250) Day 18 -- Reason #18 to revolt against Predatory Capitalism: Political Corruption, Part 2: Matt Gaetz

In the previous post, (#249), Part 1 of this mini-series on political corruption, we reviewed the qualifications of the people Donald Trump chose to occupy many of the central positions in his Administration, the first time around. 

Now, as we near the beginning of his second Administration, the question is, what’s he going to do this time?  What are his motivations, for selecting the people that he chooses?

Are they to ensure that qualified, competent people are in key positions of power?  Competence in leadership is one of the most basic Rules of Thumb in our society, one of the most deeply held, universally agreed upon, Truths.  From business leaders to community leaders, from the Left to the Right, from Liberal and NDP to Conservative, Republican to Democrat.  ALMOST everybody agrees, because it is COMMON SENSE, that being competent at your job is….important.  

And if your job is to run a country’s key departments, like the Defence Department which will keep your country safe from its enemies and respond effectively to threats against your nation, or like the Health Department, which will work to keep your population healthy, will fight infectious diseases and responds to the next major health crisis, like a pandemic, or like the Education Department, which will oversee how the next generation of citizens LEARNS about the world and their place in it —— you want competent leaders at the helm.  Leaders you can trust. Leaders who know how to work with others, know how to build alliances, and above all, respect the rule of law, so that the country doesn't devolve into chaos. Not only are billions and even trillions of dollars at stake, the fate of the country itself may hang in the balance.  

This is one of the most common sense things in the world.  This is one of the very few things that even Jordan Peterson and I agree on.  (And that’s saying something!) 

Competence lays at the very foundation of an effective organization, an effective military, an effective company, and most certainly an effective country.  Competence is one of the central justifications for the entire project of Capitalism — the notion that capitalism functions as a meritocracy:  those with the ability, the intelligence, the work ethic, those who get the job done, will reap the rewards, whereas those who are lazy, unmotivated, and basically can’t get the job done, will not reap the rewards.  That’s a pretty straightforward idea, right?

So, this is one POSSIBLE motivation for Trump’s choices; the sensible, common-sense motivation — to hire the best people for the job.

The other POSSIBLE motivation for Trump’s choices is to hire people who will do his bidding.  People with unquestioning loyalty.  People who will pull the trigger when he tells them to, who will follow orders, no matter how horrible, unethical, harmful, dangerous or completely batshit crazy those orders are.

So decide for yourself — over the next two days, we’ll look at the Best People To Run The United States — according to Donald Trump, and then YOU decide, what are Trump’s motivations?  Competence and skill?  Or lapdogs will follow his orders and give him absolute power?

And critically, are these people trustworthy? Do they have the best interests of The People at heart?

* * * * *

Today, we’ll just look at one of Trump’s #1 top choices, a man who resigned before he could be battle-tested by questioning committees, who seemed to save his own ass by leaving the government, rather than be subjected to the close scrutiny his position would bring.  He did this after a HUGE outcry of opposition, not just from the Democrats, but from many Republicans.  Which is pretty incredible, given how “loyal to the Party” Republicans have been in recent years.

One of the most central positions in the US government is the Attorney General. The person chosen for this position oversees the Department of Justice, represents the US Government in cases of litigation, and is the chief advisor on legal matters, to the President and heads of the other federal executive departments.  To be chosen for this position is a great honour, awarded, one would expect, to people of the highest caliber who can be trusted to give the President impeccable legal advice to guide the presidency through the innumerable possible legal woes that may occur during an Administration’s term.

Trump’s choice for this position, his #1 man to advise him on legal matters, was Matt Gaetz.

Matt Gaetz’s record in government is long, storied, and endlessly, let’s say, “questionable”.

He is widely regarded, both within his own party (the Republicans, of course), and by Democrats, as a proponent of far-right politics, so far-to-the-right that he often finds himself in a tiny, radical minority within his own party.  Much of what he has tried to do has run into roadblocks simply because even the Republicans find his views "extreme". However, he’s also a staunch, solid ally to Donald Trump. 

His policies over the years have leaned hard in one direction, not the direction that most of the country considers "in the interest of The People.”

For a few examples, Matt Gaetz has

• Tried to pass laws to speed up the process of executing people on Death Row in Florida

• Tried to eliminate environmental controls on gasoline, such as getting rid of the practice of including ethanol in gas

• Tried to stop the criminalization of REVENGE PORN (and succeeded at least once). He seemed to feel that revenge porn was a-ok, because “Freedom” (i.e., “small government”). He found himself in an exceptionally small minority on this one, with only one other vote on his side.

• Attended political rallies that included the Proud Boys, also hiring a speechwriter who had worked with White nationalist groups

• Allied with not-sharpest-knife-in-the-drawer, Marjorie Taylor Greene, attempting to create new “movements” within the Republican Party (e.g., the hilariously named “Freedom Caucus”) that would swing the party further to the right-wing. Together, they caused great chaos within the Republican Party, quickly becoming hated by...most of the Party.

• Lobbied hard against immigration policies, and tried dozens of times to cancel the Affordable Care Act (i.e., “Obamacare”) thereby depriving millions of Americans of health care

• Vociferously denied that Trump lost the 2020 election, and with his far-right “Freedom Caucus”, repeatedly pressured election officials all the way up to the Attorney General of the time (William Barr), to overturn the election.  When that didn’t work, Matt Gaetz attended meetings with other Freedom Caucus members to cook up ways to subvert the election results being validated, and thus, Joe Biden becoming President.

• After the Jan 6th Capitol Hill Attack, in which police officers were killed as a Trump-supporting mob violently sought to overthrow the government, Matt Gaetz was one of 24 Republicans who voted AGAINST honouring with the Congressional Gold Medal, the police officers who defended their country on that day.

Pretty stand-up guy, eh? But it continues…for example, Matt Gaetz:

• Has very strong feelings about race issues. For example, he personally invited the Holocaust-denier, fund-raiser for Neo-Nazis, and well known alt-right extremist, Charles C. Johnson, to one of Trump’s State of the Union addresses.  And Matt Gaetz publicly supports the extremely racist conspiracy theory known as “The Great Replacement”, which posits that White people and their culture is under attack by the non-White minority races and will eventually be replaced, thus losing their culture and indeed, eventually become extinct.  This ages old theory has appeared in different guises over the past century and more, but at the heart, it is a “warning” to White people that if they tolerate non-Whites in “their country”, they will eventually lose their entire existence and identity to “them”.  Consistent with this, Matt Gaetz ran his own political ads promising to “kill Muslim terrorists” and was an unwavering cheerleader of Trump’s “build the wall” promise.

• Being extremely pro-gun, he was described by a former president of the National Rifle Association, the biggest gun-lobby group in the US, as “one of the most pro-gun members to have ever served in the Florida Legislature". Perhaps unsurprisingly, Matt Gaetz offered a Congressional Internship to Kyle Rittenhouse, the now-infamous man who, as a teenager, took his AR-15 to Kenosha, Wisonsin during protests against police brutality, and murdered two people, shooting a third.

• Economically, Matt Gaetz supports tax cuts to the rich, for example voting for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.  He noted, “So many Americans benefit when commercial real estate becomes easier and more accessible.”  Which of course is true for Americans, like Trump, who are real estate developers. But….everyone else?

• Unsurprisingly, Matt Gaetz “disagrees with the scientific consensus on climate change”, cuz really, what do scientists know?  Instead of funding more science to find out or to protect the environment, Matt Gaetz has attempted to pass legislation that would ABOLISH the Environmental Protection Agency.

• And although he’s a key defender of Florida’s “stand your ground” legislation, Matt Gaetz doesn’t seem to feel the same way towards allies like Ukraine, voting instead to end US government support for Ukraine as they try to defend themselves against Russia.

• But, he has nominated Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, for Trump’s apparent role in promoting world peace after Trump’s much-ridiculed chats with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un….

* * * * *

But Matt Gaetz’ story REALLY gets “interesting” (read: shady, slimy, weird and gross), when it comes to sex.

• For “some strange reason,” he voted AGAINST laws that would prohibit human trafficking, for example casting the ONLY VOTE against the Combating Human Trafficking in Commercial Vehicles Act.  He also voted in a small minority against legislation to combat sex trafficking.  So human trafficking seems to be ok, and sex trafficking, no biggie!  I wonder why that would be??????  (Keep reading…things get clearer shortly…)

• However, ABORTION, OH MY GOD THAT’S EVIL!!  (Gaetz is, of course, a self-described Christian.).  Not only does he oppose abortion, but seems to have a very dim view of women who are in favour of it.  For example, in criticizing pro-choice activists, Matt Gaetz stoops to absurd logic and outright slurs against his opponents.  I don’t even like to repeat this, but in Matt Gaetz’ words, “overweight or unattractive women [are] unlikely to become pregnant”, mocking them for supporting abortion rights.  He went on, "They're like 5'2", 350 pounds, and they're like, 'Give me my abortions or I'll get up and march and protest.’”

• Surely, that’s EXACTLY how Jesus would want his followers to treat the people they disagree with….

• And disagree, Matt Gaetz surely does.  He is NOT supportive of LGBTQ+ people, using his power to try and take away the adoption rights of LGBTQ+ people, and voting against the Equality Act, which was designed to prevent discrimination against people on the basis of their sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity.  

• Then, surprise! Matt Gaetz was investigated, repeatedly, for serious allegations that he was involved in, wouldn’t you know — sex trafficking, having sex with minors, and attending drug-fuelled parties where he paid women for sex, likely (it is alleged) using campaign funds.  An old buddy of his, who is alleged to be good at producing fake IDs for underage girls in order to lure them into these parties, shared a boatload of evidence against Matt Gaetz with the police.  This former friend went to jail for his part in this whole scheme.  Matt Gaetz instead got nominated to be the Attorney General, and was able to wiggle out of the charges against him.

• However, a separate investigation by the House, which released its report in December, 2024, concluded that Matt Gaetz had “violated Florida state laws, including those prohibiting statutory rape, procurement of prostitution, and illicit drug use.”  (But they didn’t find evidence that he engaged in sex trafficking across state lines.). Nevertheless, they identified at least 20 different occasions when Gaetz, possibly with campaign funds, paid women for sex or drugs, totally $90 000 paid to one 17 year-old girl and 11 other women.  

And so, after ALL this, Donald Trump wanted Matt Gaetz to be his #1 legal advisor, the Attorney General.  However, even the Republicans couldn’t support this nomination and enough Republicans stood up against it that Matt Gaetz resigned. 

It seems very telling that this is the one man Trump thought was Best In The Country, to give him legal advice.  

And in terms of Predatory Capitalism, it is crystal clear that only in a system owned by the ultra-wealthy, would someone like Matt Gaetz EVER get close to one of the most powerful positions in the country.  Indeed, “Competence”, not to mention moral integrity, doesn’t seem to be all that important.

But Loyalty to Trump, most definitely is.