People who, like me, pulled the lever for him more than once, find that what Trump lacks in personal virtue, he makes up for in raw character: What you see is what you get. You may not like what you see in Donald Trump. He doesn’t seem to mind that at all. But he never walks back. He never apologizes for anything, as far as I can tell. Most of all, though, he never apologizes for who he is or what he thinks.
We are impressed by this man who is constantly told that he is evil, and yet refuses to accept it. We are impressed because we feel the same constant pressure to apologize for simply being who we are and believing as we do. Evangelicals find ourselves in a strangely similar predicament as Trump, and we appreciate his “frank and honest” speech. We find it gives us courage. Courage to continue to be the frayed, battered glue that holds our society together, even as we are told that we are evil.
Kennedy’s article says just that. On the one hand, he says we have been “misunderstood, mischaracterized and maligned,” but he goes on to say that we are, “on a mission to control the nation and the church.” Trump is our fault, says Kennedy, because we have cultivated “more than a century of resentment, mistrust, and anger,” where we have been “willing to do anything, say anything to win.” But this is not the case.
What kind of candidate do you think people like Evangelicals are going to seek? Someone who agrees with us on every point? Not necessarily. We want someone who is going to use plain language to call a thing what it is. Someone who will not back down from holding opinions that are loathed by elites. That is what we see in Donald Trump.
Mike Littell, Sr. Pastor, South Dayton Presbyterian Church
The DDN article “Audit: Payouts to prisoners, dead people among $3.8 Billion in improper unemployment payments” is linked prominently on Ohio Auditor of State Keith Faber’s website.
The audit report includes precisely counted findings, such as 141,617 instances where payment was sent to a name that was reported deceased, and 8,703 instances where an individual was paid more than $35,000.
“It’s appalling…” Faber said about the $3.8 billion in improper payments.
Important information is missing from the story linked on his website:
- When expanded unemployment payments were first announced in 2020, what steps did Faber take to recommend, help implement, and ensure adequate internal controls and systems were put in place to prevent billions in overpayments?
- Was Faber aware early on that Ohio had “an outdated system unprepared for such a huge surge of applications, lack of controls over new pandemic-related programs, relaxed verification requirements not requiring information from employers”, and lacked ability to deal with overpayments quickly? If Faber knew, what did he do about it? If not, why didn’t he know?
- Does Faber view his responsibility as Ohio Auditor of State merely to report failures of internal controls in state agencies after-the-fact, or to proactively ensure controls are in place to prevent future losses?
Unlike Faber, internal and external auditors of businesses with billions in fraudulent overpayments occurring during their tenure don’t crow to the media. They have to find new jobs.
Stories of government waste follow a pattern:
- Big losses reported (caused by external forces, inadequate systems, or lack of funding, but rarely by individual staff negligence).
- After the loss is reported by media, but not before, blue-ribbon panel of experts hired to investigate and fix it.
- 18 months later, auditing agency provides impressive, comprehensive audit report detailing what happened.
This pattern is similar to to-be-continued TV episodes of Law and Order, except the responsible government officials are rarely named, charged, or fired.
- Sterling Abernathy, Kettering