It was wonderful to watch the Phillies crowd rain boos down on their unbeloved lineup during the second game of the NLDS. Mediocrity begets vitriol in sports, unless you’re part of the always classy Dodger faithful. In LA we stick by our guys. Through all of Clayton Kershaw’s postseason struggles, we never abandoned him – Kershaw is family and you don’t heckle family even when they blow a series.
When it comes to sporting heroes, I’m an advocate for showing loyalty during slumps, particularly when that hero has brought you so much triumph. Now if Kershaw were to start blowing up boats with people in them while claiming that they were carrying drugs, I’d have some questions for him.
I’d ask Kersh things like, “Are we absolutely sure that they weren’t just fishermen or refugees?” and, “Could we not have just arrested them when they got here?” If the man with the 2.52 career ERA assured me that my concerns were misplaced, I would be tempted to look the other way.
Voters, it seems, have extended the noble art of loyalty to the political arena. Trump’s approval rating among Republicans remains high with a recent Marquette Law School poll placing it around 82%. Republicans themselves are still largely satisfied with how Trump’s second term is unfolding and that’s despite the many attacks on the Constitution, the widespread corruption, and the dictatorial agenda.
Through broken promises, MAGA faithful carry on and look the other way. Here is President Trump during his inauguration speech: “The scales of justice will be rebalanced. The vicious, violent, and unfair weaponization of the Justice Department and our government will end.”
We now understand that “the scales of justice will be rebalanced” means ordering the DOJ to target his political opponents independent of whether there is any evidence of wrongdoing.
The DOJ secured a grand jury indictment against the former director of the FBI James Comey for allegedly making false statements to Congress and obstruction. Comey investigated the Trump campaign for alleged Russian collusion, which puts him at the top of Trump’s hitlist. Reportedly, prosecutors at the DOJ including Pam Bondi understand that the case against Comey is likely to be dismissed yet they proceed in subservience.
Federal prosecutors like Erik Siebert are fired or forced to resign when they refuse to sacrifice their prosecutorial integrity by presenting unwinnable cases against people like New York AG Letitia James. This is what happens under authoritarian regimes, not well-functioning democracies.
Blatant corruption also does not move the needle with Trump supporters. To them, the crypto schemes selling access to the president do not even amount to blemishes on an otherwise pristine administration. Republicans were furious about Hunter Biden allegedly using his father’s vice presidency for monetary gain but I suppose it’s only pass interference when the other team is doing it.
Border Czar Tom Homan reportedly receiving a $50,000 bribe in a bag in exchange for promising undercover FBI agents to help them secure government contracts resulted in a buried investigation and no accountability.
So to be clear, the Trump administration was aware of Homan’s cartoonish corruption and instead of proceeding with the investigation or just firing him, they protected him and retained him in his official capacity. It seems the only way to get fired in this administration is to express disagreement with the president.
Even farmers, who are among the saddest casualties of Trump policies haven’t wavered by much – 63% of rural voters voted for Trump while his approval rating with them stands at about 54%. Trump’s immigration policies have depleted their workforce while his tariffs have lowered the price and demand for their goods and raised the prices they pay for fertilizer and equipment.
Republicans aren’t the only ones willing to let party loyalty cause them to disbelieve their eyes – Democratic operatives and pundits spent years telling their voters that Joe Biden’s incoherence was merely the result of a stutter and a cold and they believed it.
Uncritical partisan loyalty distorts our political system.
Politicians are meant to be petty servants who operate under a microscope of public scrutiny and whose careers should be over if they so much as look at a stock portfolio. Politicians and political parties are not teams that you root for or defend when they act inappropriately and they should never enjoy our unconditional support.
When the Democrats regain the White House, they should be tarred and feathered if they attempt to use the undemocratic precedents that Trump is currently setting – the fact that one party abused their power should never authorize later abuses.
But as things stand, political affiliation determines whether we condemn an abuse of power or an instance of corruption.
Rafael Perez is a columnist for the Southern California News Group. You can reach him at rafaelperezocregister@gmail.com.