Sometimes politics becomes boring, even for a political junkie like me. Sometimes an election season exceeding a year is just too long, even for so crucial an election. Sometimes the mind wanders, seeking something more exciting though not more important. Sometimes we wonder whether important things are being hidden in plain sight.
Donald Trump as a Clinton double agent.
Suppose you were a brilliant politician. Suppose you had a devious, even Machiavellian mind. Suppose you were seeking a second eight-year sojourn in the White House. Suppose you felt you were cheated out of it in 2008 by an upstart named Barack Obama. Suppose you didn’t intend to let that happen again. Suppose you had a golfing buddy named Donald Trump. Suppose your name were William Jefferson Clinton.
Is it beyond the realm of the possible that Bill contacted his friend Donald – in strict secrecy, of course? Is it inconceivable that he said something like this?
Don, here’s the deal. You run for the Republican nomination for president. You barge into their little clique of pre-approved candidates like a bowling ball into a neat array of pins. You call them names, you yell and shout, you generally raise hell. You cause such havoc that the Republicans won’t know what hit them. They’ll spend so much energy and money fighting you that they’ll have none left to fight Hillary, so she strolls into the Oval Office – hand-in-hand with me, of course. And then, when we’re back in power where we belong, we’ll send so much business your way that you won’t be able to handle it all. How’s that sound?
But then, is it just possible that Trump enjoyed the limelight so keenly, and gloried in the adulation so eagerly, that he thought, “To hell with the Clintons – they’re old news. I really love the prospect of being the most powerful man on earth”? So Trump ran all-out and got the nomination for himself, rather than dropping back and allowing a sure loser like Jeb Bush to take it.
After all, double agents are notoriously unreliable. They have a known tendency to identify with the very people they are sent to spy upon. As brilliant as Bill Clinton may be, perhaps he didn’t foresee this happening, any more than he foresaw the 2008 nomination being stolen from Hillary by Obama, who – in Bill’s words – was carrying their bags a few years earlier.
In short, is it possible that Trump is a Clinton double agent who “turned”? But as I said, it’s just a theory.
Conservative pundits as Clinton double agents.
Have you been reading conservative magazines like Weekly Standard, Commentary, and National Review? Have you been listening to conservative commentators like Charles Krauthammer, Thomas Sowell, Michael Medved, Mark Levin, Ben Shapiro, Jonah Goldberg, Bill Kristol, and Dennis Prager? Have you been listening to more-or-less conservative commentators like Glenn Beck?
If so, you have been treated to a continuous stream of anti-Trump invective. Granted, much of the criticism was deserved. Trump has shifted his positions on many key issues such as abortion, taxation, and foreign policy. Trump often has gone over the top in his language. Trump often has presented the image of an entertainer rather than a serious leader of a great nation. Trump has failed to enunciate a clear understanding of conservative – that is, Judeo-Christian and American – values.
All this is true. All this has justified criticism, even harsh criticism, during the campaign for the Republican nomination. But now that Trump has the nomination virtually assured, much of the harsh criticism still continues. Why? Some of the critics may be trying to pressure Trump into firming up a more conservative agenda. But other critics are saying, in essence or explicitly, “Never Trump!”
These critics may see themselves as conservative spokespersons. But in this case, they are in fact double agents working for Hillary. For almost eight years, they have been bemoaning the leftward drift of America. And now, all they can think to do is to further that leftward drift for another four or eight years.
A similar thing happened in 2012. But in contrast, then the establishment conservatives – Krauthammer et al. – were strong in their support for Mitt Romney. It was the paleo-conservatives and the anti-Mormons who opposed Romney, even after he was nominated. They went so far as to kick off their websites anyone who was insufficiently rabid in his criticism of Romney. I know – it happened to me. So as a result, many conservatives stayed home on Election Day, and Obama won a second term.
If we are not careful, this will happen again in 2016. Now the paleo-conservatives and blue-collar workers will vote for Trump, while many of the establishment Republicans may stay home. But the result will be the same: The Republican candidate will be deprived of crucially needed votes, and we will be treated to Obama’s third term.
There is an old saying that the best is the enemy of the good. Some conservatives seem to be searching for the ideal conservative, who exists only in their imaginations. We do not live in an imaginary world, which is perfect. We live in this world, with its many imperfections. We do not have the luxury of voting for the ideal candidate. And even if we did, he or she would want ideal supporters, which surely leaves me out.
As things stand, we are faced with the choice of Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. With Trump we aren’t sure of what we are getting. Will he stick with his current conservative opinions, or will he revert to his previous liberal views? Will he have the steadiness to pursue his agenda, or will he vacillate and wander off course? Will he settle down with a presidential demeanor, or will he continue to be a showman? Will he have the strength to act tough, or merely talk tough? We just don’t know.
But with Hillary, we do know what we will be getting – the third, and perhaps the fourth, term of Obama:
● One or more Supreme Court appointees, to shift the balance of the Court leftward for a generation – and all the irrevocable rulings that will result.
● The dismantling of the coal industry, with concomitant rise in electricity prices.
● The deletion of the Second Amendment, and the weakening of the First.
● Statehood for the District of Columbia, with two sure Democratic senators shifting the balance of the Senate, perhaps permanently.
● More regulations controlling every aspect of daily life – added to current regulations mandating light bulbs that are expensive and give poor light, low-flow toilets that barely flush, shower heads that barely dribble, and detergents that barely clean. And we still call ourselves free?
● More uncontrolled immigration, which provides cheap labor for the “elites” but harms the working class – not to mention infiltration of terrorists and drug runners.
● More dangerous foreign policy blunders, like the “reset” with Russia and the descent of Libya into chaos.
● The further weakening of our military, with departure of thousands of officers and senior noncommissioned officers who will refuse to serve under Hillary.
● More lies like, “We didn’t lose a single person in Libya.” No, we lost four, including our ambassador. Telling lies is bad enough. Telling lies that everyone knows are lies is even worse. It reduces citizens to the level of subjects of an oppressive regime, who must pretend to believe what they know is untrue. The object is not just to spread untruth; it is also to warn people that even their minds are government property.
To me, all that would be far worse that the uncertain conservatism of Trump. Why can’t Trump’s conservative critics see this? They may be sincere in their continuing opposition to him, but in effect they are double agents for the Clintons. And this isn’t just another conspiracy theory – it is an undeniable fact.
We have to play the cards we were dealt. We can’t just fold and wait to be dealt a royal flush, while our opponents rake in the chips. The pot is far too big. The pot is our country’s future.
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