About Those Trends...

About Those Trends…The Old Gray Lady and the Washington Post, along with many other MSM outlets, have been enjoying the past few weeks.  They trumpet how Obama is on a roll with his recent trade authority victory in Congress; this even though it was more a dubious victory for McConnell than it was for Obama.  The string of SCOTUS decisions has emboldened these bastions of progressiveness to declare that the country is trending liberal.  They can hardly contain their glee; Obama is cementing his legacy, SCOTUS is magically enlightened, and national tolerance has been raised to levels heretofore unseen.  Not only are we now tolerating practices that many (sometimes meeting majority status) find objectionable; but we must each, as individuals, actually endorse and sanction these practices lest we be branded as Neanderthals.  But I will pose the question: Is the country trending more liberal, or is it just the Democratic Party that is trending more liberal?  I believe it is the latter.

Both of our major political parties have been hijacked in recent years by their more radical elements; this is nothing new.  The loudest voice in the room is most often heard and the far right, along with the far left, has been screaming at the top of their voices for several years now.  Do president Obama, Mayor De Blasio, Senator Gillibrand, Governor Brown, SCOTUS member Ginsburg….do all of these people represent the mainstream of America?  Are all of those, like me, who disagree strongly with their policies and political views, moving towards their positions in these matters?    Is MSNBC an accurate reflection of how the majority of Americans view the world?  I hardly think so.  Rather, I think that the far left of the Democratic Party, drunk on a string of events and political victories, have become irrational in their celebration, and are greatly overreaching in their effort to expand on their performances; and are using their reliable appendage, the mainstream media, to promote the false impression that the overwhelming majority of citizens agree with them and the ideas they are promoting.

Inevitably, when one overreaches, it results in significant push back and the net gain is demonstrably reduced to something significantly less impressive than was originally scored.  My gut tells me that is where we are with this entire rainbow tolerating, autocratic executive actioning, arbitrary SCOTUS decisioning, MSM horn blowing, and foreign policy tomfoolery.  I think if one looks closely, the great swath of people who occupy that silent (flyover?) segment of this great country between the radical elements of each party is beginning to awaken to the ever-increasing intrusion that these actions are perpetrating on their lives.  I think that perhaps the bear has been poked once too often, the celebration has become a bit too obnoxious, and the beast is beginning to rumble.  At least, I hope and pray this is true.

This nation was built on the twin pillars of freedom and respect; freedom to be the individual you want to be as long as you don’t harm others in the process and respect for those freedoms from those who do not agree with them.  Of the many problems that face this great nation, the two that must be essentially addressed is that our government has become far too large and our government has become (and is rapidly becoming) far too intrusive. The election of 2016 is a lifetime away, but the stakes are very clear at this early juncture.  Even though Republicans have shown very little more inclination (in results, not rhetoric) to shrinking the size of government and getting our fiscal house in order; there is little doubt that they are the party of less government intrusion.  If the citizens of this nation who take the time to vote elect a Democrat for President in 2016, that person will no doubt be obligated to the liberal wing of their party, who are now in clear control of that apparatus.  It will not only be a continuation of the Obama policies we have seen unleashed in the last year or so, but the push towards a socialized nation will become even more aggressive and pervasive.  Give that Democrat in the White House a majority Senate and you will surely set in place a transformative period in our country’s history that will end up with us looking more like France than Canada.  On the other hand, if my gut is correct and the push-back is beginning, and if the Republicans nominate a reasonable and competent candidate, then we will have in place not only a tourniquet to stop this liberal bleeding, but the real possibility of rolling back some of the liberal polices foisted upon us in the final, frantic days of Obama. 

I must admit, there is little in the past that makes me think the Republicans, if given control of the White House and Congress, will bring our fiscal house in order.  That is exceedingly sad and depressing; but perhaps there is a true leader out their somewhere in the vast field of Republican nominee-seekers who can lead the charge and help to bring some degree of fiscal sanity back to our government.  It is for damn sure that Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Martin O’Malley, or Joe Biden will not.  As for government intrusion…if we elect a Republican, there is certainly no guarantee that domestic policy will improve in real terms; but if we elect a Democrat, you might as well set another chair at your dinner table because government is coming into your house on a permanent basis.