In less than a week, we will choose a president (although
the process has already commenced). We
will choose between a sometimes blunt speaking, sometimes unpresidential
showman that engages in puffery and an dementia ridden, addled old man that could
hardly campaign in the final weeks and about whom Barack Obama was caught
saying, “Don’t underestimate Joe’s ability to f**k things up.”
Despite my reservations early on about Donald Trump, the choice is clear.
I endorse Donald Trump,
and I do so for three important reasons:
Challenges conventional wisdom.
Trump’s willingness to question conventional Republican positions was apparent to
me from the beginning. I listened
carefully to the debates in the 2016 Republican primary. He was the ONLY contender that did not invoke
the name of Ronald Reagan. While Reagan
was a great president and an important figure for his time, his time has passed
and the fruitless search by the Republicans for the next Ronald Reagan has not
gotten traction in 25 years. Trump
never mentioned Reagan.
Likewise, Trump challenged conventional wisdom on a variety
of fronts--- free trade, open borders, our relationship with our European
allies in NATO. He caused many of us to
rethink accepted conservative doctrine.
Yes, sometimes Trump was overbroad. He picked unnecessary fights over
European wine. He made a big deal out of
renegotiating NAFTA, which amounted to minor tweaks. But with China, he correctly saw China as a
geopolitical threat and no as a fair trader, but as a trade predator, currency
manipulator and intellectual property thief.
Likewise, we had a border that was essentially not being enforced. While the conventional wisdom said that
immigration is good for the country, Donald Trump recognized that this
principle is not unqualified. While there
are certainly people that come across the border that contribute to our
society, there are also gang members (MS13), human traffickers, terrorists and
people that are coming just for the social welfare benefits. As I mentioned in earlier posts, an immigrant
can land in three potential buckets: 1) working and self supporting, 2) social
welfare system, and 3) the criminal justice system. We should only be taking the people that
have skills to work and become self sufficient. Trump
has pushed back against “sanctuary cities,” a modern form of Nullification. The Left couches his position in terms of
being anti-immigration, but he is actually a proponent of the nation-state,
which cannot exist in the absence of an enforceable border. Trump’s willingness
to question conventional wisdom is the #1 reason I support his re-election.
Federalism
For all the howling in the MSM and claims that Trump is a fascist, in reality Trump is a
federalist and respects the federal system, especially when it counts. The
only specific action that he took without legislative action that curtailed any
rights was his rather minor executive order regarding “bump stocks.” Otherwise,
while he offered federal assistance, he has left action to the states when it
came to dealing with COVID19 and the rioting that has taken place. While certain states stubbornly cling to
lockdowns as a solution to COVID19 (which even the W.H.O. recommends against)
Trump has taken no action to coerce them into his position. Indeed, by chipping away at the regulatory
state, bit by bit, Trump is giving away
executive power.
Meanwhile, his opponent is still talking about a national
mandate to wear masks, the New Green Deal, and ripping away local zoning from local
municipalities and nationalizing them https://nypost.com/2020/07/21/joe-bidens-disastrous-plans-for-americas-suburbs/). Even more destructive are the calls among
Democrats to do away with the Electoral College. Re-electing Trump would help ensure that our
Republic, as a republic, continues for
at least a few more years.
Foreign policy
It is in foreign policy that Trump has demonstrated
surprising acumen, especially as he brings his ability and willingness to
challenge conventional wisdom and the foreign policy establishment. Despite the cries of the MSM that Trump is
impulsive and would plunge us into war (they made the same claims of Ronald
Reagan in 1980), Trump has withdrawn U.S. military involvement, especially in
the Middle East.
The wailing and hand wringing of people like Richard Haass
and Jim Mattis, peace broke out all over.
Trump brokered a historic peace deal between Kosovo and Serbia. Led by the UAE, several Arab countries have
recognized Israel (much to the chagrin of the Palestinians), and Saudi Arabia could be next.
Trump has put pressure where pressure is needed. He responded immediately to the use of
chemical weapons by Assad and was unafraid to take out Iran’s Soleiamani, who
was responsible for killing U.S. soldiers and wreaking havoc across the Middle
East, again despite the howls of the MSM and foreign policy establishment. His best speeches were, in fact, foreign
policy speeches on foreign soil. His
speech in Poland was magnificent and his speech in Saudi Arabia where he laid
out a vision for a peaceful revitalized Middle East rivaled Reagan’s “Tear Down
This Wall” speech at the Brandenburg Gate.
But it is with China that Trump has demonstrated a sober and
realistic view and toward which a major realignment needs to take place. He understood that China has no intentions
ever of being a fair trader. China, over
the years, gutted our manufacturing base, stole our intellectual property,
challenged us militarily and infused our universities with espionage agents
(See Charles Lieber at Harvard). Trump
wisely jettisoned the Paris Accord and kicked the TPP to the side, both of
which would have advantaged China at our expense. Our vulnerability was highlighted when we
woke up to find that 80% of our pharmaceuticals were manufactured in China, and
that regime would have no inhibitions about using that as leverage against
us. The coverup of the Wuhan Virus and
takeover of Hong Kong demonstrated that a normal bilateral trading relationship
with China is not possible. Andrew
Roberts, author of the recent biography of Winston Churchill likened Trump to
Churchill in his ability to correctly spot a threat before the establishment
politicians could. The ability to
constructively confront China (which Biden cannot do) is a critical attribute
in this election cycle.
Finally, and most importantly, Trump loves America (unlike
much of the voting base of his opponent).
His America First posture has been roundly derided by the
establishment. Trump has resisted ceding
sovereignty to amorphous and unaccountable bodies. Every CEO puts his or her company first. Xi puts China first. Putin puts Russia first. Even Macron puts France first. We should be entitled to a leader that puts America
first.
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