My Take on The Donald

Basically the above cartoons sums up my take.

Donald Trump says during an interview now he is not for universal health care because it wouldn’t work in America.  He should be against it because it is anti-freedom and never will work anywhere. Just ask any Canadian who actually has to use it.

He said he became pro-life on relationships with close personal friends who had children. Their pregnancy experiences, Trump maintains, allowed him to mature on the abortion issue to the point of now opposing abortion. So, he didn’t become pro-life when any of this children was born? Interesting. Then he won’t defund Planned Parenthood unless they abort babies.

Mr. Trump said he was for in the gov’t in the past a wealth tax and a balanced budget amendment to get the national debt down. Now, he is against that idea because the debt is too high and won’t matter anymore. Well, the balanced budget amendment is a good idea, but the former part is what Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders would recommend. And if he becomes president and gets the debt down lower will Mr. Trump then decide a wealth tax is a good idea? He said during the interview with Sean Hannity that a wealth tax is a conservative idea. I beg your pardon. No it is not. The debt isn’t huge because there isn’t enough money coming in, it’s huge because the president and congress has out-of-control spending. No discipline. That’s the problem.

He said in the past he was a democrat but like Ronald Reagan he evolved. The problem with that statement is Ronald Reagan changed over time—that’s what evolution is. Donald Trump seemed to change when he is running for president. Also, President Reagan talked about conservative ideas and how great America is. I don’t hear Donald Trump say those things. He talks about making America great again. America is great. It’s just not realizing its potential. For those of you who remember (like me) Ronald Reagan running for president, the country was in a downturn when Jimmy Carter was in office. But you sensed Reagan’s patriotism. I am not getting that from Donald Trump that much. Not saying Donald Trump isn’t patriotic but he’s always talking about himself and how great he is. Not that everyone running for president should be Ronald Reagan but he did create the template.

Also, when Donald Trump says he is no different from any other businesses man who pays for influence with politicians. Let’s call it for what it is: bribery. If politicians were officers of the court—businessmen would go to jail. But since Congress makes the rules—it’s legal because they benefit from the system too. Trump says this is the way the system works. Well, the system is corrupt. And he has a choice like other business leaders not to play the system. Glenn Beck says he doesn’t play the system and there is pressure put on him to play it. Good for him. I wonder if Mr. Trump, if he ever becomes president, to put a bill before Congress to ban political bribes. Or will he just keep the system in place so he can use it again when he leaves office. The bill might not pass but it would be nice if that was on his platform.

Now, his immigration reform position and my comments:

1. A nation without borders is not a nation. There must be a wall across the southern border. True, and I agree a wall is a good idea.
2. A nation without laws is not a nation. Laws passed in accordance with our Constitutional system of government must be enforced. Pretty much common sense.
3. A nation that does not serve its own citizens is not a nation. Any immigration plan must improve jobs, wages and security for all Americans. Again nothing earth shaking.
4. Make Mexico Pay For The Wall. [I]mpound all remittance payments derived from illegal wages; increase fees on all temporary visas issued to Mexican CEOs and diplomats (and if necessary cancel them); increase fees on all border crossing cards – of which we issue about 1 million to Mexican nationals each year (a major source of visa overstays); increase fees on all NAFTA worker visas from Mexico (another major source of overstays); and increase fees at ports of entry to the United States from Mexico [Tariffs and foreign aid cuts are also options].  We will not be taken advantage of anymore. Sounds good but I wonder if all that will be enough to pay for the wall.
5. Triple the number of ICE officers. Good idea. But you have to give them the power to do their job.
6. Nationwide e-verify. This has been suggested by others. Not a bad idea.
7. Mandatory return of all criminal aliens. It will take a while since there is about 76,000 illegal aliens with criminal records.

The immigration reform plan is not a bad plan. The reader can look at more of it at his website. The most controversial part is ending birthright citizenship since that has to be upheld by the Supreme Court.

If this essay sounds like an attack on Donald Trump. It is not. I am just asking questions. Like is he really a conservative? Does he understand the connection between private property and liberty? Does he understand that political power ought to be kept in the hands of private persons and local institutions? Does he understand the role of the Constitution? Or does he thinks it is a obstacle like Obama and the rest of the Left? Does he get American exceptionalism? I know your rich Mr. Trump. Nothing wrong with that, but you don’t need to mention it every time. It’s getting old.

I believe those who support Donald Trump for president are those who like his passion and bluntness. Those qualities by themselves are not necessary bad. But if a candidate for office doesn’t have good decent principles to start off with then those other qualities don’t mean much. Voters need to look deeper. It’s their future and their children’s future. Not just him but for every candidate running for office. Maybe a candidate that has humility would be a good change for once.

I don’t know. Bill O’Reilly said Donald Trump isn’t a republican but a Trumplican. He could be right. But I think he is more of a populist.