The Republican base has made it clear: we want a President who knows nothing about politics. From Ben Carson's fundamental misunderstanding of the US Constitution, to Carly Fiorina's lies about Planned Parenthood, to nearly everything said by Trump, it's becoming clear that the Republican party is starting to unravel, unable to reign in the Frankenstein's monster of hate and ignorance they have cobbled together over the past 40 years. But above the maniacal conservative arglebargle, one thing is clear:
We get it, Republicans. You're mad as hell. You're sick of the "professional political class." You've put two CEOs and a neurosurgeon at the top of national and New Hampshire polls. Because why not?
Listen to Joel Arends, chairman of Veterans for a Strong America, explain why his group has endorsed Donald Trump. He wants a president with "courage," and he doesn't think experienced politicians have any. "It's time to consider somebody else," Arends said at a Trump rally in Los Angeles. "It's time to say to ourselves, do we really need a former governor?" "No," the crowd roared. "Do we need a current senator?" "No!" "Do we need a reformer businessman?" "Yes!"
Yes, as much as Republicans despise Mitt Romney, they can't quite seem to quit the IDEA of Mitt Romney. "True Conservatives" of America, "Forgotten Men" of America, I will tell you one thing: you most certainly do NOT want a businessman in the Oval Office.
A businessman, a CEO, or whatever cherished title they choose to bestow on themselves, is a terrible public servant by definition. By definition, a businessperson's job is to make money for either him/herself, or for his or her stockholders, the people who make sure he or she can continue to make money. By definition, a businessman will do whatever it takes to ensure his own success or the success of her business, which of course it a function through which he or she can make money.
It all comes down to money. And the President cannot be single-mindedly focused on enriching himself or her own business.
We call them "public servants" for a reason: they are paid through our taxes, they are employed by we the people, they are supposed to do right by the people, not the pocketbook. But, as we have seen increasingly through massive corporations like Turing Pharmaceutical and Volkswagen, companies will routinely work to harm people if it means they can make an extra buck. In the case of Volkswagen, the CEO had absolutely no idea of the misdeeds going on under his watch, which is disturbingly reminiscent of Ronald Reagan's cluelessness during the Iran Contra scandal. The point of our government is not to harm its citizens if it saves someone some cash. The point of our government is to make sure Americans thrive.
For all of his talk of Making America "Great Again," Trump's tax plan undoubtedly benefits the mega-rich... if he can make up his mind about it. Firoina's claim that she "quadrupled its cash flow" while at Hewlett-Packard, she ended up laying off 30,000 working people... to further enrich stockholders. These are not policies you want to see in the White House, unless you're hoping to be one of the lucky few who wouldn't be thrown out of your homes, jobs, or the country itself. And for those of you hoping to be in that lucky few... that train is already full, and they're not taking on anyone else anytime soon.
However, conservatives... if you want to claim that America's President is its CEO, than you should support someone who wants to make their "stockholders," the American people, healthy and prosperous. But if you did that... you'd be supporting Bernie Sanders.
At Your Service,
Doremus Jessup
