Wednesday, March 02, 2016

Authoritarian Trump natural heir to Obama

Whether you like Donald Trump or not, it seems clear his appeal is rooted in a belief that he will make things better in America by force. After eight years of Americans being forced to accept a radical dumbing down of public education, massive redistribution of resources through taxation and excessive accumulation of federal debt, a hostile takeover of the healthcare system and foreign policy disasters rammed down our throats in the name of keeping us "safe," can it surprise anyone that the most political energy in America now is coalescing around a figure who wants to "Make America Great Again" by running roughshod over critics, doubters and opponents?

Republican establishmentarians deserve blame for feathering their own nests at the expense of effectively combating Obama in the marketplace of ideas and allowing authoritarianism to flourish, but it's the same failed urge for a shortcut that inspired millions to welcome "Hope and Change" by any means necessary which now seems to generate no curiosity about how exactly we are going to make things "Great."

Trump's primary opponents have failed to pin Trump down with the simple question: How? Hillary Clinton made the same mistake in 2008. Don't expect her to repeat that failure.

America desperately needs a president who will voluntarily limit the power of his or her office to its constitutional boundaries and fight to end government's fantasies about managing our economy whether through currency manipulation, industry regulation or subsidization. America desperately needs a president who will champion state and local experimentation with education policy and social welfare. America desperately needs a president who understands national defense doesn't begin with groping grandmothers in airports and doesn't end with bombing people who fire back missiles purchased by proceeds from our own multi-billion dollar aid checks.

Time grows short.