How many times have you witnessed the following scenarios?

Scenario 1: A GOP leader appears on Fox News and pledges to hold the corrupt accountable.  He makes some stunning revelations and claims to be “draining the swamp.”  He talks in detail about an inquiry and an investigation.  He pledges support for Donald Trump.  He promises accountability for targeting Trump and his supporters. 

Scenario 2: This is a public hearing on the Hill to hold wrongdoers accountable.  The individual being questioned has engaged in an abuse of power as he targeted President Trump and his supporters.

A GOP leader seems righteously indignant.

The first question booms across the room.  The witness attempts to filibuster, but the GOP leader interrupts:  “Please answer me — is that a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’?  Remember, you are under oath!”  The witness appears sweaty, crooked, helpless, and clueless, whereas the GOP leader looks triumphant.  The GOP leader lambastes the witness in the harshest possible language and pledges to “get to the bottom of this.” 

Scenario 3: This seems to be a recent phenomenon, a version of sting journalism, but this time, the stinger is the GOP leader.  Much like the hearing in Congress, there is one that the Trump supporters justifiably despise for the harm done to the nation.  Unlike the previous two scenarios, the quality of the video is grainy, and the camera is shaky, but this adds to the realism.

The GOP leader spots this “enemy” figure and excoriates him.

“Will you apologize to the American people?” is the first question.

The individual looks baffled.

“Is it true that you?” is the next question.  The individual gets uncomfortable and looks for an escape route.

“Don’t dodge a representative of the American people!” booms the seemingly angry leader.  The individual flees, and the footage abruptly ends.

In time, some or all of these scenarios are viral on social media.  The caption is usually provocative: “GOP Leader ABC humiliates/destroys XYZ.”  At times, there are “thug life” clips with the music and the graphics.  For the citizens starving to see any of the guilty being held accountable, these clips seem God-sent.  They are elated to see the villains squirm, left speechless as their representative subjects them to a brutal grilling.

This is a topic of conversation during lunchtime at the office and on Sundays with friends.

“That exchange was enough for me,” declares one. “He has my vote. He is a patriot and a soldier for MAGA.”  The rest nod and raise their wine glasses to join the pledge.  The GOP leader gets good press in right-leaning echo chambers and a hero’s welcome upon returning to his constituency. 

Some conflate words with actions; others assume that tough words will be followed by action.  The publicity over three scenarios remains in voters’ memory, and the leader is re-elected.

What few bother to verify is the aftermath of the pompous pledges on Fox News and the dramatic display during hearings or sting operations.  Usually, the pledges are empty, and the theatrics during hearings and sting operations lead to no remedial measures.  The guilty are unaffected and live well, while citizens suffer.

The media are divided into right and left and are usually involved in attacking each other and dealing with the latest “scandal.”  In all the chaos, the media fail to perform their fundamental function: holding their side accountable.  Rarely will any right-leaning journalist or commentator hold the GOP accountable.

Perhaps in a few decades, a picture will surface on social media where the accused and the GOP leader are seen sharing a laugh at a social gathering. 

Soon the realization dawns upon the voter that he has been conned.  The GOP leader was speaking from a prepared script when the camera was on.  After the act, he retreats to his office, places his feet on his desk, and boasts to his staff: “I was brilliant, wasn’t I?”  They laugh, knowing that no action will be taken, but the act will earn another term in office.

The leader is hence similar to social media influencers, whose aim is for their social media clips to go viral.

There needs to be a paradigm shift in evaluating politicians.

A politician is your employee, not at all different from a plumber or a lawyer.  The politician is paid from your taxes, whereas the plumber is paid from your bank account.

Let’s assume the water tank at your home is leaking due to a poor job done by the plumbing firm you had engaged.  You attempt to contact the plumbing firm on numerous occasions, but the people there are non-responsive.  Hence, you engage a lawyer to sue a plumbing firm.

When would you consider the job done?

Choice 1: When the lawyer boasts about holding the plumbers accountable?

Choice 2: When the lawyer confronts a representative of the plumbers, verbally humiliates him, and shows you the footage?
 When the lawyer exposes a representative of the plumbers during cross-examination in court?

Choice 3: When the plumbers are found guilty and are ordered to pay to fix the leak and the impact of the leak?

Choice 4: When the guilty plumbers fix the leak and the impact of the leak?

The obvious answer is 4.

We consider the job done only when we see action.  When we hear pledges or boasts, this attitude must prevail for politicians, especially GOP leaders, who are your representatives.

Once upon a time, it used to be said that a politician is one “who talks a lot but says very little.”  That quote was usually accompanied by another: a politician “is one who pledges to build bridges even when there are no rivers.”  In the age of social media, a politician is one who “performs before a camera but does nothing.”

There are a lot of individuals in high places who need to be held accountable in D.C.

• Joe Biden, who remains President despite being generally non compos mentis.
• Dr. Anthony Fauci for his conduct during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• U.S. secretary of Homeland Security Mayorkas for leaving the border open.
• Director of the Secret Service Kimberly Cheatle for the catastrophic failure during the attempted assassination of President Trump.
• Those who concocted the Trump-Russia collusion hoax and myriad other hoaxes during and after the Trump presidency.

The list of individuals in high places who need to be held accountable is long.

Voters must not be fooled by bombastic proclamations, shouting matches, or sting videos.  The only way to hold people accountable is via action — resignation in disgrace, prison time, fines, etc.

Every vote is precious.  They must be given to doers and not pretenders.

Image via Picryl.