WCF

History, politics, and culture articles and forum discussions.

Trump

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On the Eve of Election 2024

A night of waiting and expectation for history to unfold

In just a few hours, the polls open for the 2024 U.S. presidential election. The feelings I have are surely shared by other people, including those on the opposite political side as myself. These feelings reflect the mounting tension that has been building up for months and months.

With each new story in the election season, a new drop has fallen into the bucket of anxiety. This year, the drops have been falling faster than ever before, so much that it at times seems like a steady stream of tension is pouring in. From the Republican primaries to Biden’s debate disaster, to multiple assassination attempts on Trump to Kamala’s rise, to vice presidential picks and endorsements along the way, this election cycle has been one unlike any other. We can cut the tension like a knife. It’s the feeling you might get if you knew you had a big performance to give the next day, and you only had one shot at it. Get it right and you bask in intense glory, but get it wrong and it’s an internal pain that you know you will have to shoulder for a very long time. Now spread this feeling across America so that collective anxiety hangs like a cloud from coast to coast, and this is where we’re at.

And with that said, I am actually cautiously optimistic. Depending on whom you listen to, the race is either a dead heat, or Trump is positioned just well enough in enough states to be able to take it. I am in this latter camp, as it seems his support in key battleground states will be enough to win it for him. Also, about half of all votes that will be cast in this election have already been cast, and Trump has enjoyed momentum, and a consistent polling lead, over the past few weeks. I have to think that this prolonged support has certainly helped him.

Yet, I merely need to think back to the disappointment of four years ago to remember that things aren’t how they seem. I was one of those people who was holding on to dear hope as I saw Trump leading in places like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, only to find out later that votes for Biden mysteriously materialized at odd hours.

So in less than 24 hours, we shall see where the election ends up – in glory or in defeat. The collective joy or pain will be an intense, shared act of catharsis. I just hope and pray that I will be among those rejoicing.

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:38-39

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The Case for Trump

If you ignore the daily mud-fights, Trump’s first term has been surprisingly effective, and he deserves to be re-elected.

As I write this, we are on the eve of the 2020 election, and it feels like we are about to go to war. The entire year has felt like one brutal grudge match for people across the globe, and especially in American politics it has felt like no other year.

Just as in 2016, when Trump was the underdog facing off against a vastly more experienced and powerful political foe, Trump is again the underdog facing off against Joe Biden, the experienced Washington politico. Recent projections give Biden an 89% chance of winning the White House, so a vote for Trump may amount to nothing.

Then again, we merely need to look back to the previous election for a little perspective.

In 2016, Donald Trump took the world by storm with his surprise victory as an underdog against a political juggernaut in Hillary Clinton. It was arguably the most impressive win in U.S. presidential history, and it caused a series of events to unfold which have brought our current situation to a point of explosive tension. Cities are being boarded up in anticipation of rioting due to the election. People have been talking about insurrection, violence, and even civil war. How did we even get to this point?

The events that led up to this are somewhat easy to understand, but also somewhat a bit like what might be found in a Tom Clancy novel. Setting those aside for the moment, looking back on Trump’s time in office, I’d say he definitely deserves a second term.

A vote to re-elect Trump would not only ensure America of having the greatest policy-making president in office during my lifetime, but of slashing back the rising tide of leftism that is quickly becoming a dire threat to the American republic.

On issue after issue, Trump’s policies have been incredible. From the appointment of hundreds of federal judges to the appointment of what seem to be three fantastic Supreme Court justices, to his enactment of pro-life policies, to his lowering of taxes, to his energizing of the economy, to his crackdown on illegal immigration, to his strengthening of our national security, reduction of regulations, forcing NATO to pay more of what it owed, to not starting any new wars, Trump has been as decisive a president as any. All of this, mind you, while being hampered with a false Russian conspiracy theory, and an impeachment on questionable grounds.

So far, Trump’s greatest threat – and this has been a significant one – has been the COVID-19 pandemic. This once-in-a-century event came at the worst time for Trump, and the Biden Campaign has capitalized on it. Democrats have a tendency to never let any scandal or disaster go by without taking advantage of it politically, so it should not have been a surprise that they capitalized on it. I say this without making a claim to Trump’s handling of the virus, which seems to be a mixed bag, but which will really only be properly analyzed in hindsight. In the thick of it, blaming Trump for “200,000 deaths” (or even calling for Trump’s execution over it, as Keith Olberman recently did) is simply ridiculous.

The other, less serious threat to Trump, has been Trump himself. He engages in fights on a weekly basis. He tweets out attacks on his opponents, and seems to never back down from potshots taken by critics. Of course, such attacks have been unnecessary, and even counter-productive at times, but they seem to be part of Trump’s modus operandi. Once can say they benefit him by allowing him to direct the news cycle, which is true, but they also have the effect of alienating those who simply want to shrink away from the display of petty combat by a world leader.

I have thought for some time that the best way to live during the Trump era might be to simply read a summary of the news about once a month. Seeing the highlights of Trump’s accomplishments without witnessing the mud flying about on a daily basis might would reveal all the beauty of Trump’s policies without seeing his sometimes boorish character on display. As someone active on social media, I do not have the luxury of avoiding the day-to-day squabbles that drive news cycles, but I imagine that many Americans may very well appreciate Trump on a macro-level and only occasionally hear about the micro-level verbal firefights in which he engages.

A vote for Trump, of course, is a vote against Joe Biden, or more likely against the potential policies of the heir-to-the-throne, Kamala Harris. Harris may be one of the most unimpressive candidates to assume the presidency if the pollsters are correct about the election and Biden resigns not long into his term, which is very possible. Unable to make it through the Democratic primary season, she was destroyed by Mike Pence in the vice presidential debate, and the highlights of her campaigning seem to be clips of her laughing in soft interviews in friendly interviews.

My vote, of course, will be for Trump. He deserves to be re-elected, and the Democrat candidates deserve to be shut down. The threats of violence at the prospect of a Trump victory should only sound the alarms even louder about the growing threat of leftist extremism, and should cause our nation to pause and consider the threat on its very doorstop. Tragically, such a threat will not only go unheeded, but will be actively encouraged by a the media class and pundits who actively seek the enactment of even more extreme policies to “break the system” and remake it according to their “utopian” vision.

Now, however, the situation seems somewhat bleak for President Trump’s changes of re-election. Whether we learn the results of the election at the end of the day or in several days is unclear. What is clear to me, though, about the long-term survival of America is that its prospects are dimming by the day. The cultural divide in the nation has rapidly deteriorated, and this election will simply further the size of the crevasse. If Trump wins, leftists will use it as an excuse to engage in insurrection (whether by cover or law or not), and if Trump loses, they’ll use it as an excuse to destroy their opponents and salt the earth to prevent their loss of power in the future.

My hope, at this bleak hour, is that Trump wins and is able, through some way, to engage enough Americans to buy into a common vision of America that values liberty the rule of law, and tolerates opposing views without resorting to violence. Without such a common vision, America may very well be lost.

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The year that was: 2017 in review

As we get ready to put 2017 into the history books, let’s take a look back at one of the most intense years in recent history.  Lists may vary, but here are ten of the most notable news stories of 2017.

1. Trump takes office

We knew things would be different with Trump, but I’m not sure anyone knew they would be this different.  Whether you agree with him or not, you have to admit that Trump’s way of doing things is completely novel.  Whether it’s skipping the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, bullying members of his own party, or steamrolling reporters, Trump has shattered the mold for presidential behavior.  Does his approach damage the nation?  Twenty years ago this might have been the case, but the downward political spiral under Obama was already so bad that Trump’s edgy antics might be the only thing that can bring about a true reset.

2. Fight over Obamacare

The takeaway from this is that despite controlling both houses of Congress and the Presidency, Republicans were not able to repeal Obamacare.  When voters go back to the polls, will they feel motivated to vote for politicians who don’t do the basic things they’re elected to do?

3. Russia investigation

In what is turning out to be the biggest charade in modern political history, the investigation into the alleged Trump-Russia conspiracy continues.  I said it in June of this year and I’ll say it again: the idea that Trump conspired with the Russians is ludicrous.  The longer it continues, the more it seems to implicate the mainstream media for fanning the flames of this story this year.  We all get it: your candidate lost the election in 2016 and you need to fight back.  Just do it by preparing for 2020 instead of trying to undo what voters have already chosen.

4. Tax cut plan

Despite the loss of the Obamacare fix, Republicans managed to save face through tax reform at the end of the year.  This could be a huge deal in engaging the engine of the American economy over the next 15 years, and it could very well be the cornerstone of Trump’s re-election campaign in 2020.

5. Immigration issues

6. Sexual harassment

While the disastrous cultural effects of the 1960s sexual revolution have been felt in America for decades, 2017 was the first year I can remember in which there was a widespread revolt against one aspect of the revolution.  It’s interesting that it centered on Hollywood, which is ground zero in the manufacturing of cultural immorality today.  Let’s hope that people start to wake up not only to the reality of sexual harassment in the context of work relationships, but also to the negative aspects of the sexualization of culture.

7. Supreme Court appointment

Early this year, Trump had his first real political victory in the nomination (and later confirmation) of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.  At 50 years old, he could serve on the bench for the next three decades, which could make him Trump’s most enduring policy decision.

8. National monuments

The scandal over whether Confederate monuments should remain standing in public places peaked sometime during the middle of the year.  Extremes on both sides of the issue came out, either to defend the statues from being torn down, or to tear them down by the will of the mob.  What’s interesting is that this was all an argument over art and whether or not art should be allowed to stand in public if it offends some people.  Although the issue seems to have died down on its own without being fully resolved, it may resurface again in the future.  I think the only way to handle this problem is by allowing the decision to maintain or remove such statues to be made by people in the local community.

9. Yucca Mountain
10. Gun control

Two events brought gun control into the national discussion – the October massacre in Las Vegas and the November shooting in Texas.  Strangely, questions surrounding the Las Vegas incident have been left unanswered, despite being the most horrific shooting in American history.  Can we expect to learn answers about it in 2018?  Or will it be forgotten by our cultural consciousness?

Looking ahead to 2018

As crazy as 2017 was, I expect that the next year will be just as crazy, if not crazier.  I truly think that America (and the West) is on a dangerous path and that it probably cannot survive another 50 years or so.  There are simply too many challenges across different fronts (economic, political, cultural, religious) and that Western culture is too fractured to survive.

And on that cheery note, Happy New Year!

WCF