Today marks the third anniversary of the insurrection at the US Capitol Building as well as news that the US Supreme Court will decide whether former president Donald Trump’s name can appear on primary election ballots this year.

During the 1960 United States presidential election the Democratic Party candidate John F. Kennedy’s regular campaign stump speech included the admonition that he was the only person standing between his opponent, the Republican nominee Richard Nixon, and the White House.

A mere 10 or so years later history would indeed prove just how prescient his warning was. We all know how Nixon’s fateful 1969-1974 presidency crashed and burned by his own hand in the Watergate scandal. It was as the late US Senator (and 1996 presidential candidate himself) Bob Dole said at Nixon’s 1994 funeral: his legacy should not be how his presidency ended, but that it even happened in the first place.

And here we are 50 years later. A presumptive Republican Party nominee for the 2024 presidential election who, as I write, is facing 91 felony charges in four serious and separate indictments some of which threaten the very bedrock of American democracy.

Which is why I was encouraged that last year’s campaign for leadership of the Liberal Party of Ontario stipulated that candidates must provide a criminal record background check (requested through a local Police Service) to qualify as a candidate. In fact, you cannot coach sports, lead a Boy Scout or Girl Guide troupe nor even be a volunteer in all sorts of activities without one. How novel. How appropriate.

The same should hold true for those wanting to represent us at all levels of government: local, provincial, and federal. Afterall, anyone applying for a role these days in most other organizations must at least consent to a criminal record check as part of the hiring process.

Clowns developed from the mythological figures of tricksters. They appear throughout history in various cultures. One thing is certain: they often break both societal rules and can offend principles of acceptable social behaviour.

They didn’t call Richard Nixon “Tricky Dick” for nothing.

Photo note: Candidate Kennedy prior to mandatory Secret Service protection for major party US presidential candidates.