It's Time to Listen to George Washington
George Washington had no use for political parties, and he feared foreign interference in our domestic affairs
May 01, 2018 at 10:59 AM
4 minute read
Mount Vernon was chosen as the site for the first dinner tendered by the Trump administration to a foreign leader. That was a wonderful way to honor America's first president. A greater tribute this week would have been to remember the words and advice of our founding father.
George Washington had no use for political parties, and he feared foreign interference in our domestic affairs. He made this clear in his valedictory Farewell Address to his “friends and fellow citizens.”
Last month, when the House Intelligence Committee terminated its investigation of Russia's interference with our elections, Trey Gowdy (R-SC), a member of that committee, said this: “It is crystal clear Russia's ultimate goal was to turn Americans against Americans, undercut our confidence in the electoral process, and sow the seeds of discord. On that measure, we are in direct control—as Americans—of whether they succeed or not.”
Apparently the Russians are succeeding. We now have Republican leaders in Congress, including House Intelligence Committee Chair Devin Nunes (R-CA), forwarding a criminal referral to the Justice Department, seeking an investigation of several former and present FBI and Department of Justice officials, as well as Hillary Clinton.
This is just what our first president feared when he warned against those “tools and dupes” who would assist foreign nations in subverting our American interests. At the same time, he said, we should bestow “applause and praise” on the “real patriots” who will not “surrender” American principles of liberty. In a contemporary context, it is the Russian interference with our election that should be deplored—not the intelligence and FBI agencies laboring to keep us safe from the “tools and dupes” who would undermine our democracy for their own purposes.
Of course, suspected violations of the law should be subject to investigation by the proper agencies. But there is little doubt that these “criminal referrals” are designed to diminish the public's trust in responsible law enforcement agencies and to discredit whatever they have accomplished in an effort to protect us from foreign intrusion in the electoral process. As our first president put it: “History and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government.”
Among those subject to criminal referral is Hillary Clinton. Which brings us to another of George Washington's warnings: He distrusted political parties, because he felt they could use partisanship as “potent engines…to subvert the power of the people.” He feared that political parties might encourage the populace “to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual” who would use this power “to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty.”
If parties empowered such an individual, our first president feared the rise of a “spirit of revenge,” an effort by the victorious party to punish those who had lost the election. Washington could not predict the call for Hillary Clinton to be imprisoned or for the renewed passion to revisit matters investigated and disposed of long ago in order to punish the “loser.” But he rightly noted and warned us that this kind of behavior was done in “different ages and countries” and led to “a more formal and permanent despotism.”
As in years past, the Senate honored George Washington's birthday with a reading of his Farewell Address in the United States Senate Chamber. This year the task fell on Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE). Unfortunately, no other senators were in the chamber to listen. On that same day, at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the mention of Hillary Clinton's name brought shouts of “Lock Her Up.” Apparently, those in that room were also deaf to President Washington's admonition. It's time we all listened.
Sol Wachtler, a former chief judge of the New York State Court of Appeals, is a distinguished adjunct professor at Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center.
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