Roe vs. Wade: How Trump Succeeded Where Reagan Failed

American Thinker ^ | 07/04/2022 | Twilight Patriot

[SeekAndFind]

Question: Before Donald Trump, who was the last Republican president who didn't appoint at least one pro-choice Supreme Court justice?

Answer: Herbert Hoover.

This article will mainly be about how Donald Trump broke an almost-50-year trend of Republican leaders using and discarding their pro-life base. But first, let me briefly comment on a different issue that came to the fore early in Trump's presidency.

Back in December of 2017, Donald Trump announced that the U.S. embassy in Israel would be moving to Jerusalem. This made a lot of people angry. The press and the political establishment condemned it as a hostile gesture that would make diplomacy with "Palestine" harder. The U.N. Security Council voted to denounce it. The Palestinians rioted.

Trump went through with the move anyway, because to him, the thing that mattered most was that, during the 2016 election, he had promised that he would do it.

Curiously enough, several previous presidents had all made the same promise during their presidential campaigns.  But once in office, they never followed through.  In the eyes of the establishment, this was a sign of caution, prudence, and maturity — by not acting on their promise, these presidents were showing themselves to be above politics and all that.

But I see things a bit differently.  As I see it, if those men had told their voters that they were against moving the embassy to Jerusalem, and explained why, then they could have made a plausible claim to be motivated by caution, prudence, etc.  But in my book, what they actually did — fooling their base into thinking that they planned on doing something they did not really want to do — isn't called "being prudent."  It's just called "lying."

[Hieronymus]

He also had a Republican Senate for, I believe, the first six years. I think you are responding to sarcasm.

That said, the three best nominees in forever have been Scalia, Thomas, and Kennedy.

Trump hit three singles, but without a double from each of the previous Republican presidents, no matter how many strike-outs they may also have had, the winning run wouldn’t have crossed the plate.

[bert]

The Fact there was a Republican Senate is misleading. Absent 60 votes, nothing happens.

That is the situation now. Democrats have a majority but can’t pass anything. (actually they don’t because Lehey is out of action)

[x]

Trump could appoint three justices and had a Senate that would confirm them. He wasn't tempted to make any spectacular "firsts" and he had a great list of potentials to choose from.

Also, in the Trump years, many Arab countries were more scared of and opposed to Iran than to Israel. It was clear that moving the embassy to Jerusalem wasn't a priority to other presidents -- should it have been? -- but it was easier for Trump to do that than it would have been for them.

Trump was a good president, but chance, circumstances, and the changing opportunities for presidents played a role in both decisions. Also, things do get written into platforms that candidates really don't want.

If you expect politicians to attempt everything in their party platforms -- or to achieve everything they promised to do -- you are only setting yourself up for disappointment. The difficulty of getting things done is a feature of our political system.

[BlackAdderess]

Nothing is going to get fixed until we ditch the idea that 13% of the population can routinely shove its will down the throat of the remaining 87%, and get back to government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Nothing will be fixed until representatives start doing their jobs, you know, by representing their districts.

[SmokingJoe]

The wall was unfinished.

President Trump built more border walls, and stronger border walls than any President in modern history, despite massive obstruction from the Dem controlled House of Reps in his last 2 years

So we have an unprecedented number of migrants crossing in

Which is entirely Dementia Joe's doing.
Don't even think of blaming President Trump for the massive evils of Dementia Joe and his deranged Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary for Department of Homeland Security, who have literally left the borders wide open to let in as many illegals as they can.

[murron]

Ping

[Catholic and Conservative]

Not only did Democrats reduce the vote needed for most judicial nominations from 60 to 51, in October of 2016, anticipating a win by Hillary Clinton, Reid also threatened to eliminate the filibuster for nominations to the Supreme Court. I think his comments made it easier for the Republicans shortly thereafter to do exactly what had Reid said the Democrats were ready to do.

We can also thank the Democrats' "Conscience of the Senate", Ku Klux Klan "Exalted Cyclops" Robert Byrd. In 1975, when the Democrats had 60 Senators, he authored the rule change reducing the number of votes required to invoke cloture from two-thirds of the senators present and voting to three-fifths duly chosen and sworn.

[scrabblehack]

Are you sure? Clarence Thomas had fewer than 60 yeas.

Yes, you’re right about the confirmation part of the filibuster going away. But I’m thinking that SCOTUS is such a high profile vacancy that it doesn’t get filibustered.

Now not getting considered (Garland) is another story.