Politics – Page 6 – Gary Bennett Publishing

Historical Open Letter from President Donald J. Trump

My fellow patriotic Americans (and all you losers without MAGA hats),

I, President Donald John Trump, am sacrificing a bit of my executive time with Fox News today to announce that I hereby resign as your favorite president. It’s been a fun and perfect three years demonizing the lefties, allies, Gold Star Families, and the so-called free press but all good things must come to an end. Just ask my three Secretaries of Defense, three Secretaries of Labor, three Chiefs of Staff, and of course my personal fixer, Michael Cohen, who can be reached in federal prison in upstate New York. I swear I was going to clean up the swamp and appoint the best people but every person I appointed turned out to be a crooked loser.

It has come to pass that I find myself about to be impeached, and as much as I like to be the center of attention, I don’t want to be lumped in with those phonies Bill Clinton and Andrew Jackson, Johnson or whatever his name was. I’d rather dramatically ride off into the sunset on my personal chopper, Marine One. No one’s ever done that before and can you imagine the ratings! Plus, those enemies of the people—the lamestream media, won’t have me to kick around anymore! This I can tell you.

Can you believe it? Me, impeached? The Chosen One! AND, I’M DOING SUCH A GREAT JOB! I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, though. Bill’s economy in 1998 was even better and we were at peace. You saw what they did to him. At least many of the same senators who screwed him have come to see that impeachment is not the way. I’m looking at you Mitch and Lindsey! It is serious business lying about an extramarital affair and getting caught so I guess Slick Willy got what he deserved. Better just to be upfront about it. Hell, if the evangelicals don’t care about extramarital affairs and grabbing female body parts, why would anyone?

A lot of people are saying you just can’t trust those Dems to see things the right way. They’ve made up some malarkey about their congressional oversight duty and impeachment being in the constitution. SAD!!! When I smartly and bravely bring up words like “coup” and “treason”, WHICH IS MY RIGHT, they have the audacity to lie and point out that treason only applies to aiding and abetting a wartime enemy, not criticizing the president, and that coups are things that happen in sh*thole countries at the end of a gun, not in countries like ours that depend on that pesky rule of law. But I feel better now that my thirteen-year old son explained to me that Republicans will still be in charge. I could have sworn those Dem traitors Nervous Nancy and Crooked Hillary would take over. Why else would they do this? What’s in it for them? We all like a good civil war, of course, but if I can’t be Supreme Commander, why bother?

Okay, maybe I should have reported that Russian meddling thing in the 2016 election that I obviously knew about but did nothing to stop. But the Russians were for me and anyone would have taken that meeting. And by the way, I’m not a puppet. Hillary’s the puppet! I fired that giant Lurch Jim Comey to make it all go away and what did that get me? Just more grief and low-energy, sad sack Robert Mueller and his so-called investigation that dragged on for over a year. He had the audacity to not exonerate me and even charge obstruction. But no matter, I just claimed I was cleared and my loyal subjects ate it up. Plus, my fat personal lawyer, I mean Attorney General, Bill Barr, backed me up, too.

And sure, I obviously asked Russia, Ukraine, and China to get some dirt on that scumbag, Joe Biden, and in the case of Ukraine, withheld some military funds until they did but that was my money anyway! And I had to match the Dems before they meddled in the 2020 election by trying to make sure every citizen, especially the Blacks and Hispanics, suburban moms, and manufacturing workers whose jobs never came back, exercised their right to vote. We can’t let low-IQ Joe Biden take over anyway. He’s not smart enough to keep America interesting and on edge by constantly belittling half the population and pitting them against each other. Can you imagine how boring things will be under Sleepy Joe? And his family – what a bunch of losers and hangers-on!

I’d like to take this opportunity to recap our accomplishments over the last three years. We didn’t get much accomplished, okay? Well, other than some tax cuts for the rich, executive orders that will get reversed when the Dems get their chance and of course all those federal judges and Supreme Court justices. Mitch sure pulled a fast one when he prevented the Obama/Clinton gang from having their choice back in 2016. That was my idea, by the way. I don’t know Merrick Garland but I hear he is a nice fellow – just not Supreme Court material like my guy Brett Kavanaugh. With me and Brett, I hope women have at least learned that their hysterical, lying, sexual misconduct charges will get them nowhere. We did have a fun government shutdown and took some money from the Defense Department to start on my beautiful Southern border wall. There are some bad hombres trying to get into this country and I’m proud to say we have slowed them down even without shooting them in the legs, WHICH IS MY RIGHT! If people want into this country so badly, they should just pay their way in at Ellis Island like my grandfather did!

I hope we can count on all those judges Mitch and I are appointing, but you never know. Some of those losers claim independence from their Dear Leader and rely on that pesky rule of law. Just ask that deep state flunky John Roberts who voted to keep the ACA intact even though we were sure to eventually come up with something much better. I did my best, though. I kept ACA underfunded so rates would soar and declined to defend it in court.

To tell you the truth, I wasn’t going to leave in 2020 anyway, no matter what the crooked election said. Probably not in 2024 either as long as my perfect health held up. It is just not possible for me to be voted out after all that I have done for this country! You may have heard that I took a pay cut to be your leader. No, as a stable genius and with more military knowledge that all those generals of mine combined, there is no way I could be removed from the White House. But just think of all the fun we will be missing in January 2021 when that stiff Mike Pence has to turn over the keys to Sleepy Joe. Wouldn’t you have rather had me up there saying “I don’t think so, Joe.” My people were already working on that speech.

But, in my great and unmatched wisdom, I’ve come to the conclusion that you just don’t deserve me. That’s why I’m walking way. What’s next for me, you ask? I have three words for you – Trump News Network. That’s right, we’ll finally have media we can trust. I’ll be the only correspondent of course because why would I share air time with anyone else if I don’t have to? Once I became my own press secretary things went much better, don’t you think? Even those ingrates at Fox News were starting to turn on me. They were starting to ask some pushy questions and not doing the job they were paid to do. The last thing I’ll do before I go is remove the Fox News line item from the Republican National Committee budget. That’ll teach them.

So, it is with a full heart, terrific hair and tan, and smokin’ hot daughter and wife that I bid you farewell. Try to get along without me for a while. I said this before that foreign loser Arnold What’s-his-name did – I’ll BE BACK, which is my right.

Don’t worry about me, MAGA friends. I’ve already pardoned myself. Just waiting on that superb ass kisser Mike Pence to read it later.

Gary Bennett writes from an alternate universe where everyone, including President Trump, has come to their senses.

Political Unkindness–How We Got Here and What We Can Do

By Gary Bennett

Of course it had to happen this way. The impeachment hearings kicked off on the same week as World Kindness Day. I’m ashamed to say that I had never heard of World Kindness Day. It goes back to 1998 and is devoted to small and large acts of kindness. How quaint in this day and age, right?

It’s difficult to think of anything less kind than these impeachment hearings. Depending on your point of view, the hearings are either a desperate witch hunt to overturn the results of the 2016 presidential election or a sober, constitutional investigation of reported abuses of power by the president. Democrats and Republicans are pitted against each other in a death struggle of epic proportions—not so much in a search for truth but rather to see who can come out on top. It’s always about the politics now. For this impeachment go-round—they happen about every 20 years now—Democrats control the hearings and have positioned themselves as the agents of truth. Republicans are left to mostly attack the process and rail against the public servants who are providing the testimony.

The country went through the same experience in 1998 but roles were completely reversed. Republicans held the House and controlled the hearings. They went on to impeach President Clinton for obstruction of justice—lying to Congress about his sexual escapades in the White House. The Democrats were left to complain about a witch hunt and unfairness to the president. My how things come around! Clinton was later acquitted in the Senate just as President Trump will be acquitted.

In 1973 when the Nixon impeachment hearings were dominating TV, things were much different. Politicians and the American people seemed to be more open minded. There were such things as moderate and liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats. Those species have gone the way of the dodo bird, of course. There was no witch’s brew of smirking talking heads on TV and, of course, no Internet. President Nixon was pushed by his FELLOW REPUBLICANS to resign rather than face certain impeachment and conviction. That has as much chance of happening today as a cold front settling over Hades.

I can’t help wondering where it all went so wrong. When did party start coming before country? Why can’t politicians, and more importantly Americans, with different life outlooks trust each other more and show at least a modicum of kindness towards each other? There are many first-hand accounts of U.S. senators being very accommodating and kind to each other behind closed doors. It’s a small, exclusive club after all. But when the cameras start rolling you can forget all that. A politician can’t appear to be a compromiser and not a fighter. I wonder how they sleep at night sometimes. Does this all mean that we are the problem? Are politicians simply playing a part that we demand? I don’t know, but I do know this ugly phenomenon took a turn for the worse about 30 years ago.

I believe the election of Bill Clinton in 1992 jump started the unkindness era. James Monroe ushered in the Era of Good Feelings after the War of 1812. Clinton gets to own the start of this new era. Back then a lot of people saw him for what he was and said so—a purely political animal, sometimes unscrupulous, a little too slick, and a well-known womanizer. He wasn’t highly respected, and like Mr. Trump, was elected by a minority of Americans. It also didn’t help that this baby boomer, small-state Southern governor defeated a highly respected war hero from the Greatest Generation. George H.W. Bush adroitly guided America through the first Gulf War but was undone by courageously bucking his own party by raising taxes when most economists agreed they needed to be raised. He would have even survived that had he not welched on his “read my lips—no new taxes” pledge. Just like Nixon, Republicans turned on him. It also didn’t help that the country went into a recession in 1992. Mr. Clinton represented the possibility of an improving economy so we took a flyer on him. Thankfully, he and the economy improved enough to drive his reelection in 1996.

So if you think the never-ending criticism of President Trump is unprecedented, you’d be sadly mistaken. Presidents Clinton, the second Bush, and Obama all faced withering pockets of what can only be called hatred. The only new thing now is that the current president hates many of us right back. He gleefully insults and demonizes his detractors and is unconcerned with being presidential and rising above it all. His fans eat it up. I vividly remember the presidencies of Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan and all the rest. To my eyes and ears, none faced the vitriol that has been hurled at the last four.

Another stake in the heart of kindness is the rise of the so-called news channels with a point of view. Many forget that Fox News and MSNBC did not exist until relatively recently. We had CNN back in the day, and believe it or not, it was seen as a trusted, middle of the road provider of straight news. In fact, I’m not sure the first George Bush could have led American and the world through the first Gulf War without CNN. Today, Americans, for better or worse, can get their news delivered through a prism of like-minded talking heads who make no pretense at bi- or nonpartisanship. I think it’s far worse.

Another factor is the culture war. Up until the 90’s and Clinton, divisive cultural issues did not play an unnaturally large role in national politics. Sure, there was vigorous debate about Johnson’s “Great Society” initiatives such as civil rights, Social Security and Medicare. The Supreme Court upheld abortion rights in 1973 and even Republican stalwart Richard Nixon pushed through sweeping environmental laws including the establishment of the EPA that same year. But the country eventually came together. Sure, many pockets of Americans did not like these measures but they did not demonize the proponents. Now, many Americans, particularly conservative Americans, feel like their way of life—the American way of life they remember from their childhood— is threatened and slowly being taken away. To them, gun control, abortion, equal rights, immigrants at the border, taking God out of school, gay marriage, the me-too movement, and many other cultural touchpoints are worth fighting against to their last breath. To them, collateral damage along the way is just that.

Finally, I think the biggest driver of discord and hatred is the rise of the Internet and social media after the turn of the century. Even worse than the cable news channels, social media makes no pretense at fact checking or ensuring the truth is told. Anybody with a conspiracy theory or outright lie they want broadly circulated will find their audience and it will be amplified to a degree unknown in the last century.

And when the lies and conspiracy theories come via social media from the highest levels of government, what are everyday Americans to do? It seems quaint now to suggest we turn off our phones or at least ignore the worst of the worst. But I hope you will join me in at least doing this one simple thing: do not forward or share anything that demonizes or insults the other side. What good does that do anyway? It only causes the other side to dig in more. Studies have shown that it is nearly impossible to change the minds of the other side once opinions have been formed and acted upon. It might make you feel good to share that snarky post but to me it is the height of laziness. If you want to get a point across, research it and write it yourself.

Oh, and you can also join me in turning off or at least limiting cable news viewership. There is no doubt they have a point of view, an agenda to support, and an axe to grind. And it’s also undeniably entertaining. But, please consider getting your entertainment elsewhere. You may not completely trust the network news and newspapers but they are undoubtedly a better choice than cable news. I know first-hand that both entities support highly stringent quality control measures, are bound by professional standards and ethics, hire highly educated professionals, and try to present both sides of every argument (as long as you avoid the editorials, which are clearly labeled, by the way.) And no doubt they sometime fail. But it’s not for lack of trying. These are simple steps we can all take to help make us better, kinder, more thoughtful citizens.

The Senate is Broken–You Can Blame Mitch McConnell

By Gary Bennett

The Capitol reflectred in a nearby pool.

As seen in the Frederick News-Post Monday, September 23, 2019

There is no shortage of important legislation the country wants, the Democrat-led House has passed (much with substantial bipartisan support), and the Republican-led Senate refuses to act on. At last count, 127 different bills are languishing in the hands of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who has the absolute power to bring legislation to the floor of the Senate. Or not.

It’s the “or not” that has vexed Democrats and most Americans of both parties who want something done right now about many issues especially gun violence and election security. And it’s not even close.

In the case of gun violence, a recent NPR-PBS Newshour-Marist poll shows that 89% of Americans support enhanced background checks, including 84% of Republicans. Even the Republican lieutenant governor in ruby red Texas who boasts a 100% NRA rating says we must include private “stranger-to-stranger” gun sales in background checks. And, according to a Fox News poll, two-thirds of Americans support an assault weapons ban and nearly three-fourths support a national “red flag” law. That’s right – Fox News. If you are a gun-loving Republican who thinks nothing should be done about gun violence, you can be as stubborn as you want. Just know that you are now in the minority of your own party.

In the case of election security, a 2018 Cooperative Congressional Election Study found that over 75% of both Democrats and Republicans favor such measures as keeping a paper trail for each vote and performing a post-election audit even if it slows down results reporting. Whether you hold President Trump accountable or not, the Mueller Report makes it crystal clear, and politicians in both parties agree, that Russia most certainly meddled in the 2016 election and intends to do so again in 2020. And, individual states just don’t have the money or resources to combat this themselves.

So, how can Mitch McConnell be a one-man roadblock to the things Americans want? Very simply because he can. The Senate allows him to. The Senate majority leader holds astonishing power, none of which is laid out in the Constitution. Chief among these powers is the ability to set the agenda for the body, decide when it is in session, and decide which measures will be debated and voted on. One person decides all this and more. Whether by design or neglect the Founders did not address how the Senate would run itself or who would be in charge. Appointing leaders among Senate members and the power they wield has developed gradually and organically since about 1920.

Mr. McConnell has refused to take up House-passed legislation on hot-button issues because he says the president has not told him what bills he will support. This is a dangerous game to play with an erratic president who changes his position from one day to the next. Mr. McConnell’s stance precludes senators from debating and voting on legislation that is currently favored by most Americans and effectively transfers more power to the executive branch and away from Congress. This is not what the Founders wanted. Congress was always meant to be a co-equal branch, and even “first among equals” in the parlance of Thomas Jefferson.

To be fair, the Senate was always meant to be a calming influence on the House and the vagaries of shifting popular opinion. George Washington called it the “saucer that cools the tea.” The Founders provided that senators would stand for election every six years while representatives would stand every two years, making them more susceptible to short term swings in popular opinion while the Senate could afford to take the long view.

So, in one sense you can say that the Senate is doing exactly what it is supposed to do in regards to gun violence and election security. It is cooling the hot debate emanating from the House. But in another sense the Senate could just as effectively cool the tea by working with the House on compromise legislation and then bringing the legislation up for debate and subsequently voting it down if that is its desire. That is how it is supposed to work. But in this dysfunctional political climate in which we find ourselves, this is unlikely to happen. Many senators simply do not want an unpopular vote on their record. It is more politically expedient to simply not take up the issue. Mr. McConnell does not want to risk angering this mercurial president by forcing a veto and possible override.

This idea that you can’t consider legislation unless you know exactly how the president feels about it is a relatively new historical phenomenon and not a very attractive one. The president typically sets the broad national agenda and Congress attempts to follow it through legislative action. When you go back in history to the introduction of the Senate majority leader position in 1925 with Calvin Coolidge (R) in the White House, there have been 30 instances of the Senate majority leader belonging to the same party as the president. This did not stop Congress from doing its job and sending legislation to the president he might not like. According to the Congressional Record, in these 30 different Congresses, a total of 1,143 bills came to the president from a Senate controlled by the same party and were vetoed. Forty-four were overridden by Congress. Presumably the presidents didn’t like the 1,143 bills sent to them, but Congress sent them anyway. This is how our democracy is supposed to work. The president vetoed them as he had every right to do. But Congress overrode some of them, which is their right. Under the stewardship of Mitch McConnell, this Congressional right has been stopped in its tracks.

The majority leader has no constitutional right to withhold legislation from being considered. He has the right to do this by Senate rule and Senate rule alone. Those rules can be changed. Because he has taken political gamesmanship to a whole new level, it is hard to make the case that Mitch McConnell is still a patriot. He may have enjoyed that status at one time but no more. He is now derisively known as Moscow Mitch and clearly and unabashedly puts party over country just like when he said that he would do everything in his power to make sure Barack Obama was a one-term president even before he took office. While most political opponents wish a new president well, as was done with Mr. Trump, Mr. McConnell was proud to blindly sabotage Mr. Obama’s agenda whether it made sense for America or not.

All of us had the chance to vote for Mr. Trump or his opponent for president in 2016. Like it or not he is president now and has the constitutional right to shape foreign and domestic policy and represent all of us on the world stage. However, not many of us, and certainly no Maryland citizen, got a chance to vote for Mr. McConnell or his opponent in the 2014 Kentucky senatorial election. And we certainly have no voice on who the leaders of the Senate will be. Putting it into terms that Mr. McConnell will understand, his actions (or more precisely his lack of action) has made us disenfranchised voters, and as such we now have every right to meddle in the Kentucky Senate election in 2020.

Since Mr. McConnell is a leading proponent of money-is-free-speech, which helped introduce dark money into politics and all the vitriol that comes with it, I invite all Maryland citizens who feel that Mr. McConnell has abused his power, is ambivalent to the will of the people, and is kowtowing too much to this erratic president to join me and make a donation to the campaign of his 2020 Kentucky senatorial opponent, Amy McGrath (D), a former 20-year Marine Corps fighter pilot at https://amymcgrath.com/. Then we should write to our own senators asking that the Senate curtail the power of majority leader, no matter the party, starting with the next Congress in 2021 before this sad spectacle repeats itself. The Senate gave the majority leader this unfettered power and they can and should take it away. A better model to guide the activities of the Senate would be a panel of three senior senators from each party. Ties would be broken by the vice president. This would still give the majority party the upper hand but take such crucial decision making out of the hands of one person not elected by the vast majority of Americans.

What A Moderate Truly Believes

By Gary Bennett

As seen in the Frederick News-Post Thursday, August 6, 2019

With apologies to the Doobie Brothers who took What a Fool Believes to the top of the charts in 1979, here is what I believe moderates like me want. I’m not going to tell you what political persuasion I favor, but maybe you can guess by the end of this article. Hopefully not. The political fringes of both parties get all the attention, but I firmly believe that most Americans, largely silent Americans, fall somewhere in the middle.

As a moderate, I believe both sides get the benefit of the doubt until they abuse that privilege. How can they do that? By denigrating and demonizing the other side with a wild-eyed, foaming-at-the-mouth kind of glee. This is rampant today and gets us nowhere. Clearly there are patriots on both sides that care deeply about their country and fight ferociously for what they believe in. But unfortunately, there are also politicians, consultants, lobbyists, TV and radio personalities, and even ordinary Americans who see this as a big game that must have clear winners and losers. I hope we can start to aim higher than that and that moderates can lead the way. I’ll take a look at just three issues—gun safety, immigration, and health care policy.

Moderates do not want to take guns away from law-abiding citizens. Why would we? By definition, they are good people. I don’t see the attraction in guns, but then again I don’t see the attraction in kale and quinoa. But I have family and friends that enjoy guns immensely for sport and self defense, and that is fine. What moderates do want is sensible regulation of guns that brings ownership up to the same standards as automobiles—meaning licensing and registration. It also means closing gun show loopholes, universal criminal background checks, limiting new sales of assault weapons and other guns of war, and emergency confiscation of guns by family members of troubled individuals. Is that really too much to ask? I guess I’m asking responsible gun owners to take a small hit for the American people so there is a little less chance of random gun violence and saying unexpected, sorrowful goodbyes to loved ones. I believe the fact that the GOP-controlled Virginia legislature would not even discuss gun regulation during a recent special session called by the governor has sealed their fate in the next election. Moderates will put up with a lot of nonsense, but not dereliction of duty when people are dying.

Moderates believe in an immigration policy that meets migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers with kindness, not vitriol and hatred. It is the height of arrogance to deny or forget that we are all sons and daughters of immigrants that benefitted from open borders. There but for the grace of God go I. We don’t want open borders but we don’t think a wall is the answer either. We wish for the Statue of Liberty to remain the symbol of America, not a steel wall. We want orderly immigration that is administered by more judges. We want more aid to Latin American countries so that we tackle the problem at its origin, helping their citizens have a chance at a better life in their own country. Ask yourself how desperate people have to be to set off on a 1,000 mile trek with small children to an unfamiliar land with no promise of a better life at the end of it. Immigration is a vexing problem, but unsolvable? Of course not. We simply need to take the emotion out and demand our politicians meet in the middle.

Moderates believe that quality health care is a right for all and not a privilege for only those who can afford it. We also don’t believe that Medicare for All is the answer. Medicare and Medicaid are already underfunded and rife with abuse. It’s difficult to see how this could be sensibly financed and managed despite what the politicians say. Overall reform of our health care system is sorely needed. It does not work well for many of us. Obamacare, while not perfect, was a step in the right direction. Threats to repeal Obamacare, with nothing in the works to replace it, are irresponsible. Most Americans seem to sense this, yet the threats continue.

For all issues, moderates want our best minds to come together and, in the best case, reach consensus or, if need be, compromise. We are tired of all the rancor and political scorekeeping. Words are cheap. Reasonable politicians who can show the level of maturity needed to build consensus and reach compromise should get our vote no matter the party affiliation. It won’t just happen. The message has to come loud and clear at the ballot box. Please join me in telling the two political fringes that we’ve had enough. This won’t be easy but as John Lennon said, “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.” Search out candidates who don’t spout the party line automatically and don’t seem to have all the answers already but show thoughtfulness and a willingness to learn.

And one final thought–if you think your side is always right and the other side is always wrong, I congratulate you for having life figured out better than the rest of us. The freedom this affords must be quite satisfying. But just consider for a moment all the damage you are doing if you really are wrong after all.

Who is Better at Pursuing Happiness–Conservatives or Progressives?

By Gary Bennett

As seen in the Frederick News-Post Wednesday, July 3, 2019

With his stirring words in the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson (and his committee of Founding Father editors) assures us that we have the inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But in this time of great political strife, I was wondering who is generally happier – conservatives or progressives? And, what is it that makes us happy anyway? I was surprised to learn there is quite a bit of independent research on both counts.

Mr. Jefferson purposely referred to the ambiguous trait of happiness in his document over the more conventional right to pursue property, which many of his editors suggested. That is because the Declaration was not only to be the starting point to create a new nation but was also a call to arms against an oppressive ruler. It was agreed that the wide swath of property-less Americans at the time would be more likely to take up arms for the understandable concepts of life, liberty, and the chance to be happy. In the late 18^th century the opportunity to marry, raise a family, practice the religion of your choice, and the chance to one day own property were the key factors to a happy life.

But what about today? What makes us happy? For many Americans it is being surrounded by a loving set of friends and family. For others it’s having a warm and welcoming home. For still others it may be the opportunity to pursue riches or the desire to serve others. You may be surprised that the United Nations pretty much agrees with this assessment. In their World Happiness Report, this body rates lives from the “best possible” to “worst possible” and have found that the most important happiness traits are the presence of a good social support system, income security, and good health. You’ll note that income security does not mean being rich. That is not what most people want. They want enough money to live securely and have what they need and not necessarily what they want. One only has to consider the misery of many well heeled celebrities to know that is true.

Of these three main happiness factors, it is clear that governmental policy can greatly affect the latter two. Of course government policy can vary widely from a progressive stance to a conservative stance, and depending on how well your political and social outlook matches these policies, personal happiness will increase or decrease.

Before deciding which political stance promotes the most happiness for the most people, it would be helpful to revisit what we mean by conservatism and progressivism. In general, conservatism maintains that the free market with little or no interference is best at creating a robust economy that pulls every individual to the level he or she deserves and in turn promotes income security and the means to pursue good health. For many, free market conservative principles do the best job of providing the best hope of attaining both. Progressives believe in “free-ish” markets that must have the safety rails of reasonable regulation to promote equity and justice not just for themselves but for others who are seen as disadvantaged through no fault of their own.

Minimum wage laws provide a good case study in the different outlooks as they pertain to happiness. Conservatives are wary of minimum wage laws and largely believe the free market and personal individual talent drives how much you are paid. This inherent fairness makes them happy. Progressives see flaws in this outlook because of the belief that all workers need the guarantee of a minimum living wage because, after all, we are all human beings and we don’t all start off from the same place. Conservatives want efficient outcomes; progressives favor just ones. There is no doubt that minimum wage laws have cost some jobs but it is also clear that the laws have promoted a more secure standard of living for some and reduced poverty.

So, who is happier – conservatives or progressives? Like a lot of things today, it depends. There is a lot of research to suggest that conservatives are happier if you simply ask them. The Pew Research Center says that conservatives are 68% more likely to say they are very happy compared to progressives. Life style differences such as marriage and religion are cited as the main reasons. Most conservatives are married; most progressives are not. This is a matter of record. And believe it or not marriage and happiness have been found to correlate very highly. Further, conservatives who practice a religion outnumber progressives four to one. Religious participants are nearly twice as likely to say they are very happy than nonparticipants. Progressives maintain that conservatives are simply inattentive to the misery of others, and if they were, they wouldn’t be so happy. Progressives are less likely to wash their hands to the perceived inequality present in society.

But, there is an equal amount of research that says progressives are happier if you actually observe how they behave. One example is from Sean Wojcik, a respected psychological researcher from the University of California, who used linguistic analysis software and facial recognition software to analyze 9 million words in the Congressional Record, 47,000 tweets from 4,000 Twitter users with ties to conservative or progressive agendas, and about 1,000 candid photos of Members of Congress from newspapers, LinkedIn, and other sources throughout 2013 to judge happiness or the lack thereof. From these findings it was clear that progressives displayed many more genuine smiles and overt happiness than conservatives. Of course, the recent presidential reelection of Barack Obama may have had a lot to do with all the smiles.

So, how do you think Thomas Jefferson would think we are doing on the happiness scale? I think he would be pleased that the American experiment has largely succeeded and that most Americans are genuinely happy. But, he would not be thrilled at the inequities and injustices that seem to run rampant in America today and drive so much unhappiness. Mr. Jefferson was a progressive of his time. He was a republican-democrat battling against those such as Alexander Hamilton and other nationalists who wished to keep the day’s ruling class in power and not yield too much of it to rank and file Americans. Mr. Jefferson was also a pragmatist who did not shy away from compromise or hold his political rivals in bitter contempt. Despite personal loss, he was, without a doubt, a happy man and confident in the idea of America.

Why Trump?

By Gary Bennett

It is not news to anyone that this presidency is emphatically different than ones we’ve known in the past. To be sure, ‘different’ is what many people voted for, and we’ve certainly gotten it. But, I can’t help wondering, is what we are getting now what we all bargained for?

As seen in the Frederick News-Post Saturday, April 6, 2019.

There were high hopes that Mr. Trump would drain the swamp, give a voice to the voiceless, and put an end to political correctness. We are swampier than ever, of course, with many of his close aids either indicted or currently serving time, but there is no doubt that he has shaken the political establishment. Before he was elected, we were less sure about the actual policies he would pursue. After all, Mr. Trump is a former democrat who had no previous voting record and had previously espoused such non-conservative principles as the right to choose.

During the primary campaign and general election we heard him talk about strengthening border security, lowering taxes, and bringing back good-paying manufacturing jobs, to name a few. I think we can all agree that he has tried to keep his promises but I also think we can agree that he has not been very successful in enacting the legislation that would make them so. He has done much better with executive orders, but of course they can be easily reversed upon the election of a president with opposing views, and most probably will be.

So, how did we get here? Is it just a recalcitrant Congress that stands in his way? It can’t be that. The president’s party controlled all levers of government in 2017 and 2018 and still not much got accomplished. Is it obstructionist federal judges who can stop executive orders in their tracks with the wave of a pen? To some extent, yes. But I believe the biggest barrier is that we elected a businessman/television star with zero political and governmental experience. He simply doesn’t have the wherewithal to do well in this job and is not very good at picking people who can stay out of trouble and help him. Mom always told me that anyone could grow up to be president. But, that doesn’t mean anyone should.

To believe that someone with no government experience can get a majority of Americans and a majority of Congress to accept or at least tolerate his policies is to believe that there is not an art or science to governing. My old political science professors at Frostburg State University would be aghast and tell you otherwise. Horse trading, building consensus, persuasion, and good old-fashioned compromise are the building blocks of good governance. This is what our forefathers envisioned.

This president is woefully inadequate in all these areas. When you combine these shortcomings with his penchant for insult and ridicule, it is no wonder there is constant turmoil and few legislative successes to point to. Would you go along with someone who constantly insulted you? No, me neither. What may have worked well in a closely held business does not work well in government.

Some may say that Mr. Trump has been unfairly scrutinized and challenged at every turn. I say that is exactly what democracy is all about. Mr. Obama, Mr. Bush, and Mr. Clinton (you can go all the way back to Mr. Washington if you like) were all challenged to the fullest extent possible. That is what helps make America great and keeps us from becoming a dictatorship. You can bet that if Mr. Obama’s closest associates had been indicted and imprisoned like Mr. Trump’s, Congressional Republicans would be doing exactly what Democrats are doing now. As citizens we should insist upon nothing less.

I’m old enough to remember the Clinton Administration being continuously challenged at every turn by a newly energetic Republican Congressional majority in 1994. What did they do? The Clinton Administration redoubled efforts to look for areas of agreement and compromise wherever possible. For the current administration, compromise seems to be a dirty word. Mr. Trump doesn’t seem to want to play the game. For him, there can only be winners and losers.

The reason that Mr. Clinton could rebound and govern effectively, turning over a roaring economy and budget surplus to Mr. Bush in 2001 was that his presidency was the culmination of his government experience, not the launching point. The same can be said for most presidents except the current one. Experience does matter. If you don’t think so, try applying to be the publisher of this newspaper.

I don’t blame the Americans who voted for Mr. Trump in the handful of key states that decided the election for the lack of legislative progress and the constant rancor and turmoil we now live under. Given the choice between Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton – a highly flawed, unlikable, tainted candidate that represented the old guard — I can see where many Americans would want to take a chance on the exciting new irreverent star on the political scene.

What I don‘t understand and what I would love for my Republican friends to explain to me is why they chose Trump as their nominee over the better-prepared, better qualified conservative Republican candidates available at the time. After all, most held similar beliefs to Mr. Trump but also had a history in government and a record of getting things done in government that Mr. Trump did not. Does anyone not think that John Kasich, for example, would have fought hard for conservative principles but been willing to compromise to move this country forward?

Please tell us all what it is about Mr. Trump that most Americans are missing and leaves us embarrassed for our country at the end of each evening. Is it the absurd political theater that Mr. Trump provides? Is it the political incorrectness? Is it that he was untainted by Washington’s ways? Is it his purported business acumen?

As a moderate Democrat, I will admit I was entertained by the insults and name calling Mr. Trump leveled at the other Republican candidates. Like most, I didn’t see any way he could be nominated. And after he was nominated, I didn’t see any way he could be elected. Of course, like a lot of people I was very much wrong.

But I’m wondering if after two years of constant turmoil and not getting much accomplished perhaps even Republicans have had enough. I think possibly some but probably not very many. My guess is, however, that most independents who voted for Mr. Trump in 2016 will not do so again. Words, demeanor, grace, and yes results matter even if Mr. Trump is pursuing policies you agree with.

If Mr. Trump showed up my door this evening I’m not sure I would invite him in and show him the respect his office should demand. That is because I’m not sure he respects the office himself. He certainly shows no respect to those who disagree with him. And I do mean everyone and not just opposing politicians. Just ask the Gold Star father. Rather, his opposition is considered unpatriotic and presidential harassers.

I have lived happily through many presidents from both parties. You could question their policies but never their good intentions, respect for the office and all Americans, and their wish to bring us together. I don’t think you can say that about this president. He doesn’t seem to want to be the president for all Americans.