A Short Biography of President Richard Delgado

A Short Biography of President Richard Delgado by ?Lap Gong Leong

                       If the 2040s have a face that encapsulates the seemingly contradictory deep prosperity and the social alienation that continues to reverberate in American politics, President Richard Delgado will be the man to the decade the same way Eisenhower or Reagan defined the 50s and the 80s. What began as an accidental presidency soon turned into the six longest years in American politics that no observer or participant will ever forget. He hounded the press with a certain bastille mentality and attacked the LGBT community with a fervor not seen since Jerry Falwell. While he often spoke beautifully about healing social fractures (often peppering his speeches with literary allusions), he loved a good heckling as it would allow him to practice his demagoguery.

           If Delgado is remembered for anything, beyond record-breaking growth that he may or may not be responsible for, his chief legacy will be encapsulated in two speeches now known as “Umbrella rising” and “sword through the rainbow”. With a video leaked to the New York Times, a clearly teary-eyed President had venerated the Hong Kong protestors with a deep sorrow befitting the maudlin side of his nature. He then played into old notions of western betrayal, in his words “the west sacrificed the best of a generation to decline in grace”. The speech caused a domestic and international incident. The Chinese American community found another reason to mobilize against him and America’s allies, who did not want to relitigate the Hong Kong protests for fear of ending any possible liberalization of the Chinese communist party, rebuked him. If the first speech solidified alienation, the second speech will leave him in infamy. On the anniversary of Obergefell v Hodges, the President spoke of the social alienation he felt as a young man from the decision. In the aggregate, it was a fine testimonial to his powers of rhetoric and autobiography. He told an interesting and insightful story about the loss of being part of a losing battle and accepting defeat.

However, a certain quote

“my sword, unfortunately, does not cut through the rainbow. Yet we must never stop reinserting our moral truths in public life, no matter the cost.”

The misheard and misquoted line, printed on the front page of every newspaper, eventually spelled the beginning of the end. The Republican Party, which had long abandoned its religious voting bloc in the mid-2020s to chase (and eventually gain) high-income LGBT voters, began to seriously consider if such a highly-strung personality could continue to lead them. We all know what happened after that poor set of midterms.

            Richard Delgado was born on January 12th, 2000 to Amelia Baldwin and Ernesto Delgado. The child of wealthy older parents, Richard was mostly reared by an African American nanny until the age of 12. In 2013, the family had moved to Hong Kong from New Jersey. By his recollections, the years spent there were the best of his early life. However, newly found evidence shows that he had a particularly horrid time adjusting to school and did not take to integrating very well. Part of this could be explained by the profound learning disabilities that were poorly managed by school staff and therapeutic services.

           After failing to matriculate to any local universities, Delgado found his back to The United States and tried his hand at odd jobs and took the odd class at community college. He returned to Hong Kong to participate in the 2019 protests and attempted to enter city politics but was unable to build enough support or following. This became a blessing in disguise, as he would be spared arrest. In Summer 2021, he and his family returned to the United States, settling in New York. After finishing his degree at City College, Delgado moved to London to pursue a Doctorate at LSE. Completing his Doctorate in record time, the young economist began to publish research on the negative economic effects of liberal social policies. Eventually, he became an advisor in the Labor-Liberal Coalition Government and then personal economic advisor to the Conservative Party Leadership. While initially feigning disinterest, the technocrat began to develop a taste for right wing politics. After a life in Britain, he returned to America to take up a teaching position in 2032.

           Feeling his academic career was at a dead end with, in his own mind, the sophomoric quality of his peculiar research, Richard Delgado ran for a seat in Congress. From then on, he would begin the strangest rise to the presidency. Taking advantage of a disorganized field and managing to pitch himself as a conviction politician, Delgado was the first Republican to win a New York City district outside of Staten Island in generations. The special election was a particularly parochial affair, as it was the result of both a sex scandal and ambitious factional infighting among the Manhattan democratic machine. Despite not living in the district, his combination of ethnic pandering and characteristic arm twisting helped secure a fatter majority during dark days for Republicans. In 2036, three years after his special election victory, the young congressman initiated a coup for the leadership. He was one of the youngest House minority leaders in recent times. From then on, he negotiated himself a coalition with Libertarians, Independents, and the Unity Coalition for a series of confidence and supply motions and omnibus bills. Democratic Speaker Marshall relinquished her gavel three weeks later.

           Delgado’s mixed record and inconsistent handling of an ornery congress did not stop the Republican delegates from giving him the vice-presidential nomination in a brokered convention. In a stroke of luck, his accidental presidency would begin when President Frederick resigned for leaked impropriety.

           Despite his populistic tendencies, President Delgado ran a technocratic operation and assembled a star cabinet without political antennae. He made great idiosyncratic moves to reorganize and reinvent government that did not always work. Some reforms such as the new Economic Policy Unit (a replacement for the NEC and the CEA) were novel. Some reforms, such as reorganizing the NSF and NIH, were just destructive. Despite that, policymaking was decent. For all his faults, America had a cabinet government with a president that deferred to departmental expertise most of the time.

            Today, we still live in the shadow of the strange New York Republican. America has never been more skeptical of government activism, a far cry from those heady Biden days.

And yet America is no less united in spirit. American prestige and power have generally been preserved, with democratic allies remaining strong, it remains rudderless. And while the world is richer, it is also much less conscientious of its own oneness.

If nothing else, Delgado broke the mold and made the weather. Future Presidents will not reverse his tinkering, especially since it suits them the most.

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[Each week, I join Lap Gong Leong, a colleague in weekly conversation; Lap is an emerging writer and commentator on a wide range of topics including politics, education, film, science fiction, and building a prosperous and free society for all. His analysis and critique aims to break through the logjam of conventional ideas and wisdom, especially as it relates to the careers and lives of individuals with Autism. We are pleased to share the 11th piece of writing from our recent exchanges.

About Lap Gong Leong, a graduate of Borough of Manhattan Community College in Liberal Arts, "I am in the process of transferring to a four-year university. However, the lack of Autistic aids for many individuals, including myself has incentivized me to work for myself."] A resident of NYC, Lap also divides his time between Hong Kong and Singapore.