Global tensions following the violence initiated against civilians in southern Israel recall the 9/11 terrorist attack on America in 2001.
The lasting, often fatal, impact on first responders was captured when Jon Stewart challenged Congressmen for failing to extend medical funding for those firemen and police officers injured at Ground Zero.
Listening to Stewart’s forcefulness suggests a man who should be president:
In a crucial election year, the federal government is dysfunctional after Republican radicals in the House of Representatives forced out the Speaker of the House, thus roadblocking a functioning democracy. This accomplished what a mob of several thousand people failed to manage in 2020.
Ex-president Trump, instrumental in the insurrection, wants to return in 2024 as a strongman in the style of international rightwing national leaders.
The contrast between Trump and Biden is obvious. Republican efforts painting Biden as an unfortunate older man are remorseless and comical in light of his policy successes. Yes, Biden is over 80, but the 75-year-old Trump daily demonstrates his deteriorating mental condition and lack of speech and thought control.
Biden’s replacement if he chooses not to run again should be Stewart. He has the intellect, passion, and maturity to demonstrate critical fairness toward politicians of all shapes and beliefs. In 2019, Stewart spoke truth to power at that Congressional Committee as he has done on television for several years.
Jon Stewart is much more than a television comedian who skewered inept politicians of all stripes with the skill of a restaurant chef working a Hibachi grill. In a brilliant book, he wrote about the promise of American Democracy. He has passionately fund-raised for American veterans and first responders. He defends and explains Constitutional rights, all of them.
He can be funny when necessary, a valuable political skill. Please take a look at his resume beyond show business. He has had a variety of real jobs and experiences. He’s 61 years old, married to his wife for over 20 years, and has two children. That he was raised in New Jersey shouldn’t be held against him.
In 1917, the author Sinclair Lewis wrote, ”When fascism comes to the United States it will be wrapped in the American flag and will claim the name of 100-percent Americanism.’’ He was referring to what had become Soviet-style Communism. That political movement frightened German industrialists, building a new Germany after WW1’s catastrophe. They backed Adolf Hitler’s national socialism. We know how that turned out.
Eighty years later, America’s corporate sector, believing Trump was a successful businessman, funded his 2016 campaign. Then they discovered he was in an empty suit. His erratic leadership during the Coronavirus pandemic demonstrated how he bankrupted six businesses and is charged with 91 criminal indictments from his 2020 election loss. Ironically, or perhaps not, the Republicans have adopted the Communist idea that elections are only accurate when they win.
Perhaps the best antidote to ideologue politicians is a level-headed TV comedian who thinks democracy is not a joke. This has worked in the Ukraine.
By: Kenneth Tiven
Prime Video Image