Cal’s Mountain Top

A century ago, on the 150th anniversary of our Declaration, President Calvin Coolidge commented on the finality of the principles undergirding the Declaration. Once you agree that all men are created equal with equal rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and once you agree that governments should protect those rights and forever seek the consent of the governed, then you have reached the summit of political philosophy. You can tinker about the edges, but your core beliefs are pretty much set — forever. Any proposed fundamental transformation is guaranteed to be a step down from the summit, not a step up.

Our Declaration writers had never heard of the word “economist.” Nonetheless, over time, Silent Cal’s summit gained three additional occupants. When it came to fostering economic production and growth, the superiority of capitalism, free markets, and private property has become final. No improvements exist. Again, you can tinker around the edges, but your core economic beliefs are set — forever.

For 200 years, there was a lot of necessary tinkering to do. First we had to establish Federalism. Then we had a vast continent to grow into. To fuel that growth, we had to invent means to facilitate and methods for assimilating massive waves of new immigrants. We also had to clarify that the definition of the word “men” in the Declaration included women, and that this applied to men and women of all races.

Throughout our history, with the exception of Southern Democrats (slavery; Jim Crow), our major political parties generally sought consensus regarding the tinkering decisions. The major political parties agreed on what was final, and approached the subject of tinkering through the lens of pragmatism, not ideology.

However, somewhere between Watergate and Reagan, a major change occurred. Our major political parties became ideological. Democrats became exclusively Liberal, and Republicans became exclusively Conservative.

For Republicans, morphing from pragmatic to conservative was easy. Conservatives seek to conserve and protect the things that work.

For Democrats, however, this change has been difficult. Liberals were committed to continual change for the better. For over 200 years, such an outlook was sustainable. We were an immature country. We had plenty of room for improvement. Then, in 2015, the Supreme Court said the Constitution compelled gay marriage, and frankly, after 239 years, the Liberals’ to-do list was completed, excepting only electing a female president.

Then Trump defeated Hillary. Having nothing compelling to motivate and unite themselves, the Democrats adopted Trump Derangement Syndrome as a substitute for having a substantive platform. Trans issues did not unify and motivate. The alphabet people after LGBT did not unify or motivate. DEI did not unify and motivate. Open borders did not unify and motivate. All they had was TDS, and that is not enough. Mindlessness of any sort leads a party into being on the wrong side of multiple 80/20 issues.

Democrats have defined themselves as progressives — people with new ideas. But they ran out of (good) new ideas. As a result, the Democrats are currently welcoming those whose idea of progress includes rejection of the permanently settled questions on Cal’s mountain top.

I suppose I should be more concerned, but I have faith in America’s love of Cal’s mountain top. The Democratic Socialists of America will have their moment, but they are unserious people with unserious ideas. American voters will reject the DSA in due course. The open question is how the Democratic Party will react to that rejection, and whether it can return to being a pragmatic party that accepts the finality of Cal’s mountain top, and seek improvement by mere tinkering around the edges.

If the principal opposition party concedes Republican sole ownership of Cal’s mountain top, Republicans will never lose.

Sadly, there are Americans who truly hate America, hate Cal’s mountain top, and wish to burn it down and start over. Their new ideas are designed to destroy. They have a right to their opinions, but they do not have a right to control a major political party. If they retain control of the Democratic Party, it will cease to be a major political party.

G-Pub

PS: I acknowledge that Trump is a sufficiently polarizing figure such that a major political party can be competitive with TDS alone. But, Trump appeared on his last ballot in 2024. Yes, as we approach the 2028 election, the phrase “worse than Trump” will appear in the media. But the successor derangement syndrome will never equal TDS, and will never, alone, sustain a successful political party.