What ever happened to the people who spoke out against the abuses of power committed by Donald Trump during his administration? Have they remained nonpartisan truth-seekers or returned to private life? Or have they debased themselves by jumping headlong into the political fray to make a buck? The latter, of course. This phenomenon shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone following politics for the last decade. Political hacks can sniff out a dollar like a bloodhound finds a sausage.
Take Alexander Vindman. The retired lieutenant colonel testified before Congress during Trump’s first impeachment hearings. Now what’s he up to? Has he retired from public life like the dutiful political servant he made himself out to be on national television? No. He’s retweeting socialist senator Bernie Sanders, making appearances on behalf of anti-police Democrats like Mandela Barnes, and doing cameos with Larry David on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. One can assume the irony of endorsing candidates who deride American law enforcement on Russian state television and palling around curmudgeons is lost on him.
Vindman’s repeated peccadillos are straight out of the James Comey playbook. Comey may have laid the groundwork for this kind of political hackery, but it doesn’t excuse Vindman’s indecorous conduct. So the next time we’re told to revel in awe of #Resistors, prepare to be disappointed.