Great summary of the Republican agenda. I would only add that Never-Trumpers ignore Trump's policy positions and triumphs we might never had with other Republican candidates. I doubt John McCain or MItt Romney would have reduced taxes, slashed regulations, built the wall, secured the border, appointed conservative judges, withdrawn from the Paris and Iran accords, made NATO countries pony up, confronted China, promoted peace and comity in the Middle East, or made inroads with minority groups. Trump broke molds many conservatives have long sought to shatter. I, like most conservatives, would prefer another candidate in 2024, but only one with Trump's chops. A Florida governor comes to mind.
I completely understand why Mr. Mirengoff would find Allahpundit courageous, what with the shabby treatment he received at Powerline, but the difference between the two could not be more stark. Where Paul had reasoned and legitimate criticisms of Trump and Trumpism, he also recognized the immense good Trump did. Where Paul was a bit overly COVID-shy than he should have been, he supported his concerns with reasoned arguments and data. Allahpundit was broken by Trump. His mind ceased to function in a rational manner, to the point where if Trump said the sky was blue, Allahpundit would rant for 800 words about how terribly false that was. He is a sick man, incapable of nuance or understanding. Paul is vastly more intelligent, which makes the divorce from Powerline sad, as opposed to Allahpundint the Insane leaving HotAir, which is welcomed by all.
One more difference between the GOP and Democrats: the former supports Israel, the latter either is “even-handed” towards Israelis and Palestinians, or outright hostile towards Israel and Zionism and favors the end of the Jewish state.
While the never-Trumpers can myopically focus on some issues with the Trump GOP, they don’t acknowledge there were serious issues with the old GOP. Trump Fair trade vs. GOP free trade, Trump Immigration vs. GOP duck/cover, Trump NATO vs. GOP scrape/bow, Trump Middle East... while I don’t want Trump to run again, I would prefer him to Romney or McCain type candidate. Those were my choices the previous 2 elections that the never-Trumpers were happy to see go down in flames (seemingly the candidates weren’t upset either)
"The GOP stands for enforcing U.S. immigration laws"? Really? Since when? What, exactly, has the GOP actually DONE to enforce U.S. immigration law? What enforcement actions have occurred?
Thoughtful analysis (once again): reasoned, logical, and with inferences drawn from facts. What a breath of fresh air. One can see the obvious flaws Trump and some of his most rabid acolytes have without completely going off the rails. It's self-destructive in my judgment, as the current administration is so clearly showing.
I do not see how Trump backs anything remotely resembling the Republican Party's pre-2016 agenda. He pursued the Iran and North Korea policy of Barack Obama, the military policy of John Kerry, and the trade policy of Walter Mondale.
Trump is the most anti-military President in our country's history, and the most anti-military major party candidate besides George McGovern, who at least served. Trump doesn't like the military; he likes soldiers. Specifically, he likes soldiers who dress up in fancy uniforms and parade. At the thought of them actually DOING anything he throws a temper tantrum. Trump opposed every American military action in his lifetime, other than the ones HE ordered -- not most actions, every action. He opposed our work in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and even threw a tantrum over Reagan's use of the navy to escort oil tankers. A man who rages against everything the military has done in the last 76 years does not support the military.
The deeper issue is that Trump does not see America as good: He said that we kill people just like Russia; he told the UN that we do the same thing everyone else does, looking out for ourselves, etc. If we are not good, then American soldiers are just bullies like other armies when they do anything more than march in parades. Where is there any daylight between him and Nancy Pelosi on this?
Obama's Iran deal had three parts: Obama promised not to use force to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons; Obama delivered $150 billion to terrorists; and Obama lifted sanctions. Trump made clear he would never use force, and he didn't try to get the money back. Trump never fully reimposed industrial sanctions on Iran; he reimposed the oil sanctions only in November 2018, 22 months into his term. This means that the oil sanctions were lifted longer under Trump than the 18 months under Obama. It's Trump's nuclear deal more than Obama's.
Trump's North Korea policy is the same as Obama's: Do nothing while Kim Jong Un develops nuclear missiles.
Trump supports Obamacare. The central tenet of Obamacare is that people are not presumptively responsible for laboring to provide for their own cost of living -- i.e. not having to pay based on individualized risk. The "pre-existing condition" policy IS Obamacare. To support that, as Trump did, is to support Obamacare. That is true both in theory and in practice, as Paul Ryan found out when he discovered that it was impossible to dismantle Obamacare once Trump demanded keeping that one part.
Trump showed so little interest in border enforcement that did not request appropriations for the wall until Anne Coulter shamed him over it.
As for "woke"-ness, Paul himself documented at Powerline how Trump left progressives in charge at the Department of Labor. He simply didn't care enough to check up on what his appointees were up to. It was a freak accident that he hooked up with Alex Acosta to run the DOL while teaming up with Leonard Leo to appoint good judges. It could easily have been the reverse. All his policies are a crapshoot stemming from whomever he happens to listen to. Similarly, the white-bashing propaganda in the military which I have read about from many sources, including Powerline, metastasized under Trump. He didn't care.
Paul himself notes that Trump fell for the Democrats' jailbreak legislation hook, line, and sinker.
Moreover, to the extent that he does oppose the Democrats' agenda, it is mostly due to personal animosity. If Chuck Schumer had been smart and started out flattering Trump, he would have had Trump eating out of his hand.
Allahpundit doesn't quite understand most of the things he mentioned Trump supported. AP is talking about RINO's who stand for nothing because they lack balls and spine to do anything that might be controversial. Thats where MAGA comes in, MAGA candidates are not fearful to do what needs to be done.
“Woke” is just the next word Commies are trying out in their ever-expanding struggle to rebrand their evil intents make them acceptable to the youth. About five years from now, it will be so tainted and unpopular, they will claim they never said the word.
Re: trade. I can’t believe how Trumps position on trade is distorted by people that refuse to be honest about him like Allahpundit and all other NeverTrumpets. He is not against free trade, he is against unfair trade agreements that decimated our nation’s manufacturing employment base so a few of the Oligarchs and their cronies at the chamber of commerce could get filthy rich while impoverishing a massive cohort of the lower middle class. Call this a more “nuanced” position than the one attributed to him by his enemies…
Great summary of the Republican agenda. I would only add that Never-Trumpers ignore Trump's policy positions and triumphs we might never had with other Republican candidates. I doubt John McCain or MItt Romney would have reduced taxes, slashed regulations, built the wall, secured the border, appointed conservative judges, withdrawn from the Paris and Iran accords, made NATO countries pony up, confronted China, promoted peace and comity in the Middle East, or made inroads with minority groups. Trump broke molds many conservatives have long sought to shatter. I, like most conservatives, would prefer another candidate in 2024, but only one with Trump's chops. A Florida governor comes to mind.
Jim Dueholm
I completely understand why Mr. Mirengoff would find Allahpundit courageous, what with the shabby treatment he received at Powerline, but the difference between the two could not be more stark. Where Paul had reasoned and legitimate criticisms of Trump and Trumpism, he also recognized the immense good Trump did. Where Paul was a bit overly COVID-shy than he should have been, he supported his concerns with reasoned arguments and data. Allahpundit was broken by Trump. His mind ceased to function in a rational manner, to the point where if Trump said the sky was blue, Allahpundit would rant for 800 words about how terribly false that was. He is a sick man, incapable of nuance or understanding. Paul is vastly more intelligent, which makes the divorce from Powerline sad, as opposed to Allahpundint the Insane leaving HotAir, which is welcomed by all.
One more difference between the GOP and Democrats: the former supports Israel, the latter either is “even-handed” towards Israelis and Palestinians, or outright hostile towards Israel and Zionism and favors the end of the Jewish state.
While the never-Trumpers can myopically focus on some issues with the Trump GOP, they don’t acknowledge there were serious issues with the old GOP. Trump Fair trade vs. GOP free trade, Trump Immigration vs. GOP duck/cover, Trump NATO vs. GOP scrape/bow, Trump Middle East... while I don’t want Trump to run again, I would prefer him to Romney or McCain type candidate. Those were my choices the previous 2 elections that the never-Trumpers were happy to see go down in flames (seemingly the candidates weren’t upset either)
"The GOP stands for enforcing U.S. immigration laws"? Really? Since when? What, exactly, has the GOP actually DONE to enforce U.S. immigration law? What enforcement actions have occurred?
Thoughtful analysis (once again): reasoned, logical, and with inferences drawn from facts. What a breath of fresh air. One can see the obvious flaws Trump and some of his most rabid acolytes have without completely going off the rails. It's self-destructive in my judgment, as the current administration is so clearly showing.
I do not see how Trump backs anything remotely resembling the Republican Party's pre-2016 agenda. He pursued the Iran and North Korea policy of Barack Obama, the military policy of John Kerry, and the trade policy of Walter Mondale.
Trump is the most anti-military President in our country's history, and the most anti-military major party candidate besides George McGovern, who at least served. Trump doesn't like the military; he likes soldiers. Specifically, he likes soldiers who dress up in fancy uniforms and parade. At the thought of them actually DOING anything he throws a temper tantrum. Trump opposed every American military action in his lifetime, other than the ones HE ordered -- not most actions, every action. He opposed our work in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and even threw a tantrum over Reagan's use of the navy to escort oil tankers. A man who rages against everything the military has done in the last 76 years does not support the military.
The deeper issue is that Trump does not see America as good: He said that we kill people just like Russia; he told the UN that we do the same thing everyone else does, looking out for ourselves, etc. If we are not good, then American soldiers are just bullies like other armies when they do anything more than march in parades. Where is there any daylight between him and Nancy Pelosi on this?
Obama's Iran deal had three parts: Obama promised not to use force to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons; Obama delivered $150 billion to terrorists; and Obama lifted sanctions. Trump made clear he would never use force, and he didn't try to get the money back. Trump never fully reimposed industrial sanctions on Iran; he reimposed the oil sanctions only in November 2018, 22 months into his term. This means that the oil sanctions were lifted longer under Trump than the 18 months under Obama. It's Trump's nuclear deal more than Obama's.
Trump's North Korea policy is the same as Obama's: Do nothing while Kim Jong Un develops nuclear missiles.
Trump supports Obamacare. The central tenet of Obamacare is that people are not presumptively responsible for laboring to provide for their own cost of living -- i.e. not having to pay based on individualized risk. The "pre-existing condition" policy IS Obamacare. To support that, as Trump did, is to support Obamacare. That is true both in theory and in practice, as Paul Ryan found out when he discovered that it was impossible to dismantle Obamacare once Trump demanded keeping that one part.
Trump showed so little interest in border enforcement that did not request appropriations for the wall until Anne Coulter shamed him over it.
As for "woke"-ness, Paul himself documented at Powerline how Trump left progressives in charge at the Department of Labor. He simply didn't care enough to check up on what his appointees were up to. It was a freak accident that he hooked up with Alex Acosta to run the DOL while teaming up with Leonard Leo to appoint good judges. It could easily have been the reverse. All his policies are a crapshoot stemming from whomever he happens to listen to. Similarly, the white-bashing propaganda in the military which I have read about from many sources, including Powerline, metastasized under Trump. He didn't care.
Paul himself notes that Trump fell for the Democrats' jailbreak legislation hook, line, and sinker.
Moreover, to the extent that he does oppose the Democrats' agenda, it is mostly due to personal animosity. If Chuck Schumer had been smart and started out flattering Trump, he would have had Trump eating out of his hand.
Allahpundit doesn't quite understand most of the things he mentioned Trump supported. AP is talking about RINO's who stand for nothing because they lack balls and spine to do anything that might be controversial. Thats where MAGA comes in, MAGA candidates are not fearful to do what needs to be done.
Is it fair to blame people like Allahpundit for this state of affairs: https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/athena-thorne/2022/09/06/in-bidens-america-1-in-6-u-s-households-cant-afford-their-energy-bills-n1627233
“Woke” is just the next word Commies are trying out in their ever-expanding struggle to rebrand their evil intents make them acceptable to the youth. About five years from now, it will be so tainted and unpopular, they will claim they never said the word.
Re: trade. I can’t believe how Trumps position on trade is distorted by people that refuse to be honest about him like Allahpundit and all other NeverTrumpets. He is not against free trade, he is against unfair trade agreements that decimated our nation’s manufacturing employment base so a few of the Oligarchs and their cronies at the chamber of commerce could get filthy rich while impoverishing a massive cohort of the lower middle class. Call this a more “nuanced” position than the one attributed to him by his enemies…