Today, it seems our country is under assault from an insidious alliance of some “very fine people,” comprised of apologists for Russian President Vladimir Putin, Christian nationalists, power-hungry grifters and weak-kneed elected officials, all under the banner of the MAGA movement.
As a former Bush appointee who views the possibility of a second Trump term as nothing short of an unmitigated national disaster, I know this is no time to give in to the lazy impulse of apathy and “whatabout’ism.” It is imperative that we again come together to put country over party. This election is nothing short of a litmus test between character and chaos, competency and cowardice. It will define the America we all cherish.
Credit: contributed
Credit: contributed
As Americans, we are facing numerous challenges here and abroad, from an aging society to a sky-high national debt to the ascendancy of authoritarian dictators. We can ill afford to not work across the aisle for our country’s future. It will require the same bipartisan cooperation that brought about American successes over the past century.
There are many among us trying to frame this election as a struggle between capitalism and socialism. Nothing could be further from the truth. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, is no more of a socialist than former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, is a conservative.
To my fellow Republicans, I simply say beware of our modern-day false apostles. The 45th president is no second coming. He is no religious piety, but a prophet of personal profits. The former president at every turn has insisted that he made America great again. We should take comfort that in the fact that Trump did not take credit for making America great in the first place.
Truthfully, was America better off under four years of Trump’s leadership?
Under Trump, our federal deficit grew from $20 trillion to close to $30 trillion. With that much of an increase in such a short period of time, it is no wonder inflation took off once our country got out from under the coronavirus shutdown. His mishandling of the pandemic led to more than 1 million covid-related deaths. We were stockpiling toilet paper and disinfecting wipes.
Under his “leadership,” our allies from across the globe lost faith in continued American global leadership. Our enemies were emboldened to use that time to build up their military war machines to further their imperial objectives. Case in point: On the matter of assistance to Ukraine, Trump played lapdog to Putin’s ambitions.
As a lifelong Republican, I have seen the best of what the Grand Old Party once symbolized, from freedom and opportunity to free trade and national security. Today, I see the worst. The GOP has become less of a political party and more of a well-oiled 21st century cult. Its leader conned thousands of believers into attacking the U.S. Capitol and funding his legal bills. He has preyed on the goodness of his followers, brainwashing and hoodwinking fellow Americans out of millions of dollars of their hard-earned money to buy his autographed Bibles and cheap cologne.
To my Republican friends who can’t quit Donald Trump, I know you love this country, and your patriotism should never be questioned. However, patriotism is more than wearing a red cap signifying loyalty to a draft-dodger and a tax cheat.
You want to do the right thing for our country. But that’s exactly why you should not vote for Donald Trump. He will always put himself above country. Take the bipartisan border legislation as an example. The former president pressured his legislative minions to kill the legislation just so he could claim the victory if he were to be president again.
Furthermore, the philosophy of ideological conservatism takes into account the power of ideas, character and courage. Grift, fearmongering, lies and conspiracies are none of those things. Today’s Republican Party has become an antiscience, antibusiness shell of its former self. Conservatives respect the Constitution and the rule of law. They put character over grift and courage over cowardice.
Ronald Reagan left the Democratic Party more than half a century ago because he saw the bankruptcy of the then-Democratic Party. It is no different today with the Party of Trump. And that is precisely why the likes of former Vice Presidents Mike Pence and Dick Cheney, Sen. Mitt Romney, former congresswoman Liz Cheney, Trump adviser John Bolton and our own former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan have stood up to speak out against another Trump presidency.
We can no longer remain prisoners of our past. Living in the past won’t make America great again. One of my favorite American heroes, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, in 1962 memorialized the timeless words of “Duty, Honor, Country” in his famous address to the cadets of the U.S. Military Academy. Each of us should live up to that standard.
This November, don’t be afraid to do the right thing. As Edmund Burke said, “Change is the means for our preservation.”
Baoky Vu served in the administrations of President George W. Bush and Georgia Govs. Nathan Deal and Brian Kemp. He is a former vice-chair of the DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections and a former Republican presidential elector.
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