Pardon my nausea. President Trump’s often egregious behavior is on trial, and the prosecutors are not winning. Conviction looks impossible absent the emergence of felonious conduct. And Trump’s Ad-makers are attempting to define his conduct, “tough guy” in “tough times.”
Post-impeachment (indictment) we will be left with social/political distemper. Rather than candidates being forced to address issues, the election will be almost exclusively about Trump. More alarmingly, his conduct, if not rising to a convictable offense, will lower still further standards of political conduct.
Benjamin Disraeli, an iconic British Prime Minister, called politics a “greasy pole.” Indeed. But in America, history rewards those who, even though imperfect in their climb, strived to overcome their imperfections. It was thought, hopefully still is, that an elected leader can come back from a fall if he/she will yield to an aspirational set of values and show a modest amount of remorse.
Okay, aspirational values, what does that mean? I believe “truth” in politics is an aspirational value. Fair play—well hard to define. Passing up the cookie jar, for certain, embezzlement is not favored. Consult Proverbs and come up with your own list.
Trump understands two things well. He is the leader of a tribe called Republicans whose elected officials want nothing more than to be reelected. Fear is his weapon. A loyal cadre is his spear.
And he understands news biases and cycles. He excoriates the news outlets that tend to shape the news around their biases. They become the enemy, and unfortunately, they are an easy one. Twitter gives him a very useful weapon. He can use it to create the news cycle—he is hours ahead of them. He also is a good whiner. He couches his tweets in inflammatory language and picks his targets from the Tribe’s enemies list. In Republican circles, the New York Times tops the list.
His behavior, to me, sets a new low in the conduct of a political leader. But his enemies need to understand the game and the opponent. While they confer, he tweets. While they seek some operational consensus, he is a consensus of one with his elected followers (at least most of them) awaiting White House instruction. He has set new standards of political conduct, and even those in his Party who despise him quiver in the corner fearful they will lose their job if they talk back. Profiles in cowardice.
This predatory set of values will not be removed through a legal process; it will only succumb to a political one. The voters are going to have to lead the leaders.
I will repeat my recommendation one more time. Put this conduct to a vote. Strive to get some level of bi-partisanship by moving from impeachment to censure and then force the tribal leaders to go on record about conduct, not removal from office just months before the election.
Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al recently published Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books.
Mike Huffstetler says
Mr. Sikes:
Who are the leaders to whom you refer?
The Democratic Party’s leading candidate for President?: A former VP who is known to have already committed corrupt activities involving his son in both Ukraine & China (and likely other countries) while serving as VP, yet the main stream media refuses to call him out.
Why would an oil company in Ukraine give a Board seat and significant funds to a VP’s son who has zero experience in the oil industry other than to seek political favor (the true “quid pro quo” in Ukraine that needs to be investigated)?
Why would a Chinese company create a $1.5 billion hedge fund for the VP’s son who also has zero experience in the hedge fund industry other than to seek political favor?
These are potential criminal activities under multiple Federal statutes:
(1) A violation of section 15 USC 78dd-1 of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act;
(2) Bribery under section 18 USC 201(b);
(3) Gratuities under section 18 USC 201(c); and
(4) Extortion under section 18 USC 1951 of the Hobbs Act.
President Trump may sometimes be objectionable in the way that he presents things when he tweets, but, unfortunately due to the deterioration of integrity in the main stream media, he must tweet in order to get out the truth without the modification of the truth by main stream media!
Why does your coveted main stream media refuse to cover this clear abuse of power and corruption by Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden?
Because they are in bed with the Democrats.
This is why President Trump must, and does, tweet!
David Reel says
Al,
Very clever how the title of your column to bash President Trump and Republicans is a takeoff of President John F. Kennedy’s ghost written book – Profiles in Courage. JFK was a pragmatic and moderate Democrat who would never be revered by or nominated by the Democrat Party of today
In any event, the observations in your column are so wrong on so many fronts. They amaze me coming from someone who served as Chair of the FCC in Washington DC and who should know better.
You say with an elitist and condescending air that “a tribe called Republicans whose elected officials want nothing more than to be re-elected.” In case you had not noticed during your time in DC that the same is true for countless Democrats. Exhibit A is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Majority Whip Steny Hoyer and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer; all of whom have been in Congress for what seems like forever. They did not do so without wanting “nothing more than to be re-elected” and to hold onto power. By contrast President Trump has been in office a just short of three 3 years and will be out office in four years or eight years depending on next year’s election.
With regard to President Trump, you smugly say “his enemies need to understand the game and the opponent. While they confer, he tweets. While they seek some operational consensus …” You conveniently and totally ignore the reality that the Democrats in Congress do not seek operational consensus. The exact opposite is the case. They thrive on confrontation and obstruction and have done so even before President Trump was sworn into office. The simple fact is the Democrats have not and will not accept the fact that Donald Trump was elected and Hillary Clinton was not. Never mind Donald Trump won the Electoral College (MAYBE not the popular vote). President Trump was elected under the process and the rules that were in place in November 2016 (and well before then). Even Hillary Clinton is now on record urging her fellow Democrats to nominate a candidate who can win the Electoral College. What wll she say if they lose the popular vote?
Perhaps the President’s tweets are based on never ending efforts by much of the media to ignore or downplay news that does not reflect well on Democrats and/or the deep state while ignoring or downplaying the many measurable accomplishments that reflect well on the President. I suggest the media’s hostility toward President Trump is not so much differences in opinion on public policy matters, but is based much more on their reaction to being shown by him that the traditional media is increasingly irrelevant in controlling the dialogue and debate on issues of the day. To loosely paraphrase Shakespeare — hell hath no fury like a media who has been ignored.
I also find it very interesting you use the term “enemies” to describe those who disagree with the President rather than refer to them as adversaries. On this single point we agree. They are enemies and they act like enemies. Don’t even get me started on political cowardice. House Speaker Pelosi is driven daily by fear of the radical progressives in her caucus. There is and has been a tyranny of the loud in the U.S. House since the Democrats took back control of that body in the 2018 election cycle. That is a true profile in cowardice.
If you wish to do so, you can repeat your recommendation one more time on moving from impeachment to censure. Feel free to say it as many times as you like. Saying it often does not make it right. I find it laughable that you hope for some level of bi-partisanship on an impeachment process that to date has made a star chamber look like a fair open and transparent process rather than a soft coup which it is.
One last thing. You opine (and complain about) President Trump’s actions in office. You do not recognize or appreciate that Donald Trump has done and continues to do something voters are not used to see happen – a candidate who told you what he or she was going to do if elected and then actually did or tried to do them. Perhaps you forget President George H.W Bush saying ‘Read my lips, no new taxes” or President Barack Obama saying “If you like your current health insurance program, you can keep it”. What we really need in this deeply divided country is not a pointless attempt at impeachment by sore losers, but more candidates and elected officials who say what they mean and mean what they say before and after elections.
Glenn Baker says
Al, What you are missing is we don’t care about his conduct, sorry as it is. We care about his reversing the years of overreach and stupid nanny influenced rules from our “leaders”.
Lawrence Neviaser says
Al,
There really are no words to describe Trump and his behavior. A new low barely gets there. Even worse is the Republican party that, among them, couldn’t find a backbone, much less a set of male attachments. The House of Representatives is duty-bound to vote for Articles of Impeachment for this president, even if it is only the Democrats doing the work. The Republicans will never, never, never censure Trump much less find him guilty in the Senate. I do agree that it is the voters who must repudiate this vile imposter and toss him from office.
Larry Neviaser