The politics of personality inspires interest in two things, role models and “true beliefs.” Is Obama JFK or Jimmy Carter? Does Romney really believe that extreme rhetoric? Thom Tillis has been described as Mitt Romney, and many people think that like Romney the Speaker does not believe in anything. I disagree.
It’s easy to see why people doubt his principles . Tillis is willing to contradict himself on issues of deep moral consequence: See Amendment One. And the Speaker seamlessly passed from a supporter of state ACA exchanges, to a diehard obstructionist, to a reluctant opponent of this “great idea.” Plus, there’s something nihilistic about one who stays in the House just to raise money.
But lurking beneath all the reversals lies a value he just can’t hide. This financial exec believes deeply in economic royalism.
It shows when he thinks no one is listening. Most famous was his rant about “dividing and conquering” safety-net recipients. You could tell he was sincere from his crisp, focused delivery. He had clearly thought the theory through, and his speech was a recitation of well formed beliefs. The master manipulator bared his soul.
Even after getting roasted for them, Tillis did not repudiate his remarks. In another private setting, this time in front of private equity mavens at a dubious country club, he slyly promised never to use “the wrong word” again. At that same meeting, he doubled down on his rich-people-are-better message. Ingratiating himself, he told the investors, “the best ideas come from you.” He trusts the millionaires, not “The Welfare.”
These incidents paint A Portrait of a Plutocrat as a Middle-Aged Man. Contrary to cynics, Tillis does have a moral compass. It’s coated in platinum.
Alexander Jones is an original contributor to PoliticsNC.
In Atlas Shrugged Daggney Taggert? The woman you know, saving her railroad, gives the poor working conductor a hundred dollar bill because a man with money in his pocket is more confident and will work better. Think they missed that concept, like how people who get paid and are treated respectfully are better workers. Certainly it is clear well fed and weaponized soldiers perform better than starved inadequately armed soldiers. Think of Enver Pasha’s troops defeat at the hands of the Russians when his Islamic Army of the Ottoman’s perished along with himself. Think of Robert E. Lee who kept asking the impossible of his troops. Americans stole cloth weaving machines technology from the English to compete. The smartest stay ahead with the best tools for the job. Some people are dull tools, and dim bulbs dressed in fine suits.
The disdain the GOP have for their rank and file (both state and national) is beyond appalling. Do they all sit around and read Nietzsche and Ayn Rand all the time?