As IF Times

link: Trump driving migrant debate among GOP field – The Washington Post

Donald Trump continues to dominate the news headlines with his populist rants about what ails the nation.  As noted in earlier pieces, the fact that these numerous festering issues have been brought forward for public discussion is a refreshing change from the PC sensibilities of both political parties and the media in general.

Until Trump, public figures were unable to speak candidly about numerous social and economic topics for fear of negative media characterization.  It’s as if someone had imposed an omerta edict, banning honest discussions on key social issues that could be spoken of in polite company.  Immigration, unemployment and the general fecklessness of the  sitting administration and congress are issues which affect most every citizen. Many likely feel that the America they’ve known is disappearing because of problems created by ill conceived policies.  Until Trump, no one had the cojones to talk about solutions for them in blunt unvarnished terms.  Indeed, at this point in the election process, the combatants appear to be less Republicans vs Democrats and more of the people vs Washington elites.  Trump’s great feat is that he’s able to discern that people hate all politicians,  tapping into that antipathy to become the de-facto spokesman for the silent majority.  Imagine that, Trump speaking for the common man!

Many of his proposed solutions resonate with the average guy since they seem to have some basis of common sense.  Building a wall to protect the southern border may have populist appeal, but we’re not sure if he can do that without hiring low cost Mexican workers.  Union labor rates would cripple the project.  On that note, one of Trump’s other populist notions is to bring back jobs from China.  Hmm…not sure he’s thought this one through.

Over the past few generations, the manufacture and fabrication of virtually all consumer goods has been ceded to China.  Why? Because workers there are cheap, plain and simple.  The result is that the west has grown accustomed to cheap clothes, cheap electronics, cheap iPhones, cheap furniture, even cheap rocks.  So now, that’s Americans’ favorite price point, cheap. But now, let’s say we could mandate that companies use only domestic labor for manufacturing.  That means that the price of everything skyrockets.  Wal Mart would go bust.  So would Costco.  No more buying one suit, getting 3 free at Joseph.A.Banks.

What Trump likely knows and is not revealing is that the real way to rebuild wealth in the west is not to bring back low wage jobs. How much can you pay someone to  put the caps on toothpaste? It’s only by dismantling the obstacles and regulations and taxation constraints that stymie business formation and growth that wealth creation can happen.  The villains aren’t in China or Mexico.  The guys with the twirly mustaches sit in government offices in state and federal capitols in the USA!  If Trump doesn’t make that point clear, then he is catering to populist sensibilities….like the politicians he claims to loathe.

Still, Trump is the right man at the right time. The pendulum of political correctness and progressive policies has swung so far to the left that a catalyst was needed to swing it back.  Trump is like chemo therapy for a cancer patient; strong medicine for a severe ailment.

link Wearied by partisan warfare, many women desert Obamas Democrats – Yahoo News.

The headline reads that women deserted the Obama Democrats because of partisan warfare.  That’s a big slice of round processed meat.  As politicians have learned (or not) over and over again in all societies, the only issues that really matter are the ones that affect personal pocketbooks and circumstances.

The political left have consistently employed one classic tool in their on going efforts to harvest the hearts and minds of the populace.  That tool is the balkanization of the population.  If there are aggrieved groups to pander to, the political left will position themselves as their champions, to be their voice in the larger oppressive society.  The rise of the Obama phenomenon was a perfect storm in the history of the United States since he was anointed with the role of savior of all aggrieved groups, not to mention fixer of the weather.  When he was elected, the populace lavished the kind of adoration upon him that would make 12 year old girls at a Justin Bieber concert wince. The ebullient period of his ascent in 2008 and through to the 2012 vote was a time when every aggrieved group felt that their particular gripes would be addressed.

Only they weren’t.  Instead, the agenda consisted of ideological programs that were wanted by no one except the ideologues.  From government mandated health care, to EPA lunacy, to porous borders to ill advised withdrawal of troops from the Middle East, all of these were botched resulting in the worst possible outcomes for Americans.  When the realities of having to govern a complex society within a complex world became evident, it became more and more obvious that he was woefully ill equipped for the role.  It’s as if Justin Bieber was asked to run the country.  With the inventory of failed policies and initiatives piling up like crashed cars in fog storm, even the most ardent followers and supporters deserted the ship.  When it became obvious that individuals’ circumstances were not only not improving but deteriorating, something had to change.  The results of the recently held mid term elections were a resounding repudiation of the Obama programs; by all of his constituencies.

Women didn’t desert because of bickering, nor did the blacks, the latinos, the gays or students. That’s non sensical. Why wouldn’t they desert the Republicans? That’s as logical as opening the windows because you feel a draft.  It wasn’t because they wanted the battling to stop; it’s because they wanted to stop Obama. In an article written here a few years ago, we commented on the aftermath of the 2012 vote and its implications: 2012 vote .  The thesis was that the vote then did not signal a massive ideological shift of the population since core American values hadn’t changed.   It appears that assumption was correct.  In an interview the day after this most recent vote, the President claims to have heard the people, invoking his own famous quote from his election victory years ago, “elections have consequences”.  Interestingly, he claims to have also heard the 2/3 of the population that didn’t vote.   What that quote tells you is that the President has moved to another state after the election—the state of denial.