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To say that I have seen a lot in my many years in and around politics would be an understatement. I even taught the subject at leading U.S. universities like the University of Virginia, Hampton University and Georgetown University for more than a decade.
I remember going to my first major political event with two of my siblings in early November 1960. It was a rally for then-Senator John F. Kennedy at the Elton Hotel in Waterbury, Connecticut. I was among approximately 50,000 folks who braved the New England chilly weather in the wee hours of the morning even though Kennedy was many hours late in what was one of his last campaign events of the season.
I am including this brief but meaningful moment in the archives of my Forrest Gump-like life. I had been hoisted on the shoulders of a fireman. If my arms were a little longer I could have touched Kennedy who was soon to become president of the United States. Thirty years later that same location became the headquarters for my historic election to Congress.
Putting all that to one side, I have met or have had awkward moments in front of nearly every president from that point forward.
I was attending the graduation of my brother – now retired Army Colonel Richard Franks who was acquiring his master’s degree as a psychiatric social worker from Howard University – when President Lyndon Johnson gave his famous remarks about establishing Affirmative Action.
After just six months in office as president pro tempore of the Board of Alderman, I was summoned to the White House to meet with President Ronald Reagan as part of a Black Republican elected officials event (a very small gathering as you can imagine).
And that same year, I first met then-Vice President George H.W. Bush who campaigned for the Connecticut Party ticket when I was the GOP candidate for State Comptroller in 1986. He would become my mentor years later.
Two of my children and I were sitting in the first row of the Former Members of Congress section on Jan. 20, 2009 to proudly witness the swearing-in of the first black president, Barack Obama.
Yes, I have a lot to remember, but nothing has amazed me more than the following five incidents all occurring during the wild guilt-free 21st Century.
Prior to this, politicians and the super wealthy were afraid. They had to comply with guardrails to ensure they would not go over the line of legality. Today, not so much. Well, there is no line. If you are a certain politician or wealthy enough you do not have to fear paying a price for doing society wrong.
For starters, the Supreme Court, in one of its worst decisions ever made, essentially put Trump above the law by stating that he is immune from criminal proceedings for all his activities as president. Talk about a “get out of jail card” per the game of Monopoly. With that privilege, one he has abused repeatedly, he has become closer to a dictator than any other president in U.S. history.
Imagine if during his presidency Obama would have woken up and decided to destroy the entire wing of the White House. Is there anyone on the planet who could not see him sitting in a federal penitentiary for that act? It is not all about race, however. If Joe Biden did it, his cabinet would have evoked the 26th Amendment to the Constitution followed by months of psychiatric treatment for the former president.
You simply cannot tear down a building you do not own without facing consequences, that is until the 21st Century’s new rules.
For Al Capone, extortion was a crime. For today’s U.S. presidents as long as it is part of their work, it is OK. Really?
There were guardrails in the 20th Century when I served in Congress, but they are not there anymore.
A president can earn over $1 billion while supposedly doing the people’s business and nobody dares to challenge him or at least question him on how he “earned” that kind of money.
Can anyone remember a time when the nation was brought to its financial knees -- sparking the second greatest Depression in U.S. history -- and not one person was held accountable? No arrests were made.
The financial crisis of 2008 destroyed the lives of millions of Americans, mostly black and brown Americans via the use of “subprime” mortgage loans. These loans came with a catch -- a variable interest rate that lenders knew eventually would be raised, making it nearly impossible for borrowers to make monthly mortgage payments. The toxic loans were also packaged and peddled around the world to banks everywhere, resulting in a calamity. The banks responsible for these loans were deemed “too big to fail” so they got bailed out -- without consequences. Nobody was arrested. You figure.
Then you have the Jeffrey Epstein fiasco. It is one of the most disgraceful human sex trafficking events possibly in the history of man. It involved over 2,000 nearly all white women who were sexually abused and trafficked to satisfy the sexual appetites of affluent and powerful men. How many? We do not know, as only one man was convicted in all of this. And the Trump-controlled DOJ would like us to believe that nobody did anything wrong that would warrant their arrest. In Great Britain even a prince lost his title due to his involvement with Epstein. But no other man was arrested or convicted in America.
The nation severely needs a course correction. Maybe this week is the beginning of such a change. Had the Supreme Court ignored the Constitution -- which clearly does not give the federal government a role in states’ election processes -- we would be in the Banana Republic stage of our “democracy.” It would have been close to crumbling.
Evil people relish chaos and confusion. Satan’s first time doing this was when he convinced Eve to eat the fruit from the forbidden tree. Today chaos gives bad people the opportunity to advance their own nefarious agendas with little regards for the American people.
Thank you Supreme Court for at least blocking Trump from getting his way in altering how mail-in balloting was conducted. But we always must be on guard.
As we have experienced, when there are no repercussions for signing new executive orders while circumventing the rulings of the high court, Trump will never say “uncle.” He will keep trying to get his way. And if he succeeds, we lose.
Gary Franks served three terms as a congressman from Connecticut’s 5th District. He was the first Black conservative elected to Congress and first Black Republican elected to the House in nearly 60 years. Host: Podcast “We Speak Frankly” www.garyfranksphilanthropy.org