Where do you stand politically?
Where do you stand politically? What kind of Republican are you? As I continue to express my political opinion, with increasing frequency, I am accused of being a sellout. Colleagues say: “Like Judas Iscariot, you betrayed the Republican Party” while others call me a traitor and a Trump hater. Let me clear the air.
I am a Republican, but I am not a lemming. When I believe something is wrong, even in the Republican Party, I speak out. I have made no attempt to conceal or to sugarcoat the fact that I am not one of Donald Trump's most ardent supporters. I believe he is narcissistic and extraordinarily ill equipped to be president of the United States and I have written extensively about his shortcomings. That doesn't make me a bad Republican. It makes me a discerning Republican. I care enough to say the King has no clothes.
During the closing weeks of the 2016 campaign, when he was asked why he was lying about the ratings on The Apprentice, Trump replied, “People will just believe you. You just tell them, and they believe you.” If he thinks it's what you want to hear, he will gladly spin a yarn for you.
This is the behavior of an amoral sociopath, one who has learned from long experience that if you're rich enough and brazen enough, you can get away with behavior that ordinary people feel qualms about. Remember in 2016 when he said, “The polls, they say I have the most loyal people. Did you ever see that? Where I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters.” Who knew this brief vignette would turn out to be a profound insight into contemporary politics, one that the Republican Party has now adopted as one of its fundamental principles which is that “Truth doesn't matter”?
Please don't think I am laying all the blame at the feet of President Trump. He is not the locus of my discontent. No, my beef is with the Republican Party. As hyperbole and fabrications ascend to legitimacy and contempt for our leaders is on the rise, from both sides of the aisle as well as from their so-called cronies, I believe all
Americans are being hurt by this break with truth.
Throughout the Republican Party, I see a renewed fascination for a seductive notion that a strong authoritarian leader, given enough power, can solve all our problems if we cede our political rights and Christian ethics to his leadership. Some Republicans are eager to support such a desertion of our civic duty; I am not.
In large measure, the erosion of trust in our political leadership was brought about by the Republican Party's “about face” on the value of truth. They are now willing to accept diminished ethical and moral standards to hold political office. Quite naturally, this stands as an open invitation for the Democrats to do the same
Trust, based on truth, forms the centerpiece of the relationship between government and the American people. The very moment we start to lose trust in the value of truth, democracy starts to decay. Trust that our leaders want the best for the nation, not the best for their cronies and their political parties; trust that in exchange for our loyalty the nation will be rewarded with a better future. This is the glue that keeps democracy from ripping apart. Yet, the issue of untruthfulness, specifically lying, is currently considered an acceptable presidential character deficit by many in the Republican Party. Remember this is the Party that impeached President Clinton for being a liar and a womanizer.
The President has pulled Republican politicians further right than Republican voters care to go. Republicans have not only drifted far from the wishes of the average GOP voter; they have also drifted from the wisdom of conservative Republican icons. Listen to the voices of past Republican presidents talking about the value of truth. Few of these speeches led to landmark policy changes, but the values were there. The arguments were there. The rhetoric reminds me that truth matters in all things. Even in Republican politics.
I don't know if all presidents lie, but some certainly have. Most recently, Presidents Nixon, Reagan and Clinton lied, but they did so for very specific reasons. History
records they lied to protect their reputations. That was wrong, and each paid a political price for straying from the truth. However, the sheer frequency, ease and utter joy President Trump derives from lying has no precedent. Normally, deceit erodes trust, but these are far from normal times.
To some of the President's supporters, lies don't seem to matter. They remain tightly tethered to presidential falsehoods even after those assertions have been debunked by truth and multiple fact-checking sources. Some Republicans are clinging to the President for the power they feel from having him in the White House. Other supporters may see the President's claims as dishonesties but tolerate them as part of a “get tough” rhetorical style they admire. But I suspect most support the President strictly out of loyalty to party over country.
When Trump ascended to the presidency, many Republicans stopped trusting their own party. So much so that the most constant criticism I hear is from Republican voters who tell me they feel betrayed by Republican politicians. This November we Republicans will have to make a choice and it may not be the one you think.
That choice will be between your Party and your country. This is a choice some may not want to make. But it's one that Trump is now forcing on his Republican supporters. It's a loyalty test. They must decide whether they will be loyal to the President, ergo the Party or the country. Make your choice and press the cast button. It's that simple and that stark.
Ricardo Inzunza, a native of San Diego, California, was posted in the Pentagon and the Departments of Energy and Justice in the Administration of President Ronald Reagan. He was appointed Deputy Commissioner of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) by President George H. W. Bush; his office was the central source for the development, implementation and oversight of all immigration service policies and practices worldwide, including the “Sanctuary Movement.” Now, as CEO of RIA International, Ltd, Ricardo is often asked to serve as a business consultant to clients such as the World Bank and the People's Republic of China. He can be contacted at riatria@aol.com or 202 664 3274.