Republican’s View of Freedom and Liberty
Warning: Political comment below.
President #45 has a life-long background in management and as a CEO of privately-held corporations. This private ownership world is not a democracy. It is by nature an authoritarian command and control situation where the Board of Directors and CEO operate the corporation. Often the Chairman of the Board is also the CEO. This system is hierarchical with a strict chain of command. Just existing as an upper level manager in this private world has a large component of loyalty to the CEO.
In this private corporate world, it is just assumed by the finance people to go all out to minimize taxes and maximize margins. The legal department doesn’t need to be told to get and keep the corporation and it’s executives out of trouble with civil and criminal law. “Out of trouble” can also mean plausible deniability. Managers don’t need to be told that their jobs depend on getting their numbers for the quarter. If the HR department has any due process at all, it will strongly favor the company.
An old trick in the business world when legal trouble looms is to round up a team of lawyers and bog everything down in court delays and appeals. Bankrupt your opponent with legal bills and wind down the clock. Number 45 learned this years ago with his lawyer Roy Cohn. Sue everybody who crosses you. It is a big stick he swings around to this very day.
The incidence of psychopathic behavior is a bit higher among CEOs. Commonly, a large spectrum of aberrant behaviors are tolerated by a Board of Directors, as long as the good numbers keep rolling in. If you are the Chairman, the CEO, and the major stakeholder, there is only the law and the market to set your boundaries. Even that can be challenged if you have good staff lawyers.
President #45 came into office from years as a television performer and as a Chief Executive Officer of resort property development and casino businesses. Apart from managing large organizations from the top level with accountability only to himself and possibly his creditors, #45 had zero experience, or interest evidently, that naturally leads to being president of a vast administrative branch of government with large international and military interests. Yet, under the guise of “draining the swamp” and the wide spread misogynistic antipathy towards Hillary Clinton, he became president of the electoral college, or ahem, the USA.
Ok. After this lengthy preamble, here is my point. A common rallying cry held by supporters of #45 is support for liberty and freedom. They look to a man whose entire professional career has been at the helm of autocratic organizations that bear no resemblance to a culture of liberty and freedom. Top down command of loyal associates is all he knows. His world view as an autocrat is “what can you do for me in addition to unswerving loyalty?” The crowds demand liberty and freedom but it is completely disconnected from what #45’s life has been all about. His presidency was a disaster for liberty and freedom.