Dear America,
I am in the grips of a host of negative emotions this morning after the election of Donald Trump. His presidency will most likely be something between the disastrous presidency of George W. Bush and the horrific chancellor-ship of Adolph Hitler, who ascended to power on the tide of hyper-nationalism like inspired by the same kind of "poor us, we've been abused by the world" puling as Trump used to win this election. Trump's tax proposal would raise the taxes of many middle class earners while lowering the taxes of big business and the wealthy--evinced by our president elect himself--in a fashion much like fascism, while raising the deficit and the national debt by near-geometric proportions. His bellicosity may well lead to another long war like Afghanistan or Iraq, both continuing to this day courtesy of George W. The tariffs and deregulation of financial institutions he proposes may lead to the kind of financial ruin wreaked upon us by Harding, Coolidge and Hoover. And perhaps most ominous of all, his ignorance of foreign policy, and international dynamics in particular, portends trouble of perhaps the most profound kind when it comes to North Korea, our allies in Europe and Russia, the last being the most acquisitive and imperialistic nation on earth today. The history surrounding people who think in the various ways in which Trump does is forbidding, and anyone who doesn't at least entertain the notion that his presidency could be a disaster of profound proportions is kidding himself.
The way I look at it is this. The glee among Trump supporters is palpable. It is based on the premise that they have not just voted for, but elected change incarnate...a dubious proposition at best. But even if it is true, the vote of those same people was not for change, as they profess, in that they reelected the congress and senate that were there when they voted yesterday, and the congress is the real problem. Republicans have made obstruction the norm, and they continue to insist on using procedure to effect their philosophy at any given moment rather than permitting democracy to prevail. They prevented constructive governance when they were a minority in the four years from 2006 to 2010, and they have continued to do so since becoming the majority during the presidency of a Democratic President, whose every initiative has been prevented, or failing in their effort to prevent it, thwarted in its implementation. The Affordable Care Act and financial regulation pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act--a pale imitation of Glass-Steagall to begin with--are perfect examples. Change is not imminent. In fact, many members of Trump's own party loath him and fear being branded as sympathetic to his principles. Juxtapose a congress so inclined with a president who presumably--given his temperament and his dedication to doing things his own way--will wield the veto power of the presidency with impunity and very little restraint...or prudence for that matter. And as to the Supreme Court, Antonin Scalia will be replace by an epigone, and the result will be that we will be no worse off than we were before he died in his sleep. But what about when Justice Ginsburg retires, which could be at any time given her health (she has pancreatic cancer, but people live for some time with that disease these days, as she has already). There are also Justices Kennedy and Breyer to consider, so that by the time Trump is through, we could have a Supreme Court with a solid conservative majority that could control American law for over a generation. Trump represents the potential for an era as bad as the thirties depression and the war of the forties...or worse.
So, while the Trumpites chortle over their morning coffee as they savor assuming the driver's seat in American politics, they may not have long to gloat. I estimate that it will take as little as one year for us all to appreciate the consequences of yesterday's election, and believe it or not, unlike the conservatives and the Republicans, I am rooting for the success of their political hegemony. No one will be happier than I if we go into a golden age to replace today's gilded age. But what are the odds.
As I always say, on election day, the majority always gets what it deserves. Often unfortunately though, the rest of us get it too.
Your friend
Mike
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