Trump 'Recogito'
Sydney M. Williams
Thought of the Day
“Trump Recogito”
May 16, 2016
“Alice: ‘This is impossible!’
The Mad Hatter:
‘Only if you believe it is.’”
Lewis
Carroll
“I hope you consider reconsidering your decision.”
YC
the Cynic (Matthew Jefferson)
American
hip hop artist
From
“Hvnly”
If you have concluded that Donald Trump’s gibberish about Muslims,
trade wars and the building of a wall along the Mexican border and asinine
assurances that he will “make America great again,” render him unfit to be
President, as I had, you may want to reconsider your position.
First, he is the choice of the people, and second, his likely opponent
will be the morally corrupt prevaricator, Mrs. Clinton. We can debate endlessly
the cause of Donald Trump’s rise from real estate mogul and media star to presumptive
Republican nominee for President of the United States. But the people have
spoken and he is their choice. Republicans may, on policy and personality
grounds, disapprove of Mr. Trump. That is their right. But beware of those who
condescendingly bewail the choice as based on the ignorance of voters or, at
best, a shallow understanding of the issues. Those who do so are being contemptuous,
not only of the will of the people, but also of the collective wisdom of the
electorate – dangerous steps in the abandonment of democracy.
The media has focused on Mr. Trump. He sells. Mrs. Clinton does not,
yet they prefer her. They have largely ignored the dissembling nature of her
e-mail shenanigans, her lies about Benghazi and the cronyism embedded in the
Clinton Foundation. They have been dismissive of Bernie Sanders’ rising popularity.
The Vermont socialist won Indiana by five percentage points and West Virginia
by fifteen. Of the last sixteen primaries, he has won ten. Mrs. Clinton
represents the status quo. She hews to a path carved out by Mr. Obama, a path that
has produced the slowest economic recovery in the post-War years, a Middle East
that has tumbled into chaos, a widening of income and wealth gaps and an
electorate and political establishment that is the most divided since the
Vietnam War.
Mrs. Clinton is being pushed to the left. Recently she suggested that
Medicare (a program with enormous unfunded liabilities) be expanded to include
all those over fifty – a step toward a single-payer system. She ignores the
consequences her proposals place on future generations – the vicious cycle that
dependency on the “nanny” state represents: Transfer payments must be paid for
with increased taxes. Increased taxes reduce economic growth, which means more
people become dependent on the state. That, in turn, creates the need for even
more taxes and a concomitant reduction in economic growth. It is a whirlpool
that spirals down. There is a balance to be found, but two percent GDP growth
over the past seven years of economic recovery suggests the pendulum has swung
too far to the left. Expanding entitlements leads the country in the wrong
direction. Another four years (not to mention eight) of the Obama economy will
sink this country into the mire that is Europe. We need a fresh start, another
“morning in America.”
Is Donald Trump the answer? I don’t know. Would he be my first choice?
No. I would rather a candidate that reflected my preferences: limited
government; rule of law; fiscal responsibility; reformed and simplified regulatory
and tax policies; an education system that puts the needs of students above the
wants of teachers’ unions; an immigration plan that is welcoming but selective;
free trade; a foreign policy that is engaged, robust and that recognizes the
role we must play as the world’s most powerful nation; and a moral code based
on universal values, one that abandons multiculturalism and does not tolerate
the intolerant.
But we must play the hand we have been dealt. Mr. Trump, from what I
can tell, is a man without ideologies. Pundits and others ask him how he stands
on issues important to them: trade, immigration, tax policy or the rights of
transgenders. His answers are muddled and often contradictory. He spouts one-liners,
giving his audience no hope of parsing what he says. In governing, will he be
as spontaneous and glib as his inanities suggest? I don’t know, but I suspect
not. Like Presidents Eisenhower and Clinton, Mr. Trump is driven less by
ideology and more by the practical necessity of exercising power. Dangerous
leaders are those that evolve from extreme ideologies. When the ideological alternative
is extreme, I prefer the pragmatist. Mr. Trump may not advance the conservative
agenda, but he will not persist down the current path. Karl Rove, in a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed wrote that Mr.
Trump has not yet convinced enough people that “he is the man to set America
back on track.” That may be so, but first we must de-rail the track we are on,
a feat for which Mr. Trump seems ably competent.
I have written about Mr. Trump several times in the past. Last August (The Phenomenon that is Trump), I
suggested he may be a demagogue. My concerns were that his entreaties were to
emotions, not intellect, and that he appealed to those who preferred to be led
rather than guided. I believe I was wrong. A demagogue suggests an ideology, an
individual with a messianic belief that they are ordained to lead us. But Trump
is more of a wrecking ball. He wants to tear down what does not work, then
replace what has been razed with more workable alternatives. We do have a bloated
government. It is comprised of cronies. It needs reorganization. Government has
become “the arbitrary obstacle” Milton Friedman warned about, which blocks
people from realizing their ambitions. As we know from the Clinton Foundation
and the Panama Papers, government works for those on the inside. Never has it
been so easy for politicians to become rich. But the system has not worked for
the people. A recent Pew Research Center poll found that median U.S. household
incomes, adjusted for the cost of living, fell in 190 of 229 metro areas
between 1999 and 2014. It has been that failure which has fueled the campaigns
of Bernie Sanders and Donald trump. As well, policies of the Obama
Administration have encouraged the fascist-like stance of “political
correctness,” which has stifled dissent and suppressed free speech. To elect
Mrs. Clinton will further erode personal liberties.
There are a number of conservatives whom I respect that cannot bring
themselves to support Mr. Trump. I appreciate their views. He is vulgar and
insulting. He does not reflect my values. We could never be friends. But his
opponent’s hypocrisy is worse. Like so many on the left, she preaches equality
but practices the cronyism (and the inequality that comes with it) she claims
to abhor. Mr. Trump may not be the ideal candidate, but he is the people’s
choice, and the alternative is worse.
Maintaining the current path only deepens divisions and widens the gaps
between the governed and the governors. It is not only world peace and the
economy that are at stake, it is the fundamental principles of freedom and
democracy that are at risk. Should we forsake our past and allow
multiculturalism be our moral guiding star? Lagging economic growth, with
non-discretionary items rising as a percent of the federal budget, means we are
headed for a difficult place. The longer we delay needed corrections the more
damaging will be their consequences. I would prefer that options were
different, but if the choice is Mrs. Clinton or Mr. Trump, I will hold my nose,
hope for the best and pull the lever for Mr. Trump.
Labels: TOTD
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home