Posted on 12/23/2018 8:44:57 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Agreed! He should fire everyone and start over! Next: Firing the Whole Pentagon. Stay tuned!
Agreed! He should fire everyone and start over! Next: Firing the Whole Pentagon. Stay tuned!
[I reckon you know that was a sarcastic irony dump.]
In my opinion, Trump has almost always hired - or retained - ideological allies.
Trump was a pragmatic, pro-business, centrist Democrat for his entire life - until he decided to run for President as a Republican.
The only consequential Conservatives Trump has appointed were EPA Director Scott Pruitt and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.
When the MSM and the Democrats decided to nuke Pruitt and Zinke with utterly bogus ethics complaints, Trump never raised a finger to protect them.
Trump talks like a Conservative on immigration, but both of his Homeland Security Secretaries publicly supported Amnesty, and the Chief of Staff for the current DHS Secretary was a former H-1B work visa lobbyist!
Bottom Line for me....
Trump is definitely better than Hillary Clinton.
But, anyone who thinks Trump is a reliable Conservative who will appoint other reliable Conservatives is completely mistaken.
Post Script - Gorsuch might turn out to be a Conservative Supreme Court Justice. The jury is still out on Kavanaugh, who told the Senate that center-left Anthony Kennedy was the Justice he most admired.
The author is an idiot.
Draw closer to Russia? No thanks.
I see: You think someone who wants to retain his job, and therefore cannot afford to be seen wearing such a hat, cannot be trusted.
If I were hired by Trump, I would not have that worry. With the employers I have had, I have literally had my livelihood threatened for far less - and years before Trump announced.
Your assertion is simpleminded and insulting. I have paid a very high price for my Christian and conservative convictions, going all the way back to grade school.
Some of us have learned the wisdom, and face the need, to pick our battles, not strut around looking for a fight just to impress someone like you.
The author has no idea of the difference between tactics and strategy. Trump needs to get tough on foes and allies alike, but remember which are which. And that's what he has done. During the campaign he insisted on hiring generals who were "tough but also smart". That's what he did although Mattis turned out to be less tough and smart as he was when he was a general.
As for the kids, I voted for the package deal. I knew full well Trump would hire friends and family that he trusted and gave Ivanka a keynote speech to spout some liberal ideas. But Trump hiimself has aged more conservative.
Trump might not be a "reliable Conservative" but he is mainly conservative. He reaspects the rule of law and the Constitution although he was obviously willing to chip away as the Second Amendment instaead of holding firm. But some people have confused tactics with strategy the author above. Fighting liberalism and leftism is not always going to be purely "Conservative:". There are for example reasons to stay in Europe to fight leftism and conservative reasons to get out.
What the author fails to understand is that Trump is not an idealogue. His resistance to idealogical “schools of thought” is a big part of his appeal, and it’s what makes him immune to political correctness.
Trump doesn’t have idealogical allies because he isn’t idealogical. He’s a pragmatist - he goes by what works. That fierce independence of thought is what keeps his agenda from getting coopted by various political movements.
Some consevatives have worried that Ivanka and Jared are going to tempt him to liberalism, while the leftists have worried that David Duke or some other white supremacist will have his ear.
Nobody has to worry - Donald Trump is a pragmatist. He puts his finger to the pulse of America, identifies what is not working, and looks for root causes. He looks for (and finds) opportunities to fix whatever is broken.
Usually, the problem is too much government - so he seeks eliminate stupid regulations and get us out of stupid deals.
In a way, that makes him appear to be “a conservative” - but I doubt he thinks of it that way. Liberalism, with its collectivism, wealth redistribution, globalism, and rejection of free enterprise in favor of crony capitalism, it’s open borders, sanctuary cities, bureaucratic corruption and pay for play cronyism - liberalism is essentially one big stupid deal - at least that’s the way Trump sees it. He’s not fighting an idealogical war - he’s just identifying bad deals and government programs and regulations that don’t work.
The real truth is that conservatives are essentially pragmatists, like Trump, because they oppose that which does not work - namely, the Left - with its wrong headed ideas of collectivism and wealth redistribution.
So no one should expect Trump to appoint idealogical allies. He’s looking for competent people who can fix things and get them working on behalf of Americans.
Over a year and a half late.
Alabama is about the only one the GOP has a real shot at. On the other side the Democrats have a shot at Colorado and Maine, and a lesser chance at Arizona. It will all depend on who runs against them.
Health care is different. His plan will have to cover EVERYBODY(emphasis). Millenials will need a different retirement plan.
He'll need a plan first.
Mr. President. I am an ideological ally. I’ll send you a resume. I have no government experience at all. However, I am now running my third business and I despise the fact that the federal, state and local governments get to make decisions for me that I have to pay for.
Let me start at the EPA. (Can I get a flame thrower?)
He did call for "a complete and total ban on Muslims entering the United States" in December 2015.
His daughter and her spouse just won him tons of votes.
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Curious as to why you say that. I want those two very far gone and it distresses me about Trump that he has them anywhere near the White House.
My kneejerk reaction is that anyone who voted for Trump because of Ivanka would still have voted for Hillary.
And Merry Christmas and thank you for making the site and country a better place.
Gardner in CO is probably gonna be a loss. And I’m not sure McSally in AZ is gonna pull it off either.
Collins in Maine is probably ok but she’s gonna have to spend a ton of money.
Totally agree with the article. 2019 is a fresh start with a bit of swamp drain already. All Obama holdovers and other swamp creatures,#NeverTrumptards and traitors should all be purged posthaste. The House will be absolutely worthless and will only focus on destroying POTUS while going full Socialist. The mission now is to get re-elected as the left fights to get POTUS removed. POTUS should go scorched Earth on the leftist scum and full speed MAGA. There is nothing to lose but the country.
The Democrats haven't really gone after Collins because she's moderate enough to appeal to both sides. But after the Kavanaugh vote the knives will be out and the Democrats will make taking her down a priority.
“watching him hire so many people who reject his core beliefs has been enormously frustrating. ... Aside from an exceptional few, virtually everyone in his inner circle disagrees with him.”
Trump has enough work cut out for him battling both Congress and the bureaucratic/Deep State. Having people who are supposed to be on his team who actually oppose him is insane. Obviously whoever has his ear on appointments needs to be sent packing and he needs to form a team of hard-hitting conservatives for advice.
My imagination is trying to see Patton working as Sec of Defense leader under Trump.
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