Straight Talk with Ed Gray
In a recent commentary on the political news program “Inside Texas Politics” on the ABC affiliate, WFAA 8, I offered commentary on the absurd reality of a president taking ownership of a government shutdown. In a strange twist of patriotism, American workers were sent home to wait on politicians in Washington to debate the merits of building a border wall.
The demise of American democracy into an old-style version of a dictatorship continues. Now wait a minute, I know people are saying, “he is our president,” but isn’t the President OF THE United States supposed to be about ALL of the People. This country for the last two years has seen a president more interested in being the news director and public relations manager for Fox News.
The well-known phrase, “a government for the people, and by the people” is being replaced by In “Trump we Trust.” However, with the rate of indictments and arrests, such as presidential campaign adviser, Roger Stone, last week, it may be changed to “In Trump, We Indict.”
The government is operating badly if you consider the qualities of leadership as a golden standard. Our normal standard for government is whether it can operate efficiently. Efficiently means going to work and providing services.
In our national government, it should mean not jeopardizing airline travel safety, it also means the Coast Guard staff will get paid. It also means processing of tax payments timely. We can go on and on, but you get the point. Efficient means the government must be at work for the People of these United States.
Donald Trump apparently thinks he bought a company called the United States of America. He probably thought he could operate the government like it Is one of his casinos. Oh wait, the casino was shuttered years ago.
The American people are much smarter than what they were in 2016, and they have two years to prove it. The upcoming State of the Union is the time to celebrate the political successes of the government. Today our presidency is being run as if it was a 24-hour convenience store.
It is up to people like Speaker Nancy Pelosi and yes, you and I on the local level to restore common sense to our Republic. This is not a matter of political expediency, but a rather matter of American patriotism to say to the Grand Wizard of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue that this is not Oz, but the United States of America.
I am Ed Gray and this is Straight Talk.
Ed Gray is a presidential scholar at Southern Methodist University. He is the host of The Commish Radio Show airing Saturdays 3-5 p.m. on FBRN.net, can be reached at eegray62@att.net. NDG was awarded NNPA’s 2018 Robert S. Abbott Best Editorial for Gray’s “Confederate Statues: The White Man’s Burden” column.
