Rebellion vs Constructive Criticism

 Let’s get to the point, Donald Trump has been a disaster as president. Despite the obvious damage that the virus has done to America (world champion in number of cases and deaths), the Trump has continued to act in what can only be described as “Criminally Stupid,” Instead of differing to medical expertise, he has gone to war against medical experts, refused to wear a mask in public, encouraged large gatherings of his supporters and prescribed drugs that a non-medical professional has no business prescribing. He has admitted to knowing that the virus was highly contagious but then proceeded to make announcements that it was all a hoax.

In any normal country, this would have been grounds for a revolution. Yet, despite the obvious, his democratic challenger, Mr. Joe Bidden, the former Vice-President under Barak Obama has only held steady 10-point lead in the polls and despite the polling numbers, nobody is writing off the chances of the Donald to pull off an upset. This election will only be over until its actually over.

Part of the reason is simple. Mr. Biden has not exactly been an inspiring candidate. His speeches are at times, cringeworthy, as his “You ain’t black” remarks showed:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhcgmwj3NAc

Mr. Biden has tried to take the proverbial high road and avoided talking about Mr. Trump’s obvious flaws, namely the various conflicts of interest between Mr. Trump, his children in the administration and his business interest. While admirable from a text book moral point of view, it has meant that the Biden campaign has not used its most effective tool in sealing the lips of Trump’s team when they’ve gone on the attack against Hunter Biden, the former Vice-President’s son, whom the Trump campaign has accused of corruption. While the evidence linking the former Vice-President to anything dogy is spurious at best, you actually have people thinking that its worth keeping Trump because Biden is corrupt. If only Mr. Biden had openly challenged the Trump about the role of his kids in the administration

Luckily for American voters, there is an “alternative” voice that is saying the things that Mr. Biden ought to say. This group calls themselves the “Lincoln Project,” and they have run some of the most devastating hard-hitting advertisements that one wishes Mr. Biden would run. The best part about the Lincoln Project is the fact that they’re all Republicans and you can’t accuse any of them of being part of a left-wing conspiracy. Samples of the ads run by the Lincoln Project can be seen at:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8xagIU9KfY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJTNs2dMisk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo1lDJrZKx8

In short, Mr. Trump’s worst enemy is not Mr. Biden, it’s the people in his own party that he’s pissed off. These are the guys who have only one thing in mind – getting rid of him at the ballot box.

Now, Donald Trump is in many ways an exceptional case. Like him or loath him, he has managed to stir emotions in a manner in which no other politician has been able to do. As such, one might be inclined to suggest that a Lincoln Project propping up anywhere else in the world would be unheard of.

However, while the Lincoln Project might only be an extreme example of what happens when there’s an ideological clash in a party, it does happen in places where the politics is less “interesting.” Take Singapore as an example.

Our political situation is less fragmented that the American one. We have been run by the same party ever since our independence some 55-years ago and I’ve stated that we have to be the only place where the opposition fights an election with the aim of being, the opposition. Unity in our ruling party seems pretty tight too. You will, for example, not hear of anyone from the ruling party posting anything on Facebook that remotely looks like a disagreement with the official line.

However, that might not exactly be the case as Professor’s Cherian George (who is incidentally the brother-in-law of a former minister) and Donald Low have argued in their latest book “PAP vs PAP: The Party’s struggle to adapt to a changing Singapore”

As a matter of disclosure, I have not read the book. However, based on the various articles surrounding the book, this not a Lincoln Project style rebellion against the ruling establishment. It is, instead a critique of the ruling party’s ability to adapt to the changing socio-political landscape. A report on the book can be seen at:

 https://theindependent.sg/what-is-holding-back-the-pap-is-within-its-own-mind-say-cherian-george-and-donald-low-in-a-new-book/

As the report from the Independent (a website that has picked up my postings), rather than being remotely rebellious, it serves a something as a “how to guide” for the ruling party.

It seems that writing books that suggests that the scenario on the ground isn’t the scenario that the ruling party says it is; is an act of rebellion and it bars you from participating in discussions, as both Professor’s George and Low found out when they were dropped as speakers on a webinar. Details can be seen at:

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/academics-cherian-george-donald-low-replaced-as-speakers-in-webinar-organised-by

Why is this happening? Surely, the ruling party does understand that both Professor’s George and Low are respected for their views in Singapore and might have a thing or two to add to the public discourse, particularly when they have suggested ways in which the ruling party can keep power in a changing political landscape.

The party’s ruling hacks need to sit down to watch the Lincoln Project ads to understand the difference between a rebellion by lifelong party members and constructive criticism from respected academics. This failure to recognize the difference between rebellion and constructive criticism is the best gift that the ruling party can give to aspiring opposition candidates.