May
12
Responding to Trump Derangement Syndrome
My friend Todd was recently involved in a brief Facebook thread, responding to a post from a mutual FB friend — well, Todd knows him much better than I do — and one other. Knowing that Todd comes from a much more libertarian perspective than I do and is more critical of the administration, I found it strangely gratifying to see him give an objective quasi-defense of Trump, while also pointing out a few areas in which the federal government has been “coloring outside the lines” for decades. Nicely done, Todd!
In any case, I have reproduced the thread below for your perusal…
—
Ron: “I think once we get past “Democrats vs. Republicans”, we can start repairing our Democracy. That doesn’t mean that those who have violated OUR Democracy should not be held accountable.”
Todd: “You mean like paying the Russians for fake dirt on your political candidate, and then using that fake dirt to get a FISA warrant to spy on your opponent? I agree.”
Ron: “Todd, I’m not sure how to answer that, other than to say that I think the larger question is that the “Trump Administration” is a referendum on how “We, the People” view ourselves. Without getting into partisan politics, clearly the man is a narcissistic blatherer, who spits out lies as easily as a lion pisses on a bush. Yet 40 percent of eligible voters chose him to lead our country – almost the same numbers that watch the Kardashians. I truly suspect that, without a significant change of mindset, we are witnessing the Fall of Rome. I offer you Hitler, who gained power through the mental ignorance of his democracy. Hitler did not SEIZE power, he manipulated a constituency into agreeing with him. Make no mistake, my friend, this is a very dangerous man at the helm. We’re no longer talking about “Dems vs Repubs, we’re talking about Nixon on steroids, and if this is truly the “will of the people”, we’re talking about the viability of self-government.”
Jerry: “This threat to the Checks and Balances enshrined in our country’s constitution should eventually be decided by the third branch. Will the Supreme Court rule in favor of upholding our Constitutional Design or rule in favor of their Political Enablers. Will our country remain a Representative Democracy or officially move towards an Oligarchy backed by Theocracy? I think that my emotional well-being would be better off opening a bottle of an IPA and watching reruns of Ren and Stimpy.”
Todd: “Let me be perfectly clear here before I comment, I am not a “Trump supporter”… Never was.
You call him narcissistic. What President in the last 200 years, other than possibly Ford, was not a narcissist? It comes with the territory. You have to be a narcissist to even imagine that you could do that job and then run for that office. Lies? Yup, I agree. They ALL lie!! Gulf of Tonkin, WMD in Iraq, You can keep your doctor… Need I say more? At least Trump’s lies haven’t taken us into military interventions that cost us dearly in blood and treasure. In fact, Trump’s surprisingly plain speech has brought the Korean peninsula closer to peace than any President before him.
Is he flawed? Absolutely! All presidents are! Am I concerned that he uses Executive Orders unconstitutionally, just as every President before him has? Yes. Am I concerned that he talks of projects to be done by the Federal government all the while we are running a Trillion dollar deficit? You bet.
My friend, I know you to be an intelligent person, but your language here is the same used by the imbeciles who suffer from Trump derangement syndrome. You clearly refuse to recognize the real change and actual achievements of his administration. He has more women in senior staff positions than any Democrat president ever had. Unemployment for minorities is at an all time low. Think about that for a moment. What better way to help minorities in poverty than to create an economic environment where there are more jobs?
As a libertarian there are many things that I see done by Trump that give me pause (tariffs). But there are other things like talking about getting the Federal government out of K-12 education that make me stand up and cheer. For the first time in 20 years we are bringing troops home from wars abroad instead of starting new ones.
So, no, I do not see Trump’s presidency as an existential crisis. The powers wielded by him currently are beyond the authority of the Constitution, and it has been that way since the Civil War. All three branches are coloring outside the lines. A Convention of the States will most likely be necessary to change that and restore order.”
Todd: “You equal Trump to Hitler…. What did Hitler actually do? Eliminated capitalism in his country…what current politicians do that? Confiscated all the guns from the people….what politicians call for that? Established thought crimes and punished and silenced those who would oppose your point of view…what politicians do that? Sorry, not Trump.”
Todd: “Oh I forgot one… Hitler used medical clinics in minority communities to weed out the undesirables and tried to create a master race through eugenics…what politicians today want to fund organizations that promote the killing of “undesirable and unwanted” babies? One particular organization founded by a racist who called for the death of minorities and those with birth defects? Yeah, not Trump.”
—
That was fun.
