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What does a loose-lipped congressional candidate in Buffalo have in common with some witnesses in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection hearings?
They believe people want to follow strong political leaders.
Carl Paladino, who is seeking the Republican nomination for an open seat in the U.S. House of Representative, recently said that Adolf Hitler was “the kind of leader we need today.” He continued, “We need somebody inspirational. We need somebody that is a doer.”
While Paladino did not mention just what that particular “doer” did, he liked to way the Nazi Fuhrer “aroused the crowd.” The despicable substance of his arousing speeches meant nothing compared the way he got people to follow him. (Forget the Gestapo.)
During the House Jan. 6 hearings one participant said that he was at the Capitol because former President Donald Trump asked him to be there. Why would he readily do Trump’s bidding?
It is easy for some in the media to assume that Trump simply brought the racists out of the closet. That may be true but it’s far from the whole answer.
Paladino implied that people respond to bold, assertive, self-confident leadership for its own sake. It may not matter where the speakers want to lead people, just that they appear to take charge. Maybe that explains why the man went to Washington to attack the Capitol.
That may also explain why President Joe Biden has become less popular than Trump was at the same point in his presidency. Biden is affable, but not a crowd-pleasing orator who can express his policies in simple slogans.
One of the marks of leadership is the ability to directly motivate others. Leadership is a learned skill, so it’s not surprising that 12 of our 46 presidents had previously served as generals. Among the most historic were professionals like George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Ulysses Grant and Dwight Eisenhower. Others in lower ranks, like Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy, had led in combat.
