Words to Live By, Especially for Never-Trumpers (Part Deux)

 

Alright, I think it’s safe to come back out again. When I submitted my little piece (same title as contained in the brackets), over a week ago, I intended it to be a small one-off type of observation. It was nothing more than a couple of quotes from a National Review article (and yes, I know that many of you detest the publication) with a few sentences of my own thoughts. Easy-peasy, right?

I didn’t anticipate the number of comments or some of the verbiage that was contained in them; some of which was quite heated. Although I certainly don’t have the literary skills to pour the needed oil upon the troubled waters, I would like to add a few more comments to my original offering.

I now realize that we will never, and I mean never, get past this thing of “Never Trump.” It’s ingrained, perhaps in the DNA, of many folks even here at Ricochet. I suppose that’s to be expected. Looking back at the NR’s famous issue (February 15, 2016) of “Conservatives Against Trump” (which featured a caricature of Trump in a Benito Mussolini uniform) it was easy to see that passions were (and still are) running deep. (For the record, I was an early supporter of Marco Rubio, even if he did have small hands.)

However, as events showed, all that conservative intellectual firepower didn’t amount to (as John Nance Garner so eloquently said) a bucket of warm spit. Still, if you go back and look at that list of folks who wrote their opinions you’ll find that most of them are, grudgingly, holding their fire because they have realized what the alternative would have been had Hillary Rodham Clinton ascended to the Presidency.

And, that alternative would have been four (and probably eight) more years of the policies of Barack Obama. OK, if you have to, go into a dark closet, close the door behind you and think, really think, about where we would be today if that had happened. If, after some contemplation, you believe that we would be no worse off than the three and a half years we have had under Trump, well, then perhaps you should stay in your closet a bit longer.

In a recent NR “Morning Jolt” (which I recommend, mostly to get Jim Geraghty’s extremely well-done opinion pieces) there was a piece by Jonah Goldberg (yes, yes I know that some of you aren’t fans) in which he described himself as “a conservative who just can’t board the Trump Train.” And here, is what we should be concentrating on.

First of all, I don’t believe there’s as many of us on the “Trump Train” as Goldberg believes. I can’t speak for others but, for me, I’m on the “American Train.” If the tracks of the “Trump Train” and the “American Train” are running parallel then I’m fine with it. If those tracks should begin to diverge, that’s another story. In some of the comments made to my first post, there were references to “ET” or “Ever Trump” folks. I suspect that the number of those folks is far less than the “Never Trump” folks.

In terms of what we have at stake in the upcoming election, I was a bit taken aback at some of the arguments which seemed akin to those “how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?” disputes, only in a political sense. And, I still wonder how ideological “purity tests” can still be taken seriously when there is so much at stake.

For all you “purists” (to paraphrase Barbara Mandrell), “I was Conservative When Conservative Wasn’t Cool.” I don’t need someone explaining the fine points of conservatism to me. I want “what works” to be the final determinant in any endeavor that the government takes; and I want all government endeavors to be only what is truly required.

Like a lot of other people, I cringe at some of Trump’s utterances. His praise of unsavory characters (read thugs) such as Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un was bad enough but his unsolicited “great leader” and “brilliant man” remarks concerning Xi Jinping can only be described as head-shaking. Normally, in another time, this would be cause for me to scramble to another candidate. Today? In the immoral words of R. Lee Ermey, “I don’t think so.”

As I do not have a “fetish for complexity” as our last great President (Ronald Reagan) phrased, I have limited my reasons for staying with Trump to two (and only two): Defense and federal judicial appointments. Without the former we have no country; without the latter we have no society.

Defense

The degree to which our national defense suffered under eight years of Barack Obama cannot be underestimated. Although he frequently mentioned how “inspired” he was by members of our military, his actions frequently belied those words. Obama never understood military culture and gave little reason to believe that he wanted to understand it. I genuinely believe that he (and his many toadies) were caught totally off guard from the reaction of the military rank and file when he brought the deserter’s (I refuse to say his name) parents to the White House for a Rose Garden ceremony. Then, when he sent one of those toadies on a round of Sunday morning news shows to reiterate that the deserter had “served with honor and distinction”; well, that was the end of what credibility he had. At the end of his administration, when he pardoned a treasonous transgender (again, I refuse to say the individual’s name), the military was shown just how little Barack thought of them.

Awhile back, I used the term “hollow force” to describe how badly our military has deteriorated and an individual here at Ricochet sniffed that it was an “easy phrase.” Since I’m merely an old E-8, I didn’t know what that meant. I googled it and the first definition produced by the software was “I’m easy” which certainly doesn’t apply to me; especially since I’ve been married for more than three decades. So, let me go at this from another angle. Please bear with me.

Our military still does have some awesome capabilities. However, much of that capability still resides with our nuclear forces (the “Triad”). Unfortunately, if we use those forces, it will be game over for many of us since two (and soon, four) of our leading adversaries also have those capabilities.

Even discounting our nuclear capability, we can still field an impressive array of weaponry. However, what most concerns me is the state of the personnel who will handle those weapons; that is where the eight years of Barack may have done the most lasting damage. Make no mistake: I am talking about the “Warrior Ethos” along with the military “Code of Conduct.” Although these concepts might be alien to our civilian population, they are absolutely vital to our men and women in the military.

Obama’s appointments, namely the Secretaries of the Army and Navy, were nothing short of disasters. Both Secretary of the Army Eric Fanning and Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus were solid leftist ideologues; probably the reason that they were chosen for their posts. The performance of these two was nothing short of shameful.

Eric Fanning seemed to have been chosen for his job mainly because of the fact that he was (and is) openly gay. I am not saying that being gay should have disqualified him for the job but when he acceded to be the “Grand Marshal” of a Gay Pride parade (in San Diego) while American men and women were fighting and dying in Afghanistan, he appeared to be showing the entire Army what his priorities truly were.

Fanning’s entire mission appeared to center around diversity. Toward that end he worked relentlessly, dogging the Army to install women and transsexuals in elite combat units such as the Rangers. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, the Rangers are “the tip of the spear”; the fire eaters who go ahead of the regular infantry, who seek out and destroy the enemy. It is not the place for those who cannot meet the most demanding standards. Yet. as author James Hasson noted in his must-read book Stand Down, the Army “placed their fingers on the scale” to meet Fanning’s directive. After two women were graduated from Ranger training and received the coveted Ranger tabs, all records which pertained to their training were destroyed.

Incredibly, Secretary of the Navy Mabus was even more destructive. Seeing what was happening in the Army, the Marines conducted an extensive test lasting months, in which rifle companies composed only of men were compared with rifle companies which included women. The testing insured that all training, all tactical exercises and all conditions were equal. Evaluators were brought in from outside the Corps; the testing methods were above reproach.

The results were that the “coed” rifle companies were far inferior to their all-male counterparts. The findings were compiled and sent up the command chain to Mabus. He barely looked at the report before denouncing the entire study as “biased.”

Mabus was equally destructive to the Navy and seemed more interested in naming new ships for social activists such as the USS Harvey Milk. His twin pet projects, diversity and the “Green Navy,” insured that combat readiness would be a secondary concern. As Hasson noted in speaking with a Navy two-star, “…Navy crews out there, you know, on their ass, readiness-wise, and now we have ships running into each other like it’s nobody’s business, and he (Mabus) was worried about freaking green fuel.

Along with those two ship collisions (which were troubling in themselves), came the incident in which two Navy Riverine boats were captured by the Iranians. The entire incident was disgraceful as it illustrated both a lack of seamanship and a total abandonment of the Military Code of Conduct. The commander of those two boats was an Annapolis graduate but it appeared that he had learned nothing from his four years at the Naval Academy as he apologized to his captors, praised them, and thanked them for their “hospitality and assistance.” As for our civilian leadership, that windsurfing warrior Secretary of State John Kerry did the appropriate groveling before the Iranians (evidently James Taylor was unavailable to warble “You’ve Got a Friend”) and the Americans were released, though not before the hapless crew turned over all the classified material and equipment they had.

It’s worth delving a bit further into this incident. Is this forlorn crew’s performance indicative of a much larger problem? I don’t know. However, for the sake of the nation, we have to ensure that our troops are trained with one thing in mind; that is, to engage and destroy our enemies. Our men and women do not enter the military to be subjected to, for hours on end, lectures on diversity and acceptance of transsexuals into their ranks. They want to be trained to do their jobs; which is to protect this nation. It’s a given that the Red Chinese, the North Koreans, the Iranians, and the Russians don’t give much thought to whether or not they are “diverse” enough. It’s far past time for us to emphasize the “warrior ethos” over the plaintive cries for more diversity.

It’s worth noting that both Fanning and Mabus are hanging around Washington today, working in their own “public interest” companies; patiently waiting for their chance to come back into a Democratic administration, possibly in their old jobs. It’s an absolute certainty that they would continue in their destruction of morale in our armed forces.

Should we give them that opportunity?

Judicial Appointments

This one is easy. Despite his mercurial performance in many other areas, Trump’s selection of federal judges has been commendable. Along with Sen. Mitch McConnell, some of Obama’s damage to the federal judiciary has been mitigated. Obviously, the job is not complete as evidenced by Trump’s efforts to protect our borders. He has had to fight Clinton and Obama judges at every turn.

Until we get a majority of federal judges who have as their “guiding star” the principle of “originalism” then our existence, as protected by our Bill of Rights, will be threatened.

So, what are the choices? I’m unhappy with Trump probably 12 hours out of each day. His fits of pique have greatly damaged his administration. His disputes with Generals Kelly and Mattis were unnecessary. While Trump’s enemies are plentiful (especially in the increasingly irrelevant press), he is still his own worst enemy.

Will Trump let the military keep striving toward that Warrior Ethos? Will he continue with his so-far wise choices for the federal judiciary? My answer is a solid, unequivocal, “I hope so.” However, I do know this. If we return to a country under Democratic rule, the idiocies that have caused our military to suffer will continue and probably become even worse. As for appointments to the federal judiciary, well, you don’t have to be a genius to figure that out.

So, if your hatred of Trump is what floats your boat, go ahead and pull that “D” lever when it comes time to vote. But before you do, think about the country that was run by Barack Obama and some of his cohorts, such as Valerie Jarrett, Ben Rhodes, and Jonathan Gruber. Only this time, think about this bunch on steroids. Owing to the leftward lurch of the Democratic Party, that’s exactly what you’re going to get. “But, Biden’s pragmatic,” you say. Keep dreaming.

Note: I do not shill for authors but I believe that James Hasson’s book, Stand Down, should be read by anyone who is concerned for our military readiness. The author, a Ranger and a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, makes several suggestions as to fixes we can make in improving military readiness.

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  1. Rodin Member
    Rodin
    @Rodin

    Petty Boozswha (View Comment):
    You folks are mostly satisfied if he drifts along on adulation and allows conservative underlings pick judges and deregulate. Most of you see him as a Groucho Marx strolling insouciantly through the garden party making the milquetoasts and matrons gasp “well, I never!” – OK. But if he loses to Grandpa Simpson after all the benefits he’s received from his time of peace and prosperity I think a lot of you will have second thoughts. If Satan again wraps him in his cloak of protection and he survives re-election despite his manifest unfitness I will be truly discouraged for the future of this country….

    So Satan is for free markets and originalist judges? Interesting point of view.

    Petty Boozswha (View Comment):

    The Reticulator (View Comment):
    You could be right. Can we put you down for a Trump yard sign when we put them out this fall?

    Nope, but two of my sons are Trumpkins, one has a MAGA hat to drive me into orbit.

    Well, given your view about Satan…. :)

     

    • #61
  2. SkipSul Inactive
    SkipSul
    @skipsul

    Rodin (View Comment):
    So Satan is for free markets and originalist judges? Interesting point of view.

    It’s worth noting that satan worshippers have relied on originalist judicial arguments in order to claim equal rights and equal access to public spaces alongside church groups.  So, yeah, this is an improvement, relatively speaking, over the more repressive legal standings they operated under until fairly recently, to say nothing of the times where they were utterly banned.

    • #62
  3. CarolJoy, Above Top Secret Coolidge
    CarolJoy, Above Top Secret
    @CarolJoy

    MISTER BITCOIN (View Comment):

    rgbact (View Comment):

    13 paragraphs on defense, Zero on fiscal issues. Not very compelling, especially considering Trump’s antics with foreign leaders and his weak display in his first crises situation. Plus we’ve gotten our conservative judges now….so Trump isn’t needed for that anymore. And he has zero agenda. So, there goes your arguments.

    Ultimately, he’s a terrible person, so if I can’t reject him….I’ll be forever voting for the worst that Trumpers nominate. So, looking forward to your case for Don Jr in 2024. He can nominate judges too!

    you have to judge him on policy not personality.

    You have to judge all presidents on policy not their personality or personal life.

    Was Harry Truman racist? I don’t know but he desegregated the armed forces

    Was Harry Truman anti-Semitic? I don’t know but he recognied the state of Israel in 1948 against the advice of his cabinet ‘experts’ such as dean acheson

    Unfortunately, possibly due to how much power the corporate state and its attitudes have influenced people, people in the US love judging according to personality, rather than principles or accomplishments.

    We are taught in so many ways of how to defer to the power of the corporate state. You learn to dress “casually chic,” even though doing so will cost you half your salary, you know to speak in carefully modulated tones, you smile in an even handed affectionate manner (even if inside you are a snake.)

    Americans still report their love for Obama, despite his handling our Main Street Economy over to Wall Street. And they hate on Trump due to the Don Rickles aspect of his personality. It is an upside down world.

    Often I reflect on that Uber “American President” that Woody Allen used in his early film “Sleeper.” In the society represented in “Sleeper,” despite all the lies inherent in the operation of that futuristic society, the American President was always calmly present on the TV screen, earnestly petting the white German Shepherd at his side. That President was  continually offering Americans the affectionate message that he was overseeing everything in their Universe, from his worthy position of Ultimate Love and Bliss.

    ####

    • #63
  4. rgbact Inactive
    rgbact
    @romanblichar

    kedavis (View Comment):

    The main point seems to be, has Trump dissuaded anyone from voting for him this time, who voted for him last time? I just don’t see it. Voting for Trump The Unknown in 2016 was a much bigger risk than it is now.

    Likely many, based on what polls are showing. Lots of skeptical suburban voters likely went with Trump, because they couldn’t stomach Hillary. They’ve now had it with Trump (especially women) and are powering Biden to the nomination. Then, you’ve got the fickle rural Democrats who went for Trump. Theres nothing to keep them from flipping back to the Democrats. They aren’t impressed by judges and tax cuts. Exactly the type of voters you could get with a better personality. But, Trump doesn’t have that.

    You probably don’t see this phenomenon because these people aren’t very partisan and the Trump media hates talking about them, because they know they are getting crushed. But they are there.

    https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/03/suburbanites-are-backing-biden/607726/

    • #64
  5. Petty Boozswha Inactive
    Petty Boozswha
    @PettyBoozswha

    I also think Trump got 100’s of thousands of strategic anti-Hillary votes because of the scientific certainty of the pollster/analyst class that she would win. Folks that would never have contemplated making Trump President voted for him so Hillary wouldn’t get a big head or big mandate.

    • #65
  6. Brian Clendinen Inactive
    Brian Clendinen
    @BrianClendinen

    James Lileks (View Comment):

    Brian Clendinen (View Comment):
    Trump like most Republicans and writers of National review are not principled classic liberals.

    Careful not to drip tar on your shoes from the large brush, friend. ;)

    NR is a spectrum. We’re all over the road.

    I am only reiterating something NR writers have pointed out themselves. Plus I said most, not all.  Victor Davis Hanson has pointed out the rank Hypocrisy that has run thru the writing staff of NR way before I did. Heck even Johan has made similar points.

    We deal with imperfect. I still think there is a higher concentration of real classic liberals at NR than  with elected Republican. I just thought it was a lot more before Trump came around.

    • #66
  7. Goldwaterwoman Thatcher
    Goldwaterwoman
    @goldwaterwoman

    rgbact (View Comment):
    They’ve now had it with Trump (especially women) and are powering Biden to the nomination.

    I know many women who support Trump enthusiastically, including a couple who stayed home in 2016 rather than vote for him, so I wonder who you’ve been talking to among Republicans.

    The faithfully Dem friends I have can’t stand Trump and will vote Biden reluctantly only because there is no alternative as it’s painfully obvious he is not playing with a full deck. In my humble opinion, his choice of vice president will be a factor in how many of them turn out. Perhaps Biden made it this far because of sympathy for his family losses and respect for the fact that he was VP under their hero, Obama. Obama’s strange silence makes one wonder if there isn’t something else going on at the top levels of the Dem party that will shake up the whole election. 

    • #67
  8. rgbact Inactive
    rgbact
    @romanblichar

    Goldwaterwoman (View Comment):

    rgbact (View Comment):
    They’ve now had it with Trump (especially women) and are powering Biden to the nomination.

    I know many women who support Trump enthusiastically, including a couple who stayed home in 2016 rather than vote for him, so I wonder who you’ve been talking to among Republicans.

    I generally don’t talk to people about politics. But, I suspect the number of “trump enthusiasts” outside of rural America is very very low. Therefore. I go with polling data  and things like 2018 election results and primary results over personal polling. That gives me the impression that many suburbanites hate Trump and are fine with Biden.

    https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/454375-gop-strategist-suburban-women-would-be-willing-to-vote-for-biden-over-trump

    • #68
  9. philo Member
    philo
    @philo

    rgbact (View Comment): …I suspect the number of “trump enthusiasts” outside of rural America is very very low. …

    That part made me giggle. 

    • #69
  10. Goldwaterwoman Thatcher
    Goldwaterwoman
    @goldwaterwoman

    rgbact (View Comment):
    That gives me the impression that many suburbanites hate Trump and are fine with Biden.

    Since I live in Seattle, I can only guess, but based on the women I know, GOP women are not deserting Trump and will certainly not vote for poor old Biden. Biden must content himself with women from his own party, suburban or otherwise. 

    • #70
  11. rgbact Inactive
    rgbact
    @romanblichar

    Goldwaterwoman (View Comment):

    rgbact (View Comment):
    That gives me the impression that many suburbanites hate Trump and are fine with Biden.

    Since I live in Seattle, I can only guess, but based on the women I know, GOP women are not deserting Trump and will certainly not vote for poor old Biden. Biden must content himself with women from his own party, suburban or otherwise.

    Thats pretty bold to say…..given you live in a city, where Trump got <10% of the vote (3rd worst of any major city). I’m shocked you could even find a Trump voter to talk to, let alone pledge their undying love for him.

    I suspect that there are many secret Biden Republicans out there. Many are afraid to admit it to their Trumper friends right now.

    • #71
  12. Goldwaterwoman Thatcher
    Goldwaterwoman
    @goldwaterwoman

    rgbact (View Comment):
    Thats pretty bold to say…..given you live in a city, where Trump got <10% of the vote (3rd worst of any major

    Trump got about 29% of the vote in King County, the most populous in the state as extremely liberal Seattle is there. In much redder Eastern  Washington, he defeated her easily in every county but one. The final vote was Clinton 1,742,718 and Trump 1,221,747. In election after election  the voters support and pass conservative measures — until the votes come in from Seattle.

    • #72
  13. E. Kent Golding Moderator
    E. Kent Golding
    @EKentGolding

    The problem is the polls are mendacious b.s. ,  so we all judge the electorate by the people we know and socialize with.    Who are people just like us.    Always a surprise when our side doesn’t win.

    • #73
  14. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    E. Kent Golding (View Comment):

    The problem is the polls are mendacious b.s. , so we all judge the electorate by the people we know and socialize with. Who are people just like us. Always a surprise when our side doesn’t win.

    Shades of Pauline Kael.

    • #74
  15. rgbact Inactive
    rgbact
    @romanblichar

    Goldwaterwoman (View Comment):

    rgbact (View Comment):
    Thats pretty bold to say…..given you live in a city, where Trump got <10% of the vote (3rd worst of any major

    Trump got about 29% of the vote in King County, the most populous in the state as extremely liberal Seattle is there. In much redder Eastern Washington, he defeated her easily in every county but one. The final vote was Clinton 1,742,718 and Trump 1,221,747. In election after election the voters support and pass conservative measures — until the votes come in from Seattle.

    Actually, he only got 21.5%. 15% fewer votes than Romney got (254,000 down to 216,000). So, many of your neighbors indeed left Trump. Many women. Yet, you don’t seem to know any. Its puzzling.

    • #75
  16. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    rgbact (View Comment):
    Yet, you don’t seem to know any. Its puzzling.

    Do you know why?  If so, please enlighten us.  Facts, not conjecture, please.

    • #76
  17. rgbact Inactive
    rgbact
    @romanblichar

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    rgbact (View Comment):
    Yet, you don’t seem to know any. Its puzzling.

    Do you know why? If so, please enlighten us. Facts, not conjecture, please.

    What #73 said. We socialize with people like ourselves. And if you did know NT’s 4 years ago….you’re probably not socializing with them anymore, hence, your new social circle confirms what you believe always. So, we have a poster from what should be ground zero of the suburban flight from Trump (female in Seattle suburbs)……yet the only conservatives she knows are wild about Trump. Its pretty stunning. Also, like I said….I think many conservatives are keeping their hatred of Trump a secret in order to maintain their social circles.

    One thing I learned in the Trump era…people care far more about their social circle/status than they do policy and ethics. At least outside the voting booth.

    • #77
  18. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    rgbact (View Comment):
    And if you did know NT’s 4 years ago….you’re probably not socializing with them anymore

    Actually, I did know NT’s during the election, and I still socialize with them.  Also, I don’t give a rat’s ass about my status.  Never have.

    • #78
  19. Goldwaterwoman Thatcher
    Goldwaterwoman
    @goldwaterwoman

    rgbact (View Comment):
    So, many of your neighbors indeed left Trump. Many women. Yet, you don’t seem to know any. Its

    You can’t possibly know how many voters left Trump in Washington state who voted for him in 2016 until the 2020 election, nor do the pollsters. Furthermore, you certainly don’t know the women I know. There is no point in continuing this conversation until we see the votes on election night in November. 

    • #79
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