LARRY DONNELLY on. . . .
— a truly unprecedented US presidential campaign
— reappraising the Irish party whip system
— an awful summer in Ireland
THE word unprecedented is being applied incessantly to this year’s race for the White House in the United States. In the wake of recent events, it is hard to argue that the label is inappropriate or overused. In July, there was the attempted assassination of the 45th US President and the Republican Party’s nominee to be the 47th commander in chief, Donald Trump, at one of his trademark rallies. Days afterward, the current occupant of the oval office, Joe Biden, announced that he would abandon his pursuit of a second term.
The first incident was shocking. As details have emerged, questions arose. How did this disturbed young man, Thomas Matthew Crooks, manage to get access to a roof so near to the stage Trump was speaking from? He had no relevant training or expertise and his odd behaviour onsite had been reported to the Secret Service and other law enforcement officials by multiple attendees before he fired a shot. It was a colossal breakdown by those charged with keeping Trump safe and the Secret Service director, Kim Cheatle, swiftly resigned. It will be interesting to learn what the ongoing investigation unearths.
Biden’s withdrawal in the face of mounting pressure for him to do so was not surprising; it was belated, however. His position became untenable as polling data went from bad to worse and big money donors signalled that they would withhold contributions unless he threw in the towel. Only time will tell the amount of damage the 81-year-old has done to his legacy by persisting in a misguided bid for four more years, even though he had promised to be a “bridge” and clearly wasn’t up to the task.
Now, Biden’s vice president, Kamala Harris, has been anointed his replacement. The accomplished woman of colour is enjoying something of a honeymoon period at this juncture. There is no doubt that she is a better candidate for the Democrats than her faltering boss. But many in Ireland seem to misapprehend how transformative her elevation to the top spot on the ticket will prove and are overegging her chances of beating Trump. It is reminiscent of how prominent Irish politicians and media commentators have been practically willing the American people, who are generally pro-Israel, to see the war on Gaza in as revolting a light as they do.
Harris’s fellow Democrats did not previously regard her as the best person to take on the man they detest and rejected her resoundingly when she sought the nomination in 2020. She is easily tied to the Biden administration’s perceived failures on the two most significant issues in the election: inflation and immigration. Her sympathies for the Black Lives Matter movement and the initiative to pay reparations to African Americans for the slavery and discrimination experienced by past generations – deeply unpopular in the crucial battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin – will be exploited to maximum effect by the GOP.
Those at home and abroad who dread the prospect of a second Trump presidency justifiably have a renewed sense of hope. That said, he is still the favourite. The world will soon find out what Kamala Harris is made of.
Whipping politics into shape
Since I began following and analysing Irish politics, the fashion in which the party whip system operates has profoundly irked me. On rare occasions, there are so-called “free” votes. Typically, TDs and Senators who belong to parties must vote in accordance with the platform as dictated by the leadership. The penalty for declining to do so is either temporary or permanent banishment from the parliamentary grouping.
In 2024, is there any other non-military organisation that mandates 100% fidelity and obedience on absolutely everything as the price of affiliation? To me, it’s bonkers, plain and simple. It reflects a gross power imbalance between the individual elected officials who the people put their sacred trust in at the ballot box and the hierarchy of their parties. Further, isn’t it dumb politics for a party to compel one of its standard bearers to vote in a way that will render her persona non grata with her constituents and possibly precipitate the loss of a seat?
Ireland is virtually alone with respect to this ridiculously inflexible application of the whip. Most representative democracies are much “looser” and allow varying degrees of deviation from the line, recognising that discipline is important to get things done, but not carrying that objective to the extreme. And despite the dire consequences envisaged by defenders of the status quo if Irish parties didn’t impose the whip so stringently, the sky has not fallen and the law making process has not been paralysed elsewhere.
Lately, mine and a few voices in the wilderness have been joined by fresh reform advocates. Columnist Lorraine Courtney opines in the Irish Independent: “we cling to a system where TDs are expected to conform or face the wrath of the whip. It’s a mechanism that ensures unity, loyalty and a lack of independent thought, transforming TDs into little more than voting automatons…The result? A political landscape where independent thought is stifled in favour of rigid party loyalty. It’s democracy with a side of groupthink.”
Former Tánaiste and Attorney General – currently a Senator – Michael McDowell adds in The Irish Times: “Why should a democratically elected Irish legislator need to imperil or lose his or her entire career by standing by his or her conscience?” Hear, hear!
Erin go brrr
I write this column on yet another miserable day, weather-wise. Rain, wind and cold have been the constants during this Irish summer. The words of a classic Saw Doctors tune are fitting: “Oh God, will it ever stop raining?” I know, I know…that’s the Irish climate. And obviously, it’s my choice to live here.
Is it really too much to expect a little bit of sunshine and warmth at this time of year, however? There have been no more than a handful of days on which the weather has been decent, never mind honestly lovely. My family and I have a two week trip to Washington DC and Boston planned for after Christmas. As such, we intended to stay put this summer and had faith that it would be a good one. Forget that. We bit the bullet and are heading to Spain for a reprieve later this month.
Larry Donnelly is a Boston born and educated attorney, a Law Lecturer at the University of Galway and a regular media commentator on politics, current affairs and law in the US and Ireland. Twitter/X: @LarryPDonnelly
