Thursday, February 23, 2017

WHY OUSTING TRUMP COULD MAKE EVERYTHING WORSE

A Fox News report on allegedly serious contemplation of the ousting of President Trump by Democrat lawmakers per the 25th Amendment to the Constitution says of Democrat Congressman Earl Bluemenauer, "Blumenauer said a bipartisan panel of lawmakers and former presidents should determine if the current president is fit to serve." Not that I'd ever defend Trump or the ways in which he is executing his agenda, but... THIS IS BULL!

Assuming such a committee could even be formed, what would be their criteria? Anyone of a certain age that was born in the United States can run for president and, by extension, win! Such a LACK of criteria for candidates was probably necessary up until the late 19th and early 20th century when more of the country was agrarian and even lawyers like Lincoln were often self-educated because access to college/higher education was severely limited, but if anything, that's what should be re-evaluated first before any impeachment or coups if for no other reason than to take steps to hopefully avoid this happening AGAIN!

Maybe Trump is mentally and emotionally unstable. I don't like it any more than Blumenauer and many others, but depending upon your definition, we've had a number of "unstable" Presidents. Andrew Jackson was a murderer and most likely a racist - far more erratic than Trump - and Abraham Lincoln was a manic-depressive that contemplated suicide and frequently compared to baboons in newspaper cartoons as well as blamed in one way or another for Union losses and a Civil War that everyone thought would be over in a year, at most. And while not necessarily unstable, a number of the latter 19th century presidents seem to have been all but totally expendable, interchangeable, and probably corrupt, having gained power after arguably corrupted elections in which party bosses had way too much power. As far as Trump's tweeting and him not being presidential, well... for better or worse, this is just another in a growing list of examples of how and why the Democratic Party, in particular, and even according to some Democrats, themselves, fail to truly understand what drove the 2016 election and its outcome beyond and outside of the Russian hacks.

Had Trump been more presidential, it's likely he would have LOST the election if he were even nominated at all! The anti-incumbent sentiment among voters that I believe had almost as much to do with the rise of Berie Sanders as of Trump meant that pretty much any candidate whose personality and policy looked too familiar was deemed untrustworthy and, as they say, "part of the problem." I heard Trump supporters call in to radio shows and say, outright, that even they weren't sure that Trump would be able to do half of what he proposed, but were so frustrated not only with Democrats - who appeared to them (and to me, by the way) to care more about the environment and the interests of minority groups and the rest of the world than those of the American voter majority whose job it would ultimately be to elect them - but with moderate and incumbent Republicans that nothing made more sense than to go with someone and something totally different. At the time, the only candidate that met those admittedly dubious qualifications was and remains Donald J. Trump. Per his tweeting, I'm not a fan of that, either, but this goes to the voters' distrust of the majority of the mainstream media, particularly the news media on television and in print. Even in comparably apolitical surveys, overall approval ratings for "the media," in general, hovered at or below 50% for most or all of the election, and Blumenauer's jab about poor spelling and grammar are laughably hypocritical given how many, even in the professional world, send out thousands of poorly-written texts, tweets, and E-mails every day. Of most importance, though, is that past and present Trump supporters now see his Tweeting as an extension of his own personal disliking of the media (for whatever reasons, founded or unfounded) and, more importantly, as a fairly unprecedented but important way for the President to supposedly talk directly to those that voted for him as opposed to through the filter of any number of reporters and news agencies that actively and overtly hate him and even mounted efforts to topple his candidacy and discredit his win and present administration. Even if one can make the argument that Trump is just seeking perpetual adulation to feed his own perversely overblown self-image, the results and reactions are the same.

The bottom line for me is that too much of the reasoning behind sentiments and statements like Blumenauer's is still tied LESS to any direct or lasting impact of Trump and his policies on the nation, at large and to this point, and FAR MORE to lingering reactions people had to Trump's offensive campaign rhetoric and the combination of shock and disappointment on the part of those that never once believed he would win. Ousting President Trump in any way that does not come with formal, substantive legal charges and/or a clearly bi-partisan mandate from American voters would likely do more harm than good. Even if you're someone that genuinely believes that Russia was directly responsible for Trump's win (despite there having been more votes for Hillary, overall, anyway), Trump won by uncomfortably narrow margins, but still fairly based upon existing, tangible evidence and the way Presidential elections have been conducted for much of the nation's history. And again, up to now, all we've really had have been Trump's executive orders, and as we saw with a number President Obama's such as the one dealing with illegal immigration in, I think, 2013, such orders seem to rarely survive immediate legal or political scrutiny... intact if at all. We've already seen a potent example in the form of his first travel ban. Thus, to realize and implement substantial and lasting policy, Trump MUST work with the House and Senate on legislation that passes legal and Constitutional muster on a number of levels. 

If Trump were successfully ousted and American law and tradition were honored, VP Mike Pence would probably succeed him, and while he's definitely more "presidential," I've seen a number of liberals online admit that because of Pence's religious fundamentalism, his potential presidency scares or scared them more than Trump's. To avoid this, you could not stop with ousting Trump, himself. In whatever form or condition, Trump's entire administration would have to be ousted, including those that have different opinions because ultimately, Trump hates to be contradicted or overruled and whatever their stated differences of opinion, pretty much everyone that Trump has chosen to be part of his administration has said that they would advise Trump honestly, but respect and bend to his will and decisions. If Trump were succeeded by Pence, we would be faced with someone who - because he seems to have startlingly little real ambition or sophisticated policies of his own - would likely feel and be honor-bound to carry out Trump's agenda in his own way. Because he would come across as a softer, more tolerable presence that is easier to work with, odds are that he would actually be more successful than Trump at doing the same or similar things... becoming, essentially, a wolf in sheep's clothing for the very people that ousted Trump to begin with.

The worst possible consequence of an ousting, however, is the way in which it would probably embolden the alt-right and the "movement" that elected Trump in the first place. If these people are as many Democrats have characterized them, then they are already fundamentalists and fundamentally anti-government at their core as well as extremely well-armed. It's an unfortunate fact that a lot of them are more than willing and potentially able to launch a paramilitary "movement" with consequences that go beyond a lot of hurt feelings and cancelled visas. The only way to defeat Trump is to let Trump defeat himself. Arguably, Mitt Romney lost to Obama in 2012, in part, because the Republicans had blocked so much of what Obama wanted to do that, with the ACA still not in effect, they couldn't really point to a lot of examples of actual failed policy. More importantly and more realistically, I believe, allowing Trump to defeat himself with the help of the existing and LEGAL opposition on the Supreme Court and in the House and Senate might also go further towards defeating the movement that elected him by destroying the most important pretense upon which many cast their votes for Trump: The notion that Trump, more than any other politician, could "get things done."

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Why Some Republicans Are And More Should Oppose and Check President Trump

Wouldn't it be ironic, given the controversies over General Flynn and Russia, etc., if Donald Trump's presidency wound up bringing Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate closer together in mutual cooperation on certain issues than they've been in a long time? And in opposition to Trump, himself, no less!

Even if you think Flynn is innocent or that there really was some sort of voter fraud, as Trump claims (sans conclusive evidence, as usual)... Even if you think, as I do knowing their joint-history since at least the 40's and 50's, that a majority of the print and electronic press and general media establishment is inherently liberal, how can anyone defend Trump as he either picks or continues these sorts of petty fights and squabbles in the face of a LOT of more important issues that he has not only promised to address, but which can only be effectively addressed, long term, with the cooperation of some of the very people with whom he continues to fight? Flynn has been gone for almost two days now and, legally, Trump won the very election that he is now saying was rigged, anyway! Even if Trump could somehow win these battles and sway most of the rest of the country to his side, though it seems highly unlikely right now, he's not going to be the President forever. In my opinion, he'll be lucky to make it four years. The point, though, is that these news outlets and a lot of these people in the press are going to be out there, doing their jobs, long after Trump is out of the White House and maybe even after his life on Earth has ended. And lest anyone think that Trump's call is for more fairness in the press, in general... IT ISN'T! Most if not all of the time, what Trump is demanding is more fairness towards HIM and HIS people - neither in general or even towards his own party (for now), the Republican Party.

I'm a Republican. In my personal life and the way I believe I should live, I'm very conservative - even more than I let on nowadays much of the time. Superficially, at least, or just in general, I share or agree with most if not all of Trump's political desires and goals whether I agree with the way he goes about addressing and accomplishing them or not (up to now). However, to those that still support and/or like Trump, exactly what do you think he stands to accomplish in all of this except, maybe, to undermine and handicap his own administration and agenda and, worse, to seriously threaten or even destroy what little is left of the USA's supposedly free and objective press (because so many outlets are run by for-profit companies with commercial and political agendas of their own or of their leaders)? For crying out loud, there are even people on Fox News now that are coming about as close as I've ever heard them come to questioning or seriously criticizing a Republican President in the way they talk sometimes about Donald Trump and his administration... if "administration" is even the right word for what Trump has up there.

And by the way, for those that dislike Trump even more than I do, here's another battle that I think should be fought: The fact that at least three, maybe four or more MAJOR news anchors as well as commentators on Fox News have long-standing and openly personal relationships with President Trump going back to before the campaign. While Bill O'Reilly at least tries a little nowadays to be fair and appropriately critical (whether he succeeds or not), Sean Hannity, in particular, has had what seem to be frequent, one-on-one interviews with Trump going back long before election day and continuing now. Since Trump started gaining serious momentum in the primaries, Hannity and others suddenly started talking like Trump and using terms like "the establishment," even in regards to fellow Republicans, that they had rarely if ever used before on a regular basis. So what's my problem with this?

My problem is that it seems to not only represent bias and favoritism, but unusual and (as far as I know) unrivaled ACCESS to the President of the United States and, by extension, a significant outlet to be used by this highly controversial president to promote and spin his agenda and actions in a way that I can't recall being the case for Obama or G.W. Bush or any other President, at least in my lifetime! It's particularly concerning given the fact that this President clearly hates and openly antagonizes pretty much every other news and media outlet to one degree or another - which, I think, only feeds and even VALIDATES both the press' anti-Trump and/or anti-conservative bias as well as what, to this degree, is Trump's anti-press or "fake news" paranoia. Even if much of the press adored President Obama and treated him and his administration with kid gloves sometimes or even most of the time, I don't recall Obama appearing as often in such a short span of time on only ONE news network or with only only one or two, maybe three anchors and/or interviewers.

The relationship that Trump seems to have with Fox, in particular, scares me in that it reminds me of the Third Reich, which many reference without much if any mention of the fact that it came to be solely led by a former art student who, for whatever nefarious purposes, personally designed the most commonly referenced red, white, and black Nazi flag as well as demonstrated and basically pioneered new, arguably unseen levels of national/military pageantry and propaganda since, to my knowledge, at least the heyday of the imperial Roman Empire. As I understand it, in Fascism and Nazism, otherwise privately owned and, for the most part, privately operated companies were nevertheless required to work for and on behalf of the State with, at times, State assistance. That Trump doesn't actually own or run Fox News, personally, is the only silver lining that I can see, but he surely knows Rupert Murdoch and, for all we know, probably has or did have stock in Fox's parent company.

Now, maybe - just maybe - I am or will ultimately be proven wrong about some or even all of this, particularly when it comes to Fox and Trump's relationship and/or fight with the press. I sincerely hope that I am... or will be. At the end of the day, though, what disturbs me even more than all of this is the fact that it is actually what a lot of people voted for. This, very likely, is making Trump's more loyal supporters during the campaign VERY happy because, in their twisted and overly simplistic world view and sense of priorities, turning the tables and getting some kind of petty revenge upon the liberal media and anyone in government that disappointed or now opposes them or their ideas and agenda is at least as or more important than just about anything else right now - on par, I think, with their desire for more jobs and national security.

A lot of people seem to want to just impeach or oust Donald Trump from the White House and even think that something like that could be done, but even if that last part were true (whatever the odds of it actually happening), it would not be an effective solution and might actually make things worse. Why? Because given the fact that we do not decide national elections by popular vote - likely to ensure that hundreds of thousands or more votes in more rural, less populated areas are not wasted by what would be a candidate's ability to win with just a small handful of the largest and most densely populated states and districts - it would not only enrage, but arguably validate the rage of the sorts of people that voted for Trump who would then be able to come back and say that they were or have been singularly disrespected and shut-out of the American political process despite their ability to lawfully, if narrowly, elect someone like Trump to high office. Only if Trump's mistakes, now and in the future, are and appear to be his and his, alone - only if something like that serves to disappoint or change the minds of his supporters, perhaps discrediting their underlying ideology and/or version of what I believe to be FAKE Republican conservatism in the process - would such an ousting and change likely be more meaningful and lasting.

Believe me when I say, again, that I would rather be wrong and see Trump and his people do an about-face, get their acts together, and become more reasonable and mature in their pursuit of what I still think is or could be a basically sound and valuable agenda. Unless or until that happens, however, I stand my ground, not as a traitor to my Republican Party, but as a partisan patriot that wishes with all my heart to have it preserved as it officially came into being and into legitimacy with Lincoln in 1860 and as it was in the seventies and eighties and could be yet again.