If Those Are "Pro-American Values," We're In a Lot of Trouble

With a straight, even smiling, face, Vivek (rhymes with "fake") Ramaswamy says for the camera

Chris, I know you went to Penn State and know what? You might be part of a different political party but forget about the partisan affiliation. Stand for pro-American values. Answer what it means to be an American.

If you share the same American values, we're on the same team. Leave the rest to details. But the same values? That's what makes us American.

The dividing line in America right now isn’t between rich and poor, black and white, or even Democrat and Republican.

It’s between those who are fundamentally pro-American and those who are anti-American. pic.twitter.com/z6Rs2A3Cb6

— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) September 19, 2023

 

Actually, the dividing line in the USA is between, well, not rich and poor but between the rich and the rest of us.  As of three years ago (when the gap probably was smaller than now), the richest 1% of Americans possessed 30.4% of all household wealth in the nation while the bottom 50% held 1.9% of all wealth. Of course, the top 20% held a much greater percentage of the wealth than a mere 30.4%.

Of course, right-wing libertarian Ramaswamy would only be delighted to hear those numbers. However, he would claim that he adores "pro-American values." 

These values might include the rule of law, equal protection under the law, and a preference for democracy. 

Ramaswamy promises as President he would pardon all "non-violent" offenders arrested after the insurrection on January 6, 2021 to overthrow the Us government. Though it is unclear how he would define "non-violent," it appears that he would include many defendants who stormed the U.S. Capitol after overwhelming law enforcement officers, whether they were among those who helped erect a gallows and cheered "kill Mike Pence."

The candidate also vows to pardon- "on day one"- without verdict by a jury, the ex-President who has been indicted four times. If federal, New York City, and Fulton County, Ga. grand juries have it right, Donald J. Trump has done such things as falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments; worked to overthrow illegally the results of the 2020 presidential election; willfully retained national defense documents and obstructed justice in concealing retention of those documents. But Vivek Ramaswamy wants to give the defendant a free pass, with or without evidence being presented to a jury of the defendant's peers.

And so Ramaswamy has declared "Donald Trump, I believe, was the best president of the 20th century." The candidate is doubtless aware that his hero:

- wouldn't attend a memorial in France for U.S. soldiers and others killed during World War I because of rain

- asked generals to throw him an opulent parade for Independence Day, 2022 while adding "look, I don't want any wounded guys in the parade" because "this doesn't look good for me";

-  pressured the Saudis to cut oil production, with the intended effect of raising oil prices for American consumers;

- on his way out the door; stole from the White House documents of the highest, "top secret" classification, pertaining to "defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for a possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack

- downplayed at least 50 times the impact of a coronavirus while in early 2019 privately informing a journalist that SARS-CoV-2 was a far greater threat than anyone knew

And those are only a few of President Trump's greatest hits while in office.  Who can forget his criticism of John McCain because "he's a war hero 'cause he was captured. I like people that weren't caputured, O.K.?" (Can you sense a pattern here?)  And there was one of my favorites, which captures Trump's "pro-American values" better than almost anything he ever said or did:

 

This isn't even considering the history of lies and misleading statements- evidently a pro-American value, according to Vivek Ramaswamy- which characterize the former President's political career. It's those "pro-American values" which, it appears clear, mean as much to Ramaswamy as do "family values" to various Republican politicians.

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