These are
not boring days! The United States
recently endured the longest partial government shutdown in its history. Very shortly before the shutdown President
Donald Trump proudly took full responsibility for it in a nationally televised
scene from the Oval Office. During the
shutdown, as the days mounted and public opinion clearly turned against him,
Trump did a complete reversal and placed the blame for it on Chuck Schumer and
Nancy Pelosi. Trump has a long history
of being blown about in many directions, and this was just one small example of
it. But now we are seeing something
completely off the charts.
In an
effort to avoid a second government shutdown three weeks after the end of the
one mentioned above Congress got its act together to finally worked in a
bipartisan way – like it is supposed to do – and passed a compromise spending
plan. In true Trumpian fashion the
President warned ahead of time that any bill passed by Congress would have to
include over $5 billion to begin building his signature wall on the Southern
border. This is the same wall that he
repeatedly promised during the 2016 Presidential election process – sort
of. In the past he promised and big,
beautiful, concrete wall and further insisted that Mexico would pay for it. Any thinking person should have realized the
United States government has no influence whatsoever over how any foreign
government, such as Mexico, spends its money.
That is like me telling my neighbor to pay for my new roof and heating/cooling
system. Hey, maybe I should try that!
Looking back one has to wonder if
this was a test by Trump. Could it be
that he was testing his followers to determine just how gullible they were and
how much he could get away with? If
enough people would actually accept the claim, no matter how bizarre and
ridiculous, that Mexico will pay for a project that the United States undertook,
then they would likely accept just about anything this madman would feed them. In a sense this was similar to the way Jim
Jones brainwashed his followers. By
demanding that they drink the supposed poisoned juice Jones discovered who was
faithful and who was not. Truth blurred
with lies until the day Jones served real poison and destroyed his colony.
Now, in the light of realism and
fact Trump has changed the wall concept to become a steel slab barrier paid for
by American tax payers. But no matter
how much Trump wants a physical barrier he needs to be informed that Congress
approves spending funds, not the Executive Branch. Furthermore, spending plans must originate in
the House of Representatives before being passed on to the Senate for their
approval. Only after both chambers of
Congress approve expenditures can the President sign them and begin using them
for their intended purpose.
So, what
happens when Congress passes a spending bill that only includes $1.375 billion
for some form of a border barrier instead of the $5.7 billion Trump
demanded? Why, the President declares a
“National Emergency” so he can rob Peter to pay Paul, meaning by Executive
Order he claims the authority to take designated funds from other agencies in
the Federal government so he can feed his ego, build his wall and look like a
hero in the eyes of the faithful.
This move
will certainly be challenged in the courts.
I am not a legal expert so I will not begin to say how this will end. But I will say this: why not put it to the voters in this country
to decide if we should build a wall? Its
our money, right? As taxpayers we are
the stockholders in this corporation we call the United States. And since we claim to be a democracy why
should we not put this issue to a vote?
Oh, WAIT! We DID! The American people
already voted and the majority of people decided they did NOT want a wall. What I mean is this: In November of 2016 we the people voted for
Barack Obama’s successor. And we all
know how that ended. Hillary Clinton won
by nearly 3 million votes! Of course due
to a quirky clause in the Constitution the people do not actually elect the
president. They only elect “electors”
from each State, one for each member of Congress from each State. These electors consequently vote in what is
known as the Electoral College and their vote is the only one that counts. It is a dumb system for the 21st
century but it is our
system. As we well know these electors
elected Trump over Clinton.
Nevertheless, given the promises and positions of the candidates, the
popular vote was, in effect, a referendum on the question of a border
wall. It follows, then, that the people
of this country voted against the construction of a wall
since the majority of the voters cast their support behind the candidate who
opposed the wall. Her name is Hillary
Clinton.
If that is
not enough consider this. What kind of
emergency can exist under the following conditions.
·
Border crossings are down from previous years;
·
Trump and his GOP (Good Old Puppets) controlled
all of the Executive and Legislative branches of the Federal government for two
years but could not see an emergency on the Southern border until after they lost control of the House of
Representatives. Now, suddenly, POTUS
wants to fulfill half of his pre-election promise, namely to build the wall but
without having our next door neighbor pay for it.
·
Trump publicly announced before a national
audience that his claim for an emergency is bogus. He admitted that he did not have to make this
extraordinary claim, that he could have waited, but he just did not want to
wait. Acting like the childish and
immature person he is, he wants what he wants when he wants it. And if he does not get his way he will steal
it by any means possible.
All this makes me wonder just what
is the motive behind this crazy scheme?
When a young child does not get his or her way they will do one of three
things. First they will likely throw a
temper tantrum. If that does not work
they might play one parent off against the other, that is to say if mom won’t
give me what I want I will ask dad. If
that, too, does not work they may try one last trick: Distraction!
Redirect the attention of the parents to something else, and then when
they let their guard down take what you really want. This last option is particularly effective
when the child knows they did something they should not have done but they do
not want to get caught.
I suspect that is what is really
going on here. Trump is becoming
increasingly distraught over the Mueller investigation. Too many of his cohorts have been caught and
are heading to jail. He lives in daily
fear that Mueller’s report is nearing completion and will ultimately bring an
end to this Presidency. So, because he
cannot deal with that thought emotionally, he is attempting to distract
everyone’s attention away from Mueller by creating a fake crisis. Of course, this is mere speculation on my
part but from where I sit I believe it has some merit.
Putting
that speculation aside I fear we have a much larger problem on our hands that
demands attention. It is what some call
the Imperial Presidency. The concept of the Imperial Presidency has
actually been evolving for a long time.
An argument can be made that most modern Presidents have exceeded the authority
that was envisioned by the founding fathers.
The position has certainly taken on an identity quite foreign from the
example set by the first person to hold it.
Since today
is Presidents’ Day I did a little research on George Washington. According to History.com Washington was very
conscious that his interpretation of the office would serve as an example for all
who followed him. I was particularly
struck by the article’s description of Washington’s approach and character,
saying, “Washington worked hard to set an
example of fairness, prudence and integrity. In foreign matters, he supported
cordial relations with other countries…”
Does that sound familiar? No? Well, I agree. It is the exact opposite of President Donald
Trump. I cannot imagine anyone describing
Trump as “an example of fairness,
prudence and integrity.” Washington
also held a disdain for partisanship.
This, too, has been completely reversed over the years but especially so
under Trump.
I suspect
every school age child remembers hearing Washington’s supposed quote “I cannot tell a lie.” I have no idea if this is an honest
representation of our first President but I do know it is a far cry from our
current Chief Executive. The Washington
Post’s Fact Checker claims Trump has told 8,718 false or misleading claims since
taking office. The lies are nothing
short of nauseating. They are foolish
and outlandish. He seems to think that
if he says something often enough people will believe it. However, anyone who is able to look
objectively should be able to see right through the smoke and mirrors. Personally, I find it insulting that this
madman thinks we are so stupid that we would fall for his deceptions. The larger question is to determin why he
does so. I suppose there are a few
possible reasons.
·
Perhaps he lies intentionally, possibly to hide
or cover up facts he does not want us to know about.
·
Or, he may just be a habitual liar who can’t
help himself or perhaps doesn’t even have a grasp on reality.
·
Then again, the man might just be in way over
his head. Could it be Donald Trump is
uniquely unqualified to be President?
On the one hand I admit that, in my opinion, Donald Trump is
not qualified to be President of the United States. Having said that, however, I do not wish to
give the impression that Trump is an immature, childish person who is
completely clueless and has no idea what effect his words have on others. Neither do I think he is senile or mentally
unstable. Those are questions that only mental
health professionals can determine and perhaps time will tell. What I will say is this: Donald Trump demonstrates certain behaviors
and traits that should cause a great deal of alarm for all of us. Among these concerns are…
·
The constant disregard for truth and reality, as
I already mentioned;
·
The use of the term “Fake News” to describe
any report that is not favorable to his position or views, or that contradict
the Trumpian agenda;
·
The extremely high number of personal attacks he
directs against his political rivals or anyone whom he deems to be a threat to
his popularity or his policies, attacks that include personal insults, false
claims, and rude comments;
·
His disregard for the political process and protocols. Examples include his public request for
Senator Mitch McConnel to change the rules of the Senate by using the “nuclear
option” (i.e., set aside the Senate rule allowing the use of filibuster) in
order to force his agenda through the Senate.
·
His demand for loyalty and submission on the
part of those who work in his administration, including the use of non-disclosure
agreements and other tactics of intimidation;
·
His apparent obsession with attempting to prove
his superiority over his predecessors, particularly Barack Obama and George W.
Bush, along with his frequent disparaging remarks aimed at Hillary Clinton,
whom he “defeated” in the 2016 election;
·
His obnoxious support for racists and bigots
such as Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Roy Moore, David Duke and so many others;
·
His antagonistic approach towards traditional
allies of the United States coupled with his inexplicable praise of tyrants and
dictators such as Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-un, Xi-Jinping, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and
Crown Prince Mohammed
bin Salman Al Saud;
·
The way he accepts the word of Russia’s
President Putin while rejecting the counsel of his own Intelligence Officials;
·
The ever-growing number of Trump lackeys who
have already been indicted by Robert Mueller and his team, all of whom have had
deep ties with Russian oligarchs and the Russian government – 12 so far that we
know of, plus another 25 Russians who have been indicted for crimes surrounding
the 2016 election. That’s a total of 37
persons and possibly more to come;
·
And, finally, the term he uses to describe news
outlets and media critical of him or his administration, namely “The enemy of the people”.
This last item, “the enemy
of the people” label carries with it some serious connotations. The website www.pri.org offers a great insight into
the use of this phrase. I recommend you
take a look at it by following the link https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-02-27/donald-trumps-language-echoes-russias-soviet-past. Not surprisingly some of the greatest and
most feared Russian dictators commonly referred to the press and political opponents/dissidents
as “the enemy of the people”. One has to wonder why Trump habitually uses
the term himself, and where did he pick it up from? Could it be another sign of his involvement
with the Russians?
The Russian
connection with Donald Trump is unnerving.
Together with his tactics of intimidation, authoritarianism and
deception it raises images of Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, and other notorious
dictatorial regimes. In fact, Trump’s
disdain for and humiliation of Congress is not unlike the attitude of the Roman
Emperors towards the Roman Senate. (For
an eye-opening experience try searching the web for “notorious Roman Emperors”
and read about the likes of Caligula, Nero, Caracalla, Domitian and others. While their exploits are horrifyingly
excessive, there are more than a few disturbing similarities portrayed by Trump,
including immoral conduct, excessive lifestyle, humiliation of opponents, and acceptance
of conspiracy theories.)
Where will
this end? It is difficult to say. Clearly the Mueller investigation will have a
large impact even though it will likely be challenged. But in spite of everything I still have
confidence in the American Constitution and the process of law. These are troubling times but thy are not the
end of the American Experiment. It is
quite conceivable in my mind that when the smoke clears and the Trump Era is
over we just might take corrective steps to strengthen the integrity of our
political system and our national identity.
Perhaps we need to go through these dark days to awaken us from our
slumber and realize the urgency of repentance.
G. D. Gehr
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