The full enormity of what is happening within the GOP and Washington is just beginning to sink in, the possibilities just beginning to take hold.
A glimmer into what’s coming was revealed last night when Newt Gingrich, in talking about what position he might want in a Trump Administration, calmly and matter-of-factly uttered these words;
“I want to be the general planner, looking out over the next eight years, and trying to design how we fundamentally reshape the federal government”
“and that’s a very broad job. The closest analogy probably would be Harry Hopkins and the work he did for Franklin Delano Roosevelt”.
And that was the moment I began to truly grasp how enormously fundamental this structural change will be.
This is not a seismic shift. This is a complete rupture – a tearing apart of 25 years of downward spiral in Washington.
Obama’s constitutionally bankrupt legacy will be gone with the stroke of a pen. Trump should take Marc Thiessen’s advice and simply issue a single Executive Order that overturns every Obama Executive Order. It’s really that simple (see: A Fool and His Legacy are Soon Parted).
The State Department and the Department of Justice naturally lend themselves to partisanship but the outright disregard for our laws and the magnitude of corruption exposed by this election has been revolting. The Department of Justice is not. And that must change. Rudy Giuliani as either Attorney General or Secretary of State will be a great start. These departments need to be, and will be, gutted.
The re-shaping and re-building of the Supreme Court is at hand. Trump has one immediate vacancy to fill. At least two more should become available. Trump has put forth a list of 22 candidates – all highly qualified. His litmus test for judges is simple – respect for the Constitution (see: Supreme Issues). It should be no other way. The restorative power of this fortuitous place in time cannot be under-estimated. A Supreme Court appointee will likely be in place for 30 years. The legislation from that appointee even longer.
ObamaCare will be replaced – keep a few elements that already exist in GOP draft plans like the ability to allow for pre-existing conditions and replace the rest – and do it with no gap in coverage. Create a non-mandated, market-based plan that allows for competition – and watch the costs fall. Competition benefits consumers – why this seems so hard for some to grasp is baffling to me.
A general cleansing of Washington – a change in the culture – may be one of the biggest coming events. Trump’s proposals are simple and profound:
- Impose Term Limits on Congress
- Enact a hiring freeze of federal employees
- Reduce federal regulations by active removal
- Impose a 5 year ban on Washington officials becoming lobbyists post office
- A Life-time ban on White House officials lobbying for foreign governments
- Full ban on foreign lobbyists raising money for U.S. elections
Tax reduction:
- 35% reduction in middle class taxes
- Reduction of tax brackets from 7 to 3
- Lower corporate tax rate to 15% from 35% (avg rate globally is 22.5%, Europe is 19%)
- Overseas repatriation rate at 10%
An unleashing of productivity – a shifting of resources from an inefficient government to the efficient private sector. Simple. Powerful. The financial markets have responded appropriately with stocks soaring and bonds falling.
National Security – one of the greatest primary duties of any government – has not only been neglected – it has been mocked. No more.
- Rebuild the military
- Refocus on terrorism
- Care for our veterans
- Focus on cyber-security
- Screening/vetting procedures to weed out terrorism threats
Some other proposals:
- School choice – our schools are shielded from competition and rank poorly
- Trade agreement renegotiation – reduce the byzantine regulations and promote fair trade
- Affordable Child and Elder care
- Infrastructure Projects
I do not agree with everything proposed. I am for free markets. I worry about the focus on trade. That being said our trade agreements are convoluted and inefficient. I have a larger problem with the infrastructure spending. Keynesian Economics is a proven failure. I hope Trump’s administration keeps the focus solely on needed highway projects whereby we are improving our transportation network – nothing more. Spending money simply for the sake of employment is a failure.
As for illegal immigrants, despite the hyperbole and breathless coverage from the media, Trump has made it clear the focus will fall only on illegal immigrants with criminal records. Get rid of criminals. Keep families. Allow for some sort of documented program whereby non-citizens already here can come and go without being granted citizenship.
These programs sum up to something so powerful it was never taken seriously prior to the election. These proposals were considered so out of the realm of the possible, so politically incorrect, so lofty to accomplish they were not taken as real proposals.
And yet here we are.
This is the single greatest political change I have ever seen – eclipsing even the Reagan Era – and each day it’s becoming more clear to me how astounding the potential truly is – and I still don’t know nor completely grasp the full extent of it all. This country can be completely and fundamentally transformed and reborn – these are heady times indeed. Trump was right – this was a once in a lifetime chance – and we captured it.
The issues Conservatives have been clinging to these last 25 years – fiscal responsibility, smaller government, lower taxes, the power of the individual, national security, integrity in office, respect for the Constitution – all had been relegated to the status of near-fringe discussion. It was a waste of time and breath to even talk about them.
These are suddenly priorities.
The left has lost. The Democratic Party is crushed and in shambles. Political Correctness is dead. People can stand up and speak simple yet powerful truths. We have men and women of the highest caliber from the private sector – people who have refused to work in politics – suddenly excited and enthusiastic, wanting to be part of the new administration – to help make a difference, promote change and fix the political destruction ushered in by the Clinton Era and culminated in Obama.
The right – along with, and including, most of middle America – suddenly woke to the simple realization that we did, after all, have a voice – and a powerful one at that. After decades of being shouted into silence the left began to believe we were gone, that they had won simply because we were unable or unwilling to speak. And then something changed. We found our voice. And it was loud. And it was powerful. And it will reverberate throughout the next eight years.
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