That is the way politics is often played.
I dislike liars as much as the next person, I particularly dislike ones that are methodical.
You said regarding lying: “That is the way politics is often played.”
I spent 16 years in the trenches for our state party and our county and I taught election judges/clerks and taught Texas Election Law to county chairmen and others, including lawyers, across our state. I never lied once in all those years. I used truth, the election law, to bring about change. Truth will win out, lies will not.