by Ray Keating
I’ve voted in and written about some ugly presidential
elections over the years, but this one, at least so far, has really got me
down.
But why? After all, there was the grim 1992 election, after
President George H.W. Bush, a Republican, broke his campaign pledge and signed
a huge tax increase. Four years later, Bob Dole at the top of the GOP ticket
was anything but inspiring, to be generous. And then there was the 2008 election
when people chose to ignore what Barack Obama actually proposed, in favor of
seeing whatever they wanted in the man. Then there was Mitt Romney, who
specialized in flip-flopping on issues and as governor of Massachusetts
provided the forerunner to ObamaCare, as the Republican candidate in 2012
against the incumbent Obama.
Geez, that’s a lot to be down about, and don’t get me
started on elections in my left-wing home state of New York.
For good measure, I am not one of those good government
dreamers, either. My expectations in terms of politics and government are low,
based on history, my own experience, as well as my understanding of economics. And
hence, I favor limited government.
Nonetheless, the 2016 presidential contest has managed to
push me into an election depression.
A big part of this is Donald Trump, of course. In the year
when Republicans looked like they would have an impressive slate of candidates
to battle it out, with a conservative emerging to beat Hillary Clinton and undo
some of the enormous damage inflicted by Mr. Obama, the GOP frontrunner is
quite different. Trump has flip-flopped on so many issues – including abortion,
taxes, and gun control – that he makes Romney look principled, particularly
given the Donald’s donations to a wide range of political Lefties over the
years, including Hillary Clinton.
But there’s even greater and deeply troubling ugliness this
year, with much of it, again, emerging from or gaining ground due to Trump.
First, there is a populism trying to disguise itself as
conservatism. Many voters – along with a few “conservative” radio hosts – apparently
are making choices this year based on unthinking fear and anger, and that
provides fertile ground for populism, where the establishment, elites, Wall
Street, banks, immigrants and international trade, for example, are ginned up
as enemies. Never mind what President Obama actually has done. While true
conservatism understands process of economic growth, populists see the economy
as a zero-sum game, whereby if one person or group gains then someone else must
lose. But in a free enterprise system, innovation, hard work, entrepreneurship,
competition, and investment in service of consumers drive economic, income, and
job growth forward. Populism dangerously ignores how the economy actually
works, and gives birth to a wide range of other ills.
Second, protectionism is on the march, supported by both
Democrats in the race – Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders – along with GOP
frontrunner Trump. Free trade expands opportunities for U.S. entrepreneurs,
businesses and workers by removing governmental costs and barriers to doing
business across borders. Nonetheless, Trump, Clinton and Sanders spout off
support for protectionism, that is, increased tariffs and other restrictions on
trade. Unfortunately, increasing costs and raising the likelihood of trade wars
never end well for U.S. businesses and workers, as the Great Depression, which
was kicked off by a trade war resulting from the U.S. Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act,
made clear.
Third, along with protectionism, a harsh anti-immigration
strain has grown out of a lurking nativism and xenophobia. So, we have two
Republican candidates – Trump and Ted Cruz – pledging to drag the 11-12 million
illegal immigrants out of the nation, apparently failing to consider or
ignoring the grim aspects of this, from creating a massive federal police force
to the ills created for the economy to the human rights violations. At the same
time, nothing is done to fix immigration laws that obviously fail to deal with
economic reality and come up short from a national security perspective.
Fourth, socialism is openly and proudly endorsed by one of
the Democratic candidates. Of course, Bernie Sanders is a longtime, bewildered,
misguided socialist. The problem is how many voters – including younger people
– have signed on to Bernie’s socialism, either understanding or not
understanding that socialism means having government owning the means of
production and thereby running the economy, and depriving individuals of
freedom and prosperity.
Fifth, the economic, national security and social issue
Leftism advanced by President Obama has gained considerable traction in America
at large, and is represented by Hillary Clinton’s campaign. But even given the
failure of the Obama years, if Republicans nominate Trump, Mrs. Clinton must be
viewed as the favorite to win in November, thereby solidifying and expanding
what Obama has wrought. That leaves one wondering if America truly is a
center-right nation any longer.
Sixth, serious questions loom about Trump and racism, for
example, given his reluctance to condemn David Duke and the KKK, as well as his
heated anti-Mexican rhetoric on the immigration issue. This should be abhorrent
to any conservative, and yet, there are assorted conservatives who have held
their fire on dismissing Trump (or even embraced him), and of course, there are
the votes that Trump continues to garner in primaries.
I have to chuckle when some conservatives and Republicans
argue that in the case of Trump becoming the Republican nominee, it’s still
okay as the election will be about issues, and Clinton fails on the issues.
Unfortunately, Obama has made clear that an unabashed, radical Lefty can become
president of the United States. And Clinton and the Democrats will make sure
that any race involving Donald Trump will be about Donald Trump. Indeed, Trump
will ensure that this is not a race about issues, and therefore, will ensure
that the policies of Obama will persist and be expanded under President Hillary
Clinton.
Populism, protectionism, nativism, socialism, and Trumpism –
that’s why this election has got me down … at least so far.
______________
Mr. Keating is an
economist and novelist who writes on a wide range of topics. His Pastor Stephen
Grant novels have received considerable acclaim, including The River: A Pastor
Stephen Grant Novel being a finalist for KFUO radio’s Book of the Year 2014,
and Murderer’s Row: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel winning for Book of the Year
2015.
The Pastor Stephen
Grant Novels are available at Amazon…
I am truly frightened about this situation and am beginning to wonder if this is part of the end times.
ReplyDelete