In the Land of Leningrad Lindsey and Moscow Mitch, It’s Time for Us to Be George Washington
By: Leo Yablans
Tags: America, Republicans, Trump, Ukraine, Politics

In the Land of Leningrad Lindsey and Moscow Mitch, It’s Time for Us to Be George Washington Leo Yablans Nov 6, 2019·4 min read

How can we keep our democracy intact when half of the people in charge have abandoned it? It seems that with every new gold nugget of evidence implicating Donald Trump for illegally pressuring Ukraine to investigate the Biden family, our “stable genius” in-chief finds yet another way to twist the facts in his favor (this time, it’s “okay, there was quid pro quo, but the real problem is the do-nothing Dems’ process!”). Even more sickening is the fact that the bodies meant to provide checks and balances to the president have largely coalesced behind him: all 196 House Republicans voted against the impeachment inquiry, and nearly all 53 Senate Republicans voted to condemn the inquiry, both groups citing an unfair process. The real kicker is that the rules of such an “unfair” process were created by House Republicans themselves, in 2015.

This is not to say that every Republican has put their head in the sand with respect to President Trump. Some, albeit very few, have chosen to speak out against him, to varying degrees: Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan publicly called for Trump’s impeachment in April. Mitt Romney’s rebukes of the president have become increasingly pointed, and recent interviews have shown him leaning toward impeachment. It should be noted, however, that Amash left the party shortly after making such claims. Unfortunately now, Romney’s position is about as radical as it seems to get for Republicans. Lindsey Graham decided today that he would not read any more transcripts from recent depositions, and Mitch McConnell claimed yesterday that Democratic Presidential hopefuls would lose votes if they continued to support the impeachment inquiry.

Behind closed doors, however, there is a different story. One recent Washington Post article describes Republican lawmakers as surfeited with defending Trump, one anonymous Senator saying that “It feels like a horror movie.” Even more, according to some journalists, a number of GOPers do — privately — back impeachment (and in some cases, removal from office), but will not publicly disclose so until a de facto vote, due to fears surrounding reelection.

This “secret weapon” of votes provides a kernel of hope for any liberal, or frankly any fan of our constitution, but to speculate about its validity would be grasping at straws. The real problem here is that Republicans choose to withhold their ideas until it becomes certain that it will not cost them their constituents’ votes, and in turn, their jobs. An old saying seems especially poignant in this situation: “If a tree falls in the forest and nobody is there to see it, does it make a sound?” These mystery men and women can curse Trump all they want in front of a mirror, but if they continue to keep their lips sealed, those negative sentiments may as well not exist at all. Refusing to publicly and officially rebuke Trump’s illegal activities not only validates them, but encourages him to commit more, sinking America further into hotheaded autocracy. Someone I used to know once called this lesson “Dealing with a Dick 101.”

Such a brash display of party politics at best puts our government into gridlock, blocking legislation, shutting down publicly-funded facilities and services, or refusing Supreme Court nominees. At worst, as shown in recent months, it undermines the constitutional principles our forefathers wrote into existence and puts our very democracy at risk. At the end of his term as president nearly 250 years ago, George Washington famously warned against the perils of party politics, presciently showing that its presence would, among other things, lead to blind loyalty of leaders, and ultimately despotism. Sound familiar?

Washington was a true public servant. He accepted the presidency with reluctance, out of a desire to serve not himself, but his country. While in office, he still served in the military, commanding his troops on the battlefield in the 1794 Whiskey Rebellion — to this day, he is the only sitting president to do so. He declined titles such as “his excellency” or “his highness,” certainly customary for the time, in favor of a humble “mister president.” After his second term, he chose not to continue to bask in the political limelight, but rather to retire to his farm and run a small distillery. His actions set a gold standard for patriotism.

George Washington is a prime example of doing things not just for ourselves, but for the well-being of our country and others around us. It seems that today, both his message and example have been all but lost in time. So, what now? Do we need to rise up and burn our federal buildings to the ground? Probably (hopefully) not. Perhaps our best bet right now is to exercise the greatest power democracy gives us: our voices. It is ultimately we, the people, who decide who represents us, who makes our laws, and most importantly, what the ethos of our nation should be. Perhaps we should simply vote for the people who will keep our country’s best interests in mind instead of their own. Right now, we need about 249 George Washingtons. Oh, and hope — lots of it.