The TikTok Candidate

This past week, people were shocked to hear that presidential candidate Kamala Harris entertained the idea of an arms embargo on Israel when Israel is our most longstanding and steadfast ally, and such a move would be a gigantic strategic blunder for the shared interests and values of both countries.

This is in stark contrast with Donald Trump, who has said firmly on record that Israel must “finish what they started” in defeating Hamas, even when all the pro-Hamas terrorists were screaming for a ceasefire. Additionally, Trump stood up against the naysayers when he moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, and his opponents attacked him relentlessly and threatened that the Middle East would burn. In another example, while Obama downplayed Iran’s threat to the West, refused even to say the words “radical Islam,” removed the sanctions on Iran, and sent them $1.7 billion in cash on a redeye flight, Trump saw the dangerous radical Iranian regime for what it is and ordered the end of the horrible Iranian nuclear deal that legally paved the way to the bomb and ordered the elimination of the commander of Iran’s Quds Force, Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

Unfortunately, today, instead of strong candidates with principles and passion, we see some with a hollow soul, party propaganda, the buying of votes with sweet words, and a deliberate attempt at policy ambiguity so as not to alienate any desperately needed votes. Thus, what’s important isn’t what’s right or good for the country, but simply getting and keeping power! 

I’m old enough to remember that it used to be that leaders led, but now to become a “leader,” we have candidates that mistakenly believe you need to shut your mouth and keep your opinions to yourself, be “squeaky clean” from discourse and dissent, so you can get elected. Only then can you decide whether to reveal your true self and take a stand—if you actually have one.

In a sense, rather than getting elected based on your deep-down beliefs and positions, there is the falsehood that you now have to hold fire until you win so you can then have the freedom to say and do what you want. Of course, the problem is that the voters ultimately don’t know who or what they are voting for and are simply going by the image created by the campaign staff and media.

In the Wall Street Journal today, Peggy Noonan wrote:

I continue to believe the woman [Kamala Harris] isn’t creating a movement, but a movement is creating her and showing up.

In short, Vice President Harris, who everyone thought was worse than even President Biden and had the lowest net negative ratings of any vice president in history, has now, six weeks later, magically been transformed into arguably a leading candidate for the next president of the United States.

Interestingly, Kamala’s rise in the polls has occurred almost as a pop-star cultural and social phenomenon without her taking a stance on many issues. In fact, she was heavily criticized for not holding a press conference or taking questions for 18 days since becoming the Democratic presidential candidate.

It reminds me of the quote my dear and wise father (alav hashalom) used to say:

It is better to keep silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubts.

In this case, the Democratic National Committee is closely following this line of reasoning as they came out after Biden was forced to drop out of the election, and Kamala was spontaneously lifted, as in the fairy tale Cinderella, from rags to riches, from obscurity and even derision (think of her performance as “Border Czar”), into the shining star of the Democrat party to be hoisted into the most powerful position in the entire world.

In addition to Kamala saying that “everyone needs to be woke” her selection as the front-runner for the Democrats may have labeled her as the “woke candidate” suspect for being chosen not for her keen abilities or depth of her accomplishments but rather because she could appeal to many voters simply because she is a woman and black.

Further, aside from Kamala’s pro-choice position on abortion, how many people really know what she stands for and have heard her speak eloquently and passionately about them without being wishy-washy? 

Essentially, she is the TikTok candidate, where the entire purpose of her statements, apparently all scripted, is superficial and solely to generate “hits,” buzz, and votes. In fact, her website is blatantly devoid of policy and only has a place for asking for donations. Thus, instead of policy aims for our country, we are given at best platitudes and smirky, sarcastic lines from followers like “it depends on the context.”

The reason that things have fallen so far is that ambiguity is everybody’s mantra now, and nobody is willing to fall on the sword of substance. For example, Kamala should not have hesitated and unequivocally said that an arms embargo of friend and ally Israel, who is fighting terror on the front lines for all of us—that’s unprecedented, that’s not something we would ever do, that’s morally wrong, and that’s unAmerican!

As an electorate, we must demand more of our candidates than to be glamorous and look the part. Glitz without substance is worthless! The candidates must be qualified, articulate, have a vision, and be credible to execute it. We cannot rely on popular culture like fake, biased media, spokespeople, talk shows, paid political advertisements, and staged rallies to challenge the candidates and bring out the truth. This is especially important since we know foreign countries are trying to influence our elections and disrupt our democracy.

In a country as large and powerful as the USA, it is a shame that candidates may be elevated to the highest positions of power in the land because of whether or not they can garner enough votes to win, rather than because they represent the best of us and would take us as a country and society to be better than we ever thought possible.