But above all it is Trump’s authoritarianism that makes him unfit for the presidency — his stated admiration for Putin and the Chinese Politburo, his promise to use the power of the presidency against private enterprises, the casual threats he and his surrogates toss off against party donors, military officers, the press, the speaker of the House, and more. . .
"But far more than Obama or Hillary or George W. Bush, Trump is actively campaigning as a Caesarist, making his contempt for constitutional norms and political niceties a selling point. And given his mix of proud ignorance and immense self-regard, there is no reason to believe that any of this is just an act."
32 comments:
"Trump would not be an American Mussolini; even our sclerotic institutions would resist him more effectively than that. But he could test them as no modern president has tested them before — and with them, the health of our economy, the civil peace of our society and the stability of an increasingly perilous world."
If you agree with that, then you have no business believing that the III% is or even can be relevant, let alone promoting it.
And if you don't agree, the entire argument being made falls into logical incoherence.
I don't support Trump. But I absolutely refuse to waste energy on the presumption that he is somehow categorically worse than what our political leadership has already embraced. If we had a Constitutional government of limited powers, a Trump Presidency would be an embarrassment we could laugh off in four years...or it would be an inspiration to the GOP for generations, who even knows. We've had peculiar personalities in the Presidency before, back when the Constitution limited the power of the national government it wasn't a terrible problem.
The only reason anyone is worried about Trump is because our current government is entirely unconstitutional. But that's not Trump's fault, and opposing him won't fix it.
Trump vs Clinton we have a choice between a turd sandwich with mustard or a crap sandwich with mayo. Now which one are going to eat?
And what exactly is our Democratic alternative? Hillary Clinton? A serial liar? A pathological liar? A political schemer inclined to self-enrichment and grandiosity?
She's not a female version of Caesar or Mussolini? She's shown respect for our Constitution and our judicial processes? Seriously?
She didn't destroy evidence that should have been used to bring her to trial for treason and murder? Oh wait, she wasn't aware and had no malicious intent ...it was an accident that will never happen again? Ya, right. Pull my finger and sell me a bridge.
Her tenure as Secretary of State was a run amok disaster of Constitutional trespass. Cold, calculated murders to abridge and erode Constitutional rights of law abiding citizens. Arming Islamic murderers, destabilizing independent nation states and calculated, intentional deception. Treason by any measure or name. Yet she has enough bones to emerge transformed as disabled, helpless and sympathetic. Worthy of respect with a renewed sense of purpose and a courage to lead our nation ... right into the depths of hell on earth with the embrace of radical islam.
Her political history is a litany of legal offenses growing bolder with each passing achievement in her relentless march across the Constitution's very foundations. She should have been imprisoned thirty years ago in Arkansas, disbarred from practicing law and banned from ever setting foot on this nations political landscape. Instead, she sloughed her mortal moral conscience, played enabler to her partners serial adultery habits and rode his coattails into the very seat of our nations power.
I agree Chiu ChunLee. Our nation is so far away from any semblance of Constitutional that a "President Trump" is another bump in the road to greater political dystopia. Trump is a smart man though deeply flawed (and who among us isn't?). He recognized an opportunity and acted. I do not believe he had calculated political ambitions --unlike HC or BS who have long let their ambitions be known and worked towards achieving that end. Trump sensed the weakness in a system plagued with corruption, avarice, greed, envy and the lust for power over others. He's used to wandering in that garden and exploiting those characteristics to his personal advantage.
I'll give Trump credit: he stepped up; laid it bare, started taking hits early and returned fire effectively. We know he's lying. We know he's deceiving. We don't know his end game. We do know the end games for avowed socialists and committed communists ---listen to the history of China, Russia, North Korea, Venezuela, Nicaragua. You're not hearing songs about prosperity and freedom unabridged.
Hey, I suppose you folks who don't like Trump are gonna stay home and not vote because you think Hillary would be a better President? There's a sucker born every minute! Hey folks, we always have to vote for the lesser of the two main evils. You should know that by now!
- Old Greybeard
I am still planning on voting for Trump. As much as I respect Mike, I am not pulling my vote for Trump just because he is suspected of being a wannabe tyrant, when I KNOW that Clinton and Sanders are the next iteration of Hugo Chavez. The establishment does not like Trump for a reason: they cannot control him. Now the establishment is trying to convince freedom loving Americans to vote against Trump because they will not be able to control him. Instead, we are urged to vote for, or allow to be elected, leftists who have made no bones about their desire to marginalize and control us. And there are no practical third party options which lead to a different result. I still regret my Perot vote in 1992. When I was still a Republican, I held my nose for party and country and voted for Dole, McCain, and Romney. Now I will hold my nose and hope for the best when I vote for Trump.
It's in the ny times fer Ch***t's sake. That bastion of creditable conservative writing.
You know, the home of the Walter Duranty Pulitzer, the guy who praised Stalin as he was killing millions. THAT ny times.
trump has also gone with the old "rich people need to pay more taxes" bs. the rich might pay the taxes but they get the money from us. trump did have a plan several years back to tax the net worth of the rich at about 14% in order to pay off the debt. now I don't go for anyone having their income targeted but if it were the likes of trump. warren buffet, clintons. or any othe democrats spouting "tax the rich" I don't have near as much of a problem with it.
Hey Mike;
I gotta disagree with the hit piece from the NY Times....They are hoping enough conservatives in the name of ideological purity will stay home and the establishment darling and wicked witch of the west can finish transforming the country that the Bungler from Hawaii or Chicago or Kenya or where ever you believe he came from. Hillary has the opportunity to stack the supreme court in her favor, If she gets it, she will turn loose the forces of .gov against her ideological enemies, Hillary is very vindictive personality whose some reason for being here is to enrich herself. The 2nd amendment will be under assault like nothing in the past as is other amendments of the bill of rights. We will truly become wage slaves and feudal serfs to our betters.
Democratic alternative?
Nice false premise you got there, buddy.
The ACTUAL presidential election hasn't even begun. The primary elections aren't even government elections to start with. It is a false presentation made to claim it must be Hillary or donald. The power is in our hands to reject both of those new York progressive Democrats and we should execute our authority to do exactly that.
Doing so is the first step in restoring our REPUBLICAN and Constitutional Governance.
Trump is a joke, and a bad one at that. Suckers are falling all over themselves for Trump just like they did for Obama - pretty pathetic it is.
Why do you persist with this crap? It MIGHT have had some merit when there were other GOP candidates running - but there aren't any more. Are you suggesting we stay home and hand it all to Hilary? Honestly, what is wrong with you? Such ridiculous immature petulant idiocy. You're as bad as Beck. This blog has lost all relevance and credibility. Really sad.
You can vote for Trump or you can vote for Hilary Clinton. Any vote not for Trump -- including not voting or voting 3d party -- is effectively a vote for Hilary Clinton, the end of the 2nd Amendment, and civil war. Trump may not be perfect but he is right on plenty of issues. The so called "conservatives" have conserved nothing and have delivered a record of total failure over the last 20 years. We are quickly discovering the hipocracy and corruption of many "conservative" politicians, media talking heads, and political activists who talk a good game but effectively have been little more than controlled opposition. "Conservatives" like Paul Ryan have not delivered a single budget in eight years, gave Obama and the Democrats every spending request they wanted, and ran up 15+ trillion in national debt over the past 20 years. "Conservatives" like the Bushes gave us open borders, the Patriot Act, the Military Commissions Act, and endless wars.
I respect Mike and understand the impact of terminal cancers and disease having lost multiple family members. Unfortunately, this entire NeverTrump BS is little more than a temper tantrum coming mostly from GOP establishment hacks who are terrified of losing their jobs and having their corruption exposed. It is time to expose these NeverTrump people for what they are - closet Hilary Clinton supporters.
Anonymous at 1:36
Uh huh... Yet another Trump basher who has no alternative to offer. Who? WHO??!!
By your own account, Trump isn't even in yet but you're already sure he won't do this or do that... Laughable. How do you know? Trump has ALREADY done more than any other Republican candidate in HISTORY by exposing the corruption inherent in the establishment. It Trump walked today, he has already done more to serve this country than ANY potential candidate you have yet to offer. So typical - easy to take potshots from the cover of your couch. Are you able to offer any kind of a sentient plan to counter what you think is a joke? Or is bleating all you have?
The fact is Trump may do just exactly what he says he will do and could potentially be the greatest president since Reagan - and THAT is what bothers you. But I'm sure a guy like you, sitting on your couch, never having achieved anything of note knows more about the world and how to succeed then a billionaire CEO who employs thousands and deals with high level people daily, right? You're the expert. ROFLMAO!
Trump will be president. Better be used to the idea. But more importantly, you better be ready for a civil war (which I am betting you aren't) because even if Trump gets in, it's a high probability. If Hokary gets in, it's guaranteed.
If there is a survivable alternative to Trump; make your point and shutup with using some mainstream fishwrapper newspaper article to forward a biased and irrelevant argument. Lets look back at Caesar Bush 1 & 2; neither of which were anything other than "One-Worlder Trojan Horses". The gift of Slick Willie between the two Bushs , unfortunately, somehow made Bush 2 palatable. If you graph the effective performance and goals of the political powers since 1988; the end objectives all ended in the same vicinity, as far as the results. RNC - DNC - same gang of criminals. The only conservative, freedom lovers left are the nobodies, with their .30 caliber voting machines. Think Romania in 1989. If and when it becomes personal enuf, to enuf folks in our "they don't really matter-land" - then there might be an opportunity.
Cruz, Ryan, Kasich ect ad nauseum - one and all RNC hacks; tho, now that Cruz is no longer of any use to the RNC - he may get back on board with the RNC or be discarded.
Truth is, any choice is better than Hillary; is Trump the be all, end all fix for our steadily declining freedoms - probably not. My best advice - buy ammo and make sure your family, tribe, clan, gang - whatever, make sure they know the score. Whining about Trump is self destructive and futile. Odds are that the RNC and the DNC aren't through yet; the rigged conventions will settle that. Trump is the best we can do right this minute. At least until they wipe Trump off the board. If he can survive - he's all that's left.
Bill Cleveland
Thank Mike. Those of us that can think for ourselves agree.
Enough, the cards have been dealt
I ain't staying home
and I am not going to reward the Butcher of Benghazi!
she, the state dept. and Obama have done more for ISIS than ISIS has done for itself!
The repube's are showing there true colors...
Especially the GD Traitor Ryan!! F!! him in the neck!!
Again I say...The Repube's have brought this all upon themselves!! They are to Directly Blame..Full Stop!
Please just STOP, you inly appear to be helping to Divide!!
Yup, I'm goin Trump
You folks need to get your heads out of the political cloud. Douhat is merely telling you why supporting Trump is self-defeating and a violation of principles, I posted it to make the point that ALL politics on the national scale is a waste of time. The only politics that matter now are local and the only power to defend your liberty comes from logistics, training, networking and the muzzles of your rifles and the will to use them according to Three Percent principles.
Well Mike I supported Cruz but since he pulled out I will go with Trump though I'm pretty sure he has an agenda however I now Cliton has one and it's not good.
Well Mike I supported Cruz but since he pulled out I will go with Trump though I'm pretty sure he has an agenda however I now Cliton has one and it's not good.
I wanted Cruz to be the nominee. Sadly, it ain't gonna happen. He is rock solid on the Constitution. Trump is going to cause a knock down, drag out in the Republican wheel house. Something that needs to happen.
Sorry, with all due respect it seems to me that you're the one with your head in a political cloud. I am reading plenty of posts here from Trump supporters who seem to have a clear understanding of what is happening and NONE of us are guilty of the confusion or Trump idolatry you have accused us of. We also understand that civil war is a distinct possibility. No one here believes Trump is a panacea. You however have taken a completely defeatist attitude where Trump is concerned. Things are ALREADY bad and headed towards worse. We have nothing to lose with Trump and plenty to gain. And again I ask, if not Trump than who? Sorry - gotta play the cards you're dealt. This time it's Donald or Hilary and we KNOW what will happen if Clunton assumes power. Seriously, enough with you "Never Trumps". You're not a patriot or smarter than the rest of us because you don't like Trump. However, I'd say you're a traitor if you don't do everything in your power to keep Hilary out of the White House.
I was a Cruz supporter. I will vote for Trump if for no other reason than to keep Killary out of office. I don't know what Trump is or isn't. I do know what Killary is. Maybe war is inevitable. But if we can stave it off for a little while by electing Trump, then I'm for it. Gives me more time to prepare.
Isaiah 3 -
4 And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.
5 And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable.
You are right, of course, Mike. The people of the US are reaping what they deserve. Praying for you and your family every day.
My vote and support cannot be extorted from me. I will not support what I know to be evil, in order to prevent another evil. My God is the Lord of Hosts, I will not fear man.
FSHB
Trump or the cartridge box. Done plugging my nose .Totally done with backing Globalist Rinos and Neocons. Both parties have earned a neck tie party.1000 fold. Been around for 60 yrs.I despise the anointed political class.Local,state,and federal level. I will never genuflect to any law that I deem Null and Void ! As much as I revere the Dutchman. You say act, vote locally ,state wide. How do you circumvent two wings of the same corrupt bird in Ct. Demonrats out number Repugnents 3 to 1. We are not blessed with a Senator Jeff Session's.Every congress critter here is an avowed progressive globalist and anti gunner. I don't have the funds to get out of Dodge. AAA/O. Behind enemy lines ,Ct.
Dutchman 6 @ May 8, 2016 at 6:44 PM:
I'd agree that the general election of '16 for the presidency is a waste of time; no candidate to date has demonstrated the will or any plan to rein in out of control extra-constitutional government activity. It's all been a mud slinging contest appealing to the pure anger of the electorate on BOTH sides of the aisle. The one thing going for Trump is that he isn't a convicted perjurer (Clinton is) and that he hasn't caused the deaths of Americans by omission (Clinton has) in Benghazi. Other than that, he's as self absorbed as every other politician who thinks they've got 'the answer' (which basically equates to, 'MY way.') The senate and house races are more important because they're local (to a greater extent than the presidential election) and can, in fact, impact the direction of the country.
Some say the choice is made already, and that no matter what happens, Clinton will be elected. Maybe, maybe not. If she is, it's pretty much over, so far as any chance of staving off the implosion of the country. Personally, with violence and unrest slowing increasing, and summer not yet here, I see the possibility of the general election being 'postponed' until order is restored. Imagine where we'll be then. None of the alternatives I see coming are good ones.
All that to say this: Time is quickly running out to learn, train, equip, and prepare your soul. All subject matter experts I've read and talked to on the possibilities of the next 12 months seem to be saying the same thing: Without discipline, without training, without an end game, it's over before it gets started, and 'team freedom' can't agree on the color of shite.....
Terribly depressed point of view, I know.
My .02
So I'm a traitor, eh?
Trump isn’t my ideal politician, not even close. However, when deciding who to vote for (or whether to vote), people need to consider the following:
NO person has been POTUS since 1853 who wasn’t a Republican or Democrat. NO ONE, not even beloved former POTUS Teddy Roosevelt, was ever elected running 3rd Party. Thus, the ONLY 2 people who could be the next POTUS (barring some highly improbable events over the next 7 months) are Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump.
One does not have to like that latter fact to understand that it is true - and facts don't care if you like them or not. So, in view of that FACT, the question presents itself: Do YOU like the idea of Hillary Clinton being President more than Donald Trump, or Trump instead of Hillary? Maybe more to the point, which one of them would you definitely NOT EVER want to see in that office?
I understand and agree with those out there who say that Trump has a lot of troubling positions, and that that there are lots of issues about which we have no firm idea of what he will do. However, I think that it is about as close to metaphysically-certain that Hillary Clinton will do NOTHING that ANY of us will agree with or like (save dying someday, that is). Here is a list of a few things about which there is a high degree of certainty that the 2 candidates disagree, and will act differently about:
1) Trump will rebuild our national defense, Hillary will weaken it;
2) Trump will pour substantial resources into reducing illegal immigration and controlling our border, whereas Hillary will do nothing or the opposite.
3) Trump will revisit the basic assumptions underlying our immigration policy, with an eye toward making sure that there is a minimum of job displacement among Americans because of immigrants, whereas Hillary will do nothing or the opposite.
4) Trump will reduce regulations, so as to allow the economy to flourish, whereas Hillary will do nothing.
5) Trump says that he will protect the 2nd Amendment, whereas we ALL KNOW that Hillary will do her level best to ban guns. THIS ISSUE, BTW, should be the single most important one for people who regularly visit this blog.
6) Trump is far less apt to engage in military adventurism than Clinton;
7) Trump is far more likely, if we DO engage in military operations, to demand that the generals win the battles, and that quickly, than Hillary;
8) Trump is far more likely to slow or even reverse the growth of fed.gov spending to reduce/eliminate the budget deficit, whereas Clinton will do nothing on this issue.
9) Trump is against the fed.gov dictating to the states about education, and will stop funding/backing Common Core, whereas Hillary will do the opposite.
10) Trump will loosen or eliminate regulatory roadblocks to making this nation energy self-sufficient, whereas Hillary will effectively shut down both the coal industry and fracking.
I could go on, but the simple point is that on a few critical issues, Trump has an extremely conservative position - even if he reaches that position from a practical and not an ideological P.O.V. I don't care if someone does the right thing for the wrong reason, so long as he ACTUALLY does the right thing. If he just strengthens the military, controls immigration, significantly slows the rise of federal spending and makes us largely energy independent, then he'll have accomplished more than any President since Reagan. Hillary will do NONE of these things, and likely the exact opposite.
Trump isn't ideal by any measure, but he will do some good things. Hillary Clinton is ideally BAD, and will do NO good things. Thus, I simply can’t understand how anyone could either vote for her or even not vote. Not voting is a moral choice, too, you know - it is the choice that good men often have, that of doing NOTHING in the face of Evil (and we know how that turns out). I simply can’t accept any moral objections to voting for Trump, given who his opponent is and the policies for which she stands.
Yes. If you're deliberately not voting for Trump - and you can't offer an alternative - knowing that means Hilary will assume power, what would you call it?
In all this time of you complaining about Trump, you've never offered a viable alternative. Cruz NEVER had a chance. He isn't eligible and even though Cruz supporters have ignored that, the Dems and the media would not have. Besides Rand Paul, who ran a terrible campaign, Trump is the only candidate up there that isn't establishment business as usual who could actually beat Hillary. And he will.
There's a column at Breitbart that explains this better than I can. Maybe you'll read it?
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/05/08/never-trump-pouters/
The democrats and their republican fellow-travelers have written the RULES over the past eight years, now Donald Trump will give them a taste of their own medicine, to save the country. NEVER Hillary !
Let's be honest, folks. Politics can motivate people, but at the end of the day this election (if they bother having it at all) will be decided by massive vote fraud on the part of the regime and there's absolutely nothing you can do about that.
Save the accusations and the hysteria, America has been "fundamentally transformed" out of existence. Politics should be viewed as a tool for waking people up to the essential illegitimacy and unconstitutionality of the regime, not a serious means of actually defeating it.
I'm fine with Trump supporters hammering Hillary, I'm fine with #NeverTrump's picking a third party candidate and attacking both Hillary and Trump (though I do think that folks should hurry up on that). But save the histrionics for the low-information masses, if you've anything to do with the III% you should already understand that our votes don't count with those who count the votes.
Then again, we can't agree on shite...but that's our greatest strength. The regime can probably counter any large-scale, coordinated resistance we can organize, but it cannot survive the chaos it has unleashed as a means of preventing us from getting our shite together.
"So I'm a traitor, eh?"
Gen-x and millenials look around at the society being bequeathed to us and see quite a lot of evidence that anyone over 40 can reasonably be assumed to be a traitor.
If you want to talk specifics for your case, you have _repeatedly_ talked with pride of how you opposed white nationalists; which is to say, American nationalists. No further evidence is needed. You've devoted your life to an abstract ideology that is repeatedly disproven in the real world at its every encounter with reality, and in so doing contributed to the destruction of what used to be the American nation - which, in its generosity and goodness and the temporary bubble of secure liberty it created, was the only context in which your ideology could possibly have existed.
These things you have done are not acts you're going to repudiate (I daresay you can't imagine repudiating them), and they're not acts of which the following generations will ever approve.
The answer to your question is yes.
Oh, come on. The "abstract ideology" of limited government devoted to ensuring individual freedom and personal responsibility created a massive surge of prosperity and innovation that transformed the entire world in only a few generations more than the world had advanced in millennia before that "abstract ideology" was put into practice, however imperfect.
Northern Europeans have some things going for them, but without Western Civilization they'd just be another mix of barbarians, savages, and tribal primitives like any other (except for eating more meat than average). And the kind of white nationalists you see in America are proof. But by all means, please lecture us on how the intellectual and moral heritage of the West is nothing compared to the "genetic superiority".
Does anybody at this point really believe we are going to be voting our way out of this trouble?
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