Jim Geraghty at National Review quotes Thor in his Morning Jolt:
A Trump Win Defeats Obama and Hillary, But Also Costs Us Liberty by JIM GERAGHTY
May 11, 2016 7:53 AM
From the midweek edition of the Morning Jolt:
What a Trump Win Costs Us
Sure, a Trump victory would leave Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and the entire Democratic Party in utter despair – and if you’re a conservative, that thought probably makes you smile!
The problem is that I don’t want a less leftist version of Obama’s executive-order-prone, Congress-ignoring, government-expanding, tax-hiking, IRS-abusing presidency. I want limited government, smaller and less expensive government, more individual liberty, and a strict adherence to the limits on government power enshrined in the Constitution. I want Rick Perry’s vision of a Washington D.C. that is less and less relevant to the lives of average Americans*. Ultimately, I want politics to reverse the intense entanglement from pop culture that started with MTV’s “Rock the Vote” in 1992 and go back to being the land of the nerds and policy wonks – leaving governing to the people who actually care about the issues at hand. Make Politics Boring Again!
Even if a President Trump moved American policy generally rightward – far from a sure bet – it would probably come at great cost in liberty.
Brad Thor, bestselling author and friend of the Morning Jolt, offers his thoughts on the choice before us:
My greatest concern about Donald Trump, though, isn’t a trait he lacks, but a dangerous one he poses – in spades. Authoritarianism.
Confident people do not bully and demean others. That is the realm of the weak and insecure. Confident people also do not threaten others, especially not their fellow citizens.
Donald Trump has told us to just wait and see what he does to Jeff Bezos once he gets into the White House. He has told us the American military will do whatever he tells them to do no matter what their reservations. He has promised to prevent American companies from moving outside the United States, regardless of what they believe is best for their businesses.
In other words, Donald Trump has clearly told all of us that he will use the power of the presidency to force people to bend to his will. This is not liberty.
In fact, Donald Trump has never even spoken about liberty. Neither has he spoken about the Constitution and the Founding documents. This is an absolute first in the history of the United States.
Instead, Donald Trump talks about hiring the “best people” and making the “best deals.” This, though, isn’t what made America great, and it certainly isn’t what will return America to its prominence.
The blueprint for America’s success is the ideas of the Framers – limited, Constitutional governance – an area in which Donald Trump is criminally ignorant.
Let me be clear that I don’t want to vote for Hillary Clinton. I also don’t want to vote for Donald Trump. My preference is to write-in or vote third party. I think they are both terrible for our future.
But between a big government progressive and a potential despot – every American must ask themselves where liberty has the greatest chance to survive over the next four years.
By the way, Trump fans, once you start posting people’s home addresses and home phone numbers on Twitter, you’re no longer fighting for liberty. You’re using implied threats and the force of the mob to bend somebody else to your will. You’re replacing forced obedience to the state with forced obedience to you.
* Yes, I know Rick Perry pulled a Jindal and endorsed Trump, after denouncing him repeatedly, passionately, and thoroughly in the primary. The simplest explanation, from where I sit, is some sort of head injury to the former governor.
Read more at:
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/435244/trump-win-defeats-obama-and-hillary-also-costs-us-liberty