
By Ron Cheong
How could a known non-stop liar, self absorbed narcissist, con man, insurrectionist, convicted felon, fascist, anti-immigrant, be elected President of the most powerful country in the world.
Non-negotiable minimum ethical standards
Let’s suspend for the moment the threat to democracy, the economy, abortion, gun control – as a matter of fact, lets suspend for the moment all the debatable issues a candidate may or may not stand for.
There is one non-negotiable essential quality that overshadows all else– the character of the candidate. Truthfulness is essential; where would we be without truth in this world. And in this election the evidence for the evaluation of this factor was vastly more abundant and available than in just about every decision we have ever had to make.
We are not talking about various character flaws which each of us have. We are talking about the most egregious conduct on public display. In addition, there is the bullying, the insulting, the public mocking of a disabled reporter, the misappropriation of funds from his charity, the dubious insurance claims, the tax dodges, the nine bankruptcies which left others holding the bag… And there is the little thing of him calling fallen veterans losers and suckers. And saying he would like to see Liz Cheney, a Republican, facing nine gun barrels and shot in the face.
Are these things totally acceptable or are they completely invisible to MAGA supporters? Has Trump so thoroughly fractured America into a tribal mindset that MAGA supporters stand completely blindfolded, having surrendered any freewill they may have had, and had it replaced by fealty to him.
If he were applying for a low level government job to be a policeman, a sanitation worker or a server at MacDonald’s, that resume would disqualify him immediately. But apparently this is not the case for him as an applicant for the Presidency of the US.
There was a time when America would have been appalled by this. President Richard Nixon was turfed out of office by his own Republican party for considerably less.
Controversial cabinet picks – hunters to become the hunted
Trump wasted no time naming his cabinet, and it sent shockwaves throughout the country and around the world. He named Matt Gates Attorney General. Gates who has been investigated by the Justice Department, resigned almost immediately from Congress to stymie the imminent release of the Ethics Committee report on him concerning human trafficking and sex with underage females.
Fox Commentator Pete Hegseth has been picked for Defence Secretary, a critical government agency for which he has absolutely no experience other than being extreme right wing with total loyalty to trump.
Anti-vaccine proponent and spreader of disinformation, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been picked as Health Secretary to the panic of the medical community.
And Elon Musk has reportedly requested that Trump appoint his senior SpaceX officials to oversee the departments which awards billions of dollars in contracts to SpaceX.
To ensure these appointments stick, Trump is looking to prevent the senate from vetting his controversial picks to some of the most powerful positions in the government. He is demanding that Republican leaders in the Senate, agree to allow recess appointments without vetting.
Things are off to a rocky start and will get worse, with Trump looking for revenge. Steve Bannon, a former Trump White House strategist, has gone as far as issuing a threat apparently aimed at Attorney General Merrick, special Prosecutor Jack Smith and New York Attorney General Letitia James, saying that “the hunted are about to become the hunters”.
Republican tribal behaviour– Democrats independent thinking to their detriment
It has to be said that while MAGA seems like a tribe, the Democrat voters appear to be anything but that. There hasn’t been any credible data-based analysis for the 7.5 million drop in Democratic votes from 2020, which would have surely put them over the top again in this election. But anecdotal evidence suggests that then Democrat voters didn’t turn out or did not mark the top box in protest against some issue they felt strongly about.
This display of independent thinking among the Democrats demonstrates conscience. But there are times when you have to put individual issues aside for the sake of the larger good.
This was especially true for this election with so much at stake. Four years is a long time and a lot of damage can be done. Trump had told his supporters this is the last election they will have to vote in – whatever that means. Also, his cabinet announcements along with plans to purge top generals in the military, intentions to replace professional staffing in government agencies with Trump loyalists, and the possibility that he will be able to appoint some younger justices to the supreme court must be viewed with great alarm.
Hopefully, next election Democrats would have learnt that at these critical points every vote counts. They haven’t done themselves any favours withholding their vote this election. Look what it resulted in.
And for Republican voters, let’s hope that the pendulum swings back a little, and some come to realise that character does matter, and maybe this should be the first hurdle a presidential candidate has to clear before being considered.
Ron Cheong is a Guyana-born retired banker with international experience, now living in Toronto.
#LeadershipMatters, #CharacterInPolitics, and #TruthAndIntegrity Add #DemocracyInAction, #EthicsOverLoyalty, and #VoteWisely #TribalPolitics, #BlindLoyalty, and #UnityOverDivision #PoliticalDiscourse, #ModernLeadership, and #FutureOfDemocracy.
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