Our Debt to Obama, Reid & Soros
Because some people are so despicable, it’s easy to write them off entirely, ignoring the good they’ve done, no matter how inadvertently, along the way. For instance, eight years ago, when the Democrats had absolute control of the political landscape, it appeared that the GOP would be joining the Whigs and the Bullmoose in the boneyard of political parties. But, thanks to the overreach of Barack Obama and his endless series of miscalculations, which included the Affordable Care Act, Solyndra, the billion-dollar stimulus, Cash for Clunkers and the Iran deal, we saw the Republicans reacquire the House, the Senate and the Oval Office.
Because some people are so despicable, it’s easy to write them off entirely, ignoring the good they’ve done, no matter how inadvertently, along the way.
For instance, eight years ago, when the Democrats had absolute control of the political landscape, it appeared that the GOP would be joining the Whigs and the Bullmoose in the boneyard of political parties. But, thanks to the overreach of Barack Obama and his endless series of miscalculations, which included the Affordable Care Act, Solyndra, the billion-dollar stimulus, Cash for Clunkers and the Iran deal, we saw the Republicans reacquire the House, the Senate and the Oval Office.
As vile as Harry Reid was — going so far as to brag that his lies about the Republican contender not paying his income taxes helped cost Mitt Romney the 2012 election — if Reid hadn’t decided that the majority party in the Senate could make its will felt with just 51 votes, instead of the historical 60, Trump would have a good deal more trouble getting his cabinet selections confirmed.
I grant it is not as easy to thank George Soros for anything in particular, unless it’s the fact that he is such a dedicated leftist, so obsessed with his vile agenda, that he doesn’t spend his billions nearly as efficiently as he might.
In fact, if Soros were half as smart as he is rich, he might have been able to get Al Gore, John Kerry or Hillary Clinton, elected. Instead, he has squandered hundreds of millions of dollars backing losers. And the one time he got his candidate elected, Obama was compelled to pass his most extreme, most Soros-inspired, notions through executive fiat; all easily erased on January 21st by President Trump.
On top of all that, according to Bloomberg News, Soros lost a billion dollars on the Stock Market by buying short, assuming that Trump’s victory would send stocks plummeting. Instead, the Market soared to record heights, and it was Soros who plummeted.
Whoever it was who first observed that a fool and his money were soon parted might have had the former Nazi collaborator in mind.
So much had been made of the fact that Vladimir Putin pinned a medal on Rex Tillerson, people got the idea the twosome were going steady. It now turns out that the medal is about as meaningful as those participation trophies handed out to every 12-year-old who signs up for after-school sports. It seems that the Friendship medals are regularly bestowed on foreign athletes, entertainers and business tycoons, who visit Moscow, a little bit like the leis that are hung around the necks of tourists arriving in Hawaii.
I must confess to a guilty pleasure. I love to see Trump going after the reporters who have made no secret of hating him. If I were President, I would agree to be interrogated by any reporter who would agree to be interrogated by me. For openers, I would want to know if they had ever been arrested or divorced, and I’d want all the gruesome details. I’d also want to know if they’d ever gone through bankruptcies or foreclosures. I’d demand to know their party affiliation and see a record of their political donations, along with ten years of tax returns.
After all, if it’s essential that we know all these things about the president and the members of his cabinet, why not about pundits, journalists, publishers and editors, whose obligation is to bring us the untainted, unbiased, news.
Politicians don’t pretend to be objective, and I say it’s high time that those who bring us the news give up the pretense.
A reader struck me as over-concerned about those in the streets, on college campuses and in the halls of Congress, who continue trying to overturn the election results.
I suggested he not worry too much about it. “If Trump does the job he’s promised to do by way of resuscitating the economy; bringing back jobs; slamming the door on illegal aliens and Islamists; reining in the EPA; rebuilding the military; scaring the crap out our enemies and reassuring our allies; and populating the Supreme Court with justices who understand their function is to adjudicate, not legislate, he has nothing to worry about. In fact, if he does just half the things he’s promised, I guarantee the GOP will pick up several Senate seats in 2018.
None of that means that those on the Left will stop attacking Trump. It’s what they do, whether the Republican in the Oval Office is someone named Bush, Trump or Reagan. But it’s always better to have liberals on the outside throwing mud than inside making the rules, passing the laws and announcing executive edicts.
So far as I’m concerned, far too much has been made about possible ethical conflicts because Donald Trump is turning over his real estate empire to his sons. I don’t think I am being naïve when I state that if a decision ever comes down to what’s good for the nation or for Trump Enterprises, I believe Donald won’t even have to think twice. Even though I don’t always expect to agree with his decisions, I am convinced that his primary concern will always be America’s bottom line, not his own.
I have no doubts that the Democrats will latch on to anything that gives the slightest appearance of being an ethical conflict. But very few people will rise to the bait because they know the difference between the appearance of a conflict, and the real thing. A prime example of an actual conflict is when Democrats pay lip service to public schools and teachers’ unions in exchange for huge donations to their political war chests, while enrolling their own children, just as Barack Obama did, in hoity-toity private academies.
In the wake of the Golden Globes, at which one Hollywood pinhead after another curried favor with the assembly by denouncing Trump and those of us who voted for him, culminating with Meryl Streep’s self-righteous screed, I heard from a few readers who thought we should all boycott the movies.
As tempting as the notion might be, realist that I am, I replied: "Very few people are going to deny themselves entertainment just because they don’t like the politics of the stars. For one thing, it wouldn’t do much good. Why boycott the movies, but not stages productions, TV shows and records? Besides, there’s a world market for movies. In many cases, Hollywood’s biggest profits are accrued in Europe and Asia.
"For another thing, although the stars, producers, directors and writers, tend to be like-minded liberals, the members of the crew, the blue-collar element that includes makeup artists, electricians and especially stuntmen, are nearly always conservatives who have more reason than most to despise those pulling down most of the money. Show biz celebrities like to voice their concern over income inequality, but nowhere on earth is it as evident as at a motion picture studio.
Therefore, it is probably in your best interests to just relax, enjoy the few movies worth seeing and leave it up to people like me to ridicule the self-aggrandizing lunkheads.
Recently, while comparing health problems with another 77-year-old, I mentioned the shots with huge needles required to deal with my rheumatoid arthritis and occasional bouts with the gout. And then, in order to win the old geezer competition, I confessed to the frequent visits I have to make to the bathroom during the wee hours of the morning. Or as I have come to refer to them, the wee-wee hours.
