The Era of the Trumpian Politician; Is Civility Dead?
By Diego Garcia III | Editor of The Brownsville Beacon
When the Trump presidency is over, and the history books are written, plenty of things will be said. People will write about the deepening divide between political ideologies. People will write about the misdirection and outright lies the administration regularly told masked as the truth. Some people will swear he is the best president of their lifetime, while others will say his name as a bitter, foul taste fills their mouths.
Perhaps the most damaging effect the Trump administration will have on the American political landscape is the idea that you don't have to display any sort of respect, kindness, or common courtesy while running for office or being a politician. Trump and politicians of his ilk have ushered in a new era — an era where civility is dead.
Make no mistake — I am not talking about his policies or his platform. I am not talking about immigration, or abortion, or the economy, or anything like that. I am simply talking about his complete lack of civility.
Last night, when the president walked in to the House Chamber to deliver his State of the Union Address, he showed a complete lack of civility when he handed a copy of his speech to the Speaker of the House. She extended her hand to shake his, and he turned his back on her without shaking her hand. To be fair, when the speech was over, the Speaker of the House ripped the speech in half — something she should not have done on camera, either.
Unfortunately, this is the time we live in. We no longer have any respect or civility towards anybody we may disagree with, and now our politicians are acting just as petty and childish as the rest of us are. You don't have to agree with someone in order to be civil to them. You don't have to align with someone's political beliefs in order to be respectful to them.
Trump has made it very clear — If you disagree with me, I will hate you, I will ridicule you, I will Tweet silly nicknames for you, and I will do everything in my power to discredit you and everything you stand for.
The era of statesmen and stateswomen is over. There is no more shine, or dignity, to our elected officials. For some reason, the demystification of the presidency means any bull-headed oaf can grunt and stomp his way into office, opposition be damned.
Opposition be hated.
When did we stop holding elected officials to a higher standard? When did it become OK to be mired in scandal and keep your office? There's virtually no way the president will be removed from office. The impeachment and trial were nothing but a huge waste of taxpayer money and an even bigger waste of time, and the lasting effect of the failed conviction will be the president will continue to believe he's bulletproof.
Gary Hart was a United States Senator from Colorado. He was the prohibitive favorite to become the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in the election of 1988. After losing the nomination to Walter Mondale in 1984, he seemed to be a lock in 1988. However, an alleged affair which both he and the woman, Donna Rice, denied ended up sinking his political campaign. He ended up withdrawing from the race after Super Tuesday, giving the nomination to Michael Dukakis.
Let that sink in. An alleged affair sunk someone's political campaign. Our president has been recorded as saying he could grab women by their genitals, has been accused of sexual assault and sexual harassment, and has been accused of sexual misconduct with prostitutes and porn stars and his approval ratings, even among Evangelical Christians, has gone up. Not only was the president not disqualified for office, he gained popularity.
This speaks volumes of what Americans really believe in when the doors are closed and nobody else is watching. The president spews anti-immigrant, xenophobic, homophobic, racist, and sexist rhetoric and his supporters love him for it.
Just how dark and cynical has the country become?
The other tragedy is the Democrats are in such disarray, no suitable viable candidate has, or will emerge from the pack as a decent choice for the presidency. Biden is probably the Democrat's best chance for defeating Trump, but the Democrats are so howl-at-the-moon radical they'd rather see someone who identifies as a socialist or someone with no real experience on the ticket.
Civility is dead. Statesmen and stateswomen are dead. The era of moderates is dead.
The people have rushed to either end of the political spectrum so quickly there is hardly anybody left to hold center.
With the death of civility and moderates, compromise also dies by default. Everybody is so dug in, so entrenched in their ideology, that moving towards a compromise is seen as a sign of weakness. Real Republicans were replaced by the Tea Party and ultra right-wing conservatives. Real Democrats were replaced by Democratic Socialists (what in the hell was that ever a thing?) and ultra left-wing liberals. It appears as if we're all too happy to sit in our trenches and lob grenades at one another.
Local politics and politicians have also taken a page from Trump's playbook. It seems as if the plain-spoken, everyday, common, tell-it-like-it-is-consequences-be-damned, unvarnished, "real talking" politician has gained traction and popularity in local elections as well.
With no real, tangible platform to speak of, local politicians have been able to stir up their supporters via social media outlets. They've been able to build up a base of loyal supporters who will follow them blindly no matter what the person is accused of.
One local politician was able to get elected to the school board by an overwhelming margin thanks, in large part, to his huge following on social media. Once in office, he made bad choice after bad choice, allegedly appearing intoxicated in public, allegedly performing acts of lewd conduct in a public parking lot, and being arrested for driving while intoxicated. He eventually resigned his position on the school board, but he is currently running for Texas State Representative, and there are rumors he may also be seeking a seat on the local community college board of trustees, or that he may even be considering running for the school board once again, all the while continuing to attack other local politicians and critics.
A candidate for a Cameron County Commissioner's seat frequently breaks out into tirades insulting his opponent, sometimes calling her a nastier version of a female dog.
An Assistant Cameron County District Attorney recently posted several inappropriate comments aimed at "Boomer Winter Texans" on one of his public social media platforms. He didn't mince words when he apologized on the behalf of "repugnant s**t stains whose best part of us ran down our momma's leg."
There are ways of criticizing your opponent or voicing opposition without being uncivilized. Unfortunately it appears some of our politicians aren't too interested in being civilized.
There really isn't any reason why people who are on different ends of the political spectrum can't be cordial and civil to one another.
I hope someone can resuscitate civility in politics.
Disagreement should not equal hatred, no matter what you believe in.
When the Trump presidency is over, and the history books are written, plenty of things will be said. People will write about the deepening divide between political ideologies. People will write about the misdirection and outright lies the administration regularly told masked as the truth. Some people will swear he is the best president of their lifetime, while others will say his name as a bitter, foul taste fills their mouths.
Perhaps the most damaging effect the Trump administration will have on the American political landscape is the idea that you don't have to display any sort of respect, kindness, or common courtesy while running for office or being a politician. Trump and politicians of his ilk have ushered in a new era — an era where civility is dead.
Make no mistake — I am not talking about his policies or his platform. I am not talking about immigration, or abortion, or the economy, or anything like that. I am simply talking about his complete lack of civility.
Last night, when the president walked in to the House Chamber to deliver his State of the Union Address, he showed a complete lack of civility when he handed a copy of his speech to the Speaker of the House. She extended her hand to shake his, and he turned his back on her without shaking her hand. To be fair, when the speech was over, the Speaker of the House ripped the speech in half — something she should not have done on camera, either.
Unfortunately, this is the time we live in. We no longer have any respect or civility towards anybody we may disagree with, and now our politicians are acting just as petty and childish as the rest of us are. You don't have to agree with someone in order to be civil to them. You don't have to align with someone's political beliefs in order to be respectful to them.
Trump has made it very clear — If you disagree with me, I will hate you, I will ridicule you, I will Tweet silly nicknames for you, and I will do everything in my power to discredit you and everything you stand for.
The era of statesmen and stateswomen is over. There is no more shine, or dignity, to our elected officials. For some reason, the demystification of the presidency means any bull-headed oaf can grunt and stomp his way into office, opposition be damned.
Opposition be hated.
When did we stop holding elected officials to a higher standard? When did it become OK to be mired in scandal and keep your office? There's virtually no way the president will be removed from office. The impeachment and trial were nothing but a huge waste of taxpayer money and an even bigger waste of time, and the lasting effect of the failed conviction will be the president will continue to believe he's bulletproof.
Gary Hart was a United States Senator from Colorado. He was the prohibitive favorite to become the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in the election of 1988. After losing the nomination to Walter Mondale in 1984, he seemed to be a lock in 1988. However, an alleged affair which both he and the woman, Donna Rice, denied ended up sinking his political campaign. He ended up withdrawing from the race after Super Tuesday, giving the nomination to Michael Dukakis.
Let that sink in. An alleged affair sunk someone's political campaign. Our president has been recorded as saying he could grab women by their genitals, has been accused of sexual assault and sexual harassment, and has been accused of sexual misconduct with prostitutes and porn stars and his approval ratings, even among Evangelical Christians, has gone up. Not only was the president not disqualified for office, he gained popularity.
This speaks volumes of what Americans really believe in when the doors are closed and nobody else is watching. The president spews anti-immigrant, xenophobic, homophobic, racist, and sexist rhetoric and his supporters love him for it.
Just how dark and cynical has the country become?
The other tragedy is the Democrats are in such disarray, no suitable viable candidate has, or will emerge from the pack as a decent choice for the presidency. Biden is probably the Democrat's best chance for defeating Trump, but the Democrats are so howl-at-the-moon radical they'd rather see someone who identifies as a socialist or someone with no real experience on the ticket.
Civility is dead. Statesmen and stateswomen are dead. The era of moderates is dead.
The people have rushed to either end of the political spectrum so quickly there is hardly anybody left to hold center.
With the death of civility and moderates, compromise also dies by default. Everybody is so dug in, so entrenched in their ideology, that moving towards a compromise is seen as a sign of weakness. Real Republicans were replaced by the Tea Party and ultra right-wing conservatives. Real Democrats were replaced by Democratic Socialists (what in the hell was that ever a thing?) and ultra left-wing liberals. It appears as if we're all too happy to sit in our trenches and lob grenades at one another.
Local politics and politicians have also taken a page from Trump's playbook. It seems as if the plain-spoken, everyday, common, tell-it-like-it-is-consequences-be-damned, unvarnished, "real talking" politician has gained traction and popularity in local elections as well.
With no real, tangible platform to speak of, local politicians have been able to stir up their supporters via social media outlets. They've been able to build up a base of loyal supporters who will follow them blindly no matter what the person is accused of.
One local politician was able to get elected to the school board by an overwhelming margin thanks, in large part, to his huge following on social media. Once in office, he made bad choice after bad choice, allegedly appearing intoxicated in public, allegedly performing acts of lewd conduct in a public parking lot, and being arrested for driving while intoxicated. He eventually resigned his position on the school board, but he is currently running for Texas State Representative, and there are rumors he may also be seeking a seat on the local community college board of trustees, or that he may even be considering running for the school board once again, all the while continuing to attack other local politicians and critics.
A candidate for a Cameron County Commissioner's seat frequently breaks out into tirades insulting his opponent, sometimes calling her a nastier version of a female dog.
An Assistant Cameron County District Attorney recently posted several inappropriate comments aimed at "Boomer Winter Texans" on one of his public social media platforms. He didn't mince words when he apologized on the behalf of "repugnant s**t stains whose best part of us ran down our momma's leg."
There are ways of criticizing your opponent or voicing opposition without being uncivilized. Unfortunately it appears some of our politicians aren't too interested in being civilized.
There really isn't any reason why people who are on different ends of the political spectrum can't be cordial and civil to one another.
I hope someone can resuscitate civility in politics.
Disagreement should not equal hatred, no matter what you believe in.
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