Tahlequah Daily Press: OPINION: OTHER VIEW: Pillow guy needs to pay up, shut up

Apr. 24—Who would've thought a pillow manufacturer would have developed so much credibility in the political realm that he could convince millions of Americans President Donald Trump had been fraudulently denied a second term in the White House?

Yet that's what happened, with the help of toadies at Fox "News," when they targeted Dominion Voting Systems as the culprit behind the "steal." The purported $787 million settlement over the defamation lawsuit Dominion filed against Fox should have put to rest claims by Trump fans that their idol won; after all, what individual or entity settles such a suit if their position is righteous?

It seems clear the entertainment network — for that's what it really is — blinked and exposed its underbelly. Communication among high-profile employees proved Fox knows very well the election wasn't fraudulent, along with the fact that the uber-right pundits "despise" Trump. But they candidly admitted they're afraid of the "base," and the base wants validation for its beliefs, regardless of the outrageous nature of the lies they embrace.

So that's what this country has come to. Instead of biding their time to see if they can get rid of President Biden in 2024 — which at this point could be highly plausible — those in the base simply bear false witness. That's from the Ninth Commandment, lest any professed Christians have forgotten, so in effect, the election deniers are doing what our grandmothers used to call "the devil's work." Fox knows better; it's viewers don't. This is one genie the network can't possibly stuff back in the bottle, and perhaps they don't want to. Rupert Murdoch and Co. have learned there are behemoth profits to be made from peddling lies.

The world might be able to move ahead, if only Fox would admit its on-air pundits and talking heads were pushing a false narrative. That won't happen, though, because to paraphrase pop singer Meghan Trainor, "it's all about that base."

And Fox might not be the only one in the Trump camp spoiling for a lawsuit. The pillow purveyor, Mike Lindell, is apparently refusing to pay the $5 million he promised to anyone who could prove he was wrong about the election fraud. It seems that one Robert Zeidman, a computer forensics expert and Trump voter himself, has established Lindell as a liar — and now, apparently, a deadbeat. Zeidman has proved the material Lindell leaned on to show fraud not only doesn't do as claimed, but it is wholly unrelated to the 2020 election. And the private arbitrators to whom Lindell agreed to accede back Zeidman, not the pillow peccant.

Trump, too, tends to wiggle out of his debts, which is why he's the greatest self-marketer in history. But Lindell doesn't have the polish or pizzazz of his idol, nor does he have a good product. Everyone we've asked who owns My Pillow describes it with a word that mimics the actions of a vacuum cleaner.

Lindell needs to pay up, and then get back to improving his product. He has no credibility with anyone who really matters.