Virtually none of the “mainstream” Republican party leadership found him acceptable or supported Mr. Trump’s presidential bid. Now that his nomination is inevitable where do these principled leaders stand? Do these leaders really seek what is best for our country through the policies which they support or is their allegiance principally to the Republican Party?
Let’s look at Speaker Paul Ryan. He is very conservative and the highest ranking Congressional member of the Republican party. Will he be there proclaiming his support and calling for all Republicans to get behind the Trump-Pence ticket? Would it surprise many people if he doesn’t? Speaker Ryan has spoken out against a couple of Mr. Trump’s more outrageous positions. Even Vice President Biden said he is a principled person. How principled can one be if you place your loyalty to a group above your own beliefs? Maybe Mr. Ryan actually is in full support of Mr. Trump’s proclamations or pronouncements. He must try to recall that he is Speaker of the House not Speaker of the Republican House.
Senator McConnell stated he is not attending the Republican Party Convention. He has made known some of his concerns with regard to Mr. Trump’s candidacy. He is also the Senate Majority Leader who announced his intent to make President Obama a one term president. No mention of any effort to convince the President or congressional members of his and the Republican Party’s agenda. What does he do now that Mr. Trump’s nomination seems evident? Does he get on board? I understand he is at the convention.
Senator McCain is not attending despite his announced support. These guys do not appear to be friends but he and Senator Graham are. Does he stand on his beliefs and with his friend or join in the chorus and sing Mr. Trump’s praises?
Trey Gowdy, Chairman of the Select Committee on Benghazi, said he’s not attending. This is the man who oversaw spending 7 million dollars to re-investigate the Benghazi incident. He was only seeking the truth or so he said until Representative Kevin McCarthy let it be known that it was an effort to derail the Hillary Clinton nomination. Did these people really believe that Mrs. Clinton didn’t care that an American ambassador and others were killed? If they wanted the truth, why not read the reports already completed? No one made an effort to go after the then Secretary of State when 240 Marines were killed in Lebanon. Truth was the least of Mr. Gowdy’s objectives.
There are others who claim truth and justice and love of country for their hateful actions. This probably applies to some in the Democratic Party but I believe to a lesser extent both in animosity and in numbers. However the so-called Christian Right seems to be willing to forget their own beliefs or claims. James Dobson who I respected as a child psychologist but less so in his capacity with Focus on the Family claims Mr. Trump has been born again. Perhaps married again but born again really! When do your personal beliefs and values give way to power?
We claim to be a Christian-Judeo religious country. Apparently to some this means to the exclusion of others and particularly those of the Islamic faith. My Christian upbringing taught me tolerance and acceptance of others. Is that not who we all claim to be? Jesus Christ called us to love, not to seek power. Yet we support those who claim to hold one or two of our values and may trample on others. Those who claim to agree on a certain issue get our vote even if we disagree on other issues. Can we not disagree on certain issues but try to understand why we hold different views? Are we so sure our point of view is absolute. Too often we confuse or commingle our religious beliefs. Can a person be good even though he or she does not a attend church? It is my understanding that a former presidential candidate met with Pope John Paul. This candidate expressed pro-life political views. The Pope told him that he needed to develop a better viewpoint on this. The candidate supposedly replied by asking the Pope how can I make illegal what you can not convince people is a sin.
We believe that our actions are good. Most elected leaders tell us their actions are for love of country. Oftentimes they really mean love of power. We may be voting for people who will support some issue that is paramount to us. That is not love of people or love of country, it is simply love of power. Perhaps we should stop so intently trying to interpret the US Constitution and spend more time reading the New Testament.
Phil's Personal Perspectives 