By Ruth Gadebusch
It seems unfair to classify an entire group as evil, but where, oh where, are the good Republicans? It has become increasingly difficult to find honor in the party. For a time, it seemed that a few retiring officeholders not seeking reelection might speak out but they too are missing.
What does their lead officeholder hold over them that keeps them so quiet for disagreeing speech, much less disagreeing action to rein him in in any way whatsoever? Are they so fearful that there is no power without the demigod? Is power so enticing that it overcomes honor, the good of the nation?
Before going any further in this tone, let me make it clear: This is not about differing political principles. This is about dissemination of unadulterated lies and criminal acts. When voice and action change from one day to another or documented acts are denied, it is not growth from new information. It is lust for winning at any cost unless one prefers to classify it as mental aberration?
Also, be assured it is not one man alone or even those who fail to speak up. It is those who connive with him. I can understand how the uneducated, inexperienced, sheltered can be taken in, but how can those we have elected to fulfill the responsibilities of balancing our form of government sit quietly by even when he diminishes their offices. How can one senator not even allow bills passed by the House (The People’s Body) to be heard?
For that matter, there are numerous odd parliamentary rules in both bodies that allow even a single member to exercise power; however, it is just one item at a time, not ongoing as we have experienced so often. That might have worked in a more congenial time of bipartisanship, but now each should be aware that what works for them against the other side can just as easily be used against them in another setting.
Does the hearing for a Supreme Court nominee even need to be mentioned as right up there with presidential impeachment? If a president is found guilty, it would only cut short a term. For confirmed judicial appointees, it is lifetime with no defined procedures for removal. They are often young, selected specifically for the expectation of keeping a party’s influence well beyond any other political term.
At this writing, we are experiencing the Republican Party’s complete reversal of its action when it refused to give President Obama’s nominee a hearing as they ramrod another appointment of a president who has already been able to place sufficient judges to have profound influence over our court system for decades.
These judges have largely been selected for their demonstrated inclination to interpret the Constitution with strict adherence to the original intent, never mind the ensuing two centuries of development and change. Let us not forget the man exercising this power was not elected by a democratic majority but by the antiquated Electoral College.
As we near this year’s election, we might get a modicum of hope from high-placed appointed officials leaving the administration and expressing their concern that this man is unfit for office and therefore are urging the electorate to not reelect him. A legitimate question: Why have they waited so late to speak out? Did they think that by serving with him they might have some influence to modify his bizarre actions?
At a time when technology has made the planet ever smaller, our nation has become more and more isolated from our friends as well as enemies. Tediously developed agreements have been left high and dry on the whim of this man who wants us to continue him in office and, in fact, has ignored numerous occasions to assure us that he would follow our Constitution should he not be reelected.
Instead, he has used every opportunity possible to sow doubt about the legitimacy of the election without evidence. He and his party have exercised many attempts to discourage or actually prevent citizens from exercising their vote. Without one iota of evidence, he and the party have spread pure lies against his opponent.
By his own bragging, the candidate has sexually taken advantage of women, denied science, refused to disclose his tax payments expected of all modern presidents, instituted roadblocks for legitimate immigrants, denounced all manner of hard-working citizens, installed his own family in positions of influence, used the office to benefit his personal business and on and on. Even with on-the-job training he has not bothered to learn the difference between government and business. Or for that matter, between moral and immoral!
What more do we need to convince anyone to say goodbye to this candidate? So often voters proclaim they are choosing between the lesser of the evils. Well, in this case they are not. It is between good and evil. Democrats as a group are not pure good either, but in this case there is absolutely a desirable contrast between the two lead candidates.
All of the above hardly touches the style of the current officeholder of the most important job in the world. At least the Democrats have chosen a man of unquestioned morals and experience in government with by and large like-minded candidates in the supportive offices. He has empathy and respect for the less fortunate. He knows that the nation must come together if we are to continue toward fulfilling the dream of the creators of the United States of America.
This is an opportunity not to be missed. This is responsibility. Our responsibility.
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Former naval officer Ruth Gadebusch has served on the Fresno Unified Board of Education, the California School Boards Association, the Association of California Urban School Districts, the California Commission for Teacher Credentialing, the American Association of University Women, the National Women’s Political Caucus and numerous other community organizations.
