Unedited photo by Mike Licht. Creative commons license.
You may be embarrassed by some (or many) of Donald Trump’s crude comments, but you most likely like the sound of peace and prosperity. God bless America, and thanks to Donald Trump for that, writes James Freeman in the WSJ.
Among many things, Americans can thank the President for maintaining the rule of law. Donald Trump deserves credit for a “more competitive economy, a nation at peace, and a secure rule of law.”
President Trump Didn’t Trample Americans’ Rights
He doesn’t start wars; he ends them. And he makes comments that offend people. The cost of supporting Mr. Trump is enduring awkward moments when he says things that presidents shouldn’t say. The benefit is that he champions U.S. liberty and prosperity, and a thriving America is a benefit to the world.
Mr. Trump’s greatest legacy will likely be his success in appointing more than 200 federal judges, including three Supreme Court justices, committed to interpreting the law as written.
In an interview with President Trump, the president credits Harry Reid, the majority leader in 2013, for the Senate eliminating the filibuster for nominations.
That was called the “nuclear option,” because its destruction could be foreseen to affect both parties. Now some Democrats regret their decision to detonate—including, according to Mr. Trump, Chuck Schumer, Mr. Reid’s successor as Democratic leader.
If Americans vote Mr. Trump out on Tuesday, they may thank him for maintaining the rule of law and constitutional governance long after he leaves the Oval Office—and long after his odd comments have been forgotten.
Francis Menton at the Manhattan Contrarian is concerned that Americans have ceded too much moral authority to the federal government. He advises shrinking the size and scope of the feds and give power back to the states, which would better represent the local populations. On our 2,000 miles from NE to the Florida Keys, we saw over and over the enthusiasm for local elections, which often far outpaced the energy at the national level.
If (voters) can reduce the moral and cultural role of the President, we don’t have to live in fear of losing our freedom with every election.
Referring to a popular leftist lawn sign, Francis Menton asks, do owners intend to support the platform of the official #BlackLivesMatter organization? Mr. Menton doubts it. The purpose of the sign is pure virtue signaling, he argues: I vote for the party that has the right values and that will use the government’s power to enforce them.
What is tolerant or kind about dominating, silencing, or refusing to engage with the opposition, “especially when the opposition is about half the country’s population.” There is only one path to real peace, advises the Manhattan Contrarian.
As we approach the election, the left seems to think it can “fix” the tension and division in our country by “getting rid of Trump.” But the people that disagree with them aren’t just going to go gently into the good night. There can be no peace while a significant population feels that their ability to express their views and live their values is being actively suppressed.
If what we really want is to have a successful multicultural democracy that can continue to grow in dynamic ways, we have to follow the example set by the Founders and be willing to live with our differences. The Founders were not perfect or all-knowing, but they were reacting to a time when people feared the loss of their freedom and knew intimately what that meant. And now, instead of learning from their experience, the left is, in many ways quite literally, tearing down our history.
We need to roll back the responsibilities of the federal government. We need to give the power back to the states so that they can organize as they see fit and better represent the values of their local populations. We need to stop asking the president to be a moral authority on everything. Unfortunately, as of right now, few on our political landscape are advocating for this option.
We currently have a power struggle that reaches new levels of magnitude with every election, as if overcoming the opposition is going to solve the problem. We have put ourselves on a collision course of trying to dominate each other, exactly as (George) Washington feared we would. It’s only a matter of time until we reach a breaking point.
Read about the Swiss Way here.
