(NmCm --cancelled) Bill Gates- case for a movement to tranform the 2020 election

5/14/2020 -

Following is a draft of proposed NYTimes OpEd written by Al Rodbell, in the voice and with cooperation of Professor Noam Chomsky-

The extent of polarization of our national politics is illustrated by something that could not happen to me, but did yesterday to the person who convinced me to write this OpEd for this newspaper. Al.R is my intellectual doppelganger, whose childhood did not provide the stimulation I was graced with that led to a life of academic achievements and political activism. Those who came of age before the turn of the century know of me, while those born later rarely do.  We wrote this OpEd together, coming to a shared conclusion from very different lives.  He describe this passing conversation that could only happen to one whose politics is not widely known.

"Walking home yesterday, I greeted a neighbor who is a clinical psychologist, and asked her whether she is busy now with couples who are together day and night without previous socializing.  She hesitated, interpreting my words as indicating that I was opposed to such regulations, and then concluded that I must be one among the angry, perhaps to the point of rage at those politicians who would deny my God given freedoms,  She was a bit ambiguous, but made the point that she sees no problem, and people are "doing O.K."  Without a single word of partisan politics, I was identified as a Trump supporter -- verifying the breadth of our toxic partisanship".

As of this moment in time, civility across the political divide is still possible.  Whether it will still be so when the campaign between the two political parties begins in earnest is doubtful. Al contacted me out of the blue about five years ago, having been frustrated by a refusal of this newspaper to print a retraction of a distortion of an appeals court decision - only a small element of the article. I replied with my own frustration that this paper over the years did the same to me- which was the beginning of our.connection. 

He  wrote the following to verify we are on a common tract:  It is self evident that the divisiveness between what is the TrumpRepublican party and the Democratic party is at an unsustainable level which will escalate with the campaign between the two putative candidates.  No matter who is elected, the results will be a presidential party that builds on vilification of the opposition.  A two party election will inevitably continue to exacerbate raw hatred of the other; exemplified by Pelosi ripping up the text of a vindictive presidential speech in the midst of an impeachment trial with no possibility of removal. 

 Bill Gates has been thrust into the limelight by the current pandemic, which he not only predicted but made an extraordinary effort to alert chief executives of countries throughout the world.  The allocation of his billions through the Bill and Milinda Gates Foundation are a mix of advanced scientific research to slow climate change to expanding latrines that prevent disease in the most impoverished countries of the world. 

 This recent article, "Bill Gates Has Regrets" in The Wall Street Journal lauding him showed in the comments, that the mostly Republican readers overwhelmingly admire him.  As of this moment, his being able to be nominated on the Libertarian ticket is still possible, This would be a variation of a third party run  Michael Bloomberg considered in 2016.  He wanted to be President with at least part of the incentive being fame, power and glory a normal component of ambition.. There is no evidence that Bill Gates,having earned such admiration as a private citizen, would desire, or even accept the Presidency. 
  

 All of the stability, the redundancy and depth of authority of the party system would be negated in a hypothetical Gates administration. The complex party apparatus from vice president to the cabinet to partisan think tanks and connections to state and local governments would be gone.  This would normally be enough to reject even one as admirable and talented as Gates transforming our party system.  But it has already been transformed, so the choice could be between the autocrat who is now in power and one who is truly trying to save the world. 

 One option that would preserve the existing party system, but also transform it, would be that Biden ask Gates to accept the Vice Presidency nomination.  He would be given the authority equivalent to Richard Cheney under the Bush administration, which was a full realization of the autonomy of the position.  He would be the antithesis of the Mike Pence who has no independent portfolio other than revering his President.  Joe Biden chose to promise that he would appoint a women with a strong hint it will be a person of color. This promise may have won the nomination for him, but it enshrines the simplistic and damaging elevation of identity politics over the reality that it is the individual, rather than his or her identity that should be evaluated in all aspects of public life. 

 We are at a pivotal time in history, where advances in technology, specifically artificial intelligence is reaching new levels of replacement of what had been human functions.  Simultaneously, the ubiquity of these systems have transformed how populations are influenced, along with vulnerabilities to corruption of even the most sensitive of networks.  Bill Gates' background as an innovator in this field would make his contributions as Vice President even more productive.

With armed men now occupying state capital buildings and others threatening police who are enforcing social distancing regulations, we already have the beginning of armed insurrection  promoted by the President of the United States.  The upcoming election is the moment to take a stand, one that will only be effective if the opposition to autocracy is not a political party in disarray, but includes one individual who transcends this toxic partisanship.

Nothing could be more urgent than this.

Bill Gates- original case for a movement to tranform the 2020 election

(This essay has been revised by more recent one)

Life has changed for most people, perhaps in the world, but certainly in the United States. Within a few weeks, this pandemic has preempted everything else that would have been the headlines, with little discussion of how the disease is affecting the upcoming election.

It would be easier if Bill Gates (William Henry Gates III) represented a wing of a political party, an organization  of individuals sharing the same values and goals.  Unfortunately, that's not the case. Like Jesus of Nazareth, Thomas Paine, and  Babe Ruth -- he is unique.  Most people who vie for the Presidency must have a desire for the fame and glorythat goes with the position, since they ignore its lethality, assassinations and attempts.

Gates' long interview with Fareed Fakaria on 4/26, along with his three part documentary of his extensive diverse humane projects around the world, convinced me that he, and sadly, only he, is the one who can change the inevitability of one of the two existing parties prevailing. 

It is self evident that the divisiveness between what is the TrumpRepublican party and the Democratic party is at an unsustainable level, which will escalate with a campaign between the two putative candidates.  No matter who is elected, the results will be a presidential party that builds on vilification of the opposition.  A two party election will inevitably continue to exacerbate raw hatred of the other; exemplified by Pelosi ripping up the text of a vindictive presidential speech in the midst of an impeachment trial with no possibility of removal.

Bill Gates, this mere mortal, is caught in a bind. He was graced by the luck of timing, genetics and parenting that allowed him to become what he is.  I see him as a unique individual where his God-given skills (He's O.K with "God," but as an idea, not a being) have put an obligation on him, perhaps to the world and country, but also to his  own children.

The ultimate direction of our country, be it a socialistic or more conservative bent, can only be resolved if we survive the escalating partisan hatred of another round.  Those who despise Trump must acknowledge that he warned us, "I could shoot a stranger dead on fifth  avenue,and not lose a vote from my supporters,"  There is no Democrat who will tolerate absolute amnesty for all of Trump's malfeasance, yet any revenge is certain to escalate forward to a dismal future.

It could be that the horror of our pandemic is an omen from a higher being --  that I absolutely deny exists --that it is time for wisdom and compassion rather than revenge. No Democrat could run on such a forgiveness plank, while Bill Gates could do so.  He is also more capable than anyone in political life to visualize the outline of the possibilities and risks of the accelerated expansion of Artificial Intelligence that is just around the corner.


I had written an argument for Bill Gates jumping in to get on the ballot for presidency this year.  Realizing the impossibility of this, there is another more viable approach to enlisting the rare qualities of Mr. Gates. Rather than his running for President, he would marshal his personnel friendships with such as Warren Buffet and perhaps George Soros to redirect much of their vast wealth to the immediate goal of forming a third party.

This has been done quietly by the Koch brothers over decades now, their becoming a major force in influencing and energizing the Republican party.  In the next few weeks, Biden will select a VP candidate and the campaign for presidency will begin.  We've had a taste of the violence that is certainly to accompany this contest, the ending of which is too distressing to visualize.

There are a handful of those with the resources to get on the ballot of enough states to capture at least the Presidency.  With Gates on the team, it could provide a new metaphor of what political discourse means.  It's a long shot, but the only one that I can conceive of.   

And the war came... as It will again if we ignore history (5-21-)

"And the war came" is a phase from Lincoln's second inauguration that looks back at his first, when there was still hope that the differences between the confederacy and the country defined by the federal constitution could be accommodated by both sides.  My contention is that we are at a similar place right now, with failure to foresee the future consequences of war making such a tragedy probable. .  

"War" and "politics" are usually different domains of our thinking and of public discussion.  It is actually a continuum, something not realized until a transition between the two occurs. Opposing groups in the form of political parties are designed to allow their divergent interests and values to be negotiated short of actual combat, using a structured plebiscite to determine which shall prevail -- until another scheduled election will allow alteration or change in direction. Politics can be fun, a club that brings people together against a common enemy. It has this carnival quality, an intoxicating unifying institution -- that is until the music stops.


We may actually be closer now than even the prelude to the Civil War.  The current President has articulated only somewhat less than an overt threat with words such as these: "I can tell you I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump – I have the tough people, but they don’t play it tough — until they go to a certain point, and then it would be very bad, very bad."

The escalation of this saber rattling occurred recently from other side of the political divide from the presumptive Democratic candidate for the Presidency, Joseph Biden  It was  response to a question whether he would promise to "not pull a President Ford” by pardoning Trump “under the pretense of healing the nation.” Biden emphasizing his concurrence  with, "Absolutely, yes. I commit.”  In this response was a tacit assumption that he condemned the pardoning of President Nixon.  This has not been the universal judgement of history, which is illustrated by the words in the of the 2001 Kennedy Center Profiles in Courage award.  

Biden's firm statement is meaningful; as the question was an opportunity for him to define a direction for his administration that would have been a reversal of the calumny and hatred of the incumbent.. He could have responded without denying that his opponent deserves to be punished for his actions, for example, "This is a difficult subject, as the expectation of endless prosecution could energize Trump to foolishly try to prevent the constitutional transfer of power."

It would have been bad enough if he had stopped with this vow not to pardon, but he went further, and in doing so betrayed his lack of mastery of the structure of the executive branch of our government. He continued with “It’s hands-off completely. Look, the attorney general of the United States is not the president’s lawyer. It’s the people’s lawyer.”

He is accurate in as far as traditionally once an attorney general is appointed there is a high degree of autonomy in specific choice of cases.  Yet, as in all cabinet positions, it is the elected president who defines the board outlines of policies. The AG is the "peoples lawyer" only to the degree that he follows the principles that are determined by the elected president. 

Biden may have been trying to convey that he would not turn the office into an arm of the partisan goals of the current president, but in doing so he went too far, and worse, sacrificed the opportunity to convey that he would be more changing who is dominant in the pathological hatred of one party of the other.  Rather he signaled that he would  unleash a tiger of an AG to destroy his predecessor , will not restrain how he goes about it. 

The lack of any media discussion of Biden's promise is further evidence that the goal of healing has been all but completely replaced by stoking the hatred of one side towards the other.

  


 No prominent Democrat has questioned his statement, so the full extent of the consequences of his promise have not been aired. Hatred of Trump is what unites Democrats to the degree that anything short of making him suffer for what he has done to the the country is blasphemy.. .

Biden is at a point that he could start to anticipate his presidency, where his major challenge must be to show the courage needed to  heal the wounds that divide us.  Anything less could lead to an unimaginable tragedy that must be avoided.