Jim Walsh
I am an unadorned citizen of the United States. No special power. No special influence. But a person free to have and support, shall we say, “special opinions.” More than a few. I rarely keep them secret. Which brings me to Chuck Schumer.
Senator Schumer has suffered a lot of criticism of late. In fact, it feels like a firestorm and could conceivably end his tenure as the Democratic leader in the Senate. I might even support such a change, depending on who the other options are.
But… his vote on the Continuing Resolution was correct. He is a political leader, and this was a very political vote.
In addition to the relatively peaceful world in which we in the West have lived since the end of World War Two, our very form of government is under serious attack by certain elected officials, one of whom revealed to an audience of women that, if they voted for him, they wouldn’t have to worry about voting again. Was it just blather, or was it a slip of the tongue? We’ll see… but it appears that the process of poisoning our American political traditions, imperfect though they are, is underway. And, also, the dismantling of the professionals whose responsibility it is to serve the American people in a professional way, replacing them with happy, smiling sycophants, loyal to the person of the President, his whims, and desires.
For six years, I was an employee of the Federal Government, first with the Community Services Administration and then in the Department of Health and Human Services, first in the Carter Administration and then under President Reagan. When the latter finally caught up with me, I was canned. Because I was a “political appointee” serving at the pleasure of the President.
As a result of that service, I came to respect government workers in ways that I previously had not. The vast majority of those I encountered were honest, focused people who wanted to do a good job. It became clear to me that those who had responsibility for enforcing the laws created by Congress, including their regulations, took their job seriously, and it wasn’t always easy. They had Civil Service protection, and they deserved it.
Here is what is happening now.
First, President Trump has arrogated to himself and his friends the power to follow the law… or not. Laws previously passed and signed by a President may or may not be followed because, as far as Trump is concerned, they are only advisory in nature.
Second, the test for Federal government employment has become unquestioned loyalty to the person of the President. Two hundred years ago, Andrew Jackson embraced the idea that “To the victors belong the spoils”, which has become music to the ears of Donald Trump. That Elon Musk is in charge of this process is no surprise. They are brothers. The only difference is that Trump knows how to manipulate the law for his own advantage and how to leave others holding the bag. His unsuccessful business ventures have included numerous casinos and hotel bankruptcies, the disappearance of his New Jersey Generals football team, and the collapse of Trump University, the purpose of which was personal profit, not education. He and his businesses have been involved in more than 4,000 legal actions, including six business bankruptcies… leaving others holding bags filled with unpaid bills as he is off to the Mar-a-Lago Golf Course. For Trump, it is a way of life.
According to the Guinness World Records, between 2021 and 2023, Elon Musk suffered the greatest loss of a personal fortune in recorded history. His loss, which was on paper and due primarily to a drop in Tesla’s share price, amounted to some $200 billion. Since he bought it, Twitter/X has seen a precipitous drop in value, income, and participation. Trump and Musk are brothers.
And now, Chuck Schumer.
His recent vote in the Senate to support the Continuing Resolution passed by the Republican controlled House, and thus preventing a government shutdown, was seen by some Democrats as almost traitorous. It wasn’t. Passing the CR was necessary.
On the world stage, Trump may have wounded our international stature beyond repair. His alliance with Putin and his alienation of others who have been our partners for some to four score and seven years is utterly reprehensible. Domestically, he’s walking away from legal contracts, firing Federal employees without cause, with all the shaky and uncertain economic consequences that follow. But here’s the thing. The evolving chaos is clearly seen by any rational observer as the result of the Trump/Musk regime and its thoughtless, impetuous behavior.
If Chuck Schumer had not voted to keep the government operating for now, even more chaos would have emerged, Trump would have blamed Schumer and the Democrats, refugees, non-English-speaking Americans, secret cat and dog eaters, and the liberal elite for all the ensuing mess.
Schumer did the right thing. He did not hand Trump the opportunity to make our worsening problems the fault of others. He owns it all.
In the late 1990s, my wife and I visited Albania. It was a memorable, small-boat, university-sponsored trip. Our second stop was in the port city of Seranda. As Judy went off to see an ancient archeological site, I decided to just hang out in the Town Square and the open market. I had been reading about Albania since college back in the 1960s. It was then known as the “North Korea of Europe.” When its dictator died, it freed itself from authoritarianism and became more of a social democracy. But it was soon beset by massive Ponzi schemes that severely wounded its economic and democratic progress.
Yet, as I walked back to our small boat, I fell into conversation with an older man, though not as old as I am now. We had a pleasant, if stilted, conversation. As we parted, though, he looked me in the eye and said, “You know… for us, America is the North Star.”
I’m so sorry to write that the North Star we once were has become more dimmed and distant than I ever dreamed possible. I hope the skies will clear.
Jim Walsh is a Nahant resident.
