“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....”
Republicans and Democrats had very different views when it came to answering an ancient ethical question: Which matters most in a leader, conduct or character? Republicans could once be depended upon to stress the issue of character. Is the candidate trustworthy? Does she have integrity? Does he keep his promises? In short, Republicans wanted to know whether a candidate was a virtuous person. This included the candidate’s private as well as public life, because you cannot separate the two.
Democrats, on the other hand, focused more on the public policies of the candidate. What has she or he done to make life better for others, especially those who need help the most? In other words, what has the candidate accomplished in terms of legislation, which Democrats believed was more important for judging a candidate’s success than personal conduct. Take the presidency of Jimmy Carter, for example, widely regarded as one of the most virtuous human beings ever to hold the office. A Sunday School teacher may not make the best president, but few doubted his character, just his effectiveness. So why did virtue-minded Republicans not admire him?
Bill Clinton provided Republicans with perhaps their favorite moral punching bag. By almost every measure, his presidency was successful, but his moral conduct was the major issue for those who impeached him for lying about his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Never mind that it was a period marked by both peace and prosperity, what people remember is the blue dress, cigars, and the misuse of power—because, as Republicans reminded us, ad nauseam, “character counts.”
Then along came Donald Trump, whose moral character even Republicans could not defend, but who promised to overturn Roe v. Wade, cut taxes for the wealthy, give Israel whatever it wanted, and deal decisively with our enemies. He was regarded as an outsider, a successful businessman, and was married to a supermodel. As a faux populist, he appealed to working class whites even as he stoked fears about immigrants and people of color. But in fact, he had declared bankruptcy multiple times after failing to pay his workers, been sued over 4,000 times, bragged about his sexual prowess and license, paid off porn stars with campaign funds, and called the press “the enemy of the people.” As for a strongman, he sought to destroy NATO while fawning over perhaps the most dangerous man in the world, Vladimir Putin, while saying that he and the murderous dictator Kim Jong-un had “fallen in love.”
After each new revelation, as it became increasingly clear that this was perhaps the most vile and narcissistic human being ever to hold the highest office in the land, Republicans repeatedly swore that he had gone too far—because, well, “character counts.” But at every juncture, they backed down, because what counts for a lot more than character is power. After beating Hillary Clinton, moving the Supreme Court to the right of the American people, and passing a two trillion-dollar tax cut for those who needed it least, Trump now controls the Republican party, laying waste to any claim that virtue matters, or telling the truth for that matter.
When the former president lost his bid for reelection, he became what his father feared most for his sons, that they would be “losers.” One brother died at an early age from alcoholism and addiction, while Donald created the Big Lie that the election had been stolen. Rather than step down graciously, as every other American President has done, Trump led a mob to the steps of the Capitol and tried to stop the peaceful transfer of power through violence. He both inspired the attack and then did nothing to stop it, even as his inner circle and family members begged him to. He almost got the Vice President killed, and by any definition of loyalty to the Constitution, committed treason. So much for “character counts.”
How then is it possible that 82 percent of Christian evangelicals voted for Trump, who appears to be the answer to a new version of the familiar question: What Would Jesus NOT Do? The answer was not to deny his deeply flawed character, but to pronounce him to be a modern version of King Cyrus, who ended the Babylonian exile of the Jews, even though he was not Jewish. In other words, you don’t have to be one of us to help us. It’s not character that counts, but victory.
Enter Trump’s pick for the Republican senator from Georgia, Herschel Walker. After demonstrating that he knows nothing about government, or begin a senator, or the difference between weather and climate, his former girlfriend has come forward to say he paid for her to have an abortion (and urged her to get a second one), although he supports banning the procedure without exception. In the old days, he would be finished, but these are not the old days. In a prominent Southern Baptist church, Pastor Anthony George held a prayer meeting for Walker and recalled God’s protection of King David. “This is the fight of his life, holy God,” he prayed, “And we call forth your ministering angels to be his defenders.”
I recall no such fervent prayers for Bill Clinton, just prayers that the nation be saved for the stench of his hypocrisy. When Republican Roy Moore ran a failed campaign for Senate in Alabama, after he was accused of sexual misconduct and assault by multiple women, evangelicals stood by him. Apparently, God only forgives Republicans.
When Jentezen Franklin, a leading evangelical, was asked why he would vote for Walker given his conduct, he replied, “I always vote for policy more than personality.” Well, not exactly. What he meant was that he overlooks immorality by Republicans when it can lead to the policies he favors. Otherwise, when it comes to Democrats, “character counts.”
The Rev. Dr. Robin Meyers is pastor of First Congregational Church UCC in Norman and retired senior minister of Mayflower Congregational UCC in Oklahoma City. He is currently Professor of Public Speaking, and Distinguished Professor of Social Justice Emeritus in the Philosophy Department at Oklahoma City University, and the author of eight books on religion and American culture, the most recent of which is, Saving God from Religion: A Minister’s Search for Faith in a Skeptical Age.
Visit robinmeyers.com
