OPINION | Bannon and Trump trigger firestorm of national outrage

In words that dramatize why so many Republicans have joined all Democrats and many business leaders in harshly criticizing President Donald Trump in recent days, Trump’s White House strategist Steve Bannon dared Democrats to speak out against racism.

My answer to Bannon was succinctly said by Clint Eastwood: “Make my day.”

You bet we will continue to champion the human rights that are guaranteed in the United States Constitution, which requires that presidents must faithfully execute the laws of the land under penalty of impeachment if they do not.

{mosads}My answer to Bannon is that he can kiss my Constitution, which enshrines into law the high principle of America that every citizen must be equally protected by the laws of the land and equal justice under law that is promised and guaranteed to all.

If Steve Bannon believes that a Republican president uttering words that lift the spirits of American Nazis brings winning politics for the GOP, he might offer his services to Marine Le Pen, the far-right extremist in France who was politically humiliated in the recent French election despite friendly words for her from the president Bannon serves.

Vive la France for the way the French resoundingly rejected Marine le Pen and everything she stands for. God Bless America for the rejections of Trump that are being heard across the spectrum of American opinion after the vile and despicable words he uttered after the recent events in Charlottesville. Long live the Constitution, whether Trump or Bannon agree with it or not, guaranteeing every American the right to be equally protected and making this guarantee our way of life in this land we love.

My answer to Bannon is that he can wear a “Make America Great Again” hat while the man he serves repeatedly praises foreign dictators, but we stand for the Constitution that commands our president to defend the nation from foreign enemies and to preserve and protect the freedoms that have lifted our nation and inspired the world since the Bill of Rights became the law of the land.

My answer to Bannon is that he might learn from the chiefs of every branch of our military services who rose as one, immediately after the president uttered his dastardly words on Charlottesville, to condemn racism and bigotry in all their forms.

Bannon should consider why Trump’s various business panels dissolved into a political farce, as one business leader after another resigned from them in protest, because leaders of American business did not want to be seen with the president he serves so poorly.

Think about how extraordinary, unprecedented and wonderfully American it is that shortly after the president’s dark and seamy words, leaders of the American military and then leaders of American business felt a moral and patriotic duty to become the check and balance against racism and bigotry that our country desperately needs at this moment in our history.

My answer to Steve Bannon, if he believes that opposition to racism is bad politics for Democrats, is that he should ask Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, why he questions Trump’s stability and competence as president. He should ask Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, and continues to fight for his country while he fights for his life, why he spoke out so strongly after Trump’s dastardly words about Charlottesville.

Bannon should ask Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) why he spoke out with such integrity and passion. He should ask Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) why he spoke out with such clarity and conviction. He should ask Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) why he believes that so many of Trump’s words and actions are so damaging to the conservative philosophy and the interests of the nation. He should ask Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) why he believes Trump is undermining the moral authority of the presidency.

Earlier this week, I wrote that Congress should formally censure Trump for conduct unfit for the presidency, a notion that is gaining support and might well be passed with Republican and Democratic support.

My answer to Bannon is that he should ask Fox CEO James Murdoch why he was so offended by the president’s words that he decided, to his great credit, to speak out boldly and offer a generous donation to the Anti-Defamation League after watching bigots on the streets of Charlottesville insult the faith of the president’s son-in-law and his marriage to the daughter he loves.

Bannon should ask former Republican Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush why, to their great credit, they felt a moral and patriotic duty to speak out against bigotry and racism after the ugly words of the president into whose ear Bannon whispers about the politics of hate.

These Republicans and others, the chiefs of our military services and the business leaders of the nation have joined civil rights champions and human rights activists in reaffirming, loudly and clearly, the core values of equal justice under law and equal protection of every right embodied by the Constitution of our country. 

My answer to Steve Bannon is that, morally and legally, he can kiss my Constitution. Politically, if he dares Democrats to ask the American people to render a verdict, he will make my day because the battle he wants is now joined.

Brent Budowsky was an aide to former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas) and former Chief Deputy Majority Whip Bill Alexander (D-Ark.). He holds an LL.M. degree in international financial law from the London School of Economics. He is a longtime regular columnist for The Hill and can be contacted at brentbbi@webtv.net.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the views of The Hill.