Issue 36.15
I honestly never thought I would do an article on a single candidate, but I have been asked by many people that I respect, what I think of this candidate, so here goes.
I believe this candidate deserves attention but also requires that he be pinned down on details. There are many candidates already announced that I have very little interest in because they are the same big government, less individual freedom types that we have supported for the last 30 years. That is true of both parties. I have not found many candidates that I could support during that time, and even the ones I do support I disagree with on one or two issues. If you have opinions and you care about them, you will find differences with almost anyone.
The positives I see in Donald Trump come from his independence. He says what he thinks. He is willing to change his mind if he believes his previous position was incorrect. Politicians don’t do that because they are afraid of the backlash. He doesn’t care what the media thinks and that is refreshing. He is a businessman. In business, if something isn’t working, you change. In politics if it isn’t working, you lie about it and spend more money doing it again. I prefer the business approach. Some of his ideas are innovative and even radical, but they seem to have a sense of the “can do” and “make it happen” that has made him a billionaire. He also is not tied to special interests in the way most politicians are since he doesn’t need their money or their support. He is appealing to the citizens instead.
The biggest negative I see is that some of his ideas are either not well-formed or not well articulated. The specifics are dismissed with statements like “I can do this because of who I am” rather than spelling out how he will get congress to cooperate and realizing that the President sets the tone, but he does not make law, treaties or unimpeded policy decisions. He has to work with and inspire and convince Congress and the judicial system that what he wants is what is needed. He is a little bombastic and disruptive. He is dismissive of criticisms that he may need to listen to.
I will be watching him closely and listening to what he actually says, rather than listening to what other’s (especially the talking heads, media and party politicians that hate him) say about what he says. He may well be the next incarnation of Ronald Reagan who helped us rebound from financial malaise and national self-doubt. Like Reagan, he is a bit of loose cannon. Unlike Reagan, he appeals more to logic and advertising ideas than to our patriotism and history. He may try to go too far – but luckily our system has checks and balances to correct those who overstep their bounds. Too bad those who are supposed to enforce those checks and balances haven’t done much lately. Perhaps he can change that as well.
I haven’t yet decided who I will support for president, but I am at least paying attention. I hope his political life lasts long enough to get people talking about what should really be happening. It seems he is doing a pretty good job of at least getting the discussion going.
Lynn West is a thinker, a teacher and a patriot. You can reach him through email at forgingthefuture2021@gmail.com or through this newspaper. Liberty is a state of being which must be continually created. These articles can help all of us discover the ways we can contribute to that outcome.