Posted on 12/25/2015 7:53:32 AM PST by SeekAndFind
This incessant clamoring by voters and punditry for better "leaders" and more "leadership" is one of the most unsavory, dangerous, and un-American tendencies in political discourse.
When Donald Trump was asked last week by Joe Scarborough what he made of an endorsement from Vladimir Putin -- a thug who's probably murdered journalists and political opponents and more -- the GOP presidential front-runner responded, "He's running his country, and at least he's a leader, unlike what we have in this country." Then he offered an incredibly dumb moral equivalency about how the United States also does "plenty of killing."
There was plenty of well-earned criticism directed at Trump's comments. Most commenters were offended not because the Russians are being aggressively "led," mind you, but because Putin does things we don't approve of. Perhaps if the Russian strongman used his muscle to tackle global warming as the Chinese Communists are pretending to do, the New York Times' editorial page would praise him for his forethought and willingness to act. If Putin banned protests aimed at abortion clinics instead of Pussy Riot, how many progressives would cheer him?
In contemporary American parlance -- and maybe it's always been this way -- a "leader" typically describes someone who will aggressively push your preferred policies. How much do Americans really care about what this aggressiveness entails?
Trump's entire case, for instance, is propelled by the notion that a single (self-identified) competent, a strong-willed president, without any perceptible deference to the foundational ideals of the nation, will be able to smash any cultural or political obstacles standing in the way of making America Great Again.
But this is certainly not the first time we've seen voters adopt a cultish reverence for a strong-willed presidential candidate without any perceptible deference to the foundational ideals of the country whose personal charisma was supposed to shatter obstacles standing in the way of making America great again. Many of the same people anxious about the authoritarian overtones of Trump's appeal were unconcerned about the intense adulation that adoring crowds showered on Barack Obama in 2008, though the spectacle featured similarly troubling signs -- the iconography, the messianic messaging, and the implausible promises of government-produced comfort and safety. Just as President Trump fans will judge every person on how nice or mean he or she is to Trump, so, too, those rooting against Obama were immediately branded unpatriotic or racist.
Obama's inevitable failure to live up to the hype has had many repercussions -- and none of them healthy.
One: Liberal hypocrites, who only a few years ago were lamenting how W.'s abuses had destroyed the republic, now justify Obama's numerous executive overreaches because they correspond with liberal political aims. Obama's argument -- and, thus, the contention of his fans -- seems to pivot on the notion that the president has a moral imperative to act on his favored policies because the lawmaking branch of government refuses to do so. That is weird. This reasoning will almost certainly be the modus operandi for presidents unable to push through their own agendas -- which, considering where the country is headed, will be every president.
Two: Other liberals (and maybe many of the same ones) argue that Obama hasn't done enough with his power -- that the president is unwilling to lead -- even if there are procedural or constitutional barriers for him to achieve what they demand. Too many Americans seem to believe that presidents can make laws if they fight hard enough, and these people now view checks and balances as antiquated and unnecessary impediments to progress.
Three: Many onetime small-government conservatives, frustrated with the president's success and the impotence and corruption of their party (often a legitimate complaint but often an overestimation of what politicians can accomplish), are interested in finding their own Obama -- or what they imagine Obama is, which is to say, a dictator.
Not that this fetishizing of leadership is confined to the progressive Left or the conservative Right. In fact, more than anyone in American discourse, the self-styled moderate pundit loves to talk about leadership. It would be a full-time job cataloguing how often a person will read about the nation's dearth of genuine leadership -- which is, in essence, a call to ignore the democratic forces that make truly free governing messy and uncomfortable. There are entire conferences teeming with D.C. technocrats trying to figure out how proles can be led to preferred outcomes and decisions. The moderates seem to believe that organic disagreements can be smoothed over by a smart speech or two, and they always mythologize about the political leadership of the past.
For many, it's always the worst of times and we're always in need of the greatest of leaders. It's worth mentioning that Putin was democratically elected, with polls showing his approval rating usually somewhere in the 80s. Unity! Regrettably, sometimes I think that's how unity would look here, as well. We, on the other hand, have disparate forces with an array of concerns, outlooks, and conflicting worldviews. This is why we might be thankful that federalism and individual freedom, often scoffed at, are at the heart of the American Founding.
"There is danger from all men," wrote John Adams in what may be the most genuinely conservative of all positions. Now, obviously, you have to have a certain skill set to bring people to some consensus, to make decisions about war, and to administrate such a massive body as our government. But the president is not your savior. A person empowered to make everything great also has the power to make everything horrible. If a president alone can transform America, then something has gone terribly wrong with the system.
-- David Harsanyi is a senior editor at the Federalist and the author of The People Have Spoken (and They Are Wrong): The Case Against Democracy.
And Democrats love their kings. They don’t want to swear in a Democrat as President, they want to coronate and then subjugate themselves to the King and the Party.
Would be nice to live in a civil society of mutual respect where we can discuss our differences. But Trump is popular precisely because the other side already started a brawl, and we are sick of not seeing Republicans brawl back. If he goes a bit too far and gets a bit too aggressive..to hell with it, at this point I say great!!!
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Well said.
Trump will have the same latitude and leeway IF HE TAKES IT!
You need a compliant Congress and MSM. Trump won’t have that. Obama does.
“Do we really want the World Wrestling Federation atmosphere in the Oval Office?”
Well hey, Georgie! We had 8 years of Hustler Magazine in the Oval Office.
You obviously think that 6 months of Donald Trump’s un-PC-ish pointing out of the National problems and the sometimes strong medicine needed to cure them, is rough, and crude, and ungentlemanly.
Your remark reminds me of an observation made by the late, great Harry S. Truman. He said, paraphrased: “People accuse me of giving everybody hell. I don’t give everybody hell. I just tell them the truth, and they THINK it’s hell!”
Truman said something else which, at least peripherally would apply to YOU, George: “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”
Mr. Trump is on a mission to do great service for his, our Nation. You obviously have no vision; either for how serious are our national problems, or for what it will take to rectify them, George. You obviously prefer the status-quo. The status-quo will kill us, George.
So how about you recuse yourself from further meddling and kibbitzing, George? And we tens of millions of real people who understand Mr. Trump and his vision for making America great again, will get him nominated, elected and innaugerated; and get our Country back on the path to former greatness and exceptionalism. Just relax, George. It’s going to be real good.
Like I said, you're a moron. Cruz is a lawyer. Lawyers work in court rooms. Courts rooms are run by the government. In your little Trump worshiping world anybody that works around or for the government is a 'career politician'. I guess a fighter pilot for the Navy is also a career politician because he works for the government.
Cruz is a solid conservative. A constitutionalist. An unapologetic Christian. A brilliant man that doesn't remind everybody of it every time he gets in front of a microphone.
What are you gonna do when Trump can't make the Mexicans build and pay for a border fence? What are you gonna do when Trump doesn't do anything about immigration? What are you going to do when Trump increases federal spending and taxes? What are you going to do when Trump resigns after two years because he gets bored with trying to endlessly work with real career politicians and the enormous bureaucracy that he can't simply pay off with his money?
Trump, who says he can't be bought, has spent a lifetime buying people, which doesn't make him any better.
Go ahead and waste your vote on this loud mouth, self promoting yankee.
Personal attacks don't change the facts. Cruz was and is not a government employee like a fighter pilot or a bureaucrat. He served as a political appointee in the federal and state governments for 7 years and elective office for 2 years. In addition he was a government law law clerk for two years and spent a year working on a political campaign.
In the 20 years since graduating law school, Cruz has spent a total of 6 years in private practice. During part of that time he formed and then abandoned a bid to run for Texas AG. He is now running for President after just two years in the Senate.
Cruz is a creature of politics and government. He essentially eschewed the private sector to follow his political ambitions. He has had limited executive experience and no real accomplishments in the private sector--certainly not compared to Trump.
Cruz is a solid conservative. A constitutionalist. An unapologetic Christian. A brilliant man that doesn't remind everybody of it every time he gets in front of a microphone.Ted Cruz’s 10 Biggest Flip Flops
What are you gonna do when Trump can't make the Mexicans build and pay for a border fence? What are you gonna do when Trump doesn't do anything about immigration? What are you going to do when Trump increases federal spending and taxes? What are you going to do when Trump resigns after two years because he gets bored with trying to endlessly work with real career politicians and the enormous bureaucracy that he can't simply pay off with his money?
LOL. The same thing we are doing now--nothing. Congress is full of alleged conservatives who made promises they did not keep. I would rather give an outsider a shot at doing something than trust the old, tired bromides of the political class. On immigration, Trump can do many things without any approval from Congress. He can just start enforcing the existing laws. If Trump gets into the WH, that is a major accomplishment in and of itself. Cruz can't be elected because he has been Palinized. Most of the public see him as a grandstanding gadfly who is a pariah in his own party. No accomplishments, just green eggs and ham.
Trump, who says he can't be bought, has spent a lifetime buying people, which doesn't make him any better. Go ahead and waste your vote on this loud mouth, self promoting yankee.
My family and I will be voting for Trump in the upcoming SC primary. We have had enough of the political class that has been bought and paid for by the corporate elites and special interests. The GOPe will try to defeat Trump by eventually coalescing around Cruz who is still part of club. Trump is a true outsider who can't be bought or manipulated.
Had a dictator the past 7 years. We want to change that.
So, career military people aren't politicians................yeah, right.............
You're just engaging in semantics in a weak attempt to bolster your position.
Ted Cruz's 10 Biggest Flip Flops
Donald Trump's many flip flops
My family and I will be voting for Trump in the upcoming SC primary.
Read my tagline.
No, they are not politicians or political appointees. FYI: I spent 36 years as a federal employee as a naval officer and a diplomat. I know the difference.
Donald Trump's many flip flops
Changing the subject. Trump is not a politician nor has he ever worked as a government employee. He is a private citizen whose opinions don't affect the lives of Americans.
Read my tagline.
This mess was created by our elective representatives who are bought and paid for by the corporate elites and special interests. Ultimately, we get the government we deserve. Time to throw the rascals out. Electing another member of the political class is just doing the same thing and expecting different results.
I have said for several years it will take exactly that, waving a constitution around might hold the line but it will never undo it, because Congress largely agrees with what the resident has done.
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It is evident why you are such a sad American; you have no idea what America is all about.
“Bending the rules” is what has dragged us down.
Top down power has dragged us down.
Federal meddling in our lives has dragged us down.
Trump would drag us further down.
And you are deluded. Congress will never undo what the resident has done because they mostly agree with him and that includes the so called conservatives like Ryan. If Trump or Cruz is elected I predict that Congress will rediscover the lost powers that they say they don't have.
While that is what it is supposed to be, it decidedly is not in reality. We are actually in a state of war, us against them and we are losing.
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This mess was created by people like Trump and his wealthy and powerful cohorts buying elected leaders and judges for pennies on the dollar to carry out their global socialist agenda.
Trump has never been anything but a crooked politician, buying crooked elected politicians and their crooked appointees.
Trump’s labor union organized rallies should have tipped you off.
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C'mon, ya gotta read more than just the title ...
The Constitution was scrapped long ago, try and keep up. Did you know you an't keep a water barrel outside you home to collect rain water that falls on your home? That in the Constitution?
Even worse they have established agencies such as EPA to do the dirty work for them. They can wail and complain that they didn't vote for that and continue to fool the Rubes.
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