Thursday, October 01, 2020

Clean and Simple Nonsense: A National Review Reader Pushes Back on Reflexive Trump-Bashing

By An Old Friend
Thu, Oct 1, 2020 10:56 p.m.

A <I>National Review</I> Reader Pushes Back on Reflexive Trump-Bashing

There's a recent article by Kevin Williamson ...


... that I thought generally worthwhile, but its concluding sentence opens with this gratuitous swipe: "Donald Trump is unfit for the office he holds ..."

Actually not just gratuitous -- I think it's ridiculous.  A commenter at the article thought so, too, and laid it out admirably:

NRsteven1
Why do we let pass without any comment the remarkable sentence: "Donald Trump is unfit for the office he holds..."

I voted and made donations to oppose Trump's hostile takeover of the Republican party in 2016. I am now forced to admit that I was wrong. My candidate (Rand Paul) likely would not have been elected, even though I would probably have been more happy with his governance.

Trump however has turned out to be one of the most fit people to be president in my lifetime, probably second only to Reagan. And the admission of my error comes from my recognition of the importance of policy. And, more to the point, the willingness of somebody to call "BS" on what "everybody knows to be true".

The Middle East peace treaties are a case in point. In retrospect, it is obvious that the Palestinians had to be set aside. Palestinian leadership is in the business of never agreeing to peace. However, from Joseph Biden through John Kerry through to Barack Obama and everyone, including many on the Republican side, the Palestinians were central. They even use the word "process" in a sense that is never used in any other sentence. Only when Palestinians are involved do you have a "peace process". [[Yes!  I've always thought that "peace process" is a flag for BS. -- AOF]] When sensible people are involved, you just make peace. The understanding of the geopolitics of the Middle East is Trump's greatest accomplishment. He understood that the true threat to the Arabian countries is Persia. He understood the impact of steps that he took, including the American Embassy in Jerusalem and the recognition of the failed Iranian nuclear deal, would be on the attitude that Arabian leaders took to Israel. He understood that if he was principled and steadfast in his policy, the Arabian leaders would also understand that they have no profit in continuing to have perpetual war, in deference to Palestinian leaders whose political survival depends on perpetual wars. After all, Joseph Biden voted to do regime change in Iraq, a "big government" ideology shared by many Republicans that states that a few Ivy League graduates in Washington DC know better about what should happen in Iraq and the Iraqi people themselves.

Kevin tells us that Trump is not fit to be president. Clean and simple nonsense.

The same goes for climate accords, specifically the Paris kind. No science at all says that human activity is causing current climate change, either in magnitude or rate. Even Michelle Obama does not believe it, as evidenced by her buying an $11 million house at sea level on Martha's Vineyard. And yet "everybody" knows it to be true. Even most Republicans are squishy. Trump is not. He understands the science sufficiently enough, or perhaps he is suspicious of the science because he can recognize the scam. Don't try to scam a scammer. But for four precious years now, we have been free of climate change anti-science policy. Had Hillary been elected, we would not be. If Biden is elected, we will not be.

Yet Kevin tells us that Trump is not fit to be president. Clean and simple nonsense.

And what about China? I myself thought that liberalization of trade with China would eventually lead to liberalization of the Communist Party. I was wrong. Trump was right. I have seen my friends in science get into bed with the Chinese; some even going to jail for it, through espionage, trade secret theft, and other dubious actions. Joseph Biden was wrong, wrong, and wrong on China, and has taken with both hands there corrupting bribes.

Yet Kevin tells us that Trump is not fit to be president. Clean and simple nonsense.

The same for the regulatory state. Many Republicans have promised to do away with it but, when they get power, at most they just slow down the destruction of the American entrepreneurial spirit, regulation by regulation. Trump actually did something. In fact, one of the reasons why the pandemic is as mild as it is in the United States is because he understood the perniciousness of the central regulatory bureaucracy. Had Hillary Clinton or Joseph Biden been elected in 2016, we would have millions of deaths.

Yet Kevin tells us that Trump is not fit to be president. Clean and simple nonsense.

And what about racism? Through his teaching of critical race theory, through its coddling of looters and arsonists, through its discussion of reparations, the Democrat party is racist from top to bottom. Again, like the Palestinians, this is how Democrats get their political power: by dividing the nation. Trump is a nationalist. Once you're inside the border, Trump is one nation. And unlike many Republicans who are scared of being called "raaaaacist", Trump is not. He is getting rid of critical race theory and, we can be certain that if Biden is elected, it will be back.

Yet Kevin tells us that Trump is not fit to be president. Clean and simple nonsense.

Kevin hardly touches the core of the assault of the Democrats have on the Bill of Rights. But it hardly ends there. Obama and Biden installed kangaroo courts in US college campuses. If Biden is elected, these will be back. Their henchmen in the private sector, including Facebook and twitter, are destroying people's lives, even without official sanction. If Biden is elected, this will be back and installed as federal policy. Obama and Biden supervised a surveillance state that Stalin and Goebbels could not possibly have imagined. They jailed political opponents, they spied on Senate staffers, they invaded opposing political campaigns, they obstructed journalists, and when they lost the election in 2016, they refused to arrange peaceful transfer of power. Trump does none of this.

Yet Kevin tells us that Trump is not fit to be president. Clean and simple nonsense.

I have not begun to talk about judges, where Trump has demonstrated himself to be antiauthoritarian. I have not bothered to talk about the Second Amendment.

Kevin, it's time that you admit it. You do not like Trump's style. However, it's time for you to agree the Trump is probably the most fit individual we've had in the presidency since Reagan and, in some respects, including Reagan.

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