It would be an exaggeration to say résumé inflation never happens in politics. Many observers can probably think of assorted candidates and officials who’ve overstated their military or business experiences in the hopes of impressing voters. It shouldn’t happen, but it does.
In the wake of the 2022 midterm elections, however, the public has been confronted with a qualitatively different series of controversies. At issue aren’t relatively harmless embellishments — a 3.6 grade point average, for example, quietly becomes a 3.7 — but rather dramatic reports of politicians who’ve allegedly invented key elements of their personal and professional backgrounds.
Rep. George Santos is obviously in a league of his own, and if there’s a Lying Hall of Shame, the New York Republican will have no trouble getting inducted. But last week, The Washington Post published a report about another first-year House Republican, Florida’s Anna Paulina Luna, and the degree to which claims about her background have also been called into question.
WTVF, the CBS affiliate in Nashville, has raised related questions about yet another first-year House Republican.
If you believe Middle Tennessee’s newest congressman, he’s not only a businessman, he’s also an economist, a nationally recognized expert in tax policy and health care, a trained police officer, even an expert in international sex crimes. But an exclusive NewsChannel 5 investigation discovered that Andy Ogles’ personal life story is filled with exaggerations, a story that’s often too good to be true.
It’s likely that Ogles’ name is relatively unfamiliar to national audiences. After all, the Republican congressman only began his career on Capitol Hill last month, and his most notable move to date has been joining a cadre of far-right lawmakers who tried to derail Kevin McCarthy’s bid to become House speaker.
Now, however, Ogles appears likely to be known for something else entirely.
For example, the GOP…
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