Mr. Ryan’s Choice And
Yours
By
Leonard Zwelling
Speaker
of the House Paul Ryan has declared that he will be voting for Donald Trump for
President. This is all in the name of “party unity.” But that’s among the worst
excuses for bad behavior I have heard since the “dog ate my homework” or “he hit me first.”
Mr.
Ryan could not possibly agree with Mr. Trump on immigration, Muslims, women, entitlements,
or the budget. I thought that Paul Ryan was far too smart to fall for this, yet
he has. He has given up his principles and beliefs to insure that should Mr.
Trump win, he will stay Speaker, and if Mr. Trump loses, he will not be blamed. Mr. Ryan is a coward.
There
are several Republicans like the Bushes and Governor Snyder of Michigan and
Senator Sasse of Nebraska who will not bend to the will of Trump. They would
rather adhere to logical political positions than give in to Trump’s lunacy for
the sake of promoting a unified front to dupe the American people even further
than the formerly rational GOP Trumpites already have.
As
Tom Friedman notes in his column in the NY
Times on June 8 a “New” right-center Republican Party must emerge out of
the ashes of the grand old party made by the GOP’s adherence to Trumpism.
Personally,
Mr. Ryan’s position is a real disappointment. I never thought much of Mitch
McConnell during my stay on the Hill, but I thought both Senator Bob Corker
(R-TN) and Mr. Ryan were intellectually honest. Silly me!
I
do understand that politics can make you do strange things. But supporting the
candidacy of a bigot and misogynist was not something I believed was in
the make-up of Mr. Ryan or Mr. Corker. I guess I got them wrong. It’s not
whether or not they would sell out. They were just negotiating the price. We
now know what they really are—frankly, political whores with no core gyroscopes
to guide their behavior and no backbone either. Should either seek higher
office than they currently hold, their support for Trump ought to be a reminder
that they are unfit for such higher service.
Frankly,
I believe the same of every member of the MD Anderson faculty who has assumed a
leadership role since 2011, but was part of that faculty before 2011.
It
was evident from Dr. DePinho’s first moments as president that DePinho was to
oncology what Trump is to public affairs. He knew nothing about it, but would
not stop promising silliness. He was going to cure cancer in five years. That’s
the oncologic equivalent of building a wall on our southern land border and getting
Mexico to pay for it.
Those
FORDs who came after 2011 to lead at Anderson may be excused. They declared
themselves suitable for purchase and were. I guess we know what they are
developing in the Crimson House of Ill Repute in Boston and Cambridge.
Those
who were here already and knew the truth of the core values of Integrity,
Discovery and Caring and chose to jump on-board the DePinho rocket to the moon
should be ashamed of themselves. More so if they are in those stupid
commercials.
I
am sorry. Those who were with MD Anderson before 2011, even in the less than
honorable Mendelsohn years when I myself did a few things of which I am not
proud (defending a conflicted President), know that this current MD Anderson
bears no resemblance to the greatness of its predecessor, intellectually,
clinically or ethically.
If
you feel compelled to jump on board a ship, please make sure it is not the
Titanic. Are you listening Mr. Ryan and Dr. Buchholz?
