Does Character Matter Anymore Or Have We Now Been Severed By Blind Tribal Fealty?

By Ron Cheong

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Mon. Nov. 18, 2024: How could a known non-stop liar, self absorbed narcissist, con man, swindler – who has been involved in more than 4,000 court cases, insurrectionist – which resulted in people killed at the Capitol, treasonous, convicted felon, fascist, anti-immigrant hypocrite – 2 of his 3 wives have been immigrants – be elected President of the United, the most powerful country in the world?

Does Character Matter anymore, or has the United States been ripped apart by blind tribal fealty?

Non-Negotiable Minimum Ethical Standards – Trumps Everything Else

Let’s suspend for the moment the threat to democracy, the economy, abortion, gun control – as a matter of fact. Let’s suspend for the moment all the debatable issues a candidate may or may not stand for, and/or promise or not promise, or communicate or fail to communicate.

In my mind, there is one non-negotiable essential quality that overshadows all else – the character of the candidate. There must be some level of demonstrated ethical conduct.  Truthfulness is essential – where would we be without truth in this world?

In the just-concluded election, the evidence for the evaluation of this factor was vastly more abundant and available than in just about every decision we have ever had to make.

We are not talking about various character flaws which each of us have.   We are talking, about the most egregious conduct on public display – the non-stop lying, the attempted insurrection in what has been held high as a beacon of hope for all the world to aspire to – the United States of America. In addition to the big ones, there is the bullying, the insulting, the public mocking of a disabled reporter, the misappropriation of funds from his charity, the dubious insurance claims, the tax dodges, the 9 bankruptcies which left others holding the bag. Then there is the little thing of him calling fallen veterans losers and suckers and saying he would like to see former Congresswoman Liz Cheney, a Republican and a former Vice-President’s daughter, facing nine gun barrels and shot in the face.

Are these things totally acceptable or are they completely invisible to MAGA supporters?  Has Trump so thoroughly fractured America into a tribal mindset that MAGA supporters stand completely blindfolded, having surrendered any freewill they may have had, and had it replaced by fealty to him.

There has to be some non-negotiable level of integrity and conduct for anyone seeking the highest job in the land.  If he were applying for a low lever government job, to be a policeman, even as a sanitation worker or a server at McDonald’s, that resume would disqualify him immediately.  But apparently this is not the case for him as an applicant for the Presidency of the US.

All the above is well known; anybody has access to it in this information age.

Is it that his MAGA supporters just don’t care?  Have they been numbed into blindness?  There was a time when America would have been appalled by this.  President Richard Nixon was turfed out of office by his own Republican party for considerably less.  But it seems that Trump not only attracts the worse around him, he compromises people into behaving in ways you would never have thought possible.  Now for the most part – with few exceptions, the Republican House and Senate members mimic his behaviour and submit to every edict he issues.

Controversial Cabinet Picks – Hunters To Become The Hunted

Trump had a sweeping win in this election, taking the Presidency, the senate and the House. He made gains in the segment that taken collectively, could be described as Latino, 18 to 29 age range, less educated, lower income, Catholic, who believed the economy was poor.  This was aided by a 9 million lower Democratic voter participation than 2020.

And he wasted no time naming his cabinet picks.  Picks which sent shockwaves throughout the country and around the world.  He named Matt Gaetz who had been investigated by the Justice Department, Attorney General.  Gaetz resigned almost immediately from Congress to stymie the imminent release of the Ethics committee report on him concerning human trafficking and sex with underage females.  House Leader Mike Johnson, a devout Christian, is also playing his part.  He is now opposing the release of the report.

Fox weekend Commentator, Pete Hegseth, has been picked for Defence Secretary, a critical government agency, for which he has absolutely no experience other than being an extreme right-wing commentator with total loyalty to Trump.

Anti-vaccine proponent and spreader of disinformation, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been picked as Health Secretary to the panic of the medical community; and Elon Musk has reportedly requested that Trump appoint his senior SpaceX officials to oversee the departments, which awards billions of dollars in contracts to SpaceX.

Amid the widespread shock over these appointments, senators, congressmen and other spokespersons from the Republican Tribe are being trotted out to defend them – their line: Trump has been given a sweeping mandate to “shake up” the system and clean up the swamp, and that’s what he’s doing

To ensure these appointments stick, Trump is looking to prevent the senate from vetting his controversial picks to some of the most powerful positions in the government.  He is demanding that Republican leaders in the Senate, agree to allow recess appointments without vetting.

Things are off to a rocky start and will get worse, with Trump looking for revenge. Steve Bannon has gone as far as issuing a threat apparently aimed at Attorney General Merrick Garland, special Prosecutor Jack Smith and New York Attorney General Letitia James, that: the hunters will become the hunted.

Republican Tribal Behaviour– Democrats Independent Thinking To Their Detriment

In closing, it has to be said that while MAGA seems like a tribe, the Democratic voters appear to be anything but that.  There hasn’t been any credible data based analysis for the 9 million drop in Democratic votes from 2020, which would have surely put them over the top again in this election.  But if we assume the election was completely free and fair and that any disenfranchisement of voters did not have a big effect, then it would appear that these Democratic voters just didn’t turnout or did not mark the top box in protest against some issue they felt strong about.

This display of independent thinking among the Democrats augers well for at least half of the country.  But there are times when you have to put individual issues aside for the sake of the larger good.

This was especially true for this existential election, with so much at stake.  Four years is a long time and a lot of damage can be done.  Trump had told his supporters this is the last election they will have to vote in – whatever that means.  Also, his cabinet announcements along with plans to purge top generals in the military, intentions to replace professional staffing in government agencies with Trump loyalists, and the possibility that he will be able to appoint some younger justices to the Supreme Court, must be viewed with great alarm. These have long term ramifications for the country.

Hopefully, when the next election comes around, Democrats would have learnt that at these critical points, every vote counts, and if there was indeed some type of hold back on their votes, they haven’t done themselves any favours. What they will now get is worse than anything, voting for the Democratic Presidential candidate would have resulted in.

For Republican voters, it is hoped that the pendulum swings back a little, and some come to realise that character does matter, any maybe this should be the first hurdle a candidate has to clear before being considered – nothing brings this point home clearer than the present situation.