Keep Right — Column by Ralph K. Ginorio
Recently, Maine’s Augusta School Board silenced a parent for, “making negative comments” during a public comment session. Board President Martha Witham refused to abide anything critical of “school employees” or of elected politicians such as herself.
Particularly, Witham refused to hear criticism of Cony Middle and High School Principal and Chair of the Maine Principals’ Association (MPA) Kimberly Liscomb, who has joined with Maine Governor Janet Milles to lead the struggle to keep transvestite males in girls and women’s sports.
The Augusta’s Board Chair stridently interrupted every criticism made by Nick Blanchard, a dad, a taxpayer, and a voter, claiming that all such criticism was defamatory. Blanchard rightly called these tactics being employed by the Board Chair as coming straight out of Communist China.
Of course it is not legitimate for any public official, whether elected or appointed, to dismiss any public criticism as defamation. That Board Chair’s wild mischaracterization indicates a brittle thin-skinned desperation to avoid any and all opposition.
Frankly, the chain of command from Governor Janet Mills to Chair Martha Witham to Principal Kimberly Liscomb is the most compelling object lesson against matriarchy that I have seen in a long time. None of these feminist leaders have demonstrated any willingness to thoughtfully answer the objections of critics.
Such manipulators exist far beyond Maine’s borders. Their conspicuous mediocrity transcends gender, or any other measure of identity. Nothing remarkable is evident within their public persona. They have inspired no curiosity, contended no compelling new ideas, and contributed nothing creative.
Their lack of philosophical flexibility, intellectual honesty, and willingness to reach beyond their narrow ideological coalition has rendered their leadership both pointless and negative. Such leaders are rightly called political hacks; machine politicians whose power derives from the positions they occupy rather than any spark that they personally might bring to their offices.
They are all products of identity politics, selected by Maine’s Democrat Party state and School Board leadership because of their bodily characteristics and factional loyalty rather than for anything compelling about their biography, ideals, or capacity to evoke excitement and passion in others.
Kamala Harris was of this same mold; an empty vessel eager to be wielded by those smarter and more ambitious than herself. So long as she could assume credit for the policies of her puppeteers, she was happy to be the voice and face of the Democrat Party.
Fraudulent people fear spontaneity. They resist the frank and open exchange of ideas that should characterize all political discourse within and beyond our Republic. They do this because they are afraid of being exposed as the political equivalent of lip-synching singers. No one wants to be revealed to be the “Milli Vanilli” of contemporary politics.
So, they evade unscripted encounters, avoid freewheeling discussions, duck substantive debates, and deny any potential critic any opportunity to raise questions or express concerns. They refuse to acknowledge the legitimacy of any criticism, willfully mischaracterizing all objections as deriving from bigotry, corruption, and personal animosity.
They bully others bureaucratically and berate them personally, doing anything to silence every possible expression of dissent. Mr. Blanchard was correct that these cowardly officials have more in common with Communist Apparatchiks than they do with free citizens engaging one another in vigorous and spirited debates over the choices that shall shape our future.
Never trust anyone who wants to stifle dissent in order to protect “our Democracy.” Censorship cannot ever lead to wise policy, because those who employ it are trying to build a future using the tools of intimidation and ignorance.
Instead of looking squarely at any controversy and considering it objectively, these would-be thought police always try to manipulate the terms under which any discourse will be conducted. Any fact or insight from beyond their point-of-view is damned as being “misinformation.”
Nomenklatura like these are incapable of even caring about solving real problems. They exist to acquire power for its own sake in order to control their fellow citizens while preventing any scrutiny, deflecting any inquiry, and suppressing any criticism of themselves. They are cowardly bullies who a wise electorate would root out of the bureaucracy and vote out of elected office.
