Subject: A short essay from Victor Davis Hanson, widely respected historian, columnist, and conservative; this is brilliant advice, only excerpted here, definitely read the entire piece.
Carpe Diem, Mr. Trump
(excerpts)
Forgive, but do not forget, and be the strong horse. While we speak, a jealous age will have fled. Seize the day! Trust as little as you can in tomorrow. The Latin poet Horace’s advice of carpe diem— to seize the day and not worry about tomorrow — should be Trump’s transitional guide.
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So amid this strange jubilation, the shelf life of the Trump populist moment is really quite limited. There are even now, suddenly, calls for magnanimity of the sort quite foreign to Obama in 2009 (“elections have consequences,” “I won”) that should be summarily dismissed. Churchillian magnanimity is impossible without victory first. Remember, true magnanimity (Aristotle’s idea of a “great soul”) is not Chamberlain’s going to Munich; rather, in victory, it’s not gloating over a defeated opponent. Churchillian magnanimity is impossible without victory first.
Putting thousands of coal miners back to work is a good first priority; expressing some sympathy for the concerns of the defeated Left that does not believe in “clean coal” is an understandable but post facto gesture. Building a wall and immediately deporting aliens convicted of crimes are necessities; suggesting that in some cases this could be temporarily hurtful to some is magnanimity. If in the first 100 days Trump can push through tax reform, deregulation, Keystone, clean coal, new leases for fracking and horizontal drilling on federal lands, an end to the crony-capitalist Solyndra-like subsidies, a cut-off of federal aid to sanctuary cities, support for school vouchers, the wall, deportations of those illegal aliens who committed crimes or have no work history, plans to rebuild the military, a freeze on federal hiring, trade renegotiations — then surprising things will follow.
Success in getting these initiatives passed will be proof of strong-horse leadership. And even Trump’s critics will for a while defer to his power, both in private admiration that he did what they could not, and in public out of fear that he might do even more — and, again oddly enough, also in mordant curiosity about whether the Trump agenda might in fact jump-start America.
After all, many leftists believe in the acquisition of power alone, not necessarily in the practical utility and effectiveness of their own agendas. Trump should study failures of what eroded the reelected Bush administration in early 2005. He should for now just leave alone Social Security. If 2004 is any reminder, assume that most intellectuals calling for preemptive military action will bail the first moment things get rough, blaming poor “execution” by others for not fulfilling their own brilliant strategic agendas. What undermined Bush in Iraq was not just a failure to deal promptly with the revolt in Anbar Province that was eventually crushed in 2007, but the sudden flip-flop flight of many of his original architects of intervention (“my wonderfully successful war, his terribly failed occupation”).
In any natural disaster, Trump should arrive in mediis rebus and wade into the mud, with suit and tie; anything less will be a Katrina crime against the other. Visit the inner city as often as possible; the African-American community is ready for political change predicated on authentic economic concern and action. If Trump can craft policies that see economic growth exceed 3–4 percent and bring back jobs, he will win over 40 percent of blacks and 50 percent of Hispanics, redefining the electoral map, and replacing Obama’s divisive racial pandering with commonalities of class that trump racial differences.
….
So Trump should phrase all policy agendas in terms of helping the working classes of all backgrounds, and he should oppose leftist pushback on grounds that progressive elites are the selfish ones who want to extend their own WikiLeaks values, privilege, and boutique green agendas that have proved so destructive to ordinary people.
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Trump should forgive the Never Trumpers but not quite forget their distaste for him. If he is successful and popular, some will bring their formidable powers of support to his shared agenda, as we are already witnessing. But when his popularity dips below 40 percent (and it will at times), and he tweets out politically incorrect exasperations, many will revert to form, reminding us why they opposed his apostate candidacy in the first place.
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The Trump family has said that the campaign has changed or energized Trump. Perhaps we can construe that as meaning he’s left behind his sybaritic lifestyle and become an emissary of deliverance to those without hope.
Knowing what you are up against, the pervasive evil of G. Soros
Here is an excellent, brief but comprehensive, summary of George Soros vast number of nefarious schemes and institutions. It is something all Americans should be alerted to. A good reference for future guidance. D.
Top 10 Reasons George Soros Is Dangerous
DLH
