Posted on 02/08/2016 6:47:05 AM PST by bigtoona
Why American cannot abide another ideologue as president
We recently enjoyed a belated holiday dinner at the home of friends. The dinner conversation was jocund, ranging from discussions about antique glass and china to theology and politics. At one point reference was made to Donald Trump being a conservative, to which I responded that Trump is not a conservative.
I said that neither does Trump view himself as a conservative. I stated it was my opinion that Trump is a pragmatist. He sees a problem and understands it must be fixed. He then sets about fixing it. He doesn’t see the problem as liberal or conservative; he sees it only as a problem. That is a quality that should be admired and applauded, not condemned. But I get ahead of myself.
Viewing problems from a liberal perspective has resulted in the creation of more problems, more entitlement programs, more victims, more government, more political correctness and more attacks on the working class in all economic strata.
Viewing things according to the so-called Republican conservative perspective has brought continued spending, globalism to the detriment of American interests and well-being, denial of what the real problems are and weak, ineffective, milquetoast leadership that amounts to Barney Fife, deputy sheriff – appeasement-oriented and afraid of its own shadow. In brief, it has brought liberal ideology with a pachyderm as a mascot juxtaposed to the ass of the Democrat Party.
Immigration isn’t a Republican problem; it isn’t a liberal problem – it is a problem that threatens the very fabric and infrastructure of America. It demands a pragmatic approach, not an approach that is intended to appease one group or another.
The impending collapse of the economy isn’t a liberal or conservative problem; it is an American problem. That said, until it is viewed as a problem that demands a common-sense approach to resolution, it will never be fixed because the Democrats and Republicans know only one way to fix things, and their impracticality has proven to have no lasting effect. Successful businessmen like Donald Trump find ways to make things work. They do not promise to accommodate.
Trump uniquely understands that China’s manipulation of currency is not a Republican problem or a Democratic problem. It is a problem that threatens our financial stability, and he understands the proper balance needed to fix it. Here again, successful businessmen like Trump who have weathered the changing tides of economic reality understand what is necessary to make business work, and they, unlike both sides of the political aisle, know that if something doesn’t work you don’t continue trying to make it work, hoping that at some point it will.
As a pragmatist, Donald Trump hasn’t made wild pie-in-the-sky promises of a cellphone in every pocket, free college tuition and a $15-an-hour minimum wage for working the drive-through a Carl’s Jr.
I argue that America needs pragmatists because pragmatists see problems and find ways to fix them. They do not see a problem and compound it by creating more problems.
You may not like Donald Trump. I suspect that the reason people do not like him is because: 1) he is antithetical to the “good old boy†method of brokering backroom deals that fatten the coffers of politicians; 2) they are unaccustomed to hearing a candidate speak who is unencumbered by the financial shackles of those who own him vis-a-vis donations; 3) he is someone who is free of idiomatic political ideology; and 4) he is someone who understands that it takes more than hollow promises and political correctness to make America great again.
Listening to Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders talk about fixing America is like listening to two lunatics trying to “out crazy†one another. Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio are owned lock, stock and barrel by the bankers, corporations and big-dollar donors funding their campaigns. Bush can deny it, but common sense tells anyone willing to face facts that people don’t give tens of millions without expecting something in return.
We have had Democrats and Republican ideologues – and what has it brought us? Are we better off today or worst off? Has it happened overnight or has it been a steady decline brought on by both parties?
I submit that a pragmatist might be just what America needs right now. And as I said earlier, a pragmatist sees a problem and understands that the solution to fix same is not about a party, but a willingness and boldness to get it done.
People are quick to confuse and despise confidence as arrogance, but that is common amongst those who have never accomplished anything in their lives and who have always played it safe not willing to risk failure.
RINO.
We need a Constitutionalist.
Excellent article. The only thing I’d argue with is that what the author identifies as conservative policy approaches are not conservative at all. They are neo-con. The very oblivion of what are conservative principles is a direct legacy of the Bush years, and that family deliberate efforts to redefine what is the word ‘conservative’ means.
Trump maybe a pragmatist but he also sound like someone who has not studied Right wing philosophy, so not familiar with what certain words/labels means to people. Conservative have a certain meaning in politics, not to be treated generically
But will the trains run on time?
In other words, a liberal.
If you have no core principled belief system, who's to say you would solve problems in the correct way, if at all?
If you have the “willingness and boldness” to remove graffiti from a wall by knocking down the building you have solved nothing and created more problems.
Trump is not a conservative for sure. If one buys into the premise of the article, then they are not conservative either and that's perfectly fine, it's freedom of choice. Just stop selling it that way.
I agree, at least this article tags him correctly.
We’re all simply fed up with elected Republicans in DC. They have done absolutely nothing to stop the leftist assault on America. Too many so-called conservatives who flashed their credentials when campaigning simply became errand boys for McConnell, Boehner, Ryan, and their Uniparty overlords when they got to DC.
I agree, he is a little off on his remarks about the conservative policy approaches being non-conservative but then again, we have not had a single conservative policy implemented at the federal level in 20 years! I can’t blame him for thinking that. The only place I ever see liberalism being pushed backward is at the state level..
How an Obscure Adviser to Pat Buchanan Predicted the Wild Trump Campaign in 1996
The Week dot com ^ | Michael Brendan Dougherty
Posted on 1/20/2016, 2:17:11 AM by WayneLusvardi
Imagine giving this advice to a Republican presidential candidate: What if you stopped calling yourself a conservative and instead just promised to make America great again?
What if you dropped all this leftover 19th-century piety about the free market and promised to fight the elites who were selling out American jobs?
What if you just stopped talking about reforming Medicare and Social Security and instead said that the elites were failing to deliver better healthcare at a reasonable price?
What if, instead of vainly talking about restoring the place of religion in society something that appeals only to a narrow slice of Middle America. You simply promised to restore the Middle American core, the economic and cultural losers of globalization to their rightful place in America?
What if you said you would re store them as the chief clients of the American state under your watch, being mindful of their interests when regulating the economy or negotiating trade deals?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3385923/posts
Pragmatism never works out the way pragmatists think it will.
“Pragmatist”? Is this a polite way of saying DOUCHEBAG?
English is my second language, but I didn’t think “pragmatist” meant “unrepentant bullshitter.”
Amen!
We need a constitutionalist who can get elected in a race against Hilary, and against a congress which is majority anti constitution pro uniparty, and then get the job done
We’re going for the closest
Evidently, this is just another bastardization of the English language. Along the same lines as Bruce Jenner as being “Woman of the Year” or Obama claiming to be an “American”.
Point to your choice please.
A right-leaning Populist.
People claiming to be Conservatives have inflicted severe damage on the brand by continually bending-over for the Chamber of Commerce and the “Cheap Labor Express”.
As a result, sadly, a Conservative can not be elected at the moment IMHO. Trump is about the best we can hope for.
The problem with being a pragmatist is that you solve problems without regard for underlying beliefs. You look for the most effective and efficient ways to solve a problem and go towards that.
For example
Problem: medical costs have gotten too high.
A pragmatic way to solve that would be to put price controls on the cost of medical care.
Does that sound like a good idea?
Sorry, but many “solutions” would have us betraying the very things that make us a great nation.
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