Trump Proves All Politicians Have A Price
By Tyler Durden
Submitted by James E. Miller,
With precious few weeks before Donald Trump takes the oath of office and officially becomes President of the United States (and, if you listen to the fraidy-cat Left, ushers in the eschaton), the taste of victory keeps getting sweeter.
First, there was the Carrier deal which saved hundreds of U.S jobs from being outsourced to Mexico. Then there was Trump’s twitter-shaming of Boeing over the bloated cost of the new Air Force Once, after which the airline giant conceded to the Donald’s demands and cut costs. And, of course, there was the cultural triumph of everyday Americans being able to say “Merry Christmas!” once again with joyful abandon.
Trump was right: All this winning sure gets tiresome.
The victory campaign wages on, and the latest win is quickly becoming my personal favorite. “Trump posse browbeats Hill Republicans,” ran the headline in Politico. The inevitable feud between the most conservative members of the House of Republicans and the President-elect has already begun.
“We all agree that some of President Trump’s proposed policies are not going to line up very well with our conservative policies,” said Bill Flores, an unassuming representative from Texas’s 17th District, during a D.C. conference in early December. The Lonestar rep. isn’t wrong. During the Republican primary, Trump put GOP orthodoxy in a headlock. He pledged to cut back on free trade, punish companies that move overseas with tariffs, stop military adventurism and nation-building à la Iraq, and not cut a dime from entitlements. One of his first initiatives in office will be a trillion-dollar infrastructure plan aimed at alleviating unemployment and rebuilding the nation’s roads and ports.
For the party of cutting taxes and spending, unfettered global trade, and military might, this is apostasy of the first order. Trump is no Ayn Rand acolyte, as the New Yorker’s John Cassidy and James Hohmann of The Washington Post have suggested. He’s a visceral populist with nation-centric instincts. Think-tank darlings and Hayek-adorers despise his lowbrow instincts.
This puts ideological policy-makers in a tough spot. For questioning the President-elect’s agenda, Rep. Flores was the first to feel the Trumpian wrath. His twitter feed was attacked relentlessly by Trump’s supporters.
Other lawmakers are taking note. Republican House members are flummoxed about how to deal with Trump. Many reside in districts that went heavily for the populist billionaire (that oxymoron never ceases to amaze). They no longer occupy the snug position of defying Obama, much to their constituents’ delight.
It’s a “damned if you do, damned if you don't” situation, as one GOP aide put it.
When politicians are forced onto a tightrope, entertainment is guaranteed. And to my never-ending delight, the sellouts are coming, hard and fast.
A long profile piece by Tim Alberta was just published in National Review detailing the internecine squabbling between congressional Republicans. …read more
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