Presidential Leadership – From Patriotism to Treason
Each major political party has claimed for centuries that it has the answer for accomplishing the founders’ dream for making America a full Democracy; nonetheless, no matter which party’s leader has been president, failure has prevailed.
With the Constitution, the founders promulgated a nation with a serious moral integrity gap between the equality they inscribed and what was in the offing for the Indigenous people, women, the poor, and, especially, the descendants of America’s Slave Class.
The founders acknowledged that gap and specified the issues future leaders would have to solve for democracy to be attained: the Electoral College; Maniacal Political Partisanship – the worst of all; and the Vestiges of Slavery.
Thomas Jefferson: The Electoral College is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our constitution, and one which some unlucky chance will someday hit.” It did on November 8, 2016.
“There is nothing I dread so much as the division of the republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader (the president) and concerting measures in opposition to each other.” – Jefferson
“Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate (the Bible) than that these people (slaves) are to be free.” – Jefferson
We have seen a severe decline in the moral fiber and statesmanship of our leaders, from George Washington to Donald Trump, as the extreme example.
Between January 20, 2025, and March 26, 2026, the governmental tools Trump used to pursue Fascism — which were available to all presidents — were 252 executive orders, 59 memoranda, and 135 proclamations.
Before Trump 1- 2016, there had been forty-four presidents — a mix of Federalists, Whigs, Republicans, and Democrats. In today’s vernacular, there were 25 “REPUBLICANS” and 19 “DEMOCRATS.”
Beginning with Andrew Johnson, 1865, there have been 31 presidents – 12 Democrats and 19 Republicans.
Since Brown there have been 13 Presidents – seven Republicans and six Democrats.
Following the Civil Rights Laws of the mid-sixties, there have been six Republicans and five Democrats.
Since the 1968 Kerner Report that cited white anti-Black racism, there have been 12 presidents – seven Republicans and five Democrats.
Obviously, presidents have not led us to the accomplishment of the Founders’ Dream. Trump has been much more effective in using governmental tools to advance Fascism than his opponents have been in thwarting him.
Granted, John Roberts’ Supreme Court has been a critical enabling element for Trump’s abuses, for it gave Trump a legal shield from criminal prosecution for Treasonists acts and supported his reign of terror.
However, it is incontrovertible, as Truman noted, that the voters are responsible for the national, state, and local governments America gets! Incumbents are reelected at an average rate above 95%, even when the public’s approval ranking of congress has been in single digits.
Nearly half of eligible voters did not vote in 2016 (United States Election Project), which effected Trump’s first victory. A meagre 112,000 votes swung the Electoral College to Trump, which allowed him to place three GOP cultists on the Supreme Court. Non-voters are predominantly democrats, young, and minorities; but Trump won in 2016 despite, or because of, his open racism and misogyny. Nevertheless, the enormous turnout increase in 2020, 17.1 million votes, evicted Trump. Conversely, a significant turnout decline in 2024 – 111 million self-disenfranchisers — actuated his reelection.
Americans have inculcated the professional politicians’ maniacal-partisanship that has made our democracy increasingly dysfunctional. Americans have been two militant, biased, obdurate factions, whose members are convinced that American citizens in the other party are the nation’s enemies. After each presidential election, the people congratulate themselves mightily if their candidate won, or castigate the victors if their candidate lost. Like their obstinate leaders, to them, bipartisan cooperation – better, patriotic statesmanship — is treason.
Tragically, political party ethos, propagandized by presidents, has influenced leadership down to the local levels. A poll commissioned by the Local Solutions Support Center indicated that a majority of voters disapprove of “external” preemption and intrusion into local politics; think preemption/intrusion happens frequently; and believe local leaders are more attuned to the people’s concerns.
Trump eked a narrow victory in 2024 — 190 million eligible voters did not choose him. That number includes Americans in every demographic and political category. Local leaders, e.g., mayors and their county counterparts, democracy’s greatest hope, are more effective than other politicians in inspiring citizens to vote, not pressing them to declare party affiliation as state and national politicians continue to do.
Midterm elections are November 3. The Independence Day we celebrate this year should not have been July Fourth because of America’s Fascistized Dictatorship condition, but rather November Fourth, the day after Americans will have emasculated Trump and his Fascist supporters as we did in 2020. REMEMBER: ALL 435 US HOUSE SEATS and 36 US SENATE SEATS ARE ON THE LINE!
