Posted on 02/08/2016 6:47:05 AM PST by bigtoona
Ideology alone doesn’t feed the bulldog. Trump’s view of conservatism is that of the founders of conservative thought such as Edmund Burke, Wiliam F. Buckley, and Russel Kirk, one of whose 10 priniciples of conservatism is the linkage between freedom and property, which is the foundation upon which all great civilizations are built. If you need the conservative philosophy translated to a short list of talking points that can be robotically repeated over and over, Hannity comes on the radio in a few house.
Trump does not talk like someone who’s an insider to politics. He use words like pro-choice and universal health care fairly loosely - he treat those labels in isolation without a definition recognized by most left or right.
When he talk about being pro-choice, he actually believe in choice as opposed to most leftists who are actually pro-abortion and not pro-choice.
When he talk about universal health care, he talks removing state barriers for competition and savings account. This is closer to Singapore Health Care system, as oppose to European/Canada horrible health care system
Pragmatism never works out the way pragmatists think it will.
RINO.
That word is so watered down that it means nothing. Every person on Earth who is a Republican has worn that tag at one time or another. It means nothing getting called a RINO today. 4 years ago that tag might have scared a candidate getting that tag, but it has been overused.
I liked the article. And I agree with what was said.
As a VP maybe. Doesn’t take a constitutionalist to roll back 19 trillion in debt or stop all the businesses leaving the country.
We need a business man. That’s what got Michigan out of debt.
Din . Ding. Ding. We have the winner.
Perhaps those who believe pragmatism is the solution will give out some examples from history pointing how well that philosophy (which is what it is) has worked out when applied to governance.
And that works too. In the worst case scenario he doesn’t follow through, but then it was still a great ride watching the polite establishment moaning and groaning over his popularity.
RINO - Like “Republican In Name Only” is a bad thing these days? We got enough Republicans that don’t do ____. We need someone who’s had a record of getting things done.
Just be ready for disappointment when pragmatism brings President Trump down on the side of pro gun control, amnesty, leftist Supreme Court nominees, and other issues that need to thwart the Constitution to be “solved.”
Ping!
Pragmatism without principle can be dangerous.
John Boehner considered himself a pragmatist. So he cooperated with the Democracts in order to “get things done” when the better solution for us was to block things and stop them from getting done. Obamacare is a case in point. No bill was needed at all. But getting a bill done was assumed as needed from the beginning.
You must view pragmatism as a piece of the puzzle. Make it the only criteria at your own peril.
What many ideologues of the party line don't realize is that most people are a mix of political views. For example, just because somebody favors low taxes and market deregulation doesn't mean that they're on the same page as evangelicals on social issues, and conversely, you have people who are strong social conservatives who benefit from and support aspects of the welfare state like social security and medicare.
Most people are less concerned about ideological purity than whether their own issues of most concern are addressed, and so are willing to forgive "heresy" on issues they may have opinions on but put on the back burner. For instance, I'm willing to let not only social issues but market deregulation slide if we get a candidate who is strong on the national question, because if the US is transformed into a Latin American outpost there won't be much of an economy left to deregulate.
The best, fastest way to reduce government & government spending is to reduce it to its Constitutionally mandated role.
Totally agree. Pragmatic politics with a pro-American position is what we need right now.
The Establishment is filled with pragmatists. The term “pragmatist” has essentially become synonymous with liberal in the US.
The Law of Unintended Consequences haunts us all, but some more than others... (one would think that Liberals would grow weary of ALL of their feel-good plans leading to opposite results.)
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