I want to share with you a recent conversation I had with my MAGA-wife over morning coffee. I presented to her my belief that the stubborn polling spread between Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump lies mainly with those who are convinced the last presidential election was stolen from Trump and the only way to reconcile that is to restore him to the presidency. Trump clearly feels this way and a large portion of the Republican Party does also; my wife included. To them, nothing else takes precedence over settling this perceived injustice. Government be damned; the economy be damned; foreign policy be damned….the Democrats stole the election and the only way to make it right is to put Trump back in! Things were good while he was president and they will be good again if he is restored.
I
submit to her that Trump’s shoot from the
hip political style and constant badgering of his opponents will do nothing
but create four years of turmoil and chaos.
She responds that is
acceptable. It is the price to be paid
for what the Democrats did; it is their
fault. I say if that is true, then Trump should debate his Republican opponents for
the nomination and lay out his case. She
says that is not necessary because he
has already been president and we know what he stands for. He shouldn’t have to debate. I reply that yes…I know exactly what Trump
stands for and our nation does not need four more years of it. I submit to her…if he is so great, let him
take the stage and defend his policies of the past, present his ideals for the
future, and demonstrate that he deserves another four years as president. Do
not forget…he ran for president as an
incumbent and lost. Since when does
losing your last race make you the unchallenged choice for your next race? Oh no, she says…he did not lose. It was stolen.
I
think Trump is a chameleon and a bully.
He viciously demonizes those who disagree with him, he refuses to
participate in legitimate debates, and he claims ownership of any positive
effects associated with him while never assuming blame for any negative effects
of a similar connection. The Republicans
run a very real risk if they buy into his scorched earth pursuit of their
party’s nomination. With the media helping
him obtain it, they might find themselves with a damaged-goods nominee that the
mainstream media then has no use
for. They’ll be forced to helplessly
watch as the so-called journalists happily return to their Democrat roots. Is it
not clear that Trump will destroy anyone and anything in order to be president
and the mainstream media views him as their useful idiot to keep the Democrats
in power?
Trump’s
only interest in being elected president once again is so that he can settle
old scores. He constantly looks backward
and inward…he never looks forward or outward.
Is that what our country needs…a re-litigation of the last
election…further cleaving of the polarizing chasm between Republicans and
Democrats? Are we not better served by
drawing lessons from past mistakes, reforming government so that mistakes and
abuses will not be repeated, and moving on with the future of our citizenry and
their children? We have an angry old man as president today. Why should we trade him in for a different
angry old man as president tomorrow?
I
close the conversation with my wife by pleading with her to simply consider an
alternative to Trump…just listen to his
opponents. I assure her that any
Republican, including Trump, will get
my vote versus a Democrat and that the essential goal is to put a Republican
president back in the White House. My
pleas fall on deaf ears. In her mind,
and the minds of many Republicans, Donald Trump is entitled to a second term as president and nothing short of that
will suffice. I fear this is a bad
strategy for the Republican Party and sincerely hope that this attitude withers
as the nomination process proceeds. If a
substantial number of Republicans cling to this philosophy, it may very well
put a Democrat back in the White House.
I
readily admit to possessing a crippling case of naiveté; but hope does spring
eternal and it is something we must cling to.
We have before us, Republicans and Democrats alike, an opportunity to
reset the game board. Joe Biden and Donald Trump are all about Joe
Biden and Donald Trump. Let us set
them aside. Let us refuse to allow them
the use of our country to boost their aged egos and engagement in petty
political gamesmanship. It is our country and our families that are absorbing the collateral damage from their
sophomoric spats. Let us send them both
packin’ with the venomous partisan poison they have been promoting since the
early days of Obama.
They
have both had their chances…their shots at the target. It is now time to consider new ideas, new
policies, new approaches to old problems…and perhaps old approaches (our Constitution?) to new problems. There is certainly no guarantee that new and
fresh candidates from our national political parties will change the wicked
political environment that we find ourselves in….but they might. We need to
take that chance. We need to be
bold. We need to look for new ways and
new leaders to solve our chronic problems.
There
is no promise that it will lead to a better nation; but there can be little
doubt that continuing on our current path, with either Biden or Trump, will not lead to reconciliation of our
fundamental political issues. Albert Einstein advised us that “The definition of insanity is doing the same
thing over and over and expecting different results”. Are we really crazy enough to elect Biden or
Trump a second time? Bottom line: Hey
Republicans…Donald Trump is better than anything the Democrats might offer…but you can do better! On to the news….
America’s
education industry continues to circle the drain. The inmates have taken control of the asylum. Rank and file teachers must stand up and rid
their employee organization of the radicals that have commandeered it for their
own personal agenda.
https://amgreatness.com/2023/07/14/its-time-to-acknowledge-americas-education-crisis/
https://jonathanturley.org/2023/07/15/gallup-public-confidence-in-higher-education-plunges/
Biden is determined to serve in
office as a King and not as an elected President. This blatant demonstration of executive overreach
is shameful and must be stopped in its tracks:
https://reason.com/2023/07/14/biden-forgives-almost-40-billion-in-student-loans/
While the education system for our
children withers on the vine, THIS is what our teachers are crying about:
https://amgreatness.com/2023/07/19/the-latest-in-teacher-union-ugly/
Our
economy is full of contradictions; competent analysts can cherry-pick current
statistics and prove most any point they desire. But if you take the time to consider the
economy as a whole, from all aspects, you have to reach the conclusion that
there is something off about the whole deal.
There is too much debt, too much inflation, and there is no sense of value in our economy. Too many help wanted signs are posted while too
many able-bodied people are not
working while they are living off the government dole. Something’s gotta give. I cannot shake the bad feeling that we are
headed for a cliff and our driver does not understand the concept of braking.
https://reason.com/2023/07/13/bidenomics-is-nothing-new/
https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/07/it-isnt-time-for-an-inflation-victory-lap/
Our
Department of Justice (DOJ) continues to daily disgrace itself. While ignoring the actions of our President
and his corrupt family dealings, they pursue Trump with a vengeance that is
abnormal. Think about it: Donald Trump
is Biden’s chief political rival in an election less than a year and a half
away and the DOJ, under the command of the President, is doing everything in
its power to incarcerate Trump. There is
no place in the civilized world where this type of justice should be accepted
by the citizenry.
We could use some more of this from
our Congress: https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/gop-house-subcommittee/2023/07/14/id/1127205/
Both
parties are earnestly pursuing the selection of their next presidential
candidate. At
this point in time, all bets are off for both sides. This is great opportunity for democracy to
shine and allow the system to pick the best leaders available…but will we allow
the system to work?
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2023/07/the-great-sort-1993-2023.php
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/rating-the-gop-candidates-in-iowa
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/fridays-winners/
https://www.dailywire.com/news/nikki-haley-reveals-what-shell-do-to-federal-agencies-if-elected
I believe Trump might be confused…he
is running for President, not King of America: https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/donald-trump-government-structure/2023/07/17/id/1127372/
Here
are three stories to close out this post.
All regarding current issues that are demanding immediate and effective
actions…and all three are slowly simmering because no action is being taken.
A robust and bipartisan debate
about our national immigration policy
is critical…the clock is ticking: https://nypost.com/2023/07/12/americas-illegal-migrant-crisis-is-far-from-over/
The Supreme Court’s recent decision
about affirmative action continues
to ripple throughout our nation. It is
not legal, nor moral, to discriminate in an effort to combat discrimination:
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2023/07/state-ags-say-stop-discriminating.php
Have we learned nothing from the
shameless abuses of power that occurred during the covid epidemic? When
the next wave of national emergency rolls around, will we as a people lay down
our rights…once again…to be trampled upon like we did last time? Surely not: https://thefederalist.com/2023/07/15/if-you-were-a-sheep-during-covid-admit-you-were-wrong-and-do-better-next-time/
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