Sunday, January 17, 2016

Cringe. Jeffrey Lord Spouts Drivel?

Jeff Lord
Aagh! Jeffrey Lord, usually with such good sense, has a new book out: What America Needs: the Case for Trump.
In What America Needs, Lord makes a powerful case that Trump—often denigrated even by other Republicans as too outrageous for the White House—is actually exactly the president our country needs right now: one who will reverse the damages done during the Obama administration and do what it takes to make America great again.
True, I have not read it. But, I can't think of a case to make for Trump in solving the ticking time bomb of huge government expansion and regulation and astronomically expanding public entitlements.

I know some think that we can grow ourselves out of this economically. This idea is based on the four years of positive budget from the Clinton years. But, even that was a bit chimerical because the dollar has not been tied to any clear value standard since Nixon.

The main thing Trump has going for him is that the rest of the world is in worse condition than the U.S. But, then all the candidates, even Bernie Sanders, has that going for them.

I'm not dissing Trump. I follow the Mark Levin presidential voting philosophy. I'd vote for a can of orange juice over the Democratic candidate. So, in the general election I'm not picky.

But, I hope from conservative thinkers to hear something about the transition we have to make as a political society in what we expect of government and what we expect of ourselves. Maybe Lord makes that argument in What America Needs. But, I've not heard even bits and pieces of such an argument, and I'm cringing.

6 comments:

MAX Redline said...

There are actually a couple of things that Trump has going for him: he knows business, and he's not hobbled by political correctness. Apart from that, I can't see him in the White House because he doesn't play well with obliviots. Cruz can, and where Trump is bombastic, Cruz displays deft wit.

Really, the others should just bunch it.

T. D. said...

You've been clear and right on the two top candidates for a long time now when most others were saying this or that. I'm still sticking by my two (Cruz and Carson) but make no pretense of being good at political prognostication.

MAX Redline said...

Good luck with Carson, TD. No question that he's an intelligent guy, and even nice. But he prevaricates.

T. D. said...

For me his prevarication is a part of the good thing he brings to the table. He is not ideological. Even though it seems almost impossible to unite the nation, he has the best chance of any of the candidates because he is willing to listen with respect to a diversity of viewpoints. Basically he's a common sense guy, not a conservative per se. Usually that is something I reject, but there's something about him that inspires my trust. I like his character.

But Cruz is a true conservative, very smart and I think he would be able to negotiate using constitutional and procedural tools that others either don't really understand, are clumsy about, or misuse.

MAX Redline said...

Carson has suspended his campaign today, following a serious wreck involving four of his staffers on an icy Iowa road. Last I read, a few hours ago, he was headed to an Omaha trauma center to which one of the victims was being transported.

T. D. said...

This is tragic and even harder when Carson's numbers are declining. He is a good man to suspend his campaign. I just sent in another donation.