Fitz File

          With the Iowa caucuses just a few days away, there has been a uptick in voter analysis. Along with this is a renewal in the question “how could anyone vote for Donald Trump?” While that has always been a question since 2016, there are several fairly extreme examples which continue to press this question, not the least of which was his latest claim that he should be immune from killing political rivals as President. But given there will be around 150 million people voting in the election, it is useful to divide these groups into broad categories to understand how they view certain issues. Over the past few months, I have broken Trump voters into 5 general categories. While these can overlap somewhat, they are important distinctions to use when deciding on a persuasive methodology.           True Believers. This is the group of ride-or-die (literally) Trump voters. They have the red hat, travel to attend his ra...

            It is an unfortunate trend of our discourse that the accusation of hypocrisy no longer has the effectiveness it once held. To see someone preach morals, fiscal responsibility, or social beliefs, only to be exposed as a hypocrite used to demean their character in the public eye, and thus lessen their ability to wield power. But with the rise of social media, and extreme political beliefs, the fact that some people do not practice what they preach has led to a depressing moral equivalency that is anything but true.           I was exposed, once again, to a particularly frustrating brand of hypocrisy earlier today when I read about State Farm Insurance no longer accepting applications for homes in California due to high-risk issues draining their coffers. While this is a perfectly sensible move from a business-sense, it is a disaster for individual homeowners, the state, and economic strength as a whole. I beg...

            What I enjoy the most about reading Presidential biographies is the glimpse it provides into the lives of truly great people.  The United States has been an exceptional country from the moment of our inception in 1788.  The leaders of this country have been proud examples of hardworking, considerate, and intelligent individuals to match this exceptionalism.  On top of the hard powers of the office, the President also has incredible influence on the national mood and predominate values of the country.  Even in tiny ways, JFK was the first President to not wear a hat to his inauguration, and after, the national style for men lost the hat.  FDR said the office is “pre-eminently a place of moral leadership”, and when those holders do not live up to the moral responsibility, it tends to degrade the entire nation.  Unfortunately, this piece is about three Presidents who have had the most majo...

                    While I try to keep my posts factual and center the argument around introductions of policy, today I want to rant about morality. This inspiration came from two books I had finished this week, His Truth is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope by Jon Meacham, and Grace: President Obama and Ten Days in the Battle for America by Cody Keenan. While both are incredible stories in history of actions taken by an impassioned civil rights leader and inspired speech writer respectively, these books highlighted the continued moral struggle of America.  Their stories, battles, and beliefs are why I love this country.  Both stories made the fights of the past a framing device for the struggles of the present.  That we are fighting now was not an indictment of our society, but an ongoing symbol of the transforming America.  The struggle itself is the true representation: we are not perfect,...

          Chief Justice Marshall had laid out the foundations of the way in which we now treat sovereign Indian territories in the United States in an 1832 case, Worcester v. Georgia.  Shortly after, it was reported that President Andrew Jackson, in his known scorn for the Native American tribes, said “John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it!”  Jackson was confident the sovereignty of the tribes would never be solidified because the courts only had the ability to define and rule of laws, not enforce them.  This presidential outburst encapsulates an important and often overlooked point: courts only have as much power as the citizens give them.           The court system of the United States is often seen as the gold standard of the world.  Our lawyers, judges, and arbiters are often brought into other nations as they build their legal systems.  We have built a system that handles more...

          Former President Trump did not create the self-interest or isolationism sweeping the Republican party, he merely took advantage and exacerbated it.  Yet his attitude and mannerisms shined and even greater light on those that came before him.  Searching through the spotlights show two figures in particular, highlighting their greatest attribute: their compassion.  These past few months, as I finished law school, two biographies have truly touched my spirit: David L. Roll's George Marshall, and Ron Chernow's Grant.  Extracted from these tomes were two stories from the lives of George Marshall and Ulysses S. Grant that highlighted this unique trait.           In 1953, George Marshall was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  While this was met with some controversy, it is his speech which truly displayed his larger vision for the world, buttressed by compassion.  As Chief of Staff, and la...

               Cartoons may be silly, but often they host talented writers who can really turn a phrase.  Seeing the sudden and alarming uptick in Covid cases in Michigan brought back a memory from the early 2000s.  As Bender from Futurama speaks to a massive, galaxy-spanning entity on the morality of his recent destruction of an entire civilization living on his backside, the entity consoles him.  Concerned that he never knew how to effectively play god, the entity urged a “light touch”, saying “when you do things right, people won’t be sure you’ve done anything at all.”           The morality and inherent good-ness of humanity aside, the line reminds me of the principles of governing.  It is often a thankless job and a favorite punching bag of the conservative right and apathetic left alike.  Yet the very nature of essentially social maintenance is designed to prevent things from happe...