The Trouble With Trump

When Newt Gingrich rhetorically slapped around a moderator during a 2012 republican presidential debate, I like millions of other conservatives, jumped to our feet and yelled, “Hell Yeah!  It’s about damn time somebody fought back against these scoundrels!”  I believe Speaker Gingrich won the South Carolina primary after that.

I understand the exuberance behind Trump’s candidacy.  The Donald is willing to go where very few dare to tread.  The New York businessman is willing to call out a biased media, a corrupt Washington D.C. political system, and political correctness that have run amok.  When he made fun of a handicapped reporter, I truly thought that would have been the end of his candidacy.  A friend of mine remarked, “He’s such a New Yorker.”

I don’t have a problem with Mr. Trump’s brashness; however, I do have a problem with his policies.  He is too vague.  No one seems to be able to extract from him details on how Mexico is going to pay for a wall, or on his trade policies.  All we know is, he’s going to make America great again.

When Carrier announced they were relocating their Indiana operations to Mexico, Trump said he would punish them.  The United States can’t simply tax a company for expatriation.  However, it can raise tariffs on the products they and other like companies ship into the country.  That is, in effect, a tax on goods Americans will have to pay.

 

Americans have to ask themselves why manufacturing companies are leaving the country.  Could it possibly be ravenous and antagonistic federal bureaucracies have created a toxic environment which makes it difficult for businesses to operate?  Could it be a tax code that is so complicated, it takes an army of tax lawyers and accountants to ensure compliance?  Could it possibly be minimum wage requirements that force employers to pay entry level workers a higher rate than their worth?  Could it possibly be the dictatorial nature of Obamacare that mandates employers to pay a high premium for health insurance that is basically worthless?

Republican candidates have to address the reasons why companies are leaving the United States instead of blaming them.  Raising tariffs is not the answer.  Can anyone say Smoot-Hawley, or, how about the Tariff of Abominations that almost sparked a civil war in 1833?  Both tariff acts had a disastrous affect on the economy.

Another problem I have with Trump is his apparent lack of ideology.  He has stated more than once, he is a deal maker.  We don’t need more dealmakers in Washington D.C.  Twenty trillion dollars in federal debt is a testament to that.

 

What we need is a constitutionalist who will adhere to the rule of law and not looking for ways to skirt around it.

The trouble with Trump is twofold: a lack of ideology and his braggadocio in cutting deals.  The last thing we need is someone who believes he can negotiate in good faith with Progressives, Palestinians and Putin.  All three are principled terrorists without a moral compass.  How can anyone deal that?