Michael Anton at CompactMag zeroes in on why we have to
endure the January 6 Committee show trials and Liz Cheney’s Trump Derangement Syndrome.
For me, Anton points out the obvious when he writes:
Love him or hate him, during
Trump’s presidency, the economy was strong, markets were up, inflation was
under control, gas prices were low, illegal border crossings were down, crime
was lower, trade deals were renegotiated, ISIS was defeated, NATO allies were
stepping up, and China was stepping back (a little). Deny all that if you want
to. The point here is that something like 100 million Americans believe it,
strongly, and are bewildered and angered by elite hatred for the man they think
delivered it.
Nor was Trump’s record all that
radical—much less so than that of Joe Biden, who is using school-lunch
funding to push gender ideology on poor kids, to cite but one example.
Trump’s core agenda—border protection, trade balance, foreign restraint—was
quite moderate, both intrinsically and in comparison to past Republican and Democratic
precedent. And that’s before we even get to the fact that Trump neglected much
of his own agenda in favor of the old Chamber of Commerce, fusionist,
Reaganite, Conservatism, Inc., agenda. Corporate tax cuts, deregulation, and
bombing Syria: These are all things Trump’s base doesn’t want, but the
oligarchs desperately do, which Trump gave them. And still they try to destroy
him.
. . .
Anti-Trump hysteria is in the final
analysis not about Trump. The regime can’t allow Trump to be president not
because of who he is (although that grates), but because of who his followers
are. That class—Angelo Codevilla’s “country class”—must not
be allowed representation by candidates who might implement their preferences,
which also, and above all, must not be allowed. The rubes have no legitimate
standing to affect the outcome of any political process, because of who they
are, but mostly because of what they want.
. . .
People I have known for 30 years,
many of whom still claim the label “conservative,” will no longer speak to
me—because I supported Trump, yes, but also because I disagree on trade, war,
and the border. They call not just my positions, but me personally,
unadulterated evil. I am not an isolated case. There are, as they say, “many
such cases.” How are we supposed to have “democracy” when the policies and
candidates my side wants and votes for are anathema and can’t be allowed? How
are we supposed to live together with the constant demonization from one side
against the other blaring 24/7 from the ruling class’s every propaganda organ?
Why would we want to?
. . .
The full article is here.
On a personal note, liberal colleagues of mine bemoan the “divisiveness”
in today’s society. How could it be
otherwise? When liberals want to
convert our country to some brand of socialism, how is that compatible with our Founders’ constitutional republic?
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