It’s not so much that people disagree on these issues, it’s the priority assigned to them.
Personally I think the right track is to prioritize the following three issues:
1) Bringing the southern border under control
2) Undoing the web of government and bad trade deals that make it difficult to conduct business in the US AKA “putting Americans back to work”
3) realign foreign policy to the national interest
Others will have completely different lists, of course. A list composed of sentiments expressed to me by those calling themselves Republicans or conservatives recently might be:
1) Stop abortion
2) Protect Israel and/or attack Iran
3) Keep transvestites out of public bathrooms
Now, I totally get why the latter list is, on principle, a valid one. But these are not things near and dear to the day-to-day experience of Americans which has been on a downtrend for decades, interrupted only by financial bubbles which in the end have left most much poorer and radically shrunk the middle class.
We absolutely should stop abortion, but there’s no way in hell it can happen in the current political environment. Trying to advance this issue through government at this time is poor strategy. There’s no popular support - not in the sense of the average Joe being motivated and angry about it.
Where the popular support is, is with the first list. That’s what the average person wants most right now, and that’s where the progress is to be made.
Once we have a nation of hard working Americans again, rather than one of immigrants, cheats and layabouts, at that time the political capital gained can then be used for other purposes. On the other issues, not enough people care to win an election on them. More work needs to be done in persuasion before legislation could be enacted and effective.
Truly, the call at this point in time is for the nation to get its very functional logistics in order. We do not have the luxury to pursue other goals right now. We spent the past two plus decades pursuing other goals and that’s what got us in this mess. The time now is to get focused on refocusing the government’s mission to the competent and proper fulfillment its most fundamental Constitutional duties.
Yes I agree that the more social issues aren’t really the purview of federal government. Trump is certainly pro-Israel, however. And wants to do something about ISIS—namely eliminate them surgically. No one opposes this idea so what’s keeping Obama from doing it? That’s the question.
Excellent post 9
Very much agreed.
People aren't as concerned about that when they can't get a job to be able to afford shopping at a department store, since their job went overseas.
“Personally I think the right track is to prioritize the following three issues:
1) Bringing the southern border under control
2) Undoing the web of government and bad trade deals that make it difficult to conduct business in the US AKA “putting Americans back to work”
3) realign foreign policy to the national interest...”
I agree with this list. My only quibble is that the transvestite bathroom issue will not remain 2nd tier. Once a lot of institutions go to “one big bathroom” it is going to affect everyone in the country.
Good post.
One of the great posts about our Politics in general, in a long time. Thanks old timer! Conservatives, sticking so fiercely to their lists, have continued to slowly lose to Liberals, who will take what they can get when they can get it.