Is Tim Scott still relevant today? On the one hand, he’s a senator whose term ends in 2029. Under a Trump dictatorship, there’s no telling if Dictator Trump would allow Tim Scott to continue in the Senate, with Scott’s former obsequiousness towards Trump counting for nothing.
I didn’t really pay much attention to Senator Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) until he dropped out of the Republican presidential primary. The Republicans were going to choose a black man to be their presidential nominee? No way. Not even if Trump wasn’t a factor.
Republicans think that the presidency of a half-black man was a disgrace and America needed to be made “great” again by electing business failure and white guy Donald Trump to the White House (bronzer notwithstanding).
So Tim Scott dropped out of the Republican primary and fell in line right behind Trump. In a very cringe-worthy moment, Scott deflected Trump’s attempt to make Scott profess his hatred of Nikki Haley… by instead declaring his love of Trump.
Yikes. Scott took Trump sycophancy to such a high level that late night Trump impersonators joked that it was too much even for Trump. And it’s still not going to be enough for Trump to seriously consider Scott as his running mate.
Somehow Scott reminds me of Legate Broca, a fictional character played by Mel Johnson, Jr. on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It’s not a perfect analogy. Or maybe it is? So I’m putting the question to you.
Some of you will need a little background information. I’ll try to provide the necessary background on Legate Broca without getting too bogged down in interesting but not quite relevant tangents (like how “they” might actually be the right pronoun for the character semi-officially known as “female changeling”).
The major powers in Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation are the United Federation of Planets, which Earth was a founding world of, and the Romulan Star Empire. The Klingons have a love/hate relationship with the Federation, but that’s a tangent.
Legate Broca is a Cardassian. The Federation hadn’t had much dealings with the Cardassians until a border dispute ignited a war that lasted a few years. This is the background that led to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and the creation of Star Trek’s most complex and layered villain, Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo).
Although Dukat had no scenes with Broca, Dukat’s story arcs give important context to Broca’s storyline.
Gul Dukat was the top Cardassian aboard Terok Nor (later Deep Space Nine) during the Cardassian occupation of Bajor. After the Cardassians officially left Bajor and the Federation stepped in to protect the Bajorans, Gul Dukat continued to keep close tabs on Bajor.
I feel very awkward using past tense for stuff that happens in a fictional future that is still the future relative to us. But in this article I will use the temporal perspective of Legate Broca’s first appearance on the show as the present.
Those of you familiar with Deep Space Nine remember that Dukat brokered a deal for Cardassia to become part of the Dominion, and decided to keep his title of “gul” out of fake humility. But after the death of his daughter during the Federation retaking of Terok Nor, Dukat became increasingly unhinged and was replaced by Legate Damar (Casey Biggs). [EDIT: Apologies for giving an incorrect impression of Damar’s ascent to leader of the Cardassian people. As pointed out in one comment, Dukat was captured by the Federation during the retaking of Terok Nor. The Dominion likely made no effort to rescue Dukat, instead simply replacing him with his immediate subordinate.]
Damar was introduced in the fourth season episode “Return to Grace” as Dukat’s right-hand man, loyal to Dukat even as he doubted some of Dukat’s decisions. Damar continued to support Dukat even as Dukat subjugated Cardassia to the Dominion, though Damar was quite willing to fall in line, at first anyway.
And when Dukat went on his quest to win the hearts and minds of the Bajorans, Damar had essentially taken over the Cardassian government by default, though unlike Dukat, he accepted the title of “legate.”
But Damar was clearly under the thumb of Dominion administrator Weyoun (Jeffrey Combs), though Weyoun allowed Damar the occasional moment to present himself to his fellow Cardassians as a strong leader. In the episode “Statistical Probabilities,” Damar makes a speech in which he magnanimously offers the Federation a chance for peace.
The war with the Federation accomplished all our goals. Cardassia is strong again, an empire to be feared. We are safe behind secure borders, and no one will ever dare attack us again. … From this position of strength, we are poised to take another bold step to insure our future. Peace. It is time to bring an end to this war with the Federation. It is time for us to rebuild on the foundation of strength we have laid. The sons of Cardassia shed their blood to defend their home. Their sacrifice must not be in vain. The peace we seek will honor their memory and preserve the gains for which they gave their lives. I challenge the Federation to answer my call for peace. I am ready at any time to meet with its representatives to discuss how we can bring an end to hostilities. As your leader, I pledge that I will do everything in my power to protect Cardassia and allow us to move forward into a new era. This I vow with my life's blood for my sons, for all our sons.
The episode in which Damar makes this speech is mainly about four “mutants,” though Damar is a very important character in this episode (main characters Odo and Quark barely get any lines in this episode). Watching Damar give the above quoted speech, the genetically altered individuals quickly figure out Damar’s backstory.
Jack: Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.
Patrick: He's sad.
Lauren: Ashamed is more like it.
[...]
Lauren: Looks like a man who doesn't sleep.
Jack: Methought I heard a voice cry: sleep no more! Damar does murder sleep!
Patrick: He's killed someone.
Lauren: Someone close to him.
Jack: Pretender! You don't belong on that throne and you know it.
Patrick: Someone's making him say all this. He doesn't want to.
Dr. Bashir: Did any of you know who Damar was before today?
Jack: No, but it's obvious who he is. The pretender who killed the king and seized the throne.
Lauren: Not the king. He [Dukat, the “king”] is still alive.
Patrick: The queen, maybe, or a princess.
Dr. Bashir: Yes, Ziyal. That's Gul Dukat's daughter.
Jack: And now the pretender finds himself in league with a dark knight that he can't control.
“Dark knight” seems like an odd way to describe Weyoun, and he’s never referred to as such again in this series. Weyoun however is the one who’s making Damar make a bad faith overture to peace negotiations.
As time went on, Damar became increasingly dissatisfied with Weyoun’s casual attitude to Cardassian lives and resources. Weyoun did not value Cardassian sacrifices as much as Damar.
As Cardassian losses and concessions piled up, Damar became more and more of an alcoholic. Weyoun wondered if when Damar was alone the Cardassian still bothered to pour kanar into a glass, “or do you just drink that swill directly from the bottle?”
Gradually, Damar realized that he needed to do something more than test his liver. What finally broke the camel’s back for Damar was Weyoun ceding some Cardassian territory to the Breen, to convince them to join the Dominion. The Cardassian concessions to the Breen were listed in “a secret protocol” that Damar was not allowed to see.
Under the Dominion, the Cardassians had become a conquered people in their own star system. Damar allowed two Starfleet (Federation) officers to escape, so that they could send a message to the Federation: Damar will help the Federation in the war against the Dominion.
And this is where Legate Broca comes in. I now quote Memory Alpha, despite that reference’s annoying tendency to refer to absolutely everything in past tense.
In 2375, Broca was a high-ranking Legate. He was picked by Weyoun to succeed Damar as the new leader in 2375 following Damar's defection and founding of the Cardassian Liberation Front. Broca was subsequently promoted to legate [?]. Unlike his strong-willed predecessors, Damar and Dukat, Broca was eager to follow the orders of the Female Changeling and Weyoun almost without question. (DS9: "The Dogs of War")
After the Cardassian military switched sides due to the destruction of Lakarian City, Broca pleaded with Weyoun and the Female Changeling to let him talk to the rebels to persuade them to remain loyal. Instead, Weyoun and the Female Changeling concurred that it was just as likely for the rebels to convince Broca to defect. Still shouting that he was loyal to the Dominion, Broca and his aides were taken outside Dominion Headquarters by the Jem'Hadar and bayoneted. Ironically, this gave an opportunity for Damar's rebels to penetrate the building and ultimately capture the Female Changeling, as well as kill Weyoun. (DS9: "What You Leave Behind")
And, most disappointing to the “Female Changeling,” that Weyoun whom Damar killed was the last of the Weyoun clones.
What does Broca gain for his obsequious obedience to the Founders? Nothing, really. To the Dominion he’s not sufficiently loyal, and to the Cardassians he’s definitely a traitor, whereas Damar is a hero. To add insult to injury, Broca’s family is probably getting killed off in the counterinsurgency.
The open thread question: In what ways is the fictional character Legate Broca like the real life Tim Scott, and in what ways is he not?