Overshadowed by over 100,000 dead Americans from Coronavirus, demonstrations of outrage about blacks being killed, and Trump’s latest reckless action and menacing tweet, voters are going to the polls and setting the stage for Blue Wave 2020. Iowa’s voters have a real opportunity to set the nation on a better path forward in next Tuesday’s Democratic Party primary. In short, a vote for
Mike Franken
Democrat for U.S. Senate
is a vote for the Rebirth of Expertise.
The Death of Expertise
Amid the challenges of our times, there is both an undercurrent of seeking and explicit efforts to undermine and discredit competence, knowledge, and authority as a political and business tool. Look no further than the decades of attacks on environmental, climate and safety-related scientists and institutions as a tool of profitability. Lies, lies, lies such as: No, tobacco doesn’t cause cancer. No, climate change isn’t real/important/isn’t manmade. Donald Trump has brought such gaslighting to Brave New World levels with devotees decrying “Deep State”, regularly attacking journalists as “Enemy of the People”, and claiming that his gut has more to say about science than the world’s leading scientists (on naval technology, climate, coronavirus, …). Don’t believe experts, don’t believe your lying eyes, believe the Dear Leader. One can legitimately ask whether Naval War College Professor Tom Nichols accurately captured our future with his book title: The Death of Expertise.
“These are dangerous times. Never have so many people had access to so much knowledge, and yet been so resistant to learning anything.”
Nichols saw one potential path to reverse this as, in essence, experts banding together — across disciplines and domains — to fight the efforts to undermine expertise.
As humanity struggles to battle coronavirus and seek paths forward to viable economic activity with and beyond the virus, a question is whether this will foster a greater respect for and leverage of expertise in public life and policy — or less. In many entities, from South Korea to Germany, it seems clear that scientists and researchers (expert knowledge) are central to effective decision-making. In many others, from Iran to Brazil to the Florida Governor’s mansion to the White House, it seems the reverse — with actual expertise being undermined, stifled, ignored, and or contradicted with literally deadly result. All of this occurring despite experts seeking to foster greater respect for expertise in dealing with the pandemic.
Thus, perhaps more importantly than ‘experts promoting expertise’ is for those who have this concern (who wish to seek expertise and knowledge (science, engineering, etc …) play an appropriate role in fostering a better functioning polity) express this in the ballot box. In other words, make conscious choices to support (vote for) politicians who do not necessarily have expertise but, perhaps more importantly, a demonstrated ability to and experience in interacting with, contributing to, learning from, and leveraging expertise to foster more informed (and, writ large — not 100% true — better) decision-making.
Iowa’s Opportunity
In Iowa’s Democratic Party Senate primary, Iowa’s voters have the opportunity to make a conscious choice for expert knowledge, for expert decision-making, for fostering the Rebirth of Expertise with a vote for Vice Admiral Michael Franken, U.S. Navy (retired), to be the Democratic Party nominee to send climate-science denying, Trump collaborator Jodi Ernst packing.
To a certain extent, when it comes to expertise, this third-generation Iowan’s bio speaks for itself:
- Education: BS Engineering, MS Physics, along with professional studies
- 35 Navy Career
- Commanded multiple warships and battlegroups
- Significant staff positions in African Command and as director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
- Substantive introduction to policy and politics from Navy policy staff positions to being a Navy fellow in Senator Kennedy’s office
- Think tank experience and engagement
- While in uniform, worked with Navy and other think tanks and expert groups of all sorts — for supporting Navy policy papers to developing $150 billion budgets to …
- After retirement, worked with multiple think tanks including as a Distinguished Scholar in the Stimson Center’s Environmental Security Program.
He has leveraged expertise throughout his career to help foster more informed (his superiors and his own) decision-making — across a wide range of issue sets. And, having had the chance to see this upfront and knowing many who have worked with over the years, has done so thoughtfully and with skilled graciousness that has kept the door open to and with experts with whom he ended up having to disagree with for reasons outside their specialization. (E.g., Franken knows how to work with and leverage expertise … but isn’t beholden to or captured by it.) He has also shown the moral courage to leverage expert knowledge to make principled and difficult choices to ‘do what is right’.
The Democratic Party, the nation, and Iowa would be well served by a Senator Mike Franken.
Franken can send Ernst packing
Upfront, there is no question that any of the Democratic Party candidates would be — if in office — light years better than Ernst. Franken, however,
- Likely provides the best odds to defeat Ernst, in no small part because his military career negates Ernst’s reliance on her National Guard service as a key credential.
- Truly would be a signal from the Iowa voters that expertise matters.
As a counter to Trump’s, Republican, and Jodi Ernst seeking to drive nails into expertise’s coffin and to foster the Rebirth of Expertise, Iowa’s Democrats should
vote for Mike Franken
to send Trump collaborator Jodi Ernst packing.
Related post: Climate Hawk announces in Iowa Senate race
Iowa farm boy Vice Admiral Mike Franken, U.S. Navy (retired), places climate change as core to his priorities, as core to his campaign, as core to his understanding of Iowans’ concerns about today and tomorrow.