“He had a superabundance of secretions which he could not find whores enough to draw off.”
– President John Adams commenting on the promiscuous behavior of Alexander Hamilton
(Just imagine if Twitter were around in the late 1700’s. We suspect two things would be true – First, it would likely be far more popular even than it is today. 2nd, by comparison, President Trump’s tweets would appear milquetoast.)
Most of us have had the experience in our jobs or social groups with a person fitting the description of a “Bull in a China Shop”. Someone who has little or no concern for the collateral damage they cause around them when fixated on accomplishing a task. That damage can take the form things like rule-breaking, social faux pas, breaches of etiquette, or as with a real bull – physical destruction. There is usually no way to “fix” him/her because you can’t take the essence of bull-ness out of a bull.
The bulls are dealt with in various ways. Some are always treated with extreme caution so as not to make what is viewed as an already bad situation any worse. Others are simply expelled from their organizations because they’ve done too much damage or made the workplace an intolerable environment. However, for a select few, the organization they are a part of takes advantage of their true bull nature to expand into more challenging and difficult opportunities than they would otherwise lock horns with.
Alexander Hamilton was in many respects a “bull” during his time in government. He wielded tremendous power with his writing talents and boundless energy. So much so, that men such as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison spent years trying unsuccessfully to curtail his influence, believing he was causing too much destruction charging forward as George Washington’s Treasury Secretary. Washington however, recognized the value of his bull for what it does best. He deftly provided Hamilton enough “rope” and accepted a degree of collateral damage in the process. The result was a strengthening of Presidential authority and construction of the core of the US financial system in an amazingly short time.
Republicans in the House and Senate are fractured right now on how to deal with their own Bull in the china shop, President Trump. Some are staying far away and using extreme caution. Others are foolishly wasting their time trying to change the way the Bull behaves. And there are some simply watching the Bull charge where he wants and following dazed in the path behind him. None of this makes best use of the Bull, who can flail about and cause damage with no accompanying benefit if not able to focus its ferocity on something.
The people of this country elected the President they wanted. The Republican House and Senate, while happy to have a member of their own party in the White House, did not get the President they wanted. Nonetheless, there is a menu of aggressive opportunities on the table for them that may only surface once in a generation. They have not used their Bull very effectively so far, the singular exception being Judge Gorsuch’s appointment to the Supreme Court.
The popular critique of the Republicans at the moment is that they need to “unify”. It’s clearly more than that. They need to quickly realize they aren’t going to be able to expel or change the behavior of their Bull in the White House. They need to focus on opportunities where having a Bull, in all its snorting, pawing, charging splendor, is an asset. They could demonstrate true genius by setting up a short path to a clear objective for the Bull (bulls can’t go full speed for long distances). Then, encourage the Bull to charge down the path and obliterate all obstacles in the way. Realize and accept that there will be collateral damage along the path in the immediate vicinity of any impediments. Arrive at the end goal and celebrate! This is exactly what should happen with ObamaCare, Tax Reform, Immigration, and the Federal Budget. Each one of those objectives can be achieved quickly with the help of a strong Bull, but only if the Republicans in the House and Senate join the charge with full support, focus, and encouragement. Red flags optional.