Thank the Dems if Trump wins again
You won’t get this through the network television news or by listening to the talking heads, but this is a nice time to be a Republican on Capitol Hill.
Pres. Trump was legally cleared (but not exonerated) by special counsel Robert Mueller. Idaho Congressman Russ Fulcher described the four-page summary of Mueller’s report as a “yawner.” Now, the Democrats – with heads exploding in the aftermath of the Mueller investigation, are stumbling into giving Trump the best gift of all. A slam-dunk re-election in 2020. Fulcher has been in Congress for only three months, but it doesn’t take a grizzled veteran to size up what’s happening.
“They are handing it to us,” Fulcher says.
And the Dems are doing so through utter stupidity. Two and a half years of Mueller’s investigation, which has hounded the Trump administration since the day he took office, isn’t enough. They want to see the complete report, just in case Mueller left behind a few crumbs for impeachment. Then the Dems want to see a completion of the other myriad of investigations against Trump. Don’t think for a minute that it’s all about finding the truth; it’s about getting Trump.
So, there’s plenty of political theater in our future. The network and cable news stations will continue with 24/7 impeachment watch through the 2020 election. Then, it likely will be more of the same for the next four years.
“I was criticized in debates for saying the Mueller investigation was a distraction that would yield nothing other than taking up resources for a long time … and that’s exactly what has happened,“ Fulcher said. “People in America should be relieved that this president is not colluding with Russia.”
Instead, it has fueled anger from Democrats on Capitol Hill, which is music to the ears of Trump and his supporters.
“I have a theory about Donald Trump,” Fulcher says. “He’s wired differently from most of us. He needs a certain degree of chaos to validate to himself that he is making changes and progressing. He’s going to have chaos and if it’s not there, he’ll create it. …Donald Trump has upset the system and turned it on its ear.”
In the process, he has managed to make the likes of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer look like the middle-of-the-road voices of reason, compared to the new wave of Dems in Washington. That’s no easy task.
“Pelosi is a moderate in that caucus,” Fulcher says. “Could you imagine saying that two years ago, or four years ago?”
If Democrats were smart (which they are not), they would embrace 2020 as an opportunity to present a reasonable and viable alternative to Trump – which is something that even some Republicans would like to see. So far, the Dems are blowing their chances miserably. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (who has the most annoying voice since Sarah Palin) and Bernie Sanders (who has made extremism part of mainstream thinking with Democrats) are frontrunners for the party’s presidential nomination. Vice President Joe Biden would be a more sensible choice, if the Democrats want anything that approaches “sensible.”
The new crop of Democrats seems to come from the same school as Walter “Hey, I promise to raise your taxes” Mondale. They are trying desperately, and unsuccessfully, to explain the difference between “Democratic socialism” and the socialist system of government – piling on “free” college, “free” health care and taxing the rich in the process. Then, for a cherry on top of the whipped cream the Dems are mixing, they throw in the Green New Deal and explain it in a way that makes people think they want to get rid of cows and airplanes.
The Green New Deal recently was roundly rejected by Senate Republicans, including Idaho’s Mike Crapo and Jim Risch. Congressman Mike Simpson branded the “green” plan as “crazy and looney,” which may be one of the more generous descriptions from the GOP side.
If Democrats are going to be successful with their “vision” for America, their strategy will have to include eradicating all Republicans in 2020. There is not a single element of the Dems’ plan that Republicans can support – even those who don’t like Trump.
The bottom line, Fulcher says, is “they have no agenda.”
Well...at least not one that produces anything more than four more years of Trump.
Chuck Malloy, a long-time Idaho journalist, is a columnist with Idaho Politics Weekly. He may be reached at ctmalloy@outlook.com.