Posted on 02/16/2016 4:59:00 PM PST by conservativejoy
It's easy to underestimate Donald Trump. The other Republican candidates in the race continue to do so, writing him off as a clown, a charlatan, a fool. Today, David French of National Review writes him off as a conventional Democrat:
Trump doesn't threaten the Republican establishment because he's too conservative or too populist. He threatens the Republican establishment because he belongs in the other party.
There's truth to this - there's a reason that Code Pink essentially endorsed Trump over the weekend, after Trump veered into Iraq trutherism and blamed George W. Bush for 9/11. And Trump, as I've written before, resembles Bernie Sanders on policy far more than he resembles Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), the most conservative person in the field.
But there's more to the Trump challenge than merely Republicans embracing Democratic ideas. There's the appeal of the strong man.
Worship of the strong man has never been foreign to Democrats. As the American branch of the international left, the Democratic Party has always worshipped at the altar of the strong man. Woodrow Wilson said in 1906, "The president is at liberty both in law and conscience to be as big a man as he can. His capacity will set the limit." Wilson said that if the president could garner the support of the public, "no single force can withstand him, no combination of forces will easily overpower him." In 1911, Wilson stated, "The whole country, since it cannot decipher the methods of its legislation, is clamoring for leadership; and a new role, which, to many persons, seems little less than unconstitutional, is thrust upon our executives."
From FDR to LBJ to Barack Obama, the Democratic legacy has wavered little from this vision of government.
But the strong man has always made conservatives uncomfortable, just as it made the founders uncomfortable enough to rebel against a King. The Federalist Papers repeatedly explain that the presidency is not an unchecked monarchy; the anti-federalists argued that even the specific delegated powers of the Constitution gave too much control to the executive branch. The Republican Party represented an extension of that idea: discomfort with a strong man with unbridled power to "get things done."
Trump, by contrast, recognizes no limits to presidential power. It’s not merely that Trump mirrors Democratic views of the world - he represents Democrats' caudillo-like view of executive power. When Trump speaks, he routinely talks about singlehandedly imposing his view of the world from the Oval Office. He talks about "winning" for particular constituencies. He will "get things done." He won't be all talk. He'll use the power of the government for you.
In 2010, Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez - a man universally reviled by his enemies as a clown and a boor - campaigned again on the basis of his unique brand of power. "I demand absolute loyalty to my leadership…anything else is betrayal," said the socialist. “I am not an individual, I am the people. It's my duty to demand respect for the people." He added, "If you cherish the fatherland, join Chavez." Chavez never had to use violence in outsized measures to consolidate his rule - his populist shtick worked just fine.
It has worked fine for Barack Obama. It's working fine for Bernie Sanders. And it's working well for Donald Trump, too. Before writing Trump off as "just another Democrat," we should recognize that his policies aren't the worst aspect of his Democrat-lite routine. It's his embrace of Democratic notions of the role of the executive and the role of government. Should Republicans choose Trump, they'll be buying into the Democratic century-long project of subverting Constitutional checks and balances in favor of a Wilsonian "big man." The last thing America needs is two parties stumping for alternative "big men."
History keeps repeating but in a different costume. The Trump Revolution is an American twist on the French Revolution. I don’t mind the overthrow part, but I hate the chaos and eventually, totalitarianism will follow. Conservatives will not be able to recover their country once they have brought the Trojan horse inside the gates.
If you don’t trust islam, you are leaning toward good.
You could have stopped right there.
Oh well. Still voting Trump and then we will see what happens.
Be sure you contact Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell with those sentiments since they are solely responsible for full funding of PP not Donald Trump.
Totally agree.
Shut up, Cuck.
Nature abhors a vacuum.
It's styupid [British pronunciation of stupid]. You have done so at your own hazard.
What Constitution? Obama has used the pages of that document as rolling papers for mind-altering cigarettes filled with his dried b.s.
The Trojan horses have been running the GOP convincing us that illegal aliens were natural conservatives if we’d just be nice to them and forgive them all their crimes against us.
Trump happened because the will of the people to keep the rule of law and their country has been thwarted purposely by those we have voted for.
His kid.
You are a despicable Soros troll. All you do is post attacks against Republicans, starting with Scott Walker in 2012.
You NEVER attack Obuma or the democrats. All you do is attack Republicans.
That’s.
All.
You.
Do.
Get lost, Soros troll.
Moderator, can we finally ban this troll from FR? Look at its posting history.
Obama is a threat to the constitution.
Establishment republicans are a threat to the constitution.
Trump is not a threat to the constitution.
In the case of D. Trump, pragmatism trumps ideology. The Donald is a pragmatist. He is neither a liberal or a conservative. He sees a problem and works to fix it without trying to appease one group or another. He wants to fix America's problems. His ideology is solutions. He has also seen the light of conservatism. However, he can be as conservative as the Pope is Catholic and that will not fix any problems. Which way the wind blows does not matter. Americans depend on a leader who has the credentials for making things work.
You may not like The Donald because he does not wear his idiomatic political ideology on his sleeve. He would rather roll up his sleeves and get to work. He is someone who understands that it takes more than hollow promises and political correctness to make America great again. By the way, President Ronald Reagan was a pragmatist. Some call him a pragmatic conservative. It took The Ronald almost 20 years to get to the conservative part of his thinking. The Donald may be there too, but right now he has work to do.
They’ve officially gone to wackyland.
Desperation.
There are people here that say:
“Cruz will restore the constitution”
And have no damn clue how he will supposedly do it.
Ben Shapiro is one of the greatest, smartest, most sincere young, conservative leaders alive today. He is the future of the conservative movement. Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to everything conservatives formed the Tea Party to fight for.
Ross Perot couldn’t come close to Trump’s savviness.
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