Republicans: Reckoning Past the Wreck

By James A. George, Author and Independent Journalist

Reading The Washington Post this Sunday and the article titled: ‘Out on a limb’: Inside the Republican reckoning over Trump’s possible impeachment, By Robert Costa and Philip Rucker prompted my response. They say that the Trump White House is in a bunker while

“a torrent of impeachment developments has triggered a reckoning in the Republican Party, paralyzing many of its office holders as they weigh their political futures, legacies and, ultimately, their allegiance to a president who has held them captive.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/out-on-a-limb-inside-the-republican-reckoning-over-trumps-possible-impeachment/2019/10/05/8e2b73c0-e6ef-11e9-b403-f738899982d2_story.html?wpisrc=al_trending_now__alert-politics--alert-national&wpmk=1

A friend and former boss of mine is a Trump and Republican defender. He believes that the liberal boogeymen and women who in his mind are the “Washington establishment” have conspired all along against Republicans and Trump as they want to transform America into a liberal socialist democracy. “Liberal and socialist” are scary words to “conservatives and capitalists.” The “Trumpians” tout individualism and independence, claiming that the “boogeymen” are out to deprive every one of their freedom, including the right to believe evangelistically against science, and a women’s rights to choose, and LGBT’s and other godless groups.

What it’s truly about is the strategy by oligarchs and wealthy persons to defend their wealth and power from citizens who actually believe in democratic equality and freedom, which they don’t. There are too few of them to win elections fairly, and their approach is to exploit bigotry, fear, and ignorance to their advantage. Under Trump, they have succeeded with help from foreign enemies.

The American Political System is broken and under duress. As George Washington saw from the outset, political parties are problematic.

“Washington warns the people that political factions may seek to obstruct the execution of the laws created by the government, or to prevent the branches of government from enacting the powers provided them by the constitution.

‘the spirit of party 

serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection.’”

My position is that there is value in political parties in America if there are common standards governing them that hold them accountable for the candidates that bear their brand. In my books on the subject referenced as a footnote:

1.     Political parties as nonprofit corporations must bear responsibility for their actions and candidates who bear their brand.

2.     That begins with vetting candidates for office, their resumes, credentials, and claims.

3.     Political parties publish platforms that express their brand of governance and values over the long run.

4.     Candidates publish manifestos that explain their alignment with party platforms and implementation plans for two four-year terms of office.

5.     To assist citizens, there must be common standards governing the development of elected officials resumes and job descriptions (that I call job models).

6.     The US Constitution needs auditing and amending in light of omissions in the law that undermine its intent, such as ending Citizens United and unlimited influence by corporations and lobbyists.

7.     Most important, the US Constitution must emphatically embrace the Universal Declaration of Human Rights without equivocation or compromise.

The process of impeaching Donald Trump for his most recent breaches of his oath of office is only the beginning of his prosecution and all those who are complicit in his abuse of power. It is not enough to elect incumbents out of office. Some leaders and officials bear gross responsibility for the attack on our democratic republic.

The New Yorker