Re: Time to air this out. Why Trump should NOT be President
Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2016 3:56 pm
Protectionism is just a way to water down and rationalize authoritarianism. Authoritarianism is an enemy of liberty.
Trump from three years ago: Snowden is a traitor, we should make an example of him, we used to execute people like this. "Unless the retribution is swift and really strong, you're going to have other people coming out with more information than he's got."
Trump last week (and numerous times before): try American citizens suspected of terror involvement in military tribunals at Guantanamo instead of the constitutional court system.
Trump a few months ago: boycott Apple, force them to build backdoors for government use.
Trump last year: close up the internet, mocks people who cite free speech.
The government is going to pay for universal healthcare. Raise taxes. Identifies as a democrat. Hates the concept of guns. Republicans are too far right. Pro-abortion. Hillary Clinton the best qualified to make nuclear deal with Iran. Impressed by and likes Nancy Pelosi. Obama is a great guy who knows what we need. Hillary & Bill are great friends. Economy does better under democrats than republicans. Eminent domain is a wonderful thing. On immigration in 2013: we can't just throw people out.
So we compromise and accept Trump's authoritarianism because his protectionist flavor isn't quite as bad as Hillary's globalist flavor? That's an awful lot of baggage to ignore/excuse/rationalize just to vote for the lesser of two evils. Even the things that are "good" about Trump now were not positions he held prior to the start of this presidential run. I don't know what else I can do to demonstrate that his "refreshing" position on immigration is a total fabrication, a political prop. Same with guns. And "small government."
The GOP is far from perfect. There have been times I would have loved to see it crash and burn. But the argument people make about Hillary doing irreversible damage is exactly what I see Trump doing to conservative politics. If a liberal big-government authoritarian like Trump wins the presidency on the GOP ticket, there will be nothing close to a true conservative major party candidate for many many years to come. Maybe melding more with the democrats will open up the door for a stronger third party / independent run. I dunno. I just know Trump is not a good direction for the "conservative" party, if we wish to maintain even an illusion of choice between democrats and republicans going forward.
Trump from three years ago: Snowden is a traitor, we should make an example of him, we used to execute people like this. "Unless the retribution is swift and really strong, you're going to have other people coming out with more information than he's got."
Trump last week (and numerous times before): try American citizens suspected of terror involvement in military tribunals at Guantanamo instead of the constitutional court system.
Trump a few months ago: boycott Apple, force them to build backdoors for government use.
Trump last year: close up the internet, mocks people who cite free speech.
The government is going to pay for universal healthcare. Raise taxes. Identifies as a democrat. Hates the concept of guns. Republicans are too far right. Pro-abortion. Hillary Clinton the best qualified to make nuclear deal with Iran. Impressed by and likes Nancy Pelosi. Obama is a great guy who knows what we need. Hillary & Bill are great friends. Economy does better under democrats than republicans. Eminent domain is a wonderful thing. On immigration in 2013: we can't just throw people out.
So we compromise and accept Trump's authoritarianism because his protectionist flavor isn't quite as bad as Hillary's globalist flavor? That's an awful lot of baggage to ignore/excuse/rationalize just to vote for the lesser of two evils. Even the things that are "good" about Trump now were not positions he held prior to the start of this presidential run. I don't know what else I can do to demonstrate that his "refreshing" position on immigration is a total fabrication, a political prop. Same with guns. And "small government."
The GOP is far from perfect. There have been times I would have loved to see it crash and burn. But the argument people make about Hillary doing irreversible damage is exactly what I see Trump doing to conservative politics. If a liberal big-government authoritarian like Trump wins the presidency on the GOP ticket, there will be nothing close to a true conservative major party candidate for many many years to come. Maybe melding more with the democrats will open up the door for a stronger third party / independent run. I dunno. I just know Trump is not a good direction for the "conservative" party, if we wish to maintain even an illusion of choice between democrats and republicans going forward.