…that we know of.
Rep. Andrew Ogles (R-Tenn.) acknowledged yesterday that he “misstated” the degree he had received from Middle Tennessee State University when he told voters that he received a degree in international relations. Ogles said his degree was actually for “liberal studies,” a general education degree typically for those who cannot settle on a major. He claims that the mistake was inadvertent, and he just forgot his major.
Sure, Andy.
That baloney might be palatable if he hadn’t been shown to have falsified so many other aspects of his résumé. For example…
- Ogles claimed while running for his seat that he was “an economist.” There is no record of his ever receiving any formal training in economics.
- His website calls him a “nationally recognized expert on tax policy and healthcare.” He’s not.
- During one debate, the Ogles said “as a former member of law enforcement, worked in international sex crimes, specifically child trafficking….” In reality, Ogles was sworn in as a volunteer reserve deputy with the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office in July 2009, and was dismissed from that position two years later for not meeting minimum standards, making no progress in field training and failure to attend required meetings.
- He falsely claimed to be a Chief Operating Officer of an organization that he served in as a volunteer.
At this point, who knows what else he’s lied about?
Or how many more George Santoses the Republicans have making up their slim majority in the House?
Ethics Alarms 
Sounds as if politics has turned into that great Southern institution of NASCAR where, “If you ain’t cheatin’ you ain’t tryin’.”
And where drivers are urged to drive their cars “as if they stole it.”
Regarding his degree, he may have at least plausible deniability: https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/27/rep-andy-ogles-says-hes-mistaken-amid-undergrad-degree-backlash/69949206007/
But there definitely seems to be a pattern with this guy and his resume. And he should have been more careful and less cavalier. Mrs. OB obtained her college degree by taking courses in five or six different schools as we moved around the country and raised our kids, and she worked in IT and I attended law school and then practiced law. Her degree ended up being issued by Indiana University at South Bend (affectionately known as IUSOB) in general studies, which is pretty humble but accurate, and just fine with her. There’s no way she’d have ever upgraded her degree to information technology or business or electrical engineering. And in actuality, her having an undergraduate degree or not never had any effect on her career. In the 70s and onwards, IT was so wide open, all you needed was the ability, and willingness, to do the work. And she had both of those in spades.
I highly doubt this is new thing, and I’m pretty many (if not most) of those in Congress, those in state legislatures, or those on the ranks of our federal and local governments, have few exaggerations or straight lies on their resumes. Just think of all Biden’s “stories” and claims.
I think it’s a lot easier to uncover such things nowadays, and politicians are much more in the spotlights (I mean I doubt people paid attention to some very minor representative from another state back in the day).
I’m not saying it’s acceptable; it’s just what it is. Lying and exaggerating is kind of requirement for being a politician.