I'm both amused and annoyed by the screams of outrage from both Left and Right over President Trump's nominations of members of his future Cabinet. On the Left, candidates such as Matt Gaetz or Pete Hegseth are denounced as sexual predators, gung-ho political fundamentalists and the like. On the Right, candidates such as Pam Bondi or Scott Bessent are excoriated as RINO's, or deep-state sympathizers, or insufficiently conservative.
I wish both sides would take a deep breath, sit back, and let the political process work itself out. President Trump is playing a balancing act. He wants loyalists who will support his policies and not backstab him, as a number of his appointees did during his first term in office. However, he also has to satisfy the demands of his base and take into account the attitude of his political opponents (who are within a handful of votes of overturning any of his legislative proposals and/or political appointments in both the House and the Senate, let it be remembered). He can't just appoint a gaggle of fundamentalist right-wingers and dare the rest of the political establishment to do something about it. He has to govern all of America, not just his own power base - and that means making at least some appointments that his opponents will (albeit grudgingly) accept as, at least, "not too bad".
All those complaining about his selections would do well to bear that in mind. As the first German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck famously pointed out, "Politics is the art of the possible, the attainable - the art of the next best". President Trump is trying to do precisely that - achieve the possible, the attainable. I wish him well in doing so.
(And let's not forget another famous quote from Otto von Bismarck: "There is a Providence that protects idiots, drunkards, children and the United States of America". I hope he's right!)
Peter
5 comments:
We have a lot to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. My thanks is having an incoming government which actually cares about the American people. Another is hearing that a possible ceasefire between Hamas and Isreal may be possible.
I hope Otto is right too. Have a great Thanksgiving sir. I hope you are safe at home, healing from your surgeries and getting back to what 'normal' is.
We’re fucced in the Senate w/ McConnell and Collins ( 2 never Trumpers) in key chairmanship positions.Tying up his agenda.Hope I’m wrong.
Trump also has a thin bench of people with competence, loyalty and name recognition. He has a tablespoon of peanut butter and a loaf of bread to turn into peanut butter sandwiches.
My biggest concern is his appointment for Education Secretary. When Randi Weingarten, head of the NEA approves, something is potentially amiss. She is a hard core leftist, believes that parents have no rights to their children, etc. I hope PDT knows something we don't about his nominee.
Over all I like Trump's picks as it is sending a shock to the core of DC, which is needed. Most of Congress is UNIPARTY and needs to be removed.
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