Easy choice: Fascism or democracy

Trying to decide what words to write for my fellow Iowans, (trumpets in the background) as Election Day arrives hasn’t been easy. I’m full of advice (stet), I’m eager to blow hard, and there is so much to be determined about our future as a democracy. It is not whether our next president is a Democrat or Republican, as important as I think that is. It is whether one candidate even understands democracy or is prepared only to lead us from it.

I’ve turned to an unlikely source for help. President Donald Trump’s Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, has spoken first. A recent book describes him as “one of the most influential leaders in modern U.S. military history.” That seems to describe more than a career of just putting in time.

I’ve never saluted a general or an admiral. I missed being drafted during World War II when they stopped drafting 19-year-olds. I missed service in Korea because I was too married, and by Vietnam, I was just too old.

But I’ve worked with several officers with stars on their shoulders in serious jobs I’ve held and salute their reluctance to get into political matters where they rarely, if ever, belong. One of those exceptional times is right now. Gen. Milley is speaking up and clearly. The retired general says it simply: Donald Trump “is a fascist to the core.” He adds that Trump is, therefore, a ‘‘threat” to our democracy. I emphasize that those are not the words, not the voice, of a Democratic Party hack, some congressional candidate in San Francisco, or even Kamala Harris. Milley is simply an upper middle-class son of parents who both served in the military, his Mom as a nurse. He graduated from Princeton and Columbia and soon joined the Army. There are currently 44 active-duty four -star officers in our military of 1.3 million servicemen and women. To get to the top, Milley had to have shown exceptional qualities of competence and leadership.

He briefed Donald Trump and certainly saw him every week, if not every day. One assumes they chatted about more than that morning’s threats and conflicts around the world. Trump undoubtedly would cover the world of his enemies, foreign and domestic. Milley hasn’t given us direct quotes from his meetings with the president. That would be a violation of protocol, but it would violate his duty simply as a citizen if he stayed quiet now.

If Milley says Donald Trump is a fascist, I believe him. No one here, from liberal to just short of fascist, should vote for him. Traditional Republicans betray their history if they do.

I assume that Sen. Grassley has met Gen. Milley. I would guess he may have seen the general before his Judiciary Committee, or another where our senator serves. I hope he has read as much as I have about the General’s view of Trump. Unless he is both dumb and deaf, he, like all of us, must understand what Milley is saying. His words carry an uncomplicated message: Don’t vote for the fascist. Vote for a democrat.

I salute the general for his willingness to speak out today. He continues, in retirement, to protect our country.

Norman Sherman of Coralville has worked extensively in politics, including as Vice President Hubert Humphrey’s press secretary.