Editor’s note: This commentary is by Mark Skelding, of St. Albans, a retired educator who most recently was a faculty member for Southern New Hampshire University’s Graduate Program in Education. He previously worked at Food Works/Two Rivers Center for Sustainability.
[I]t’s probably safe to say most Americans appreciate our Constitution, or at least understand it and respect its importance. But evidence suggests that conservatives, particularly since the unleashing of Trump, may not be the constitutionalists they claim.
For starters, how in good conscience can they continue to align themselves with Donald Trump? His reckless disregard for the Constitution and its principles are no secret. His own words and actions to that effect are well-documented.
He wants to ban Muslims, he ignores emoluments law, and he interferes with Justice Department investigations. He tries to bypass Congress on appropriations and war powers, he wants to limit freedom of speech and means of protest, he encourages hatred toward the press, and he wants to abolish judges. He delays nominating cabinet secretaries for congressional confirmation so he can simply install “acting” sycophants willing to do his autocratic bidding, legal or not. And now both he and his puppet attorney general are essentially saying, “No! Make me!” to congressional oversight requests.
If conservatives worship the Constitution as they claim, where is their outrage? Why are they not withdrawing their support for Trump and publicly denouncing him and their GOP House and Senate members who are aiding and abetting his self-serving assault on our Constitution?
This, alone, justifies questioning whether conservatives are truly loyal to the Constitution. There are other examples, of course.
Rather than spewing hatred toward the FBI and special counsel for exposing the truth and holding Trump and his associates accountable for their crimes, wouldn’t true constitutionalists be basking in the fact that our Justice Department is working as intended?
Is assaulting BBC camera persons while screaming, “CNN sucks!” the way constitutionalists now express their belief in the sanctity of a free press?
Instead of attacking protesters, wouldn’t respecting their right to freedom of speech show true adherence to the Constitution (and by default, true patriotism)?
Doesn’t cheering on efforts clearly designed to make it more difficult for the poor and New Americans to participate in elections show disregard for the constitutional principles of equality and popular sovereignty?
And by applauding and encouraging Trump when he attempts to take power away from Congress and give it to himself, aren’t conservatives undermining the constitutional principles of separation of powers and checks and balances?
This is my fifth in a series of commentaries questioning the sincerity of today’s conservatives. The first four — The Irony of Conservatives, How Can Conservatives Be America’s True Patriots?, Separating Religion and Politics, and Conservatives Really Aren’t — focused on the illusion that they are the party of conservatism, Christianity, patriotism, and capitalism.
Some argue I overgeneralize in these commentaries. It’s true there are conservatives who don’t fit this bill. But where are they? Their silent complicity and head-in-the-sand approach to all things Trump isn’t helping discredit the notion that apparently they really are all hypocrites.
Some question what I have against conservatives. It’s not them, it’s their hypocrisy. They claim with indignation they are our country’s models of constitutionalism, conservatism, patriotism, capitalism, and Christianity. In all five cases there’s damning evidence to the contrary.
Ironically, the hypocrisy is inherent. What underlies all five of these, theoretically even capitalism, is our “better angel” sense of how important it is for us to do for others, not just ourselves and our families. And that is the dilemma for conservatives. Dissect conservative ideals, policies, or party platforms down to their core essence and what you find is that self-interest trumps all. Hostility toward immigration, gun laws, equal access health care, tax-supported government assistance, and the rest all boil down to some form of self-gain at the expense of others.
I’m self-centered, too. But what I’m not is out there self-righteously proclaiming and venomously defending allegiance to things I don’t come even close to practicing.
