Now, for a little depressing talk. Will we ever have a popular president again? If not, will we ever have effective government again?
With the country as divided as it is now, it’s highly unlikely that even the most capable man or woman could convince the kooks on the liberal side of the spectrum that he or she is legitimate and deserves leeway to implement a set of common-sense policies to guide the nation, such as an “all of the above” energy philosophy, or basic border enforcement. Things are bad, folks. Thanks to events of the past two COVID dominated years, America’s institutions have eroded to the bone and their credibility, already strained to the maximum extent, is completely gone.
Worse still, the establishment media won’t allow space for a reformer to get by. And even if an outsider like Donald Trump -- or Trump himself -- won another election, the anti-reform smear campaign would be furious and nasty and suck the life force out of movements to resurrect liberty as a governing concept. Civil war will be a constant threat. Not even freedom of speech and debate is considered sacred any longer. Future leaders face almost insurmountable barriers. Granted, this concept isn’t exactly keeping people awake at night. These days most “ordinary” Americans are too busy trying to meet obligations knowing that inflation and debt is consuming what used to be considered the world’s most prosperous economy, which makes our savings accounts and investment portfolios worth less than ever and future paychecks, if the trend continues, will be much smaller than the numbers in the boxes indicate. Meanwhile, figures in boxes on credit card invoices, utility bills and mortgage statements will be larger. It will cost more to drive to work (assuming you can find gasoline powered cars to do the job), heat your home and provide food for yourself and your family. Anyone feel great about this? Most citizens in the general population don’t save for their own retirement. The already overburdened Social Security and Medicare programs will flat out tip over someday. The needy will be needier. And the greedy liberal political elites will point a finger at the wealthy and productive class for simply being good at innovation and accumulating wealth. Those who speak out against societal and governmental stupidity will be shouted down and/or hunted by the deep state. If you don’t have the means to send your children to private schools, the kids will be subjected to woke hate theories in public indoctrination centers guarded by tenure protected teachers unions. The youths will be ordered to wear masks and accept vaccines even when it was proven that such things don’t work to prevent the spread of anything, much less a propped-up, overhyped and sensationalized flu bug like COVID-19. The authorities will use the next public health emergency to eliminate all dissent to their dictates. It doesn’t matter whether a lifetime’s worth of experience informs people as to the proper courses to take in safeguarding their own wellbeing. Experts always know “more” and the violent liberal sheep (otherwise known as Kens and Karens) will shame those who dissent into submission and put their faces on social media for scorn and censure. Foreign policy, if it can even be defined in today’s presidential universe, doesn’t seem to markedly change from administration to administration. The entrenched bureaucracy of “professionals” shelters the globalist status quo rather than speak the truth, such as calling radical Islam what it is -- a political ideology bent on destruction of the west. To the American citizen, government action overseas and close to our own borders seems defined by what potential -- or actual -- military conflict draws the most headlines. Politicians from both parties are consumed with the situation along the Russia/Ukraine border, with bellicose “representatives” and “senators” talking about what United States obligations are and how we should meet them without question. Never is there much discussion on why American parents should remain passive while their sons and daughters are sent to war-torn regions to risk their lives so that someone else’s sons and daughters won’t face getting slaughtered by whatever evil regime is causing the problems in the first place. Needless to say, there’s precious little focus on how much such a government excursion might cost in dollars and cents. Those are just numbers on a white board somewhere in a conference room at the Pentagon or on Capitol Hill. War is expensive, and war is costly. They’re not the same thing. What benefit will small business owners on Main Street, U.S.A. derive if Ukraine is saved from Russian invasion? Will they be able to sell that extra marginal amount of goods to make a profit? Will they even be able to get the goods to sell because they can’t get deliveries due to supply chain clogs? Another little something to ponder. If China attacks Taiwan, which it certainly appears to be preparing to do, how will our government respond? Fighting China militarily is a daunting and probably impossible proposition. China has four times the population of the U.S. Its weaponry is almost on par with us. And their supply logistics are significantly friendlier than ours. Again, do you want your family member to face the Chinese military over Taiwan? Is it worth a nuclear confrontation to save Ukraine or Taiwan? What if we impose massive economic sanctions on China, basically tell them that we won’t buy anything from them until they declare Taiwan free forever. Our China-dependent consumer economy will all-but shut down. If you think there are bare shelves at Walmart now, just wait until we get into a pissing match with China. They’re communists. They’ll tell their industries to like it or lump it. We’ll have fleets of electric cars that can’t be serviced, solar panel fields that can’t get spare parts and household appliances that can’t be replaced. The national debt is growing faster than people can comprehend. Government spending shows no signs of slowing down -- or even decreasing the rate by which it grows. The COVID-19 “pandemic” has shattered what little incentive there was before to limit spending. The political class -- which includes the leadership of both parties -- is wholly dependent on what it appropriates, not what it takes in. If there are arguments over tax rates, it doesn’t make much of a difference to the average taxpayer -- or voter. It appears that most Americans are thinking a change in party leadership at the top after the federal midterm elections will make a difference. But will a Republican senate do much of anything? Rachel Bovard wrote at The Federalist this week:
“Republicans cannot simply rally voters with a promise not to make it worse. Republicans cannot, in other words, do what they have largely always done with a Senate majority: set it on a shelf, polish it, and admire it from afar while checking off a Beltway-driven agenda designed solely to protect incumbents.
“Rather, a majority must be used. Not only for the purpose of giving new GOP voters a reason to stay, although that is a benefit, but because it’s the right and urgently necessary thing to do. Democrats have so aggressively overstepped, which may send their congressional majorities over a cliff, but it won’t stop their allies.
“The left’s institutions and public health bureaucrats aren’t going to simply stop torturing us because they feel like it. If Senate Republicans cannot find it in them to stand up for their voters now, when the stakes are so perilous and the moment so fraught, then what are they good for?”
It's a good question, and a staggering thought. A Republican House and Senate will mean the end of President senile Joe Biden’s most damaging schemes, but if the GOP doesn’t come in and start legislating like crazy on good ideas to fix some or most of the problems outlined above… indeed, what good are they?
Biden’s pathetic approval numbers will weigh down Democrat congressional candidates, but we’ll still have two more years of bumbling dereliction in the executive branch. What if something happens to Joe? It’s certainly not out of the question -- and that means Kamala Harris will replace him. Who would’ve ever thought Americans would be rooting for Biden to finish out his term?
The new GOP congressional majorities won’t be able to get a whole lot past Biden’s veto pen, but as Bovard argues in her piece -- so what? Markers must be set. Voters must see what the alternative looks like and be given a real choice as time ticks by and November, 2024 approaches.
Popularity is fleeting and respect is hard to earn. But it starts with political leadership with a backbone and a drive to do what’s right no matter how much the media resists or leftist nimrods take to the streets to protest good old-fashioned law and order -- and sane liberty-centered governance. Without it, there’s not much hope for the future. Will Republicans get it before it’s too late?
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