The late Scott Adams had a way of describing a certain group of Democratic operatives and lawmakers that seemed fitting as I watched and rewatched an exchange between Representatives Jim Jordan and Jamie Raskin.
Adams said that while all Democrats lie, there is a small group of them who seem to assume the mantle of tier-one fibbers. These are the ones who are capable of saying the most verifiably dishonest things, and do so with a straight face that makes it look like even they believe what they are saying.
I believe Jamie Raskin may have been among them (I’m not 100% sure), along with Eric Swalwell, Ilhan Omar, James Clapper, and John Brennan, and perhaps others.
The reason such a group exists, Adams theorized, was that, in order for Democrats and the legacy media to make some of their most outlandish hoaxes stick, they needed a special group of people who can convincingly say something that is completely untrue and just keep repeating it until the public starts to think it is true.
Adams observed that you never hear from these people all at once, but when it’s their turn, they step in like a designated hitter and slug away with their fabrications.
I thought of Adams’ comments when I saw Raskin in action at a hearing conducted by the House’s Subcommittee on Constitution and Limited Government on March 18. That’s when he claimed that Thomas Paine, the founding father and author of “Common Sense,” was an “undocumented immigrant.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin calls Thomas Paine an “undocumented immigrant, just like Thomas Jefferson’s family was. Most of our ancestors did not arrive here with documents.”
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) March 19, 2026
Raskin is the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, which oversees this subcommittee.
You have to admire his slipperiness in this exchange, where Jordan called Raskin out, and still he so seamlessly framed Paine in terms that Paine himself could never have imagined in the 18th century.
Once Raskin finished his opening statement, Jordan said, “I was just curious, Chairman, the ranking member said, I think his opening sentence was Thomas Paine was an illegal immigrant. My understanding was Mr. Paine was born in the UK, came to America, then a British colony, in 1774.”
Raskin jumped in and denied saying the words “illegal immigrant,” telling Jordan that he used the words “undocumented immigrant.” Raskin added that this was “just like Thomas Jefferson’s family was. Most of our ancestors did not arrive here with documents.”
Jordan then said, “Oh okay, well, ok.”
This wasn’t the history lesson Raskin thought it was, and we’ll dig in to that. But first, how can you seriously try to use a woke euphemism that was likely hatched in a leftist NGO focus group in the past few years and apply it to someone who walked the earth 250 years ago?
It’s dishonest and ridiculous, but Raskin’s audience was not you, me, or others who have some sense of historical literacy. Raskin’s audience was fellow leftists who just need some narrative reinforcement. Raskin and other Democrat operatives know that to get certain fabrications to stick in the culture today, you just have to find excuses to use certain terms at every opportunity, even if it makes no sense in the context of what is actually being discussed.
The goal here is not for Raskin to make sense. Rather, it’s just to keep the concept of “undocumented immigrants” front and center during an election year. This is particularly effective with their gullible base.
To be sure, Raskin was still wrong.
In 1774, when Paine arrived in America, he was documented. Even then, you couldn’t just hop on any old boat and sail to the colonies from Great Britain without something. While they didn’t have the kinds of passports we carry today, what ship captains and others sometimes requested was some form of documentation that explained to them why they should let you on their boat.
In Paine’s case, he carried a “letter of introduction” from Benjamin Franklin. Depending on the captain, the boat, and the reason for sailing, standards for requiring some form of documentation varied.
Other forms of documentation were “safe conduct” papers and personal references in which someone might vouch for someone else in writing.
The point is, when Thomas Paine came to America, given the common practices of the time, he was as documented for travel from Great Britain to America as anyone, maybe even more so.
In this case, you can’t blame Raskin’s loose handling of the facts on historical ignorance. The House member from Maryland has established himself as a bit of an expert on Paine.
When not doing that thing he does in the Capitol, he sometimes likes to make appearances and give speeches on none other than Thomas Paine.
In January, he showed up at Cape Henlopen High School in Delaware on the 250th anniversary of the printing of Paine’s “Common Sense.” Raskin had memorized some of Paine’s writings and recited them for the audience.
The local Cape Gazette newspaper quoted Raskin’s analysis: “The breakthrough of ‘Common Sense’ was to say this is a revolutionary independence in America. It was not to proclaim our own monarchy or aristocracy, but to found government on this new principle of being a democratic republic.…Paine took the position that, from the standpoint of radical democracy, every other political system has the quality of the emperor’s new clothes, somebody trying to dress up their own power.”
The Gazette said that Raskin “has been campaigning for a statue of Paine in Washington, D.C. He said they are waiting for the secretary of the interior to sign off on the project, but he hopes the monument will go up in two to three years.”
Oftentimes when a leftist is being disingenuous, you have to ask whether they are lying or just clueless. In this case, clearly, Raskin knows a thing or two about Paine. So, when he claims, misleadingly, that Paine was undocumented, that leaves you with only one possible explanation for that inaccuracy. It was intentionally imprecise.
Raskin and the Democrats just can’t seem to help themselves. It’s gotten to the point where if they tell you the sky is blue, you have to double-check that for yourself.
Find out what you’re missing behind the members-only wall. It’s time for you to take advantage of the full catalogue of common sense thinking that comes with a PJ Media VIP membership. You’ll get access to content you didn’t even know you wanted, and you’ll be hooked. The good news is, PJ Media VIP memberships are on sale! Get 60% off of an annual VIP, VIP Gold, or VIP Platinum membership! Use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off a VIP membership!
