Articles: Politics

As we stare into the coming abyss of 2019, we should try to be calm. A wildly fluctuating stock market, global trade wars, economic collapse, threats of nuclear war, brewing terrorism, continuing investigations of the Trump campaign, calls for impeachment, political stalemate between Republicans and Democrats, increased hostility and shrill accusations positioning candidates for the 2020 election, dysfunctional government, the loss of American prestige in the world, catastrophe everywhere.

The “yellow vest” riots in Paris should alarm Democrats, especially the new progressive governors in blue states like California. As with the president of France, today’s liberals believe they have a mandate to solve the problems of the world, only to learn that all politics are local. The electorate, while entertaining ideas at the extremes, always gravitates toward the center and its own vested interests.

Politics since 1972 has seemed to harken back to the Edgar Allen Poe story, “The Pit and the Pendulum.” As with the narrator of the story, in the pit and tied to a table, Americans have been treated to watching politics as a razor-sharp pendulum that swings back and forth between two extremes, slowing getting closer and closer to slicing them and the country into pieces.

In Wonderland, Alice was heard to say: “I wonder if I shall fall right through the earth! How funny it’ll seem to come out among the people that walk with their heads downwards.” Wow, America is in Wonderland. Half the country sees the other half as upside down.

The death rattle of Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s presidential hopes, and possibly the Massachusetts Democrat’s political career, has suddenly emerged in her Accountable Capitalism Act, which would mandate that 40 percent of the directors of large companies be selected by the employees.

Here come the ghosts of Joe McCarthy and Roy Cohn. There is no longer room for reasoned debate in America. If you’re feeling uncomfortable and unable to defend your ideas, just censor all discussion with “I won’t listen to this because… ,” “You’re a Nazi,” “You’re racist,” or, most popular, “You’re a traitor/agent of Russia.”

Last week, I wrote an Open Forum defending President Trump’s foreign policies based on their objective results. Since then, there have been two major developments.

The conduct of foreign policy is often thought of as the primary responsibility of a U.S. president. Because of its existential importance to the security of our country, the disturbing Delphic utterances of President Trump in Helsinki and thereafter have sent spasms through the Western foreign policy and intelligence communities.

As Hillary Clinton looks forward to 2016, this is an especially important year for New Year’s resolutions. The next 12 months will set (actually, reset) the narrative for her presidential run, and Hillary, with her vast, left-wing army of elves in the media, unions and progressive interest groups have a lot of work to do. Maybe we can take a sneak peek at Hillary’s thinking and resolutions for the new year.

As the Obamacare program continues to founder, Democratic members of Congress and the White House are systematically making it clear that they “misled” (code: outright lied to) the American people.