Little Big Men

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Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela claims to have won an election that he didn't.

Venezuela was a reasonably stable democracy at a time when military dictatorships were common in South America. Now it lives under an autocrat. A fair percentage of the country, though not a majority, seems to appreciate the so-called strength of a dictator. Enough at least to keep one in power for now.

Maduro is sending the military to arrest opposition leaders and protesters. People who fail to fall in line signal to autocrats that they fail the test of true leadership—attracting followers. Coercion follows.

Coercion is the antithesis of freedom. It is a sure sign of authoritarianism. Sometimes it is brutal. Often it is more subtle. If you don't join the party, your job options are limited. If you don't support our candidate, your own candidacy is in jeopardy. If you don't tailor the news to fit a certain narrative, your news agency is shuttered.

At one time, I thought this sort of thing, common in poorer nations, would not happen here. Now I know better. A whole party (or what once was one) clamors for a big man.

In a wealthy democracy we are currently enduring a campaign based on the lie that our last one was stolen, while in a country beset by problems and poverty, a sitting president has graciously conceded a close election. 

When Nixon's demands for loyalty were exposed, as a nation we were disgusted. We haven't lost that disgust, but the forces that counteract it are stronger now. The Supreme Court, once a venerated institution, has decided that it alone can arbitrarily decide who can get away with what. Republican politicians fear for their families and their jobs if they voice an opinion based on conscience. Excessively wealthy people have publicly declared their allegiance to ending democracy in favor of the "freedom" to take advantage of the rest of us.

From a distance, we could always view tyrants with disdain. Look how they oppress! Look how they cheat! Look how they purge their own ranks! All because they can't get sufficient grassroots support for their policies. Without public support, which might actually make them great, they reduce themselves to schemers and thugs.

I spent time in Africa, where this substitute for leadership is common. But I don't recall any of those heads of state standing by and cheering as a mob tried to murder their own hand-picked vice president.

That is about as small as it gets.

Moderate

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It's possible that the Montana farmer who taught me that Nixon was a crook will this year vote for Mr Trump. I hope not, but I'm aware that many red-state residents don't share my view. Some Democrats and independents blame support of Trump on stupidity. But I don't buy it.

There is an almost admirable solidarity among DC Republicans. Their fundamental aim: defend this president, no matter what. This fealty now defines the Republican party, which has no choice and no voice but that which exalts this person whom many of them formerly reviled (and possibly still do).

Some people always loved him. I'm not talking to them. I'm talking to moderates.

At one time, no moderate could stomach the guy. Some now appear to. There are whispers among formerly moderate Republicans in Congress that they wish they didn't have to, but believe they must, support him. And they ask their constituents for the same support, come what may.

What's to be done if you are a moderate Republican voter? Those Left-wing Liberal Democrats will ruin the country! (At least that's what a letter accompanying a "census form" I got from RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel says.) So you hold your nose, and push the R button.

Is this your only option? No, it's not. You could decline to cast a vote for president. Or you could write in the name of someone you admire.

Or you could vote Democrat. Or become one.

In 2018, Democrats who won the House of Representative were mostly moderates. They campaigned on issues that matter to most people, and they beat a lot of Republican candidates whose only platform was obeisance to the big man.

We hear complaints about how far left Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is. She represents her district, as she ought to, but she doesn't represent districts in middle America. She doesn't have to. We aren't from her district. We have other perspectives and other priorities. And Democrat candidates in our districts listen to us. Not on every one of our issues, perhaps, but on most.

Yes, I know Republicans keep saying it's the Democrats who lie and cheat. So I encourage you to do your research. You'll find just how natural lying now comes to Ms McDaniel and other Republicans, who follow the leader. You'll find some Democrats you don't like, and some you do. This is the new face of the Democratic party—out of necessity, we've become a coalition.

I'm talking to the farmers, carpenters, hunters, loggers, machinists, and pro-life voters I grew up with, worked with, and live with. I know you have been loyal Republicans, but you never bought into a cult. You never defended such wholesale self-interest by the man in power as Republicans have now committed to. I cannot bring myself to believe you have changed that much.

Can someone be a moderate in the US today and still be a Republican? If so, I must have forgotten what a moderate is. Moderation never used to include a blind following of a self-serving boss who cannot or, worse, refuses to stop lying to us. And, of course, it's not just him. Republicans have been gradually transforming for years. It's understandable if you didn't notice. But now you must.

While Republicans have been moving further and further right, so have some Democrats. They've been filling the gap. We've got a few hard-liners of our own, mind you, but most are open to discussion. The one from your district represents you. You hear propaganda to the contrary. Don't buy it.

I learned from you how to call bullshit what it is. I know you know how to figure this out.

Check us out. We're not perfect. But we're OK.


It is error only, and not truth, that shrinks from inquiry.
    -Thomas Paine

The Big Man

Our family's stay in West Africa was cut short by a civil war. The war was started by Charles Taylor who led a rebellion against an admittedly corrupt Liberian regime. Charles Taylor professed that he would fix what was wrong. Instead he wreaked havoc on the country. He also made a lot of money selling what he stole and funneling blood diamonds out of neighboring Sierra Leone. Later, he was elected President of Liberia in spite of his deeds and continued to benefit himself at great price to his country. He is now in prison for crimes against humanity.

Charles Taylor was a "big man," all too common among heads of state in Africa (and elsewhere). Big men rise to power by force or treachery or peddling fear and then use the position to serve themselves. If you serve them you are rewarded. If you resist, God help you. They can be very charming. I remember hearing Charles Taylor speak and thinking that I wanted to believe this guy. Enough people did believe him to elect him.

I'm not saying Donald Trump's failures are equivalent to Charles Taylor's butchery. But his tactics and temperament are the same as those of Charles Taylor and too many other heads of state around the world and throughout history. Our first president famously refused to be convinced that he was the only one who could lead our country. Unlike Washington, the big man is always convinced of his superiority.

The big man does not apologize and does not take responsibility for his misdeeds. In most cases, he sincerely believes he has nothing to apologize for. (If what is wrong is defined by whether or not it benefits him, I suppose that makes a certain amount of twisted sense.) If something goes wrong, it is always someone else's fault. He takes all credit for what goes well and blames someone else for what doesn't.

Many of us may recognize aspects of the big man in some of our least favorite managers or supervisors, and there may be a bit of big man in nearly every politician. But never have we in America seen a candidate so blatantly full of himself and unapologetic as we do in Donald Trump, who blindly believes he is the only one who can do a job that he has done so little to prepare for.