by G. Alfred Kennedy
It is time to stop the hand-wringing about our hapless president and think about the future – with or without him at the helm. In either circumstance, we have reason to be concerned, no, fearful – and I’m not being dramatic. Given this President’s performance to date, it may be safe to assume he is willing to risk anything to advance his personal business or political interests. The Impeachment hearings confirm this. The importance of the ordinary citizen and the happenings of everyday life generally are the stuff of presidential speeches and public pronouncements, but we are not where the political rubber meets the road. Not in the Senate under its current Majority Leader nor on the priority list of this White House.
To many Americans, the President was to usher in a new era of leadership in Washington. Trump was untested, but we were ready to believe. And, many in the country wanted to turn the page from the previous administration – and so we did.
The truth now is President Trump is a profound disappointment who does not command the respect of his enemies, America’s traditional allies, or the majority of the American people. I am suggesting there is a linkage between his brand of leadership and the success he may realize in his quest for a second term. We can’t, however, wait for the outcome; we have to move on.
Republicans, unfortunately, are not prepared to nominate someone better than the Democrats they desperately want to defeat. They are adamant that they will only support a candidate who believes everything on their checklist. Is this peculiar brand of Republican myopia the guarantee of success they apparently believe?
So, let’s look forward. We will need leaders at all levels: local, state, and national – prepared to fight economic terrorism on a scale not seen since the Great Depression. So who are these new leaders? I suppose there are always qualified candidates in the wings, but can they and their policy prescriptions emerge intact through the primaries and in a form coherent enough for us to internalize debate, and become the basis for our vote next November? How much of their soul will they have to mortgage in a system where corporations are people and corporations buy the leadership that preserves their interests? More of us need to get in the game or pay attention to those in the game.
Once we settle on a candidate, becoming a fighting mad foot soldier for democracy is among the options open to each of us. Become a volunteer. Get out the vote! Remember the expression, Lead, Follow, or Get Out Of The Way! It is time we said to our elected representatives, you won’t lead, so follow new leadership, or get out of the way.
Warren, Biden, Sanders, and Buttigieg are polling high in the early contests and they become convenient examples of the kind of leadership a majority of Americans seemingly prefer. Each of them is adamant that he/she would have the independence to be a real advocate for the middle class despite hostility from the Republicans and their conservative allies. Each of them believes in the nobility of the middle-class struggle to survive the relentless assault by this country’s oligarchy and their conservative handmaidens in the Congress. Their individual stories are made more poignant by a president disconnected from lives beyond his golden bubble.
This country needs champions desperately because we are sinking under the weight of incompetence, indifference, corruption, greed, and malice. This witch’s brew of toxic domestic and foreign politics is increasingly unpalatable here at home and to our allies and friends abroad. We are paying a steep price in lives, jobs, national security, and social cohesiveness. Our enemies – old and the newly-spawned – once choked on our brew but now use it at mealtimes to recruit new members to their cause and enemies for us. Part of our response is an escalating defense budget and an appetite to capture and keep the oil of others.
The rest of us have to look ahead; to look out for our own interests, and to advocate for those we feel will advocate for us. We are still the indispensable nation, yet we live in an era of unprecedented, unparalleled political cowardice. This era is a clear and present danger to our today and to our tomorrow and it is incumbent upon us and a new generation of leadership to stop this nonsense.
So here is what I am suggesting: This is no time to become disconnected from the process and stay at home on election day. Pick a leader, someone of your choice, who does not demean, degrade, or divide; a leader who does not take a vacation from the big issues; a leader who can forge the broadest possible coalition of racial, gender, philosophical, and economic interests behind an agenda that will inspire us, invite our friends and allies to once again align with us, and deter our enemies from interfering in and otherwise attempting to weaken our democracy from within.
It is time for a new generation of leadership. Think carefully, choose wisely, and maybe this time we’ll get lucky.
