There is certainly a class of people who, having an excess of wealth, use it to buy themselves positions within government. Oh, not directly, but through generous contributions. Many such contributions earn the contributor a small, unimportant ambassadorship. It’s almost a medal.
The now-fired Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, for example, made a $1 million contribution to the Trump Inauguration – and was sneaky about it:
Prominent Portland hotelier Gordon Sondland donated $1 million to the inauguration of President Donald Trump, records show, but didn’t use his own name. [OregonLive/The Oregonian]
Maybe that sneakiness was a plus in the eyes of Trump, or the Trump-minion that selected Sondland for the job of ambassador.
I think it’s unusual for one of the members of this class of people to get caught up in a governmental scandal, but Sondland, who appears to have little experience beyond founding and running a hotel chain, found himself in a bathtub full of scandal, as President Trump was alleged to pressure the Ukrainian President to announce an investigation of rival Presidential candidate Joe Biden in exchange for releasing military aid assigned by Congress to Ukraine. Perhaps I shouldn’t say alleged, because President Trump’s pet Republican Senators, to a large degree, admitted the facts proved the theory.
Sondland testified, first to say there was nothing there, and then, when other figures, such as Kurt Volker, testified that, no, something irregular and even illegal might have happened, he, uh, “corrected” his testimony, and let loose a flood of incriminating information.
Now that the President has been found to have not done anything so serious as to require his removal, at least according to a bunch of dependent[1] sheep masquerading as Senators, Trump is now bent on revenge, and Sondland is among his first victims, having been fired. In typical sycophantic fashion, for it seems this is the way of this class of people, he issued a statement, part of the above CNN story, which incidentally is strongly reminiscent of Jeff Sessions’ campaign to regain his old Senatorial seat:
“I was advised today that the President intends to recall me effective immediately as United States Ambassador to the European Union,” Sondland said. “I am grateful to President Trump for having given me the opportunity to serve, to Secretary Pompeo for his consistent support, and to the exceptional and dedicated professionals at the U.S. Mission to the European Union. I am proud of our accomplishments. Our work here has been the highlight of my career.”
It’s not really an aside to observe it would appear it’s another Republican without a lick of self-respect, someone who defines themselves in terms of what their perceived superiors think of them – and here he is, being a lickspittle.
He should have enough pride to kick Trump in the teeth in his statement. It’s not like this hotelier is going to end up under a highway overpass. But this unfortunate mindset may apply to most members of the class of people of which I speak – but I don’t know any of them personally.
Getting back on track, here’s the thing: there are dueling lessons. The obvious one is that if you cross President Trump, if you violate the fealty he believes you owe him for giving you a job, you’ll pay through the nose. In fact, I liked the statement of David Pressman, the lawyer for Lt. Col. Alex Vindman, who also testified in the impeachment trials as a witness to the fateful phone call, also from the CNN story:
“There is no question in the mind of any American why this man’s job is over, why this country now has one less soldier serving it at the White House,” Pressman said. “LTC Vindman was asked to leave for telling the truth. His honor, his commitment to right, frightened the powerful.”
And that lets me transition to the competing lesson, and that’s this: if you’re going to compete for some coveted government position with campaign contributions in this Administration, you should just throw away any respect you have for truth. Fealty comes before truth. Can you handle that? Are you ready to be Trump’s parrot?
And, if so, perhaps you should talk with your faith … oh, wait. Many of them are in the same class as you. Hmmmm. Well, go read some history, it’s full of examples of both those who swear total fealty, and how badly they come out, and those who prefer truth and justice.
Which doesn’t always end well for them, either, if I’m being honest. Consider what happened to that guy named Jesus.
1 In a few cases, such as Senator Graham (R-SC), either “fearing unemployment” or “bamboozled” may also apply. But, generally, the toxic term of team politics is best.
