By George Smith

Partisan politics, in any year, in any era, is a given: Labor/business, liberal/conservative, pro-choice/pro-life, Libertarian/Tea Party, evangelical Christians/non-evangelical believers/agnostics and atheists, white supremacist/Black Lives Matter … all forces and factions are in play in the 2020 election. Listen! You can already hear the gnashing of teeth and muttered curses in the social media brouhaha.

It is a sorry state of affairs when you stop and realize in today’s political environment, fear, distrust and hate comes into play in everyday political discussions and maneuvers.

Several states (notably Arizona, Tennessee and Texas) are being openly blatant about setting up laws that will suppress voting of certain citizens, as reported by the Public Broadcasting System (PBS):

‘After Democrats Surged In 2018,

Republican-Run States Eye New Curbs On Voting’

The fact the Republican Party in these states (with more to follow) are worked up about making sure potential Democratic voters are either frightened away from the polls intentionally or by innuendo and rumor shows the widening divide between the two parties.

In Texas, PBS stated, “… state lawmakers are considering adding criminal penalties for people who improperly fill out voter registration forms; Arizona Republicans are proposing new voting rules that could make it more complicated to cast an early ballot; in Tennessee, GOP lawmakers are considering a bill that would fine groups involved in voter registration drives that submit incomplete forms.”

The proposed laws, as yet, do not include any provisions for natural human error.

For generations, Democrats have conducted widespread voter registration drives, while Republicans seem to rely on donations to support their candidates of choice. The voter registrati0n drives across the country in 2017 and 2018 pushed a record-breaking number of seat reversals in the House of Representatives, creating a flashpoint for Republicans resulting in the current attempts to curtail future activity that could their party.

The reasons given for the present attention to voter registration, according to GOP lawmakers, is that new legislation needed to maintain the integrity of voter rolls and prevent fraud. Shutthefrontdoor! The rule changes are aimed directly at putting a damper on turnout of the poor, young and nonwhite voters, who normally would vote with the platform of the Democratic Party.

Texas Republicans are shaking in their Naconas and curled-brim Stetson Double-X beavers because demographic and political trends are on the move to change the “Lone Star State” to “Estado de la Estrella Solitaria”. As Beto O’Roarke made clear with his close race with GOP sometimes-darling Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas is now, once again, competitive on the national level for the first time in decades.

The Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 9, which would make it a felony, punishable by jail time, for anyone who provides false information on a voter registration form or casts a ballot when they are ineligible, even if it’s by mistake! For example, if someone writes in a wrong ZIP code or is allowed to vote in a different precinct, that would be grounds for jail time.

It is apparent the Republicans who consider themselves deal-makers throughout the United States are scared shiftless, not knowing which way to shift their traditional battle plan, but knowing their leader is dividing the country and dividing the party. Throwing up roadblocks to curtail voting of any citizen, regardless of perception of allegiance, is just wrongheaded, and, legal experts have opined, is unconstitutional.

We are Americans all and should rejoice in unity in the freedoms we possess through the vision, intelligence and, yes, blood, that built this country. To deny any eligible person the right to vote on a technicality is as un-American as calling soccer “football.”

Instead of working on keeping people from voting we should be expanding access for people to vote. Adopting or expanding early and absentee voting, adopting automatic voter registration and campaigning for younger voters to get involved is the sign of a true democracy, not a nation run by whim, spite or gutless naysayers and exclusionists.

.

GIVE US YOUR FEEDBACK.  CLICK ON “COMMENT” TO TELL US WHAT YOU THINK or use one of the alternative methods for providing feedback.

click here to CLOSE THIS PAGE

By George Smith

I hate opening a cabinet and seeing that it’s empty and almost empty. That means I didn’t do my job correctly.

Wonder what Donald Trump thinks when he looks at his cabinet.

Chaos. Turnover. Turmoil. All are objective terms defining the Trump Administration’s record of the comings and goings of administration officials in its first 27 months. The president first filled his cabinet and top White House slots with mostly wealthy people, those he liked, those that supported him, those that fawned over him, family members.

Unlike Abraham Lincoln, who famously filled his cabinets with rivals – some detested him and his homespun ways, those that wanted to be president and thought they should be rather than the country storyteller, those that truly wanted to serve the country in a time of division – Trump kept those who honor  him close. He bragged before and after his election that he would pick only the best people; if he did, the majority turned rotten to the core quickly.

Trump has set a presidential record for the turnover of key personnel in the first half of his first term; no other president is even close.

The Brookings Institute catalogued all of the personnel who were fired, quit, demoted or went AWOL for Trump’s first 24 months, comparing those figures with President Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. 

Turnover in WH staff

In the area of executive office personnel, Trump’s turnover rate approached 36 percent in his first year, 2017; his closest rival in this category was Reagan, who approached 18 percent turnover; all others were between five and 10 percent.

In Year 2, Reagan’s turnover was 40 percent, Trump’s was about 33 percent. The total turnover for any administration’s first two years was; Trump, about 70 percent; Reagan, 58 percent; Clinton and George W. Bush, about 30 percent; H. W. Bush, 25 percent; and, Obama, about 22 percent.

For example, under Trump, there have been four directors of communications,  three chiefs of staffs, deputy chiefs of staff, three VP chiefs of staff,  three…you get the picture, right? More than 30 percent of key White House appointments have turned over at least twice, with 12 of 13 turning over three or more times.

Turnover in Cabinet

Turnover in the Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama administration in cabinet positions in Year 1 of their administration was zero; three Trump cabinet members left the first year. In Year 2, 10 of Trump’s cabinet members left (two left this year); Clinton had seven leave in Year 2, Obama had four, and G.W. Bush had one depart. All total, 15 Trump’s cabinet members left office in 27 months; in eight years, Clinton had 12 leave his cabinet, Bush had four, and Obama had nine.

Fact of business life: With high turnover, there can be no continuity of focus or policies or programs.

As a former corporate manager, someone who teaches business classes at the college level and who used to serve as a business consultant for Business Incubator startup companies, I am adamant in the belief that high turnover in any business is an indication of one of three things or a combination of all three: Poor or erratic leadership, unfair or unequal treatment of employees, and stress.

The current White House management system, from insider reports, published articles in a variety of books, electronic media. and slick publications, is a combination of all three.

In the best of jobs, two of the three systemic negatives of any workplace is enough to create reasons to seek other employment. Couple that with President Trump’s hot/cold temperament, his penchant for making spur-of-the-moment decisions based on “gut” feelings, making major decisions via tweets (bypassing advice from key cabinet members and support staff ) creates a no-win situation for professionals at any level.

No employee, regardless of position and company, should ever be publicly ridiculed or called names or mocked by the leader of any institution, business or governmental agency. Yet this is Trump’s style of management: Please me, bend to my will, protect me, do it my way, or hit the road!

There are few people in this nation, even those among his supporters, who would withstand the verbal carnage he has heaped on those who displease him, don’t lie for him, and be inclined to be ridiculed in asinine tweets.

You treat others as you want to be treated. I learned that from the knees of my mother and grandmother; the lesson was repeated in church and at school.

Somewhere that incredibly positive and eternal lesson was lost on Donald J. Trump. And this nation and its people are paying a hefty price for that lost lesson Fact of business life: With high turnover, there can be no continuity of focus of programs.

.

GIVE US YOUR FEEDBACK.  CLICK ON “COMMENT” TO TELL US WHAT YOU THINK or use one of the alternative methods for providing feedback.

click here to CLOSE THIS PAGE