A
s
President
Donald
Trump took to the House
of Representatives dais,
grinned
in
encouragement
along with his Republican
colleagues’ “four more years”
chant and refused a handshake
from Speaker Nancy Pelosi, it
became readily apparent that
this year’s State of the Union
address was going to be unlike
any in recent history.
Customary
to
tradition,
President Trump made frequent
appeals to his administration’s
achievements
throughout
his
speech
by
honoring
individuals
whom
he
had
invited to attend. However,
Trump
blatantly
disgraced
American democratic values
and
attacked
his
political
opponents
in
deciding
to
honor
conservative
radio
personality Rush Limbaugh
with the Presidential Medal of
Freedom during his address to
the nation.
Limbaugh
has
made
his
career
as
a
political
commentator
with
little
regard
for
the
unbiased
scrutiny
of
facts
or
issues.
Instead,
Limbaugh
approaches political discourse
with a conservative outcome
in mind and will find any
means necessary to justify.
He dictates his justifications
to his listeners and instructs
them on how they should
think about political issues.
This framework was evident
in the “birther” movement
when
Limbaugh
greatly
contributed to the spread
of a conspiracy theory that
President Obama was born
in Kenya, and thus, was not
an American citizen. This
style of press is a threat to
American democracy as it
promotes
groupthink
and
false truths.
In
a
December
2016
discussion
of
President
Obama’s
legacy,
Limbaugh
states
that
any
“legitimate
criticism”
of
the
former
President was “paralyzed” by
his race, giving rise to what
Limbaugh calls a “thugocracy.”
This example along with many
others
demonstrates
that
Limbaugh has not hesitated to
incite racism, misogyny and
utter disrespect in justifying
his conservative point of view.
Honoring
Limbaugh
with
the highest American civilian
honor legitimizes his means
of informing the American
public. Limbaugh’s award is
not only a humiliation of the
prior award winners, such
as Rosa Parks and Harper
Lee, but more importantly
is a reproach to fact-seeking
journalists,
who
are
vital
to our country’s democratic
prosperity. The objective of the
independent press should not be to
laud politicians without question.
A well and accurately informed
electorate is a basic requirement
for a democratic republic.
With Limbaugh over the
radio waves and Fox News
television, Trump has staunch
supporters in the media who
will rarely, if ever, criticize
him. Meanwhile, he excludes
left-leaning
networks
like
CNN from coverage. Trump
also exploits social media
to denigrate any Republican
who steps out of line with
his agenda. This uniformity
is unhealthy for American
democracy, which is reliant
upon the free expression of
ideas, debate and compromise.
Former
Republican
party
leaders, like Mitt Romney,
who are brave enough to stand
up against the President find
themselves mostly ostracized
from the party.
President Trump’s State of
the Union was, in essence, a
campaign rally. His choice to
present the award during his
address to the nation was a
deliberate attempt to vex his
opponents and to rally his
base. He used surprise events
like awarding Limbaugh and
a returning soldier from war
as
reality
television-type
reveals. It will be interesting
to see who Trump decides to
award the Presidential Medal
of Freedom in the future —
possibly the entire “Fox &
Friends” cast?
Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4A — Friday, February 14, 2020
Alanna Berger
Zack Blumberg
Brittany Bowman
Emily Considine
Jenny Gurung
Cheryn Hong
Krystal Hur
Ethan Kessler
Mary Rolfes
Michael Russo
Timothy Spurlin
Miles Stephenson
Joel Weiner
Erin White
ERIN WHITE
Managing Editor
Stanford Lipsey Student Publications Building
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.
ELIZABETH LAWRENCE
Editor in Chief
EMILY CONSIDINE AND
MILES STEPHENSON
Editorial Page Editors
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of The Daily’s Editorial Board.
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
CONRAD PENTALERI | CONTRIBUTOR
The state of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Conrad Pentaleri is a junior in the
Ross School of Business and can be
reached at jcpental@umich.edu.
ISABELLE SCHINDLER | COLUMN
The student vote in 2020
T
his
March,
the
presidential race will come
to Michigan and allow
University of Michigan students
to raise our voices and exercise
our civic duty. Both the Democrats
and
Republicans
are
holding
their primaries on March 10. This
provides a unique opportunity for
people to choose the direction of
their party and who they want to
see on the ballot in November.
The primary is also extremely
unique because it marks the first
major election since the passage of
Michigan’s Proposal 3, which made
it significantly easier to register
and vote in Michigan. Some of the
most exciting aspects of Proposal 3
include online registration, same-
day registration at the clerk’s office
and no-excuse-needed absentee
voting. These laws will make it
much easier for Michigan students
and residents to vote.
If you have a Michigan driver’s
license or ID card you can now
register to vote online. This process
is extremely quick and easy. So
today, whether you are on a Blue
Bus, waiting for your class to start
or studying in the library, take five
minutes and register to vote.
If you are an out-of-state
student you can choose to register
in Michigan or your home state.
Out-of-state
students
cannot
register online in Michigan, but
the process is still fairly simple:
All you have to do is fill out a
voter registration form and mail
or deliver it to the local county,
city or township clerk’s office. If
you want to easily register, there
are many organizations around
campus holding voter registration
drives, which are an easy way to
get registered. The deadline to
register both online and by mail is
Feb. 24 — after that, you can still
register in person up until and on
election day at the clerk’s office. For
information about registering to
vote and deadlines, govote.umich.
edu has important information
compiled by the Ginsburg Center
for Community Service Learning.
Another
exciting
part
of
Proposal 3 is it now allows
no-excuse-needed absentee voting.
This means that students who feel
they will be too busy to vote in
person on election day can request
an absentee ballot. There are so
many reasons why students should
go out and vote. Voting is one of our
fundamental civic duties. There
are people around the world who
would give anything to have the
right to live in a nation where they
can vote in fair and free elections.
By voting, you are recognizing
these people, as well as honoring
those who have fought and won the
right to vote. This year marks the
100th anniversary of the passage of
the 19th Amendment, which gave
women the right to vote. One of
the reasons why I vote is to honor
the memory and courage of the
suffragettes who refused to give
up until women had a right to the
ballot box.
Every
student
at
U-M
is
passionate
about
something.
Whether it be health care, the
environment, funding for STEM
research or federal support for the
arts, every student has an issue that
mobilizes them. We are fortunate
to live in an age where information
is available at the tips of our
fingers and it’s never been
easier
to
find
information
on
prospective
candidates
and their platforms. Even if
you don’t know much about
politics, spend five minutes on
Google and find a candidate
who aligns with your views.
Voting in the primary is
especially exciting because it
allows students to have a say
in the future of their party.
Unlike a general election with
two stark choices, the primary
allows people to choose among
many candidates. As we saw in
Iowa, the difference between
first and second place came
down to just a handful of votes.
Your vote is so important,
especially in a primary.
As young people, we often
feel unheard. We see the
government
taking
actions
we disagree with, and we
feel frustrated and forgotten.
One of the reasons for this
is because politicians know
many young people do not
vote. In 2018, 41 percent of
U-M students went to the
polls. If young people want a
seat at the table, we need to
have strong showings at the
polls and show that our voices
cannot be ignored.
Registering to vote has never
been easier and voting has
never been more important.
That’s why all of us in the U-M
community should head to
the polls and make our voices
heard in this primary and in
the future general election.
Isabelle Schindler can be reached
at ischind@umich.edu.
JESS D’AGOSTINO | COLUMN
Why nobody cares about Trump’s impeachment
L
et’s
face
it:
Trump
got
impeached
and
nobody cared. The 45th
President of the United States was
investigated
through
multiple
committees in the House of
Representatives and impeached by
a House vote of 230 to 197 and 229
to 198 on each Article, respectively.
For the third time in American
history,
the
commander
in
chief
went
through
this
careful constitutional process
and was voted to stand trial
in the Senate. How much of
Americans collectively deciding
not to care can be attributed
to the symbiotic relationship
between news coverage and
viewer opinions? How much of
it speaks to the divisive nature
of Congress and politics in
general?
Through
our
academic
journeys,
we
learn
about
the constructs of American
government. My U.S. History
teachers
emphasized
the
severity of impeachment. When
a sitting president’s actions
warrant impeachment talks, it
should be treated as serious by
both the media and the average
American
citizen.
But
this
whole impeachment was just
another unread story, another
neglected piece of history.
The
prior
two
times
presidents have been impeached
were in 1868 when Andrew
Johnson violated a “tenure of
office law” and also arguably
“undermined the cause of racial
equality” established by former
President
Abraham
Lincoln
only years earlier. President
Bill
Clinton’s
impeachment
in 1998 holds precedence as
what most modern Americans
associate with impeachment.
Although
the
Articles
of
Impeachment were passed for
Clinton’s
dishonesty
under
oath, the Senate voted across
party lines to acquit him,
noting
the
overly-politicized
charges. Why did people care
so much more about Clinton’s
impeachment than Trump’s?
It can be argued that it is
because Trump’s impeachment
dealt with legitimate foreign
policy concerns as opposed to
lying about sexual relations
under oath — much less juicy.
Is that what we care about,
entertainment
and
drama
more
than
abiding
by
the
Constitution?
It
isn’t
that
this
wasn’t
interesting
enough
to
care
about; it was the generally-
accepted
assumption
that
Congressional party lines are
drawn with a thick Sharpie and
this undeniable division made
way for a predictable outcome.
The Democratic House would
impeach, the Republican Senate
would acquit. It is important
to
recognize
Senator
Mitt
Romney, R-Utah, who went
against the Republican party
by voting to impeach Trump,
and who is now receiving a
great deal of ostracism and
hate for it. Whether you love
“The Donald” or hate him,
every American should hope
for a less predictable outcome
in
important
governmental
processes like impeachment.
I do not have a law degree
(yet), nor can I sit here and
write about the intricacies
of the Constitution. I just
wish we, could have more
trust in the government, look
past party lines and take an
impeachment
seriously.
It
is depressing, especially as
a political science student,
to see George Washington’s
worst fears about a two-party
system come true through such
turbulent political parties.
The
news,
generally
speaking, has made things
worse. I distinctly remember
the
notification
popping
up on my phone from The
New
York
Times
saying
something like: “President
Donald Trump has just been
impeached by the House of
Representatives.” News has
a large impact on what we
prioritize and how we think.
So instead of aesthetically
pleasing graphics and pop
culture
perspectives,
the
media
should
help
the
public
understand
what
impeachment means.
People
may
not
think
their
opinions
matter,
a
feeling I relate to. Despite my
excitement to partake in my
first presidential election this
year, I know my vote won’t
make a difference (especially
since New Jersey and I share
the same political affiliation).
However, I refuse to believe
that we have done everything
we can. We, meaning all of
us: Democrats, Republicans,
Independents,
Libertarians
and Green Party members
alike can and must do more
if we expect more from the
government we put our faith
in.
Call your senators, stand
up for what you believe in and
demand your representatives
find a balance between being
a delegate working with their
constituents and a trustee
working for their constituents.
Through
all
of
American
history,
things
have
only
changed because of passionate
people who are not afraid to
wait or to work. We shouldn’t
have seen an impeachment
trial pass us by, seemingly
scripted as it went perfectly
to plan. I know it’s naive to
think partisanship will ever
fully disappear — and frankly
it shouldn’t — but next time
something as important as
an
impeachment
happens,
no
matter
your
political
affiliation, care.
Jess D’Agostino can be reached at
jessdag@umich.edu.
Honor the
memory and
courage of the
Suffragettes who
refused to give up.
The media should
help the public
understand what
impeachment
means.
LEENA GHANNAM | CONTACT CARTOONIST AT LZGHANNA@UMICH.EDU
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