Benghazi. The final report, 800 pages at a cost of $7M, finds no evidence against Clinton.

• U.S. Attorney John Durham is selected to investigate the cheating Democrats for the Russian investigation of Trump. Two years later. Durham reposts on convictions and an end to the investigation.

Now comes the Republican Comer Committee. Hunter Biden is the first target because, well, his name is Biden. Hunter used his family name to find some outrageously high-paid gigs for a company named Burisma. It was embarrassing, not illegal.  But Hunter was named to get to Joe.

We should not be surprised then that the Fabrication Machine and its printer discovered that Joe Biden took a $5 million bribe from Burisma. Biden took it without depositing the bribery check or collecting the bribery money (Biden provided 25 years of his tax returns as a 2020 candidate for president.).

This week, the Comer Committee of insidious disingenuity decided to claim that there are recordings of President Biden held somewhere by someone who, oddly, has not come forward or been named. Nor has the content of the invisible recordings been identified. All of this makes it perfect for the purpose of the project…to throw dirt on President Biden because there is no defense for candidate Trump.

A joint Senate committee investigated President Biden’s connections to Burisma in 2020 and found no evidence of corruption by President Biden.

Welcome to the 2024 election campaign.

Jim Crawford is a retired educator and political enthusiast living here in the Tri-State.