Editorial: Why do spiritual leaders tolerate Trump's lies for political gain?

How many is too many?

Is it OK to tolerate President Donald Trump’s serial lying just because he: appoints the “right” people to federal judgeships; cuts the “right” taxes; abolishes the “right” regulations; imposes the “right” tariffs; and insults the “right” people?

As significant, is it OK for people who have positioned themselves as moral leaders – in our nation’s spiritual and political life – to tolerate, ignore or even justify our president’s casual relationship with truth and facts?

Is it OK to label real facts as “fake news” because the facts don’t fit a certain philosophy?

This is no matter of opinion. Facts are facts – no debate. The earth is round. Gravity exists.  The moon is not made of cheese.

Over the course of Trump’s presidency, that’s an out-and-out lie every couple of days.

Why would anyone put up with it? Is there any reasonable justification?

“This election is about the Supreme Court and the justices that the next president will nominate. Evangelicals are going to have to decide which candidate they trust to nominate men and women to the court who will defend the constitution and support religious freedoms,” Graham said. “My prayer is that Christians will not be deceived by the liberal media about what is at stake for future generations.”

It isn’t difficult to interpret what Graham means. It is not about honesty and integrity. It is only about whether Trump delivers on some narrow set of demands or an ideological agenda.

Do Graham and others believe it takes an unrestrained liar to deliver on their priorities? Franklin Graham acts more like a political operative than a religious leader. The separation of church and state is a cornerstone of our country and Graham’s surrendering the moral high ground. He needs to denounce Trump’s past and present deplorable behavior.

This absolution for bad behavior transcends Trump. Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota said Environmental Protection Administration exec Scott Pruitt shouldn’t be removed from his job over ethical shortcomings -- like giving huge raises to favored employees or unnecessarily inflating his security detail, or getting a cut-rate Capitol Hill apartment that’s linked to a fuel industry lobbyist.

That’s just another way of saying if Pruitt does things a senator likes, it doesn’t matter how he acts. Pruitt may not clean the environment, but it’s ok to clean the taxpayers’ wallets if he’s cutting regulations big business doesn’t like.

Yes, we have political division. But we should all agree that our future depends on truthful conversations -- honesty and integrity in our communities. There should be no difference of opinion about that.