Cabinet picks: Should they be confirmed?

(Note: The first post, “The day after”, provides an introduction to the goals of the blog. if you havent read it, select “go to first post” from the menu above, or click here, before continuing)

The sort of people one hires

For those of you who enjoy American history, there is a wonderful book by the contemporary historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, “Team of Rivals“. It is the story of the fractious group of cabinet members in the administration of Abraham Lincoln during the American civil war. Lincoln deliberately selected persons with significant prior leadership skill, who had been his rivals for the Republican nomination. That required a strong sense of personal security and confidence. There is a saying in the business world, “First-rate people hire first-rate people. Second-rate people hire third-rate people.” That is, persons who are not at the top of their game worry that someone with more skills, knowledge, or experience will upstage them, and thus hire unqualified persons.

In my gym the other day, several persons were talking about selections of the President-elect for various cabinet positions, and they were aghast. The new cabinet is emerging as a team of extreme loyalists and sycophants. Several key posts will likely be held by persons who would never be eligible for a job in a different Republican administration, and thus will be unconstrained by any long-term vision of their career.

Two years to go all-in?

To carry out his planned agenda, the President-elect will indeed need these loyalists, willing to suppress independent thinking and part with their dignity to be in the inner circle. Should the Senate confirm his choices? My contrarian view is Yes, even if they are poorly qualified for the positions for which they are nominated. The President-elect has now haunted our politics for a decade, and a powerful mythology has been built: “He can fix it! He would have in his first term, but the “deep state” stopped him. The elites have been fooling us… the solutions are actually very simple”, goes the mythology. For its long-term stability, the USA should buckle the seat belts and do an experiment: Implement full Trump. At least for 2 years, until the midterm elections. Let’s find out what happens to our economy under a high tariff regime, which we haven’t had since the 1930’s. Lets see what the January 6 “patriots” do when they are pardoned and released, and whether that energizes their parent organizations (such as the Proud Boys). Is mass deportation possible and what will those images look like to reasonable, fair-minded Americans? Our citizens might soon find out what undocumented workers have been doing, over the decades during which Congress has failed to implement a reasonable guest worker program (with an eventual legal pathway to citizenship). I’ll give you a hint: They are not eating the dogs.

The voters understood their choice

Let’s say this much for the President-elect: Despite lying constantly, he is actually not deceptive. There is no “bait and switch”. He has always broadcast exactly what he intends to do, and the kind of persons who will surround him. With full knowledge of his plans, he was elected freely and fairly. The mythology may persist until the plans are given a clear chance. I realize this sounds like capitulation to an agenda that is abhorrent, or at least foolish, to many. Yet a test of “full Trump” may be the best way to exorcise the demon and move on to something better. Many ordinary Americans, and Republican politicians from Mitch McConnel to JD Vance, may at last re-learn a simple, timeless lesson they seem to have forgotten: Character matters. Time to take a deep breath and say “Ommmmm…”