The Federalist's Robert Tracinski examines the question: Why are we suddenly having a full-blown culture war right now?
The answer is that the vital political issues are no longer under the control of the American people. He says that the President and Congress stymie each other.
This implies that just about everything that’s actually going to happen in national-level politics is going to be happening by executive Fiat. ...[and]What doesn’t get done by executive fiat will be done by the courts, as in the Supreme Court’s recent rulings on ObamaCare and gay marriage.
Foreign policy decisions are made by one man: Barack Obama. Our markets and what we earn on our savings are under the control of the Federal Reserve. Our core cultural issues - abortion, infanticide, gay rights, the definition of marriage, even the definition of gender - are determined by the Supreme Court and once they tell you how to live you have to obey.
Republican politicians campaign to bring the beast to heel but when they get to Washington, they cut deals with the Big Money boys who have a vested interest in the status quo.
This is very dangerous over the long term. One of the things Alexis de Tocqueville liked to point out about the difference between the American and European systems of government is that the American viewed himself as a participant in the political arena, while the subjects of Europe’s monarchical regimes tended to view themselves merely as interested observers. Watching politics, for them, was like watching the weather. The outcome affected you, but there was nothing you could do about it.
Under the old American system the government didn't intrude into your life much, and when it did you could vote them out of office and life went on. Under the European system, when things got to a certain point the remedy was a bloody rebellion. The old order could not be voted out of office, so it was dragged through the streets and hung from the lamp-posts.
I think that Donald Trump's standing in the polls is a manifestation of the belief that government is out of control. In times of cultural or economic stress, an opportunity presents itself of someone becoming the proverbial "man on a white horse" riding to the rescue. When polled, 63% of the American people believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. When times are good, when people are satisfied and happy, the politician speaking in muted tones promising more of the same is popular. When people are unhappy and feel threatened they listen to the man who cries out for change in stentorian tones. That's Trump. And that's a wake-up call to all the politicians in Washington and especially to those who want to replace Obama.
3 comments:
Yeah, no. The problem isn't congress and the POTUS not getting along. *NOTHING* is much preferable to the bullshit that's been coming out of D.C.
At this point, get rid of them all. Democrats, Republicans and SCOTUS. There must be something in the water in D.C.
Awesome use of "stentorian."
Exactly true. I've said for some time now that representative government has been replaced by lawyers and unelected judges. The EPA governs our power resources, ADA adds thousands to the cost of doing business, the economic illiterate make feel good decisions, legislators for the most part are not courageous. Those bedrock principles that used to govern life are crumbling all around us. Our freedoms are taken away by the cause that shouts the loudest in the name of tolerance, and the ones who talk the most about tolerance are the most intolerant people in the crowd.
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