Mitch McConnell just demonstrated again why he, Kevin McCarthy, and the SCOTUS 6 are doing far more than dishonoring America — they are corrupting it with their pusillanimous leadershipship.
When asked in February 2021, whether he would vote for Trump in 2024, McConnell told Fox News’ Bret Baier “The nominee of the party? Absolutely” . This was just nine days after he called Trump “practically and morally responsible” for the insurrection. So tell us Mitch, would you have supported John Wilkes Booth for President (if he had survived the Union Army’s manhunt) — as long as he was the Republican party’s nominee?
When asked a few days ago, in July 2022, whether he would back Trump if he got the nomination, McConnell responded, “I think we're going to have a crowded field for president.” Mitch, Mitch, Mitch! Can’t you see that a simple but forceful “NO” would have done far more to make American democracy safe again? Your deep, deep corruption is revealed by your prevarication.
To which Mitch might might ask, why is it corruption to play the game of politics? Aren’t we all trying to win the hearts of voters who believe in our worldview, and don’t believe the other guys’ view? Nope. Not when your worldview relies on falsehoods and slander to maintain its foothold among the electorate. Get rid of the fraud, or get out of the game dude!
Mitch could have (and should have) defended America, like George Washington honorably did in his 1796 farewell address to the nation. Washington argued convincingly that regional (i.e., party) loyalties should not dominate loyalty to the nation as a whole. He feared that “cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men” would use party loyalty to “usurp for themselves the reins of government”. In case anyone forgot the definition of usurp, it means aquiring something one doesn’t deserve, by force or fraud.
The University of Southern California motto is Palmam Qui Meruit Ferat, which loosely translated means “Let whomever earns the palm, wear it”. When ya gotta cheat to wear the palm, you just disqualified yourself. (Just ask Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin if their fraud paid off well for them.)
Loyalty to party (especially when its leader is the poster child of deceit and lawlessness) over country is well beyond dishonor. If I’m a restaurant server, and I know the cook is sprinkling rat poison granules on the french fries, I am corruptly responsible if I don’t warn the patrons and call the authorities. If I’m a magazine publisher, and I knowingly accept advertising revenue for a product that claims to do something that violates the laws of physics, I am corruptly responsible for enabling the fraud being perpetrated by the manufacturer on their customers. With their silence and dissembling, McConnell and the GOP leadership are likewise responsible for perpetuating Trump’s crimes.
It may be true that Trump’s fortunes are slowly declining — thanks to the work of the Jan 6 committee, but if the dam is going to burst (as Cheney suggests), McConnell should help it happen quickly — so the Republican party can purge itself of the parasitic depravity that is Trumpism.
Trumpism’s active corruption has zero right to exist alongside legitimate political dialog as an honored participant in American political or philosophical life. Yes, the First Amendment gives individuals a right to believe in lunacies and a right express hatred of others. But the Constitution bestows no rights to politicians who are plotting and acting to defraud the American people. Their conspiracy to overturn a legitimate election should be disqualifying of public office.
Jesus told his followers, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)
Whether heaven is literally a place where good-hearted souls end their tenure on this planet, or simply a figurative place of honor (in the metaphorical history books) for persons whose actions were wise, kind and beneficial to the human race and the planet — Jesus’s words imply that everyone’s “treasures” (i.e., what they choose to adore and fight for) will end up either being transitory or eternal.
We like to think the founding American documents contain more than a modicum of eternal truths. The Bill of Rights (albeit partly archaic) is a masterwork of fundamental rights. The Declaration’s proclamation of self-evident truths, (e.g., all men are created equal, their unalienable rights include life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness) is artistic wisdom at its finest. Are school children still taught to love these immortal words? Are they learning why the are worthy of our undying devotion?
Democrats, Independents, and Republicans alike should be joyful when corrupt politicians are caught and punished for their crimes against America. We should reject every leader (e.g. Trump) who corruptly uses the wheels of justice to reward party loyalty over loyalty to country (e.g. Flynn, Stone, Mannafort, Bannon) or to punish valid and just criticism of party (e.g. Cheney, Kinzinger, Pence, Amash). Such acts are an abuse of the concept of loyalty and an abuse of power.
In the photo featured at the top of this blog, it’s obvious which half of the political couple shown held America’s honor more dearly, and which half continues to spit on America by employing words as distractions.
And when Alex Trebec (RIP) gives this Final Jeopardy answer — “This group loved America enough to defend her robustly and with passion”, the correct question will be … “Who is We the People?”