I've always enjoyed reading Charles Krauthammer's opinions. Most
of the time, I agree with him...and even if I don't agree with him, I can
appreciate his reasoning and logic. He's a good man.
But his recent column regarding Donald Trump's "taunting" and
"vindictiveness" attacking Jeff Sessions got way off the point.
Yes, maybe Donald Trump meets your professional definition of
a man with "a psychological need to display dominance". Then again,
a layman might look at such behavior as "getting after a bunch of swollen
egos to keep them in line".
But your opinion of Trump is not what bothers me...what bothers me is
your opinion of America.
You seem to feel that it is un-American to expect our politicians to live
up to a code of ethics that the rest of us are expected to maintain. Somehow,
it's improper or unseemly to expect them to live up to the rules the rest of
us live by.
Instead, would you prefer Alinski's "Rules For Radicals" apply for politicians?
Lie if you can get away with it. The ends justify the means. Deny! Deny! Deny!
Your argument that "we don't lock up political adversaries in America.
They do that in Turkey. They do it (and worse) in Russia" conflates political
opinions with criminal actions. We actually do prosecute criminals in the
United States, not political adversaries.
Your example of Ford pardoning Nixon is not exactly correct. Nixon did not
serve jail time, but he was forced to resign the Presidency and was embarrassed
and reviled throughout the country and the world. That's pretty rough
punishment. I think maybe he learned his lesson, but other politicians have not.
In banana republics, they do lock up political adversaries. In banana republics,
political leaders can be corrupt, steal, take kick-backs, throw opponents in jail,
and pretty much do whatever they want.
In a banana republic, a politician could authorize sending uranium to a rival country
and receive $140,000,000.00 in kick-backs to their foundation, plus hundreds of
thousands of dollars in speaking fees and get away with it. In a banana republic
a politician could flout security regulations, delete e-mails, destroy computers, smart
phones, and evidence and get away with it. UNTIL the new leader comes in
and puts them in jail or worse.
In the United States, the new leader comes in and the old leaders CAN'T be held
accountable for violating the law, because it's too traumatic for the political elite
in Washington. It's better to be a corrupt politician in Washington than in a banana
republic. It's the topsy-turvy world of the Washington elites.
With the Washington logic, it's better to pretend we didn't have a problem and
let them get away with it than it is to show the world we have sleazy politicians,
just like the rest of the world does. When we should be making examples out
of them, we make icons out of them. It's the worst of both worlds.
In the heartland, Americans still believe we're the home of the free and the land
of the brave. In the heartland, we still believe we should all be equal under the
law. It may be schmaltzy, but it's still true.
And nothing, NOTHING, shows the fault line between Washington and mainstream
Americans as starkly as the reverence with which Washington elites defer on
big-time politicians. Come on, Charles, if we don't hold our leaders accountable
for their bad behavior, we're only encouraging more sleazy behavior. We've
already got more than enough greedy, self-serving politicians. Perhaps a little
fear would improve their conduct.
Our children were taught in school (is it still taught in school?) that in America
there is a rule of law and nobody is above the law...and that concept is one of the
things that makes America exceptional. That concept is one that binds us all
together as citizens of a united country.
I don't think anyone teaches that our country is exceptional because we make
better use of situational ethics...or that we make better use of "get out of jail free"
cards for politicians who game the system to get rich.
So why shouldn't our country live up to the values we teach our children and
espouse to the rest of the world? Why shouldn't we investigate and prosecute,
if enough evidence is available, at least the most outrageous and obvious examples
of illegal behavior? Why should politicians never fear paying a price for their bad
conduct?
Our country's honor should never be held hostage to a politician who is "too big to fail".
