Mr. Brooks. Card carrying Democrat. At Last.
12
David, please read Paul Krugman! If you think a pretty speech read by Trump and written by someone else is 'Trump's vision' for renewing your Party...I have a bridge to sell you. What was 'unsaid' might be more important then the platitudes served up. Presidential? Preposterous!
39
Governments can and should offer a "warm hand" and, when necessary, a "hard fist". But caution, please, Mr. Brooks, your New York Times is showing.
7
Trump acts normal for one day and America breathes a sigh of relief. The world is still spinning. After a one day honeymoon all that memorizing and practicing to only read what's on the teleprompter is all for naught. Trump might as well have come out and socked Paul Ryan in the nose for all his attempt at diplomacy proved. I could not help take my eyes off Ryan who smiled his Eddie Munster grin and laughed inappropriately when Trump said something stupid, which occurred despite reading from script.
With Trump you can't keep a blowhard down for long. Trump could not refrain from noting that the widow of a Navy SEAL KIA got the biggest applause of the evening. What a complete doofus.
Trumpism is a gift that keeps on giving, that is if you're a Democrat. 40 days in; Flynn is out; Sessions is mortally wounded; and Jared Kushner the one who knows as much as Daddy In Law is next to be grilled. And we all know that once you get to Jared you're in the inner circle and mind of Trump Von Clownstick. And that folks is all she wrote.
DD
Manhattan
With Trump you can't keep a blowhard down for long. Trump could not refrain from noting that the widow of a Navy SEAL KIA got the biggest applause of the evening. What a complete doofus.
Trumpism is a gift that keeps on giving, that is if you're a Democrat. 40 days in; Flynn is out; Sessions is mortally wounded; and Jared Kushner the one who knows as much as Daddy In Law is next to be grilled. And we all know that once you get to Jared you're in the inner circle and mind of Trump Von Clownstick. And that folks is all she wrote.
DD
Manhattan
71
"Last night" seems like years ago... Or "his first month was a like a roller-coaster"...
Editorial comment is supposed to create context and perspective and off insight, but writing about Donald Trump is an impossible task because the events and fake and real facts evolve faster than the news cycle. And right now, no one should be able to get past the yesterday's revelation that his campaign, and probably Donald Trump, was communicating with our enemy Russia while the USA was trying to use sanctions to control their dangerous behavior.
The rest of it, Trumpism, almost doesn't matter; he is a President that is doling out the political cash and perks that come with the position so fast it must make the professional observers' heads spin. Money for Christian schools (on the way), money for a military whose budgets dwarfs the next seven nations combined, tax perks for the wealthiest 100,000 Americans....
Must be like writing from the bridge of the Titanic...Look at the dirt on that big iceberg. Wait, hard right rudder! Thunk. Whoops...
The ship of state hit that Russian iceberg on election night and so far the band plays on...
Editorial comment is supposed to create context and perspective and off insight, but writing about Donald Trump is an impossible task because the events and fake and real facts evolve faster than the news cycle. And right now, no one should be able to get past the yesterday's revelation that his campaign, and probably Donald Trump, was communicating with our enemy Russia while the USA was trying to use sanctions to control their dangerous behavior.
The rest of it, Trumpism, almost doesn't matter; he is a President that is doling out the political cash and perks that come with the position so fast it must make the professional observers' heads spin. Money for Christian schools (on the way), money for a military whose budgets dwarfs the next seven nations combined, tax perks for the wealthiest 100,000 Americans....
Must be like writing from the bridge of the Titanic...Look at the dirt on that big iceberg. Wait, hard right rudder! Thunk. Whoops...
The ship of state hit that Russian iceberg on election night and so far the band plays on...
60
Dear Sir,
You think Reagan advocated a "flexible balance" that would help salve the "creative destruction of the free market" with "family, church, and local organizations" ????
Do you remember anything about the late 1950s, 1960s, 1970s? George Wallace? The National Guard sent down to Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce school integration? Did families, churches, and local organizations help out students in Little Rock?
When Donald Trump sells a couple million red caps promising to "Make America Great Again," he is promising to revoke the hard-won civil rights claimed during those decades by African-Americans, gays and lesbians, and women who sought some control over their own property and bodies. And in addition he's promising to discriminate against dark-skinned immigrants and non-Christians.
The families, churches, and local organizations that you claim will provide a gentle counterweight to merciless free-market capitalism ain't gonna cut it. And it hasn't for a long time.
Because racism and sexism inform and energize the Republican Party. Donald Trump is right in line with Wallace, Goldwater, Reagan. and just about all contributors to the National Review, who would like to eliminate Medicare and see women devoting themselves to church and family again. Tying on their aprons. Watching the neighborhoo'sd children.
It's not gonna happen. Why don't you do it?
You're a thoughtful man. You must suspect all this. How do you deny it?
You think Reagan advocated a "flexible balance" that would help salve the "creative destruction of the free market" with "family, church, and local organizations" ????
Do you remember anything about the late 1950s, 1960s, 1970s? George Wallace? The National Guard sent down to Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce school integration? Did families, churches, and local organizations help out students in Little Rock?
When Donald Trump sells a couple million red caps promising to "Make America Great Again," he is promising to revoke the hard-won civil rights claimed during those decades by African-Americans, gays and lesbians, and women who sought some control over their own property and bodies. And in addition he's promising to discriminate against dark-skinned immigrants and non-Christians.
The families, churches, and local organizations that you claim will provide a gentle counterweight to merciless free-market capitalism ain't gonna cut it. And it hasn't for a long time.
Because racism and sexism inform and energize the Republican Party. Donald Trump is right in line with Wallace, Goldwater, Reagan. and just about all contributors to the National Review, who would like to eliminate Medicare and see women devoting themselves to church and family again. Tying on their aprons. Watching the neighborhoo'sd children.
It's not gonna happen. Why don't you do it?
You're a thoughtful man. You must suspect all this. How do you deny it?
79
any thing to share in the spoils of victory !!
Ideals, ???? phooey
Ideals, ???? phooey
20
Is David Brooks now onboard the Trump train?
34
But while leaving the clownish behavior behind, he managed once again to base his statements largely on falsehoods -- like the job benefits of the two new pipelines, or the job-saving role of the rolled back coal mining debris dumping or gas drilling methane monitoring regulations. These are fantasies, as are any mentions of clean air and water goals.
176
Did we just read Brooks endorsing universal healthcare? Stop the presses!
5
As an outsider (Canadian) it is shocking the vacuum in the center and center-left that has been vacated by the Democratic party.
Other than the ostracized Jimmy Carter (and Bernie) the entire leadership has been co-opted in the neo-liberal economic camp with some identity politics thrown in as a distraction. 6 figure 20 minute wall street speeches and getting spooned by billionaires on their private island are the norm. Limousine liberal have morphed into private jet socialist.
The Donald is doing a fine job of destroying the Republican party that has been in stasis since 1980. He has put out a message that pushes the party towards a middle class mainstream. One that is to the left of the Democratic leadership . I very much double he will accomplish much. Some more competent Republican will inherit it and execute it.
Meanwhile Obama-ism was buried with the endorsement of Hillary and TPP. Please do not mention ACA ~90% of new registrants are due to Medicaid/Medicare expansion and letting your kid stay on your plan. All that drama for that?
Other than the ostracized Jimmy Carter (and Bernie) the entire leadership has been co-opted in the neo-liberal economic camp with some identity politics thrown in as a distraction. 6 figure 20 minute wall street speeches and getting spooned by billionaires on their private island are the norm. Limousine liberal have morphed into private jet socialist.
The Donald is doing a fine job of destroying the Republican party that has been in stasis since 1980. He has put out a message that pushes the party towards a middle class mainstream. One that is to the left of the Democratic leadership . I very much double he will accomplish much. Some more competent Republican will inherit it and execute it.
Meanwhile Obama-ism was buried with the endorsement of Hillary and TPP. Please do not mention ACA ~90% of new registrants are due to Medicaid/Medicare expansion and letting your kid stay on your plan. All that drama for that?
4
Gloryoksi Brooks, it must be that time in middle age when your hearing filters out anything you don't want to hear. DJT's speech was perfectly in line with the hard right base that supports him. It was anti-immigrant, anti-"other." It was anti-minority -- he lies nonstop about the crime rate and "law and order." It was pro Wall Street and big business. What is that private infrastructure program but a give away to investors and financiers. Tax cuts, no social services, spending another $50 billion on the military that we absolutely don't need. It's the GOP greatest hits. Why do you think Ryan and McConnell are sucking up as hard as they can? Because they think he's repudiating them? You are deluded. Again.
12
"Trumpism is an utter repudiation of modern conservatism." Wow. First, I'd say good riddance, but second, where are the "modern conservatives" in Congress? They are happy to let Trump destroy the world as long as they give our public lands to corporations, eliminate Social Security and Medicare that Americans have paid for out of their own pockets and used for Bush's wars, privatize our public schools for profit... No thanks "modern conservatism".
15
If righties can throw off every so called belief they have to follow an orange clown, what other type of leader would they follow. Any? All? Whomever came along? Perhaps, the more logical conclusion is that they never believed anything in the first place. All they stand for is denying normal people a decent life. Sounds like pure evil. And it is.
20
Is it possible that you forgot toe mention ethnic tension?
2
I guess the bar is now low enough that a read speech from a teleprompter with almost zero substance and no "clownish behavior" is now called "presidential" and a path to "think anew". Wow, just wow.
21
it's more read my lips stuff, promises broken, impossible to fulfill. Wise words Brooks. We live in a dangerous world where the jester runs the kingdom.
7
More rewritten history from Mr. Brooks, who cannot acknowledge that the leaders whom he still cheers, especially Mr. Reagan, led inexorably to Mr. Trump. He writes that "in the 1990's" Republicans focused on the argument that "the solution was to get government off their backs." Really? Was Mr. Brooks sleeping during the Reagan years (1981-89)? Did he never hear Mr. Reagan say that "government is the problem!"? Did he not see Mr. Reagan declare his candidacy for president in Philadelphia, Mississippi, the very place in which Goodman, Schwerner and Chayney were murdered by the klan - or hear Mr. Reagan's repeated invocations of "welfare queens" and "big bucks"? Of course, Mr. Brooks also missed the soaring deficits Reagan created with yet another large defense buildup married to a massive tax cut for the wealthy. So yes, one can easily see how he'd think Trump and Trumpism just came out of nowhere. He was simply asleep for most of the last 30 years.
25
Weren't we just treated to Bannon philosophy conveyed through teleprompter and talking head?
Mr. Brooks, you needed to look no further than the policy proposals for 'clownish behavior'. Look at the glaring silences on critical foreign and domestic policy issues and the absence of details on financing the agenda for the evil clown lurking between the lines. Anyone extolling Trump's presidential demeanor is giving credit for something any 10 year old could do...namely read from a script written by someone else.
I wonder if we might not be treated to a soundless viewing of the swollen grimaces, supercilious smiles and self-aggrandizing smirks to punctuate the clownishness of what we all saw. Hardcore GoP apologists called Trump's performance a "home run" ...a sure sign of cellar dwellers. After a lifetime of rooting for the Washington Senators it's something we understand all too well here...
Mr. Brooks, you needed to look no further than the policy proposals for 'clownish behavior'. Look at the glaring silences on critical foreign and domestic policy issues and the absence of details on financing the agenda for the evil clown lurking between the lines. Anyone extolling Trump's presidential demeanor is giving credit for something any 10 year old could do...namely read from a script written by someone else.
I wonder if we might not be treated to a soundless viewing of the swollen grimaces, supercilious smiles and self-aggrandizing smirks to punctuate the clownishness of what we all saw. Hardcore GoP apologists called Trump's performance a "home run" ...a sure sign of cellar dwellers. After a lifetime of rooting for the Washington Senators it's something we understand all too well here...
12
"the Trump agenda will go down in flames"
Maybe, maybe not. John Harwood sniffed that Trump's campaign was a clown show and a cynical joke; Paul Krugman blurted out that the stock market would "never" recover from the election night plummet; the Huffington Post waved off Trump as a freak of "entertainment" and, clearing its throat like a Roman Senator, vowed never to cover him in the "news" section of the HP.
If you think Trump's Hitler redux, which he most certainly isn't, then recall the famous line in the movie "Cabaret" where the protagonist watches a beer garden crowd of everyday Germans give a powerful rendition of a Hitlerized German folk song led by Hitler Youth and asks his friend "Do you still think you can contain them?".
The institutions of Washington are rebelling against Trump in a classic way - obstruction at every turn, no matter how mundane the subject; leaks - legal and illegal. The press hyperventilates and goes into extremis at every twitch of the Trump Administration and even the GOP (of which Trump is only a nominal member) balks at important components of his agenda.
Brooks is right. Trump is forcing change upon both parties and compelling the public to re-examine its priorities. What is left of the GOP? Democrats sound like idiots the moment Trump's name comes up. But, together, can they mold him, rewrite him?
Declaring anything Trump as DOA is a foolish and perhaps self-defeating approach. Ask Hillary Clinton - and just about everyone else.
Maybe, maybe not. John Harwood sniffed that Trump's campaign was a clown show and a cynical joke; Paul Krugman blurted out that the stock market would "never" recover from the election night plummet; the Huffington Post waved off Trump as a freak of "entertainment" and, clearing its throat like a Roman Senator, vowed never to cover him in the "news" section of the HP.
If you think Trump's Hitler redux, which he most certainly isn't, then recall the famous line in the movie "Cabaret" where the protagonist watches a beer garden crowd of everyday Germans give a powerful rendition of a Hitlerized German folk song led by Hitler Youth and asks his friend "Do you still think you can contain them?".
The institutions of Washington are rebelling against Trump in a classic way - obstruction at every turn, no matter how mundane the subject; leaks - legal and illegal. The press hyperventilates and goes into extremis at every twitch of the Trump Administration and even the GOP (of which Trump is only a nominal member) balks at important components of his agenda.
Brooks is right. Trump is forcing change upon both parties and compelling the public to re-examine its priorities. What is left of the GOP? Democrats sound like idiots the moment Trump's name comes up. But, together, can they mold him, rewrite him?
Declaring anything Trump as DOA is a foolish and perhaps self-defeating approach. Ask Hillary Clinton - and just about everyone else.
9
"Those of us who want to replace him"!!! Welcome to the club.
trump is a sociopath. Bannon is a sociopath. They must go. trump's foreign policy, his domestic policy, his fiscal policy are as incoherent as he is, because everything is expendable except for trump and the media pond he is gazing into. His crabbed and patently insincere words about anti-Semitism and the Kansas City murder show it. His cruel exploitation of the Seal widow, to drag out the applause and "set a record" showed it.
How is a sociopath supposed to contribute in any way to the wellbeing of a society?
trump is a sociopath. Bannon is a sociopath. They must go. trump's foreign policy, his domestic policy, his fiscal policy are as incoherent as he is, because everything is expendable except for trump and the media pond he is gazing into. His crabbed and patently insincere words about anti-Semitism and the Kansas City murder show it. His cruel exploitation of the Seal widow, to drag out the applause and "set a record" showed it.
How is a sociopath supposed to contribute in any way to the wellbeing of a society?
27
Wow! I am framing your third to last paragraph. FDR could not have said it better himself! I didn't look at the byline before I started reading this. Well done, Brooks! I found you very annoying during the Bush era (apart from your conversations with Gail Collins, which were always hilarious) and somewhat better during the Obama era in critiquing the Republican party's obstructionism. But you are positively wonderful now. Do any other Republicans share your views?
11
Typo in your headline. At its "worst."
Different packaging, same empathy lacking, pain inflicting, society destroying substance.
Different packaging, same empathy lacking, pain inflicting, society destroying substance.
15
"The Republicans who applauded Trump on Tuesday were applauding their own repudiation. They did it because partisanship is stronger than philosophy."
Mr. Brooks, you just described the Republican Party of the last 10 months, not just last Tuesday. Over the years, I have seldom agreed with your positions on so many issues but I continue to applaud your honest appraisals of this unfit man.
Mr. Brooks, you just described the Republican Party of the last 10 months, not just last Tuesday. Over the years, I have seldom agreed with your positions on so many issues but I continue to applaud your honest appraisals of this unfit man.
18
I'd have to go back and read your column again to try to understand what you are saying. It's all pretty confusing on the first go around. But then the speech was a lot of clap trap, which may be why you weren't able to make any sense out of it. The performance did show that the man can read a teleprompter written by a committee of toadies and ideologues and that's about it.
34
More humanistic education and less religiosity education would help.
More curiosity toward the world (past and present) from the American masses would also help.
Ideas move the world. Ideologies stop it.
More curiosity toward the world (past and present) from the American masses would also help.
Ideas move the world. Ideologies stop it.
22
Nice of you to wake up finally. Anyone who wasn't dazzled by the shining city on the hill, or the thousand points of light, or the oxymoron of compassionate conservatism, has seen Republicans for what they really are for the past 40 years. Greed Over People. A health care plan that consists of step 1: Be born rich. Social Security reform that consists of step 1: Be born rich. Medicare reform that consists of step 1: Be born rich. Yes there was the flirtation with the evolution and climate change deniers, and the anti-abortionists, and the discriminators (against minorities, women, LGBT, you name it) but that wasn't due to any core beliefs, it was just a way to con people into voting for their real policies. Don't believe me? Just name one Republican policy that can't be summed up as "I've got mine, too bad about you."
56
"Trumpism is all about protection, security, and order." Really? David Brooks has this exactly backward. How do Trump's vows to kill Obamacare, which has made health care affordable to millions of Americans, and to gut Dodd-Frank, which has attempted to safeguard investors from high-risk financial deals, constitute "protection" when they're about getting rid of protections? How do Trump's inflammatory statements about "Islamic terrorism" promote "security" when recent history shows they're likely to encourage recruitment of terrorists? And how can a man whose inciting of violence by his supporters and whose stock-in-trade is to sow confusion and chaos by contradictory statements and ill-considered orders be called a force for "order?" I don't think so.
136
As usual, David Brooks is offering rubbish wrapped in hypocrisy and nostalgia -- pure unadulterated rubbish served cold! Reaganism was nothing but Trumpism in its embryonic stage; what was different was the clown after whom that so-called governing philosophy was named. Get real David Brooks; when you were a toddler you probably believed in fairies too, but now you are a grown up. Go back and read about the actual Reagan policies and what he said about greed being good, and the evil of government, and states rights, and all the other nonsense that he relentlessly spewed. Grow up Mr. Brooks.
8
"We’re in a state of radical flux. Political parties can turn on a dime. At least that means it’s a time to think anew."
Et tu, Brooks?
Et tu, Brooks?
2
So many angry comments about the words "Trumpism at its best". Did you all read the article? Have you no sense of irony left (understandable if not, I guess)?
David Brooks has been quite clear about the awfulness of Trump since the beginning of the campaign. My only bone to pick is that he still idealizes Reagan. Trump isn't repudiating Reagan, but continuing his racist, divisive, plutocratic legacy. Both are bad actors - amoral, mentally inert, addicted to appearing strong.
David Brooks has been quite clear about the awfulness of Trump since the beginning of the campaign. My only bone to pick is that he still idealizes Reagan. Trump isn't repudiating Reagan, but continuing his racist, divisive, plutocratic legacy. Both are bad actors - amoral, mentally inert, addicted to appearing strong.
8
One of the clearest examples of the depths to which we have sunk was Van Jones' praise of the Grifter's speech the other night.
I was already appalled at Jones' new CNN series to which he invites some of the most Neanderthal representatives of the right. I used to really admire him - so much.
No more. Jones has joined a rogues' gallery of ventriloquist dummies for profit.
I was already appalled at Jones' new CNN series to which he invites some of the most Neanderthal representatives of the right. I used to really admire him - so much.
No more. Jones has joined a rogues' gallery of ventriloquist dummies for profit.
3
Very good Mr. Brooks but Trump is closer to Reagan than you allow. Moreover, Pres Reagan ran on the idea government is bad. Remember, "Government is the problem".
Movement conservatives are betting that Pres. Trump will be a useful idiot in signing their radical right legislation. Plus thy need his minions. On the other hand, with the Russian scandal, the Republican Congress has the power to keep Trump in line.
Movement conservatives are betting that Pres. Trump will be a useful idiot in signing their radical right legislation. Plus thy need his minions. On the other hand, with the Russian scandal, the Republican Congress has the power to keep Trump in line.
5
"Trumpism is all about protection, security and order." This is utter garbage. Trump is all about enriching Trump with his international businesses, many of them LLCs and hidden entities that he wants no one to know about. "Security and order" = controlling citizens, punishing dissent, eliminating voting rights.
9
Mr. Brooks, I think you mean "at its clearest." "Best" ascribes some virtue to the scheme.
4
Trumpism has as many facets as a pane of glass. That one being, from Trump's perspective, ME!
The Trumpian view of existence is that everyone owes him. What? The "what" is immaterial, just know that you owe him. Praise, applause, adulation, gratitude, respect (for what, specifically, is a column unto itself, but just being rich works for starters). Recently, I made the observation that Trump is analogous to Anthony, the adolescent terror played by Billy Mumy in Rod Serling's Twilight Zone episode, "It's a Good Life." Possessed of the power to turn anyone who criticizes or disagrees with him into the "jack" clown in a jack-in-the-box, the adults in the room walk on eggshells, lying to this Trumpanthony and to themselves for the privilege being allowed to draw the next breath.
Thus, the Republican party prostitutes itself, its members expressing undying fealty to ReTrumplicanism in the belief that by doing so Trump may just give a little love back in the form approving their pet projects because they let him have his way with them. Cynical does not begin to describe the likes of Ryan, McConnell & Cos.
The Trumpian view of existence is that everyone owes him. What? The "what" is immaterial, just know that you owe him. Praise, applause, adulation, gratitude, respect (for what, specifically, is a column unto itself, but just being rich works for starters). Recently, I made the observation that Trump is analogous to Anthony, the adolescent terror played by Billy Mumy in Rod Serling's Twilight Zone episode, "It's a Good Life." Possessed of the power to turn anyone who criticizes or disagrees with him into the "jack" clown in a jack-in-the-box, the adults in the room walk on eggshells, lying to this Trumpanthony and to themselves for the privilege being allowed to draw the next breath.
Thus, the Republican party prostitutes itself, its members expressing undying fealty to ReTrumplicanism in the belief that by doing so Trump may just give a little love back in the form approving their pet projects because they let him have his way with them. Cynical does not begin to describe the likes of Ryan, McConnell & Cos.
8
David, yes, "government can create the framework" for us to thrive but at its base must be a healthy environment. That is the real crisis now. Trump's denial of man's effect on climate is a threat to our survival. All the rest is simply rearranging chairs on the titanic. Do more reading if you need to and talk with more scientists, but please, please include this crisis in your editorials.
4
Trump's political philosophy, like everything else he speaks of and actions, is all about himself and stroking his own ego.
There is no there there. He is hollow, soul-less, and has no convictions or a set of truths he adheres to. With him, its not about the country or its citizens, its about "me".
There is no there there. He is hollow, soul-less, and has no convictions or a set of truths he adheres to. With him, its not about the country or its citizens, its about "me".
9
Why Mr. BRooks, you have become an egalitarian social democrat. This happy member of one of those prosperous and decent societies, welcomes you to the fold.
3
Brooks has it wrong again...well at least he unlike the President is consistent. The President is Primal , Brooks pseudo intellectual .
Let me help you, there is no there there. In the end it's more of the same with the GOP smash and grab governance, this time without the lightweight thinkers such as Brooks providing cover.
Brooks you should just quick while you're behind. It might take awhile for lots of Americans to catch on to the President, for you However the jig is up.
Let me help you, there is no there there. In the end it's more of the same with the GOP smash and grab governance, this time without the lightweight thinkers such as Brooks providing cover.
Brooks you should just quick while you're behind. It might take awhile for lots of Americans to catch on to the President, for you However the jig is up.
6
I didn't watch this speech because I couldn't. Everything about the 45th president disgusts me. He doesn't have a philosophy--he's an egotistical blowhard who loves the sound of his own voice. He is amoral, vindictive, and dishonest. And most awfully, he used not only the death of a soldier but the grief of his widow as an applause line. This Navy Seal died in an operation that never should have been approved and cost too many lives and did not achieve its goal. No, Mr. Brooks, there is no philosophy here just a wolf baying at the moon.
19
What's gone most of all from the GOP is fundamental decency. They won, but I won't forget the leaders and constituents who accepted the vulgar insult of war hero John McCain. The despicable mockery of a reporter with disabilities was not a vile disqualifier to that side of the aisle. Candidate Chris Chrsite said to raucous cheers that if elected he would hire the head of FedEx so immigrants could be tracked like packages. "Lock her up," was the rallying cry of the party faithful, as if this nation is a third world dictatorship that casually imprisons the opposition. The GOP has the House, the Senate, the White House, and soon I'm sure, the Supreme Court. What else is there? Tax cuts? The freedom to suffer? The stock market is up 15%. Mission accomplished.
14
Donald Trump is the equivalent of some type of Harry Potter like magic mirror. When performing--I don't know what else to call it-- in front of a crowd, President Trump will do his best to reflect back what he (or his advisors) think the crowd wants to hear in the manner that they want to hear it. This is as true of his rallies and his meeting with the NYT as it was on Tuesday night.
But moreover, his bevy of incompatible and contradictory positions delivered through empty and meaningless words and phrases allow the listeners--if they suspend thought and analysis--to see what they most desire in the mirror, believing (with said suspension in place) that it will be delivered.
But moreover, his bevy of incompatible and contradictory positions delivered through empty and meaningless words and phrases allow the listeners--if they suspend thought and analysis--to see what they most desire in the mirror, believing (with said suspension in place) that it will be delivered.
82
Mr. Brooks,
As I read your article, I am left with a hundred questions. But, the most important is if this is Trump or Bannon? I do not think Trump has the intellectual depth to be thinking so deeply. The reason why my question is important is because we should be thinking about who should we be targeting; Trump or Bannon? If we are hoping to change the narrative then we should focus on the intellectual author.
As I read your article, I am left with a hundred questions. But, the most important is if this is Trump or Bannon? I do not think Trump has the intellectual depth to be thinking so deeply. The reason why my question is important is because we should be thinking about who should we be targeting; Trump or Bannon? If we are hoping to change the narrative then we should focus on the intellectual author.
81
The reason he didn't mention any social policy is because he doesn't care about it, and that means he will let anyone around him who does care (Pence) make policy. After all, it's only women and children, right? Not the manly military....
It's all a series of disconnected sound bites, no actual plan or detail which will be outsourced to people who have no experience in whatever they are supposed to affect. Experienced gov't employees will be marginalized or fired. Bannon Bannon Bannon. And Mitch McConnell, the true root of all this, will just continue to hunker down in his Republicans Have Power! bunker.
It's all a series of disconnected sound bites, no actual plan or detail which will be outsourced to people who have no experience in whatever they are supposed to affect. Experienced gov't employees will be marginalized or fired. Bannon Bannon Bannon. And Mitch McConnell, the true root of all this, will just continue to hunker down in his Republicans Have Power! bunker.
128
But David, as a disciple of Carl Schmitt, you should be rejoicing that his ghost now sits manifest in the Oval Office in the form of Trump/Bannon. It is they who promise to deconstruct the Administrative State, deal forcefully with enemies (Islamics, immigrants, and the Press), and restore God to his rightful place in American public life. What is it...are you now concerned that this whole show will devolve into another failed Reich where Messianism turns out to be nothing but Tribalism in new cloths, stained with the blood of innocents?
4
The only enemy--foreign or domestic--that this so-called president does not want to crack down on is Russia.
And, I think this hyper-rational column can be distilled into something much shorter. We can thank the Party of Republi-stan, and its preserve-its-own-wealth-and-power mentality for the rise of "Trumpism." And, led by the principle-free Paul Ryan, who is a media darling because, I think, he never sounds as overtly as nasty and out of control as his boss, who is certainly not the people who elected him.
Saint Ronald Reagan has become an icon of restraint and patriotism. And that's how disconnected we Americans have become untethered from reality.
And, I think this hyper-rational column can be distilled into something much shorter. We can thank the Party of Republi-stan, and its preserve-its-own-wealth-and-power mentality for the rise of "Trumpism." And, led by the principle-free Paul Ryan, who is a media darling because, I think, he never sounds as overtly as nasty and out of control as his boss, who is certainly not the people who elected him.
Saint Ronald Reagan has become an icon of restraint and patriotism. And that's how disconnected we Americans have become untethered from reality.
8
Reagan was no fiscal conservative...unless a fiscal conservative is someone who took a $29 bill annual deficit and ballooned it to over $200 bill/year...tripling the national debt in 8 years..
8
Sooner or later all Republicans harken back to the Golden Age of St. Ronnie, The Rich White Man's Paradise. Never mind the scandals, the soaring deficits they finally discovered that government was a problem. They didn't notice that the real problem was the shysters who were elected to govern.
Trumpism is the Republican ISIS.
Trumpism is the Republican ISIS.
8
Trump ordered the botched Yemen raid, takes no responsibility for the outcome, and gets applauded.
Hillary gets blamed for the Benghazi embassy incident and investigated countless times over it.
What's wrong with this picture?
Hillary gets blamed for the Benghazi embassy incident and investigated countless times over it.
What's wrong with this picture?
13
What speech, David? We're on to Russians infiltrating our government at the highest levels, our Attorney General lying under oath, and our GOP Congress trying to legislate in secret. Please come out of your protective bubble and look at what is going on.
8
Do I hear Republicans repudiating their own values? Lying in saying they do not support the values of the President who is the leader of their party. Denying the party platform they freely constructed and supported?
It is comical watching David try to remove himself from the tar pit the Republican Party has become. Trump is Republican. Republicans are Trump. There is no way around it. Accept it.
It is comical watching David try to remove himself from the tar pit the Republican Party has become. Trump is Republican. Republicans are Trump. There is no way around it. Accept it.
7
You gotta be kidding. Your straight up isstill hopelesslys crooked, devious, and disingenuous. Let's be honest, The most that can be said is that he didn't interrupt himself to tweet that he got applause. He did what any third grader is expected to do in class: read a passage alout for everyone to hear.
Big deal.
What do you expect, a pat on the shoulder with the ubiquitous "good job!"?
No.
Big deal.
What do you expect, a pat on the shoulder with the ubiquitous "good job!"?
No.
10
"It’s quite likely that large elements of the Trump agenda will go down in flames because they go against what the country wants and even against his own core brand."
Oh how the New York Times wishes this statement to be true. After all they have staked all their marbles in this bet. They have taken what was once taken for granted by this paper, that she would report the news in as unbiased form as possible and be the worlds leading source of print news, and put everything on a hope that despite all evidence against it, they actually know what is best for America. When will they, and the liberal enclaves, realize that they lost all power in the country because they were forcing their radical social agenda and ideas down the throats of the rest of the country without any explanation. President Obama was a slick representative of the movement and could get away with it to some extent but even the last few elections saw the backlash against liberals.
The country became divided and now looks at compromise as a relic of the past. I, and others, should not be hoping that President Trump issues more Orders that "stick it to the left because Obama stuck it to us." Say all you want about LBJ, Nixon, Reagan, Bush, Clinton but at least they realized the need to work across the isle if for no other reason than to show voters from all parties that they were working in the best interest of the country, not "you got yours when you were in charge so now I'm going to get mine."
Oh how the New York Times wishes this statement to be true. After all they have staked all their marbles in this bet. They have taken what was once taken for granted by this paper, that she would report the news in as unbiased form as possible and be the worlds leading source of print news, and put everything on a hope that despite all evidence against it, they actually know what is best for America. When will they, and the liberal enclaves, realize that they lost all power in the country because they were forcing their radical social agenda and ideas down the throats of the rest of the country without any explanation. President Obama was a slick representative of the movement and could get away with it to some extent but even the last few elections saw the backlash against liberals.
The country became divided and now looks at compromise as a relic of the past. I, and others, should not be hoping that President Trump issues more Orders that "stick it to the left because Obama stuck it to us." Say all you want about LBJ, Nixon, Reagan, Bush, Clinton but at least they realized the need to work across the isle if for no other reason than to show voters from all parties that they were working in the best interest of the country, not "you got yours when you were in charge so now I'm going to get mine."
6
David, 63 million people didn't vote for Trump because he's a staunch conservative. Indeed, many who voted for Obama voted for him (he flipped over 300 counties) in part because they no longer believe there is a fair exchange of ideas in this country in which people opposed to Obama imposed political correctness can be challenged. Millions of people believe the mainstream media is a wing of the Democratic party.
If I wrote for the NY Times I would look in the mirror. On the eve of the election you were on NPR saying Clinton would win easily. Never once did you mention the myriad of indisputable criminal and unethical activities she had engaged in (the details of the destruction of evidence after a subpoena were on the front page of the NYT). This column represents your (singular and plural) failure to recognize your own contribution to the hostility to a media landscape where it's acceptable to mock us as foolish bigots because we don't agree with you.
There were plenty of fundamental Republican ideas in his speech. Support for our allies, especially Israel-whether you approve of their democratically elected government or not-was the first policy issue he named. What you call uncertainty, we call the free market.
Republicans were not applauding their own repudiation, they were applauding the repudiation the media which calls us names, but fails to recognize what we(outside of California) overwhelmingly want. He may not be perfect but he earned my applause.
If I wrote for the NY Times I would look in the mirror. On the eve of the election you were on NPR saying Clinton would win easily. Never once did you mention the myriad of indisputable criminal and unethical activities she had engaged in (the details of the destruction of evidence after a subpoena were on the front page of the NYT). This column represents your (singular and plural) failure to recognize your own contribution to the hostility to a media landscape where it's acceptable to mock us as foolish bigots because we don't agree with you.
There were plenty of fundamental Republican ideas in his speech. Support for our allies, especially Israel-whether you approve of their democratically elected government or not-was the first policy issue he named. What you call uncertainty, we call the free market.
Republicans were not applauding their own repudiation, they were applauding the repudiation the media which calls us names, but fails to recognize what we(outside of California) overwhelmingly want. He may not be perfect but he earned my applause.
3
"It’s likely that Republican voters will simply reject these proposals. They’ve got enough risk in their lives." But will the people who voted for him feel the same? Those folks weren't necessarily republicans.
Mr. Brooks, we are in a radical state of flux because your party put us there! We democrats may not have been listening to our base very well. But republicans have been screwing the Reagan democrats for decades. You are the ones who have catered to the evangelical crazies, ignored the suffering your policies created, pledged your allegiance to drown the federal government in the bathtub and swore to do the bidding of big donors to the detriment of our middle class.
I appreciate that you want to get rid of Trump. But, you need to stop the magical thinking. Back up and take a hard look at reality. Your party nominated him and then stood by him despite his lies and bat guano crazy ideas. It was a deplorable act of wanton greed. At least tell your readers the truth.
Mr. Brooks, we are in a radical state of flux because your party put us there! We democrats may not have been listening to our base very well. But republicans have been screwing the Reagan democrats for decades. You are the ones who have catered to the evangelical crazies, ignored the suffering your policies created, pledged your allegiance to drown the federal government in the bathtub and swore to do the bidding of big donors to the detriment of our middle class.
I appreciate that you want to get rid of Trump. But, you need to stop the magical thinking. Back up and take a hard look at reality. Your party nominated him and then stood by him despite his lies and bat guano crazy ideas. It was a deplorable act of wanton greed. At least tell your readers the truth.
4
We need to see Trump's taxes.
Need to launch an investigation into the Russia connection.
Reading from a prompter for an hour without jumping the tracks into an idiotic diatribe does not make one 'presidential'.
There is no repudiation of anything. Conservatism died along with Eisenhower. What is loosely referred as 'conservatism' is now a hodge-podge mix of religious zealots, ignorant white trash, fascists, etc.
Who cares what Chris Wallace says, he works for Murdock (you know, the guy who had one of his lackeys hack into a dead schoolgirl's cell phone). Anyone working for FOX or WSJ has made the Faustian bargain.
Need to launch an investigation into the Russia connection.
Reading from a prompter for an hour without jumping the tracks into an idiotic diatribe does not make one 'presidential'.
There is no repudiation of anything. Conservatism died along with Eisenhower. What is loosely referred as 'conservatism' is now a hodge-podge mix of religious zealots, ignorant white trash, fascists, etc.
Who cares what Chris Wallace says, he works for Murdock (you know, the guy who had one of his lackeys hack into a dead schoolgirl's cell phone). Anyone working for FOX or WSJ has made the Faustian bargain.
6
As so often happens, I agreed with Brooks right up to his conclusion at the end. Single payer in health care is a great idea, but it could never be paid for by a flat tax. Too glib by half. Try again.
3
David, it took less than two days, actually 40 days and 40 nights (pretty biblical) if you count from the beginning of this "administration", to find out that Trumpism "at its best" is still all conniving and fraud. I guess this piece was already submitted yesterday morning. But I'm not sure even that provides cover.
3
A flat tax !!! Where did that come from in this article? It just popped up undefended, surprise.
Others might suggest that if the government framework provides the basis for an individual's success, then the government and its people should share that success ... which argues for a sliding scale.
Others might suggest that if the government framework provides the basis for an individual's success, then the government and its people should share that success ... which argues for a sliding scale.
1
Dear David,
You write as if Trump had a philosophy or a strategy for anything. He says what Steve Bannon writes. He does what Jeff Sessions and Mike Pence tell him to do. Look at his executive orders. Trump's only philosophy is narcissism and his only strategy is to stay on television. The Republicans applaud the executive vacuum because they can do what they like and not be held accountable.
You write as if Trump had a philosophy or a strategy for anything. He says what Steve Bannon writes. He does what Jeff Sessions and Mike Pence tell him to do. Look at his executive orders. Trump's only philosophy is narcissism and his only strategy is to stay on television. The Republicans applaud the executive vacuum because they can do what they like and not be held accountable.
5
"Trumpism at it's best" was the pathetic "I love me, you love me" bloviation of a banana-republic dictator leaning on the old Soviet Union. Our dear Lider Boca Maximo -- you will love him. You will hate what he hates. But most of all, everyone shall fear his mighty power; Oderint dum Metuant.
Trump channels "The Chronicles of Riddick" ... he is now the Necromonger. Yes, completely cheesy and incoherent plot and all, a sci-fi rendering of Caligula's Rome. Fear and power, and strange hand-gestures by our short-fingered toadie-tyrant wannabee. What was he signalling to whom with his strange mudras?
El Lider's "protection, security, and order" ... is narrow and it never lasts. Nonetheless many are willing, to obtain revenge for white losers ... if you toadie to the big toadie who toadies to Putin. Grovel and obey, and you will see him break all your enemies, putting them beneath you. He offers you the chance to be a little closer to him than the next guy, if you obey.
Don't ask no stinkin' questions -- there is no future. Obey Trump. Your enemies will die before you.
Trump channels "The Chronicles of Riddick" ... he is now the Necromonger. Yes, completely cheesy and incoherent plot and all, a sci-fi rendering of Caligula's Rome. Fear and power, and strange hand-gestures by our short-fingered toadie-tyrant wannabee. What was he signalling to whom with his strange mudras?
El Lider's "protection, security, and order" ... is narrow and it never lasts. Nonetheless many are willing, to obtain revenge for white losers ... if you toadie to the big toadie who toadies to Putin. Grovel and obey, and you will see him break all your enemies, putting them beneath you. He offers you the chance to be a little closer to him than the next guy, if you obey.
Don't ask no stinkin' questions -- there is no future. Obey Trump. Your enemies will die before you.
3
"If government can create a framework in which people grow up amid healthy families, nurturing schools, thick communities and a secure safety net, then they will have the resources and audacity to thrive in a free global economy and a diversifying skills economy."
Am I missing something? Hasn't David been railing against the progressive vision articulated above for years?
And, I would note, more than 5 weeks into the new presidency for which he bears much responsibility, he has yet to offer a full throated apology.
www.remember-to-breathe.org/Breathing-Videos.htm
Am I missing something? Hasn't David been railing against the progressive vision articulated above for years?
And, I would note, more than 5 weeks into the new presidency for which he bears much responsibility, he has yet to offer a full throated apology.
www.remember-to-breathe.org/Breathing-Videos.htm
2
This column of yours, Mr. Brooks, demonstrates that you haven't a clue what's going on -- a fact that has been apparent to many of yours readers for quite a while.
5
David,
This article takes off from the idea that Trump is for or against various types of traditional conservatism or Neo-conservatism. Even to state this is give Trump the benefit of the doubt. Trump knows nothing at all about the history of conservatism, or about American government, or about the past controversies or decisions. He knows nothing at all. He is a charlatan, as a President, and as a businessman, and, since he tried on that costume the other night, as a humanitarian. The only thing that interests Trump is Trump--and on that score his self-awareness is equaled only by his level of interest in history, which is nil.
Columns that elevate him to normal discourse are in themselves specious.
This article takes off from the idea that Trump is for or against various types of traditional conservatism or Neo-conservatism. Even to state this is give Trump the benefit of the doubt. Trump knows nothing at all about the history of conservatism, or about American government, or about the past controversies or decisions. He knows nothing at all. He is a charlatan, as a President, and as a businessman, and, since he tried on that costume the other night, as a humanitarian. The only thing that interests Trump is Trump--and on that score his self-awareness is equaled only by his level of interest in history, which is nil.
Columns that elevate him to normal discourse are in themselves specious.
4
"If government can create a framework in which people grow up amid healthy families, nurturing schools, thick communities and a secure safety net, then they will have the resources and audacity to thrive in a free global economy and a diversifying skills economy."
That, in a nut shell, has been the Democratic Party's core philosophy since the 1960's.
Welcome, Mr. Brooks. We suspected that you would arrive here sooner or later.
That, in a nut shell, has been the Democratic Party's core philosophy since the 1960's.
Welcome, Mr. Brooks. We suspected that you would arrive here sooner or later.
4
“If government can create a framework in which people grow up amid healthy families, nurturing schools, thick communities and a secure safety net, then they will have the resources and audacity to thrive in a free global economy and a diversifying skills economy.”
YES. YES.
“This is a response that is open to welfare state policies from the left and trade and macroeconomic policies from the free-market right — a single-payer health care system married to the flat tax.”
FLAT TAX?
Are you serious? Where do we get the money for your welfare state policies without a truly progressive tax system?
YES. YES.
“This is a response that is open to welfare state policies from the left and trade and macroeconomic policies from the free-market right — a single-payer health care system married to the flat tax.”
FLAT TAX?
Are you serious? Where do we get the money for your welfare state policies without a truly progressive tax system?
2
Congratulations Lord Brooks you are almost there. Your tipy toe steps toward repudiation of your Movement Conservative roots is almost complete. Agreed. The Grand Old Pirates are witnessing their own demise via Il Trumpolini, who has taken over their party and destroyed it. Soon there will be nothing left of them as they fight amongst themselves over the scraps of who is the purest.
At that point, and soon, the only adults in the room, the Democrats, will have to step in the clean up another mess made by the conservatives and set things right. Is it 2018 yet?
At that point, and soon, the only adults in the room, the Democrats, will have to step in the clean up another mess made by the conservatives and set things right. Is it 2018 yet?
8
Trumpism does not exist, this man has not uttered a single authentic idea. He has not written a single page of coherent thoughts. He does not even have a policy on any issue. His world view falls somewhere into the spectrum of nationalism, fascism, despotism and foolishism.
7
You think, David Brooks, that just because Donald Trump wasn't clownish, he was "presidential" reading his telepromptered address to the Joint Session of Congress? Please! What kind of president spends 24% of his time in office in Palm Beach, his Southern White House palace? "Nationalizing intimidation" with the hard fist of a greatly increased military, and not the compassionate hand to the neediest of our American people. We know what the "hard fist" of the Axis did across the pond to bring on World War II. We don't need or want more demogoguery, lies, xenophobia, misogyny, false advise from maliugn eminences grises who have Trump's ear. and we don't want loose cannon activities in this hemisphere under the purview of the 45th President.
179
Mr. Brooks has identified himself among "those who would want to replace him" when referring to President Trump.
There are 2 aspects to this statement.
First, it is highly incendiary - Mr. Brooks is advocating for the overthrow of the duly-elected President.
Second, it is indicative of just how over-due it has become for the NY Times to hire at least one - just ONE - journalist who is not a complete sell-out to the Democratic Party. Just ONE. Mr. Brooks is clearly not that ONE.
There are 2 aspects to this statement.
First, it is highly incendiary - Mr. Brooks is advocating for the overthrow of the duly-elected President.
Second, it is indicative of just how over-due it has become for the NY Times to hire at least one - just ONE - journalist who is not a complete sell-out to the Democratic Party. Just ONE. Mr. Brooks is clearly not that ONE.
1
At best, the speech showed that Trump can generally read words someone else writes. (Although there are plenty of rumors going around that Trump's TelePrompTer text has to be phonetic).
The absence of offensive social division is not the same as inclusion. Given everything Trump has done to demonize minorities and religious communities, restrict LGBT rights, and ignore states rights (eg, refusing to recognize that some states have legalized marijuana and insisting on still using federal criminal laws to prosecute), the base line assumption should remain that he's a xenophobic, homophobic curmudgeonly bigot. Abstaining from dog whistles and epithets for almost an hour does not make a transition to liberal values.
As to deficit hawkishness, have you seen his budget? He slashes every government program he can spell. True, he asked for increased military spending, and some amorphous "infrastructure plan" that he telegraphed will rely on private--not public--funds. Again, not calling to "starve the beast" during his speech doesn't mean he's proposing any change in policy directive.
And for projection of military power? He seems giddy to don the uniforms and medals of military valor--while being a draft dodger himself--and to send America forces into combat (so long as its not against Russian interests).
For sixty minutes, he was not a blithering hate-monger with insecurity issues and a sixth-grade vocabulary. Forgive me if I don't see that as "morning in America".
The absence of offensive social division is not the same as inclusion. Given everything Trump has done to demonize minorities and religious communities, restrict LGBT rights, and ignore states rights (eg, refusing to recognize that some states have legalized marijuana and insisting on still using federal criminal laws to prosecute), the base line assumption should remain that he's a xenophobic, homophobic curmudgeonly bigot. Abstaining from dog whistles and epithets for almost an hour does not make a transition to liberal values.
As to deficit hawkishness, have you seen his budget? He slashes every government program he can spell. True, he asked for increased military spending, and some amorphous "infrastructure plan" that he telegraphed will rely on private--not public--funds. Again, not calling to "starve the beast" during his speech doesn't mean he's proposing any change in policy directive.
And for projection of military power? He seems giddy to don the uniforms and medals of military valor--while being a draft dodger himself--and to send America forces into combat (so long as its not against Russian interests).
For sixty minutes, he was not a blithering hate-monger with insecurity issues and a sixth-grade vocabulary. Forgive me if I don't see that as "morning in America".
2
Trump has a limited world view based on three core values: self-aggrandizement, and to a lesser extent, security and order. The values reflect visceral reactions to his consumption of cable news and they are thus not well thought out.
Self-aggrandizement results in Trump actions that blend his interests with that of the state. So holding sensitive meetings at his Mar-a-largo resort makes sense to him because why shouldn't Trump the business benefit from Trump's responsibilities as president.
His value of security is reflected in his xenophobic reaction to vivid cases of terrorism here and abroad. Thus he over reacts to exclude the Muslim "other" until he can figure out "what the heck is going on."
His value if order is reflected in his protectionist view of the world economy. He immaturely believes that we can go back to the protectionist policies of the 19th century when the US was a nascent economic power, not realizing that his billionaire friends have created a stateless globalized economy where wealth is "off-shore" and not subject to any one tax system. Donald, that horse is out of the barn.
It will be interesting to see what happens as Congressional Republicans grapple with this most visceral and reactionary president. They should fasten their seat belts -- it's going to be a bumpy ride.
Self-aggrandizement results in Trump actions that blend his interests with that of the state. So holding sensitive meetings at his Mar-a-largo resort makes sense to him because why shouldn't Trump the business benefit from Trump's responsibilities as president.
His value of security is reflected in his xenophobic reaction to vivid cases of terrorism here and abroad. Thus he over reacts to exclude the Muslim "other" until he can figure out "what the heck is going on."
His value if order is reflected in his protectionist view of the world economy. He immaturely believes that we can go back to the protectionist policies of the 19th century when the US was a nascent economic power, not realizing that his billionaire friends have created a stateless globalized economy where wealth is "off-shore" and not subject to any one tax system. Donald, that horse is out of the barn.
It will be interesting to see what happens as Congressional Republicans grapple with this most visceral and reactionary president. They should fasten their seat belts -- it's going to be a bumpy ride.
2
"Nationalize intimidation but privatize compassion."
Very eloquently stated. Maybe if we forced all Americans to be judged by their own behavior, we could stop trying to police compassion and let people be grownups, even when it is messy. The reason Trump was elected was a growing fatigue with the "be nice" and "I am okay, you are okay" faux spirituality of Liberals.
Liberals may not like the religious faithful whom they consider judgmental and often hypocritical. But we are quickly learning that many more dislike the Liberal scolds who are trying to remake the world in their aimless hunt for victims and offenses to channel into new voters.
If we as a people cannot care for each other, I say let's have at it. My bet is that Americans will move forward on compassion when they are restored to the right to decide to whom they direct their affections. If that does not square with some self-righteous Liberal's view, sitting in Brooklyn Heights or Chevy Chase, I am really sorry.
Very eloquently stated. Maybe if we forced all Americans to be judged by their own behavior, we could stop trying to police compassion and let people be grownups, even when it is messy. The reason Trump was elected was a growing fatigue with the "be nice" and "I am okay, you are okay" faux spirituality of Liberals.
Liberals may not like the religious faithful whom they consider judgmental and often hypocritical. But we are quickly learning that many more dislike the Liberal scolds who are trying to remake the world in their aimless hunt for victims and offenses to channel into new voters.
If we as a people cannot care for each other, I say let's have at it. My bet is that Americans will move forward on compassion when they are restored to the right to decide to whom they direct their affections. If that does not square with some self-righteous Liberal's view, sitting in Brooklyn Heights or Chevy Chase, I am really sorry.
1
The main point of this column, as I understand it, is a good one: that without the distraction of Donald Trump's outrageous antics, we got the chance to see where we stand with this administration. Mr. Brooks came not to praise Trump, but to bury that distraction for the nonce and look at the policies, or at least the worldview, being foisted on us. That's a useful exercise, but we always need to keep a few things in mind:
The president's outrageous behavior and the personality that produces it are important parts of the mix, whether they're floating on the surface at the moment or submerged. The greatest consequences of this presidency for the United States and the world could easily come from those elements and not from what Donald Trump thinks, or thinks he thinks, about public policy.
Any such label such as "[adjective] Nationalism" will probably make Donald Trump's politics look more coherent than they are. He's not a conceptualizer or a man of principle, but a personality running wild.
The speech before Congress deserves only a small fraction of the praise it's receiving, except as an unobstructed glimpse of a nebulous agenda. If I had never heard Donald Trump speak before and had suddenly woken up from a long sleep to hear that speech, I'd have wondered how such an unpromising person had become President of the United States.
http://thefamilyproperty.blogspot.jp/
The president's outrageous behavior and the personality that produces it are important parts of the mix, whether they're floating on the surface at the moment or submerged. The greatest consequences of this presidency for the United States and the world could easily come from those elements and not from what Donald Trump thinks, or thinks he thinks, about public policy.
Any such label such as "[adjective] Nationalism" will probably make Donald Trump's politics look more coherent than they are. He's not a conceptualizer or a man of principle, but a personality running wild.
The speech before Congress deserves only a small fraction of the praise it's receiving, except as an unobstructed glimpse of a nebulous agenda. If I had never heard Donald Trump speak before and had suddenly woken up from a long sleep to hear that speech, I'd have wondered how such an unpromising person had become President of the United States.
http://thefamilyproperty.blogspot.jp/
2
Mr. Brooks you are absolutely right to call out the applauding Republicans for a populist, nativist speech that ignores any sense of guiding party principals. But I think we have moved way beyond political platforms and consistency. We now have an Attorney General who lied under oath, and an entire regime who during the election cozied up multiple times to a foreign power who manipulated the presidential election of the United States and lied about it. I have no doubt that the Brannon ilk perceive Russia as a friend against radical Islam who should be nurtured. The problem is that the end cannot justify the means in a functioning democracy. You have the potential to lose everything. Congress is now absolutely in the middle of it. The smell of power and the ability to freely make changes that in their view will save the country is intoxicating. But if lies are ignored, standards of behavior that were decades in the making discarded, allies disrespected and enemies embraced, and cowardice the congressional mandate, Congress may wake up one morning with a country that was destroyed while being "saved."
2
The Trump presidency, despite his rosy assessment that it has accomplished more in 40 days than any other in American history, is hanging in the balance. The Flynn fiasco, had that been the only misstep, could be papered over. But when the chief law enforcement officer is caught lying under oath in a Senate confirmation hearing, the entire credibility of this administration hangs in the balance. Trump's core philosophy? Dispense lie after lie, attack the media for doing its job in exposing his corruption, and accept no responsibility when subordinates screw up. Imagine the field day historians are going to have with this "so-called" president.
3
Am I missing something or is Mr. Brooks? Today he tells us, "If government can create a framework in which people grow up amid healthy families, nurturing schools, thick communities and a secure safety net, then they will have the resources and audacity to thrive in a free global economy and a diversifying skills economy." Yet for the last couple of years, he has been telling us some version of this story: "Americans have become less adventurous and more static. For example, Americans used to move a lot to seize opportunities and transform their lives."
I am confused - how exactly are strong communities nourished by people (not to mention businesses) ready to desert them for a better opportunity at the drop of a hat? Hasn't it been the dynamism of Mr. Brooks' beloved free market capitalism that, for the past four decades, has been the destroyer of the very communities he says we need to foster the virtues necessary to a dynamic economy? Welcome to the contradictions of capitalism Mr. Brooks.
I am confused - how exactly are strong communities nourished by people (not to mention businesses) ready to desert them for a better opportunity at the drop of a hat? Hasn't it been the dynamism of Mr. Brooks' beloved free market capitalism that, for the past four decades, has been the destroyer of the very communities he says we need to foster the virtues necessary to a dynamic economy? Welcome to the contradictions of capitalism Mr. Brooks.
2
"Nationalize intimidation but privatize compassion". Yes, exactly, but the latter is new to Republicanism. Indeed, it's Paul Ryan's brand. Be compassionate on your own time, no room for that nonsense in governance.
Trump merely layered on the nationalized intimidation to create a truly toxic, authoritarian stew. The huge military expansion is coming and with it what else? Nothing gooses up an economy like war, right? Trump is an iron fisted wrecking ball. Now we wait and watch him choose his enemies, foreign and domestic. He is creating an internal fierce of deportation thugs ready to do his bidding. Half the country now disbelieves any impartial media source if it disagrees with Trump. Look for the military parades he has promised. And so we march on. Ugh.
Trump merely layered on the nationalized intimidation to create a truly toxic, authoritarian stew. The huge military expansion is coming and with it what else? Nothing gooses up an economy like war, right? Trump is an iron fisted wrecking ball. Now we wait and watch him choose his enemies, foreign and domestic. He is creating an internal fierce of deportation thugs ready to do his bidding. Half the country now disbelieves any impartial media source if it disagrees with Trump. Look for the military parades he has promised. And so we march on. Ugh.
2
Spoken like a person without a place in the GOP, Mr. Brooks: "Human development research offers a different formula: All of life is a series of daring adventures from a secure base. If government can create a framework in which people grow up amid healthy families, nurturing schools, thick communities and a secure safety net, then they will have the resources and audacity to thrive in a free global economy and a diversifying skills economy."
However, the message of the GOP since Reagan that government IS the problem. We will not undo nearly 40 years of right-wing propaganda with common sense. My prediction is that peoples' lives must reach a true crisis state - as in bankruptcy from medical bills and poverty in retirement before the GOP base begins to believe in a robust role for government in reinforcing the social safety net, funding schools so they flourish and don't bankrupt young people who go to college and in maintaining healthy families in the form of affordable universal health care. I wish it could be different, but Trump's election shows people are more interested in a show than looking at a woman's long-time record of fighting on behalf of the less fortunate.
However, the message of the GOP since Reagan that government IS the problem. We will not undo nearly 40 years of right-wing propaganda with common sense. My prediction is that peoples' lives must reach a true crisis state - as in bankruptcy from medical bills and poverty in retirement before the GOP base begins to believe in a robust role for government in reinforcing the social safety net, funding schools so they flourish and don't bankrupt young people who go to college and in maintaining healthy families in the form of affordable universal health care. I wish it could be different, but Trump's election shows people are more interested in a show than looking at a woman's long-time record of fighting on behalf of the less fortunate.
4
What planet David? The Reagan "revolution" was a state sanctioned looting of broadly shared economic wealth, an assault on the poor and minorities with scapegoating fantasies and a destruction of government as a source of American pride as an effective, competent source of good.
He turned an epic story replete with scary depths and soaring triumphs into a cheap feel good movie that laid the groundwork for the shocking spectacle of a juvenile delinquent gleefully vandalizing the remaining dignity of a once graceful theatre that had grown over time to encompass and appeal to our best natures, hopes and dreams.
He turned an epic story replete with scary depths and soaring triumphs into a cheap feel good movie that laid the groundwork for the shocking spectacle of a juvenile delinquent gleefully vandalizing the remaining dignity of a once graceful theatre that had grown over time to encompass and appeal to our best natures, hopes and dreams.
5
It must be tough to be a conservative or a Republican in the age of Trump. Conservatives like Mr. Brooks have a sophisticated philosophy to base their beliefs on, but the coalition never thought this through. Many are Social Conservatives, against abortion and gay rights; many believe their guns are at risk, many just like the term "Conservative", without much thought about what it means. The essence of the Ryan Republicans is business friendly, Ayn Rand loving, Tax hating, fiscal hawks, like Reagan. That essential philosophy is generally uncaring about the little people (and that is why I am a Democrat). All that aside, the other face of Conservatism, the really big elephant in the room is a white people's despair that the white people's world is coming to an end. Our history, our culture (except for the wonderful rich addition of the African infuence) and our traditions have all been Euro-ethnic. Just like the Southern strategy of Reagan, the Trump strategy is to tap into the fear and despair of white people. I don't believe it is truly racism, rather Xenophobia. He won building a wall around us, insulting our trading partners, expelling unwanted foreigners, and withdrawing from trade policies. (Ah! But Mr. Bannon has a political philosophy!)
Mr. Brooks is absolutely correct, this is not what Republicans wanted, but it is what they have been selling for quite a while. Why are they cheering the loss of their soul? Man up guys!
Mr. Brooks is absolutely correct, this is not what Republicans wanted, but it is what they have been selling for quite a while. Why are they cheering the loss of their soul? Man up guys!
4
We have lived comfortably for too long without ideology.If we are reasonably comfortable it works. We now need to rethink everything. Ask Kansas if Supply Side works. We need to work out the compromises that will truly make America Greater. Better education, lower infant mortality and homelessness, a better safety net, and reasonable health care available to all that will include cost reduction before service limits. We all want quick answers and there aren't any. We are mostly conservative on some things and liberal on others. Enough of Movements and lets start a National dialogue. It will take time but we have time. Better than polarization and anarchy. David, keep up the sane middle.
2
DT prides himself as Mr. Fix-it. Yet throughout the speech there was not a single concrete suggestion about fixing anything, just politely delivered falsehoods , amorphous vistas of greatness, and pie-in-the sky promises.
DT urged people of all political stripes to cooperate with him. Yet as far as I can tell he hasn't sought the seasoned expertise and wisdom of any respected Democrats or of any independent economists, financial advisers, scientists, educationalists, or immigration specialists to help him in creating policies that will benefit the nation as a whole rather than his cronies, reactionaries passing themselves off as conservatives, and bigots.(They, led by Mike Pence and Paul Ryan, were the ones we saw obsequiously and incessantly giving DT standing ovations during a vacuous speech. Lapdogs display a greater sense of judgment.).
Cooperation in implementing ideas can come from all quarters and can be meaningful and effective only when it's first respectfully sought in actually formulating policies, not when you invite people to join reckless plunges into the dark offered as a vision .
DT urged people of all political stripes to cooperate with him. Yet as far as I can tell he hasn't sought the seasoned expertise and wisdom of any respected Democrats or of any independent economists, financial advisers, scientists, educationalists, or immigration specialists to help him in creating policies that will benefit the nation as a whole rather than his cronies, reactionaries passing themselves off as conservatives, and bigots.(They, led by Mike Pence and Paul Ryan, were the ones we saw obsequiously and incessantly giving DT standing ovations during a vacuous speech. Lapdogs display a greater sense of judgment.).
Cooperation in implementing ideas can come from all quarters and can be meaningful and effective only when it's first respectfully sought in actually formulating policies, not when you invite people to join reckless plunges into the dark offered as a vision .
5
David,
You ascribe too much credit for 45's contribution to this administrations stance on anything. His marketing (emotional) skills were used to get him as much attention as possible. His capacity is consumed by his need for attention. His "stances" are provided by the team that supports him and the details really do not concern him. His innate ability to manipulate and sell, is born to serve his distorted sense of self and is extremely effective because the need is all encompassing. Pair that with the ideologues that agreed to facilitate his existence in the political realm with the "koolaiders" and you have the mess that intellectual laziness of our society fostered. Empathy allows someone to self reflect and is the energy that drives good leadership to put the people that they serve, first. Any empathy that 45 has is self serving. He is a narcissist who used what ever means necessary to gain power and adulation. The method does not matter. The people who are helping him to present as "presidential" are out to destroy our Republic. 45 does not care. Keep booking him in big halls so that he can soak up the adulation, make sure he is on the front page and all is good. With the attention he received from his speech, we should expect more with the same characteristics due to the positive re enforcement he received. "Trumpism" , is "Bannon/Repubism" He is the monkey jumping off of their shoulder with a cup to collect his attention. They are the ones providing the music.
You ascribe too much credit for 45's contribution to this administrations stance on anything. His marketing (emotional) skills were used to get him as much attention as possible. His capacity is consumed by his need for attention. His "stances" are provided by the team that supports him and the details really do not concern him. His innate ability to manipulate and sell, is born to serve his distorted sense of self and is extremely effective because the need is all encompassing. Pair that with the ideologues that agreed to facilitate his existence in the political realm with the "koolaiders" and you have the mess that intellectual laziness of our society fostered. Empathy allows someone to self reflect and is the energy that drives good leadership to put the people that they serve, first. Any empathy that 45 has is self serving. He is a narcissist who used what ever means necessary to gain power and adulation. The method does not matter. The people who are helping him to present as "presidential" are out to destroy our Republic. 45 does not care. Keep booking him in big halls so that he can soak up the adulation, make sure he is on the front page and all is good. With the attention he received from his speech, we should expect more with the same characteristics due to the positive re enforcement he received. "Trumpism" , is "Bannon/Repubism" He is the monkey jumping off of their shoulder with a cup to collect his attention. They are the ones providing the music.
5
The irony seems uttetly lost that the strength of American moral fabric is the greatest in the most secular regions of the country, as measured by family cohesion, education outcomes, crime statistics, incidence if domestic violence, gun deaths and health results, to mention but a few factors. These relatively stable jursidispctions are footing the bill for the dysfunction so evident where fundamentalism reigns supreme.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
www.endthemadnessnow.org
17
"In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem...."
Because the Gipper believed, and arguably the majority of Americans shared his belief, that government power and influence had grown beyond the consent of the governed.
"Now, so there will be no misunderstanding, it's not my intention to do away with government."
(Ronald Reagan Inaugural, January 20, 1981)
But to make it work as the Gipper believed it was intended. So he started with massive tax cuts and increased defense spending which led to a recession during his first term. But I digress.
The point is Mr. Brooks that your essay glosses over the fact that the post-Reagan GOP increasingly became a nihilist, opportunistic cadre stumbling to aid and abet self-dealing corporate plutocrats, foreign and domestic.
Our 45th president is beyond incompetent. He and his minions colluded with a foreign power to become elected. Putting our national security and the remnants of our democracy at risk. And his "American carnage" may indeed reflect the GOP's future.
Because the Gipper believed, and arguably the majority of Americans shared his belief, that government power and influence had grown beyond the consent of the governed.
"Now, so there will be no misunderstanding, it's not my intention to do away with government."
(Ronald Reagan Inaugural, January 20, 1981)
But to make it work as the Gipper believed it was intended. So he started with massive tax cuts and increased defense spending which led to a recession during his first term. But I digress.
The point is Mr. Brooks that your essay glosses over the fact that the post-Reagan GOP increasingly became a nihilist, opportunistic cadre stumbling to aid and abet self-dealing corporate plutocrats, foreign and domestic.
Our 45th president is beyond incompetent. He and his minions colluded with a foreign power to become elected. Putting our national security and the remnants of our democracy at risk. And his "American carnage" may indeed reflect the GOP's future.
12
Tuesday night marked a low point for a number of political commentators who decided Trump had finally become 'President'. The suggestion he had suddenly undergone a metamorphosis from angry populist fear-mongering to the composed gravitas and compassion expected of a President was poor reporting. I can understand the desperation felt in certain quarters to finally see a President leading the nation, and delivering on his promises to MAGA. However, before he can demonstrate anything like leadership and governance, the ever-deepening suspicions to Russian ties need to be laid to rest once and for all. It is simply unthinkable that a foreign power not only influenced the outcome of a general election, but is suspected in having leverage over the newly-installed administration. How the Republican Houses are able to square these suspicions away without insisting on an independent enquiry points, without doubt, to extreme partisanship. Their steadfast refusal to investigate begins to suggest they don't want to know the extent of the scandal, so ruinous would it be to the GOP's reputation, let alone the White House.
Mr Brooks is right, political parties can turn on a dime (no bad thing considering the redundancy of Republicanism he so ably describes), but Republicans have not moved for 50 years. Entrenched, arrogant and spiteful, they profess unity and progress, while America squirms under the 'radical flux' partly of their own making.
Political suicide.
Mr Brooks is right, political parties can turn on a dime (no bad thing considering the redundancy of Republicanism he so ably describes), but Republicans have not moved for 50 years. Entrenched, arrogant and spiteful, they profess unity and progress, while America squirms under the 'radical flux' partly of their own making.
Political suicide.
8
'Reagan Conservatism'. Isn't it time to do away with this old bromide. Reagan conservatism never was. Tripled the national debt. Raised taxes 11 times. Should have been impeached over Iran-Contra. Racism in disguise of 'welfare queens', etc. Solved his 'recessions' by Federal spending. Had more Federal Employees at the end of his second term than any President. Helped destroy the link between productivity and wages setting off decades of wage stagnation for middle class workers. Helped shift the money to the top 1%. etc. Enough of the 'St. Reagan' meme.
40
A key reason the speech seemed "Presidential" was that he paused after each sentence to receive the reflexive and enthusiastic applause of the Republican side of the chamber. As Mr. Brook notes, this was for a litany of ideas that were, until recently, contrary to Republican philosophy and tradition.
Power corrupts. The utter corruption of the Republican party was on display.
Power corrupts. The utter corruption of the Republican party was on display.
28
Trump sees himself in the traditional paternalistic role. He is the head of the house looking to provide for and protect the family.
This is not entirely a bad thing, because for all the promise of science and technology which these times bring, there is a peril imbued with it. Indeed for those with eyes wide open, dark clouds are forming worldwide. Throughout history at times like this people have circled the wagons or gone off on ventures of conquest to escape their situations.
That is to say we are destroying the earth and it is wreaking havoc with one nation state after another. That is because of the exploding human population. Whether it is the ethnic cleansing in Rwanda, the waves of immigrants pouring if from central and south America, the religious clashes in the middle east or global temperature rising all stem from population increase. No one, not even the politically incorrect Trump dare speak about.
This issue of National Geographic describes the wholesale destruction of sea life in the South China Sea as population presses one country against another.
An economy based on the traditional Ponzi scheme of growth and bigger GDP does not work, when natural resources are fixed and the sanctity of all life is discarded in order to satisfy every human want.
Trump is not well educated enough to take in the big picture, but his gut instincts to deal with the tsunami that is forming as a result are dead on.
This is not entirely a bad thing, because for all the promise of science and technology which these times bring, there is a peril imbued with it. Indeed for those with eyes wide open, dark clouds are forming worldwide. Throughout history at times like this people have circled the wagons or gone off on ventures of conquest to escape their situations.
That is to say we are destroying the earth and it is wreaking havoc with one nation state after another. That is because of the exploding human population. Whether it is the ethnic cleansing in Rwanda, the waves of immigrants pouring if from central and south America, the religious clashes in the middle east or global temperature rising all stem from population increase. No one, not even the politically incorrect Trump dare speak about.
This issue of National Geographic describes the wholesale destruction of sea life in the South China Sea as population presses one country against another.
An economy based on the traditional Ponzi scheme of growth and bigger GDP does not work, when natural resources are fixed and the sanctity of all life is discarded in order to satisfy every human want.
Trump is not well educated enough to take in the big picture, but his gut instincts to deal with the tsunami that is forming as a result are dead on.
3
Something significant is somewhat buried in this piece by David Brooks. NYT columnists (even those that I find myself in deep agreement with) tend to keep readers in a perpetual state of despair by effectively ripping current events apart but offering little to no context or clues for how they can be put back together again. Imagine my surprise and delight in finding that Brooks, for whom I have historically not been a fan but who I find myself reading more and more post-election, is the one offering the glimmerings of solution-based commentary. And not just that, one actually founded in scientific and research informed knowledge on human development and wellbeing: "All of life is a series of daring adventures from a secure base. If government can create a framework in which people grow up amid healthy families, nurturing schools, thick communities and a secure safety net, then they will have the resources and audacity to thrive in a free global economy and a diversifying skills economy." YES!
28
According to Mr. Brooks, Trump has upended the Republicanism once ably sold to the American public by Ronald Reagan: “There used to be Republican foreign policy hawks, people who believed that it was in America’s interest to serve as a global policeman, actively preserving a democratic world order.” Those same Republican policy hawks heedlessly started another war in Iraq under Bush II, and unleashed global chaos.
“There used to be social conservatives, who believed that the moral fabric of the country had been weakened by secularism and the breakdown of the family.“ All too often, social conservatives were unmasked as extreme hypocrites. Newt Gingrich vilified President Clinton’s behavior at the same time he was having a marriage-ending affair.
“Finally, there used to be fiscal hawks who worried about the national debt.” Again, President Clinton gave Bush a healthy economy which Bush proceeded to destroy through tax cuts to the rich and unfunded wars. Trump has likewise inherited as strong economy from President Obama, but seems ready to squander the gift he was given. Sound familiar?
Victor Frankenstein stitched together a creature from cadavers, and somehow imbued it with life. Trump is likewise an unnatural assemblage of dead, Republican ideas, lurching across the American landscape. Make ready your pitchfork, Mr. Brooks.
“There used to be social conservatives, who believed that the moral fabric of the country had been weakened by secularism and the breakdown of the family.“ All too often, social conservatives were unmasked as extreme hypocrites. Newt Gingrich vilified President Clinton’s behavior at the same time he was having a marriage-ending affair.
“Finally, there used to be fiscal hawks who worried about the national debt.” Again, President Clinton gave Bush a healthy economy which Bush proceeded to destroy through tax cuts to the rich and unfunded wars. Trump has likewise inherited as strong economy from President Obama, but seems ready to squander the gift he was given. Sound familiar?
Victor Frankenstein stitched together a creature from cadavers, and somehow imbued it with life. Trump is likewise an unnatural assemblage of dead, Republican ideas, lurching across the American landscape. Make ready your pitchfork, Mr. Brooks.
45
It was just a speech written by someone else. It doesn't matter what he said about anything. What he does and is doing is what matters. As long as Republicans can use Trumpski to eliminate taxes on our rich and corporate masters they will support Trumpski no matter what.
11
It's fascinating to watch pundits trying to throw clothes onto emperors who wear no clothes. An exercise in projection. A search for order where there is no order. I agree with most of this column, but even suggesting that such a thing as "Trumpism" exists, or that the president has something like a "core philosophy," is a form of misdirection.
Maybe the clownish behavior was gone, but we still have the clown.
17
A very helpful analysis -- but begins with a false, oxymoronic premise:
"Trumpism without the clownish behavior". In demagoguery always, clownish behavior is an integral, essential part of the mix. Behavior -- performance, and emotional rather than intellectual persuasion -- is the mode of appeal. Fascism everywhere historically, including our own home-grown Huey Longs and Joe McCarthys -- not to mention the international big-timers like Mussolini and his partner -- have built and based their power on showmanship, which is of course our current leader's trump card. That cannot be separated from his "philosophy", since in the end it is his philosophy: give the gullible a big show, including red meat, all for the purpose (and only purpose) of me staying in power.
"Trumpism without the clownish behavior". In demagoguery always, clownish behavior is an integral, essential part of the mix. Behavior -- performance, and emotional rather than intellectual persuasion -- is the mode of appeal. Fascism everywhere historically, including our own home-grown Huey Longs and Joe McCarthys -- not to mention the international big-timers like Mussolini and his partner -- have built and based their power on showmanship, which is of course our current leader's trump card. That cannot be separated from his "philosophy", since in the end it is his philosophy: give the gullible a big show, including red meat, all for the purpose (and only purpose) of me staying in power.
7
Once again, no apology from Brooks for his years of blind allegiance to and support of the GOP that helped create the sordid and hateful environment that allowed for Mafia Don to assume our Democracy's presidency.
5
David Brooks gives us hope.
1
Is it true that the speechwriter has been nominated for a Hugo Award?
3
"But many of Trump's policies would introduce more risk into people's lives, no less" How much longer is it going to take voters to realize this? I couldn't believe the Republican Party even endorsed Trump and that there was no vetting. He should have been solidly repudiated from the get-go! Now, we NOT only have him "introducing more risk into people's lives" but him capable of ending life in America, as we know it, if not ending life here on earth in a nuclear conflagration. When are people going to realize he's a con man, who spews forth empty promises and hateful rhetoric. The speech was the same garbage with some softening to allow more to swallow the garbage whole. Plus, I thought Trump voters liked him because he was so authentic and real and he was going to drain the swamp! Personally, he managed to elicit more fear in me, because he managed to make it sound more "politically correct" to wreak havoc on our lives and American principles of democracy in general. One other thing David, he managed to show us where Republican party motivations have been all along. The traditional values was just a cover for outright greed (tax cuts for the wealthy again) and family values (as you said, not one social/family issue addressed), but the Republicans were clapping up a storm for their White Nationalist agenda, with some scraps being thrown to the masses, with no way of paying for them with tax cuts to the wealthy.
5
It's debatable how much the Leave-Us-Aloneism from the '90s to the present has been a break from Reaganism (I think it's exactly what one should expect from people who deified the guy who said that government is the problem), but nonetheless this is a good overview of the devolution of modern American right-wing politics. That said, I wonder why it has taken Mr. Brooks two decades to distance himself from this "crude anti-government philosophy."
2
Remember the Congressman from a southern state, I think one of the Carolinas, who shouted "you lie"at President Obama during A State of the Union Address?
Where is he now?
Where is he now?
4
You're being a bit imprecise in your recollection of Reagan conservatism. The anti-government sentiment of the GOP didn't arise post-Reagan, in "the 90's." Recall Reagan's great rallying cry about government being the problem rather than the solution.
4
Mr. Brooks, I fail to understand the "conservatism" of Ronald Regan. Is conservatism the beatings administered to the agricultural workers of Caesar Chavez? Is it sending money upwards by raising taxes on the middle class?
If the answer to both of those is affirmative, then Republicans have defined themselves a different conservatism from the one you seem to be espousing.
If the answer to both of those is affirmative, then Republicans have defined themselves a different conservatism from the one you seem to be espousing.
4
Excellent analysis..except for referring to Trump's "core philosophy" Me..me, win..win are the only factors in his "core"." Philosophy?" Ain't seen that ,except for Bannon's whispers in his ear.
7
Trump's one gift to us may very well be his willingness to offer himself up, unwittingly, as the "disrupter". Since he has no core values or ideology other than the views of Miller and Bannon and his billionaire buddies, ( the left and right and middle of his brain) he is the perfect vessel for trying on out the new agenda which in it's simplest form can be summarized as :"I got mine", "me first", "go get yours", " federal spending begins at home on special projects that will benefit my friends", "don't bother me with the details", "run it up the flagpole see if anyone salutes", " we are not the world's police man so you need to pay up to keep us in the game", "there is only so much room on the boat and we were here first".
My prediction is that after a while the true American entrepreneurial spirit will overwhelm the Trump world view. Republican Congressman will see, maybe not this session or the next but eventually, that Trump's views are paper thin, paper thin, and unsustainable in this melting pot of a country. And he will be repudiated. New ideas will emerge that will move us towards single payer healthcare, reasonable border security based on actual threats, assistance for the poor and disenfranchised based on need, and continued involvement with our international partners. It will be different from what HRC would have done. She was going to simply continue the Obama program. What emerges will be new and stronger and humane. Because that's what Americans are.
My prediction is that after a while the true American entrepreneurial spirit will overwhelm the Trump world view. Republican Congressman will see, maybe not this session or the next but eventually, that Trump's views are paper thin, paper thin, and unsustainable in this melting pot of a country. And he will be repudiated. New ideas will emerge that will move us towards single payer healthcare, reasonable border security based on actual threats, assistance for the poor and disenfranchised based on need, and continued involvement with our international partners. It will be different from what HRC would have done. She was going to simply continue the Obama program. What emerges will be new and stronger and humane. Because that's what Americans are.
2
Whenever, and I mean without exception, one sees a "corporate leader" on CNBC, Bloomberg TV, etc. he/she will work into his/her spiel a lament about regulations. It doesn't matter how the company in question is faring at the time or where we are in the economic cycle or which party is governing. These people are trained by professional coaches to bring conversation around to this topic.
But, as Mr. Brooks rightly points out, most individuals want a modicum of restraining "rules of the road" in their lives and don't want to be blindsided by some sudden corporate action carried out in the name of "freedom."
This is why corporate personhood and corporate interference in our campaign and electoral processes has been so damaging. If we had human friends and acquaintances who acted with the single-minded amorality of a corporation and who never died (vampire?) we would probably stage an intervention!
Republicans and Democrats have both handed over policy making to the corporate sector because of legalized bribery and sheer laziness. This has brought us Trump who, ironically, isn't going to weaken corporate control one iota despite his populist rhetoric.
But, as Mr. Brooks rightly points out, most individuals want a modicum of restraining "rules of the road" in their lives and don't want to be blindsided by some sudden corporate action carried out in the name of "freedom."
This is why corporate personhood and corporate interference in our campaign and electoral processes has been so damaging. If we had human friends and acquaintances who acted with the single-minded amorality of a corporation and who never died (vampire?) we would probably stage an intervention!
Republicans and Democrats have both handed over policy making to the corporate sector because of legalized bribery and sheer laziness. This has brought us Trump who, ironically, isn't going to weaken corporate control one iota despite his populist rhetoric.
1
You are a great craftsman of understatement David. What conservatism devolved too in the last four decades is reverse Robin Hood with a sprinkle of the cultural issue du jour - abortion, race, gays in the military, gay marriage etc. To paraphrase Clausewitz, Trumpism is simply a continuation of the war of the 1% against the middle and lower class by other means. There is no repudiation of conservatism.
5
"But in the 1990s conservatism devolved from a flexible balance to a crude anti-government philosophy"..........
Perhaps the truest, most honest words ever encountered in a piece by Brooks. Although setting the date "in the 90's" is inaccurate; most of us are aware of Reagan's views on the efficacy, or should I say desirability, of the Federal government.
While I am impressed with Brooks' acknowledgement, his hands are still dirty. Very dirty, for he has spent the last 20 years supporting and defending the hypocritical nihilism of the GOP. Last week, Brooks gave us a piece decrying the erosion of Enlightenment values, yet his role has been (and still is) a cheerleader for said erosion.
Perhaps the truest, most honest words ever encountered in a piece by Brooks. Although setting the date "in the 90's" is inaccurate; most of us are aware of Reagan's views on the efficacy, or should I say desirability, of the Federal government.
While I am impressed with Brooks' acknowledgement, his hands are still dirty. Very dirty, for he has spent the last 20 years supporting and defending the hypocritical nihilism of the GOP. Last week, Brooks gave us a piece decrying the erosion of Enlightenment values, yet his role has been (and still is) a cheerleader for said erosion.
1
Excellent sentence, this: "The Republicans who applauded Trump on Tuesday were applauding their own repudiation."
It remainds me of an observation Peggy Noonan made a month or so before the election: "This year I am seeing something, especially among the young of politics and journalism... Their understanding of history, even recent history, is superficial."
The ease with which the Republican base rages against principles that constituted its very ideological core for decades is head-spinning. More than any other administration, Reagan's established the foundations of Nafta and lent it energy. A simple search of Heritage documents shows the roots and the enthusiasm for it.
Yet it's not unlikely that a contemporary Republican voter very would venerate Reagan in one breath and express contempt for Nafta in the next. How the evangelicals manage the dissonance... well, I'm sure it has to do with some way Hillary's name resembles some other name in Revelations or something like that.
It remainds me of an observation Peggy Noonan made a month or so before the election: "This year I am seeing something, especially among the young of politics and journalism... Their understanding of history, even recent history, is superficial."
The ease with which the Republican base rages against principles that constituted its very ideological core for decades is head-spinning. More than any other administration, Reagan's established the foundations of Nafta and lent it energy. A simple search of Heritage documents shows the roots and the enthusiasm for it.
Yet it's not unlikely that a contemporary Republican voter very would venerate Reagan in one breath and express contempt for Nafta in the next. How the evangelicals manage the dissonance... well, I'm sure it has to do with some way Hillary's name resembles some other name in Revelations or something like that.
95
Sorry Brooks, The Republican Party's anti-government rhetoric didn't start in the nineties it started with your beloved Ronald Reagan. Wasn’t it Reagan who said government wasn’t the solution it was the problem, who spoke at a Nazi cemetery, who got his start railing against Medicaid, and whose administration tried to classify ketchup as a vegetable to cut back funding for school lunch programs.
I know Republicans want to preserve Reagan in amber as a saint. But he was the worst President this country elected up to that time, except for Nixon. No one would have believed the party could also come up with W. and Trump.
Reaganism started this country on the path that has landed us at Trumpism.
Mr. Brooks, there is a straight line to be drawn from Trump directly to Ronald Reagan and Republicanism was corrupt and venal long before Reagan, going back to Goldwater, the John Birch society and the party’s opposition to the New Deal. The Grand Old Party has never been all that grand.
I admire your search for a new political and governing philosophy and agree it is a necessity, but it will never emerge from the Republican party. It may emerge from the Democratic party if they can give up identity politics but alas trying to get the Democrats’ base to give up identity politics is as hopeless as trying to get the Republicans to give up their anti-government philosophy.
I know Republicans want to preserve Reagan in amber as a saint. But he was the worst President this country elected up to that time, except for Nixon. No one would have believed the party could also come up with W. and Trump.
Reaganism started this country on the path that has landed us at Trumpism.
Mr. Brooks, there is a straight line to be drawn from Trump directly to Ronald Reagan and Republicanism was corrupt and venal long before Reagan, going back to Goldwater, the John Birch society and the party’s opposition to the New Deal. The Grand Old Party has never been all that grand.
I admire your search for a new political and governing philosophy and agree it is a necessity, but it will never emerge from the Republican party. It may emerge from the Democratic party if they can give up identity politics but alas trying to get the Democrats’ base to give up identity politics is as hopeless as trying to get the Republicans to give up their anti-government philosophy.
The Republicans you watch cheering Trump seem nervous. They finaly are in full power but are hedging on enacting their vision for America. Why are they scared? Im sure their voters that got them there want massive tax cuts for the rich right? They wanted coal companies to be able to leach mercury and lead into their drinking water. The defiantly wanted Goldman Sachs to run all the financial concerns of the American people.
I think the Congress is afraid because the American people woke up. Sign a massive tax cut for the rich you will have millions of people heading to Washington to encircle your capital. You will have general stikes for everyone that couldnt get there.
I think the Congress is afraid because the American people woke up. Sign a massive tax cut for the rich you will have millions of people heading to Washington to encircle your capital. You will have general stikes for everyone that couldnt get there.
2
"Conservatism" has become its oxymoron: authoritarianism verging on fascism. Yes, it's that simple.
3
A typically insightful and eloquent op-ed from Mr. Brooks, with a hopeful - although not exactly optimistic - note. Sadly, it will take more than insight and eloquence to overcome Trumpism.
I was struck by a woman's comment this morning on NPR. She said she supported Mr. Trump because he reminds her of John Wayne. That is, he's tough and speaks his mind.
He's not, of course. He's the bullying cattle rancher who thinks he can just take whatever he wants and that people should thank him for not taking more. More importantly, John Wayne (or Shane, or Rambo) is never the real solution. They always ride on.
Mr. Brooks' hopes will only be realized if we (we're the townspeople in this metaphor) are willing to roll up our sleeves and get down to the hard and dirty work of standing up to the bully, and to do so with firm resolve and persistence. Otherwise, we'll find ourselves in the final scene of another classic: High Noon. In that one too the hero rides on, concluding that the town just wasn't worth it.
I was struck by a woman's comment this morning on NPR. She said she supported Mr. Trump because he reminds her of John Wayne. That is, he's tough and speaks his mind.
He's not, of course. He's the bullying cattle rancher who thinks he can just take whatever he wants and that people should thank him for not taking more. More importantly, John Wayne (or Shane, or Rambo) is never the real solution. They always ride on.
Mr. Brooks' hopes will only be realized if we (we're the townspeople in this metaphor) are willing to roll up our sleeves and get down to the hard and dirty work of standing up to the bully, and to do so with firm resolve and persistence. Otherwise, we'll find ourselves in the final scene of another classic: High Noon. In that one too the hero rides on, concluding that the town just wasn't worth it.
2
Probably Trump’s presidential-like speech was just words read from a teleprompter, signifying nothing. No President would tell Congress that he hopes to degrade the military capability of the nation, run up the national debt on foolish projects like the southern wall, and deprive the professional and working class of decent wages, health care, and indigent support so that the privileges of the rich can be enhanced.
If Trump were naïve enough to pursue his “vision” through the legislative process, we might see the final breakup of the Republican Party into conventional blockhead conservatives like Paul Ryan, and rabid, anarchic deplorables like Ted Cruz.
The destruction of the Republican Party, which has obstructed social progress, neglected the infrastructure, and disrupted the economy for 75 years, is the greatest legacy the Trump administration could leave the American nation.
If Trump were naïve enough to pursue his “vision” through the legislative process, we might see the final breakup of the Republican Party into conventional blockhead conservatives like Paul Ryan, and rabid, anarchic deplorables like Ted Cruz.
The destruction of the Republican Party, which has obstructed social progress, neglected the infrastructure, and disrupted the economy for 75 years, is the greatest legacy the Trump administration could leave the American nation.
5
David, I wish we didn't have to have to face a Trump presidency to arrive at a point where you wrote these words:
"Human development research offers a different formula: All of life is a series of daring adventures from a secure base. If government can create a framework in which people grow up amid healthy families, nurturing schools, thick communities and a secure safety net, then they will have the resources and audacity to thrive in a free global economy and a diversifying skills economy.
This is a response that is open to welfare state policies from the left and trade and macroeconomic policies from the free-market right — a single-payer health care system married to the flat tax."
This is the clearest expression of a progressive platform as I have read recently. Welcome to the club. Given a few more weeks of this administration's behavior, I can even imagine George Will coming around.
"Human development research offers a different formula: All of life is a series of daring adventures from a secure base. If government can create a framework in which people grow up amid healthy families, nurturing schools, thick communities and a secure safety net, then they will have the resources and audacity to thrive in a free global economy and a diversifying skills economy.
This is a response that is open to welfare state policies from the left and trade and macroeconomic policies from the free-market right — a single-payer health care system married to the flat tax."
This is the clearest expression of a progressive platform as I have read recently. Welcome to the club. Given a few more weeks of this administration's behavior, I can even imagine George Will coming around.
1
Brooks, like so many pundits, fails to distinguish rational, grammatical delivery in measured tones with the lack of quality or logic of the content within.
As for traditional Republican advocacy for the US as "world policeman," how does the unprecedented military buildup advocated by Trump square with "Trump explicitly repudiated this worldview, drawing instead a sharp distinction between what’s good for America and what’s good for the rest of the world?" In what way is it good for America to build an already bloated military budget by more than the amount of the entire Department of State budget?
Speaking of the military, Trump using a distraught widow for political gain was despicable. It does nothing to diminish the withering criticism of Trump's ill considered operation machismo that cost Owens his life, wounded four others, and left a $75 million Osprey destroyed, by Owens' father. Even that day, Trump was trying to deflect criticism to Obama. While true that Obama's military men planned the raid, Obama himself had shelved it as too risky. Yet Trump made it his first military action, in his first week, without a complete military/security team in place. The fault of shoddy execution, that killed women and children, as well, lies with Trump's egotism and impetuousness.
Trump's insistence on the "success" of the raid, his use of Carryn Owens as a political pawn shows a (dis)tempered steel inability to admit error, which will serve the country very poorly going forward
As for traditional Republican advocacy for the US as "world policeman," how does the unprecedented military buildup advocated by Trump square with "Trump explicitly repudiated this worldview, drawing instead a sharp distinction between what’s good for America and what’s good for the rest of the world?" In what way is it good for America to build an already bloated military budget by more than the amount of the entire Department of State budget?
Speaking of the military, Trump using a distraught widow for political gain was despicable. It does nothing to diminish the withering criticism of Trump's ill considered operation machismo that cost Owens his life, wounded four others, and left a $75 million Osprey destroyed, by Owens' father. Even that day, Trump was trying to deflect criticism to Obama. While true that Obama's military men planned the raid, Obama himself had shelved it as too risky. Yet Trump made it his first military action, in his first week, without a complete military/security team in place. The fault of shoddy execution, that killed women and children, as well, lies with Trump's egotism and impetuousness.
Trump's insistence on the "success" of the raid, his use of Carryn Owens as a political pawn shows a (dis)tempered steel inability to admit error, which will serve the country very poorly going forward
6
Children who grew up in abusive and traumatic homes know what is going on. Daddy is a screamer and a hitter and a mocker, but when he goes on a visit to his parents, the grandparents, he softens his tone and becomes a different person for a moment.
America elected this incompetent dangerous man, and it will pay the price. All the bad things he has done, and will do, could have been really good actions of Republicans had elected an experienced, talented, caring human being. But they are incapable of that, look at the people they nominate for their candidates, from Nixon to Bush/Bush to Trump.
Hugh Massengill, Eugene Oregon
America elected this incompetent dangerous man, and it will pay the price. All the bad things he has done, and will do, could have been really good actions of Republicans had elected an experienced, talented, caring human being. But they are incapable of that, look at the people they nominate for their candidates, from Nixon to Bush/Bush to Trump.
Hugh Massengill, Eugene Oregon
4
Brooks finally seems to get it: the ideals of elite Republicans like him are not the same as those of the less educated White voters who adore Trump. Brooks's only mistake is thinking that the Republican party's turn toward (White) nationalism started in the 1990s. Actually, it was a big part of Reagan's "welfare queen" message and GHW Bush's Willie Horton ads. It also permeated Nixon's Southern strategy. The elite may have been interested in arcane economic theories, but the average White guy was always thinking: "the government is taking my hard-earned money and giving it to lazy brown-skinned people." The Republican elite deserves a lot of blame for where the Republican party is today because of it's tone deafness to how it's message sounded to the average White voters that were essential to keeping it in power. The accusations from the left that there was a strong racist and xenophobic element in the Republican message should have been taken more seriously by the Republican elite. As is evident today, the left was absolutely correct. Trump does not represent any radical shift in Republican thinking . . . quite the contrary, his blood-and-soil nationalism is just the next logical step in a journey that began half a century ago.
1
Like Don Quixote, Mr. Brooks tilts at that windmill of connective tissue between "conservative" and "republican". Alas, there is none. It vanished eons ago.
Today's republicans have perverted any values that conservative philosophy held dear to become shills for power and money - regardless of any ethical or moral conflicts.
It is laughable that they applaud their own destruction, but not surprising.
Today's republicans have perverted any values that conservative philosophy held dear to become shills for power and money - regardless of any ethical or moral conflicts.
It is laughable that they applaud their own destruction, but not surprising.
1
This is one of Brooks' more insightful columns, because he's not forcing it to favor one side. His usual contorted logic is still here, but that's because he's reacting to tRump's "logic."
"It gave us a view of the political movement he represents."
tRump's not leading a movement with any cohesive set of ideals. It's a mix of fleeting, reckless impulses based on selfishness, divisiveness, and fomenting anarchy to hide one's actions.
You left out critical words: "drawing a sharp distinction between WHAT HE THINKS is good for America and what’s good for the rest of the world."
And he does this without any forethought, ignoring all evidence from people with knowledge and experience.
"They did it because partisanship is stronger than philosophy."
This is the most trenchant sentence you've written in many years. It also applies to your own writings up until your epiphany, which began during the election season.
"Regular Republicans wanted a father figure government that would protect them."
But they've voted against this self-interest since Reagan?
"He is not offering compassionate government, the way a Democrat might, but he is offering forceful government."
Then why would anyone be against Democrats? How are these two different?
"He’d use government to create millions of jobs for infrastructure projects."
So would the Dems; but the Reps obstructed. Now they're for it?
"It’s likely that Republican voters will simply reject these proposals."
Then why did they vote for him?
"It gave us a view of the political movement he represents."
tRump's not leading a movement with any cohesive set of ideals. It's a mix of fleeting, reckless impulses based on selfishness, divisiveness, and fomenting anarchy to hide one's actions.
You left out critical words: "drawing a sharp distinction between WHAT HE THINKS is good for America and what’s good for the rest of the world."
And he does this without any forethought, ignoring all evidence from people with knowledge and experience.
"They did it because partisanship is stronger than philosophy."
This is the most trenchant sentence you've written in many years. It also applies to your own writings up until your epiphany, which began during the election season.
"Regular Republicans wanted a father figure government that would protect them."
But they've voted against this self-interest since Reagan?
"He is not offering compassionate government, the way a Democrat might, but he is offering forceful government."
Then why would anyone be against Democrats? How are these two different?
"He’d use government to create millions of jobs for infrastructure projects."
So would the Dems; but the Reps obstructed. Now they're for it?
"It’s likely that Republican voters will simply reject these proposals."
Then why did they vote for him?
1
Funny how you guys are willing to overlook the fact that the Russians installed this administration, if they just give you a tax-cut, and kick the poor people in the teeth. Well, laugh it up. And quick. Because when the collusion between this administration and the FSB comes to light - and David, you know it is there - the tide will turn, and it will do so for many, many elections. Enjoy your moment of small government and freedom, it will be the last you get for a long, long time.
" Conservatives could embrace the creative destruction of the free market because they believed that the communal order could be held together by traditional morals" Well, that's what some of them said they believed. I think what was actually going on was closer to "Greed is good." Reagan smiled out of the TV screen, but he wasn't smiling at the Black community, or the poor or working people.
I guess the question is what this fantasy of a benevolent Reaganism can mean. Nowadays Brooks seems OK with the idea that people need some kind of security from which to venture on creative lives. (Why Europe now has more social mobility than we do) Can a person be a good Democrat while clinging to a bright fantasy of Reaganism? We'll see.
I guess the question is what this fantasy of a benevolent Reaganism can mean. Nowadays Brooks seems OK with the idea that people need some kind of security from which to venture on creative lives. (Why Europe now has more social mobility than we do) Can a person be a good Democrat while clinging to a bright fantasy of Reaganism? We'll see.
This was helpful. But when you say "enemies," please remember that Trump sees the enemy as not only Isis (which he doesn't understand) but also all brown and black immigrants and poor blacks (to say nothing of women). It's not clear in your analysis that you fully understand that. Also, please never analyze the Trump agenda without mentioning the climate crisis and how he not only ignores it but is dismantling the weak protections and corrections that Obama introduced. This is crucial to any understanding of his agenda.
A 70 year old man stood for a little over an hour and gave a speech in which he did not soil himself or shout at invisible and or imaginary enemies, and this is a high point in his public career as a pol.
Just think about that folks. This is where the GOP has taken us.
Whatever you think about the lies they promote as reality and the policies they sell for dealing with that reality the fact that we have continuously lost our resources and abilities as a nation and that we now have said 70 year old man as our president is the result of those policies for an imaginary reality.
Just think about that folks. This is where the GOP has taken us.
Whatever you think about the lies they promote as reality and the policies they sell for dealing with that reality the fact that we have continuously lost our resources and abilities as a nation and that we now have said 70 year old man as our president is the result of those policies for an imaginary reality.
1
One massive problem in all of this is evident from a phrase Brooks has just casually thrown out: "competitive education markets." As a teacher, I don't even know where to start in terms of reacting to this. Suffice it to say that real education is neither competitive nor something to be bought and sold on a market. The stupidity of the "school choice" movement astounds me daily.
Increase in the military budget to HUGE and all else cut. He IS a hawk and will go abroad. He says one thing and does another.
He IS bowing to the far right moral police with his unbalanced appointments; voiding transkids safe bathroom usage, recenlyt siding with TX about an anti-abortion law etc. He says one thing and does another.
ALL recent Republican presidents from Reagan to W have soared the federal deficit with a passion, not wanting to raise taxes regardless of reality, and always to amp up the military, seeing an enemy everywhere. And a huge federal deficit ties the hands of the incoming president from any new programs. A most cynical way to govern, out of office. He says one thing and does another here too.
Mr Brooks, you make your living with words and think they mean something. Mr. Trump means none of what he says. Watch instead what he does.
He IS bowing to the far right moral police with his unbalanced appointments; voiding transkids safe bathroom usage, recenlyt siding with TX about an anti-abortion law etc. He says one thing and does another.
ALL recent Republican presidents from Reagan to W have soared the federal deficit with a passion, not wanting to raise taxes regardless of reality, and always to amp up the military, seeing an enemy everywhere. And a huge federal deficit ties the hands of the incoming president from any new programs. A most cynical way to govern, out of office. He says one thing and does another here too.
Mr Brooks, you make your living with words and think they mean something. Mr. Trump means none of what he says. Watch instead what he does.
2
trump didn't mention a single social issue because he wants to fool all of the people all of the time. He's still only fooling your crowd.
1
Trump says anything depending on the day.
Brooks takes Trump seriously when Trump says something Brooks likes.
When will he learn?
Trump is distracting us with his left hand while the right of Ryan, McConnell, and Pence rob the American people.
Pay attention to the deficit.
Remember when the Republican Tea Party shut down the government in protest of raising the debt ceiling?
On January 09, 2017 before Trump even took office, Republicans voted to raise the debt ceiling by $10 Trillion over the next ten years.
Worse is their deficits which they are predicting to go from $550 Billion per year to $950 Billion per year.
Reagan / HW Bush raised the deficit. Clinton balanced the budget. W. Bush took that balanced budget and gave Obama a whopping $1.1 Trillion deficit (before the subprime melt down, final number was $1.4 Trillion). Obama got that down to $550 Billion.
And it is your children and grandchildren who will pay for it. Nor will they get anything for it, not better schools nor health care nor reduced poverty.
Grover Norquist said the we needed to pay for tax cuts to the rich and increased military spending with entitlement cuts.
And when he says entitlements, Norquist is talking about Social Security and Medicare.
I doubt the majority of Americans who have been paying into the system their whole working life consider them entitlements.
Brooks takes Trump seriously when Trump says something Brooks likes.
When will he learn?
Trump is distracting us with his left hand while the right of Ryan, McConnell, and Pence rob the American people.
Pay attention to the deficit.
Remember when the Republican Tea Party shut down the government in protest of raising the debt ceiling?
On January 09, 2017 before Trump even took office, Republicans voted to raise the debt ceiling by $10 Trillion over the next ten years.
Worse is their deficits which they are predicting to go from $550 Billion per year to $950 Billion per year.
Reagan / HW Bush raised the deficit. Clinton balanced the budget. W. Bush took that balanced budget and gave Obama a whopping $1.1 Trillion deficit (before the subprime melt down, final number was $1.4 Trillion). Obama got that down to $550 Billion.
And it is your children and grandchildren who will pay for it. Nor will they get anything for it, not better schools nor health care nor reduced poverty.
Grover Norquist said the we needed to pay for tax cuts to the rich and increased military spending with entitlement cuts.
And when he says entitlements, Norquist is talking about Social Security and Medicare.
I doubt the majority of Americans who have been paying into the system their whole working life consider them entitlements.
1
Mr. Brooks, just in case you missed reading Mr. Krugman's column this morning here's something I'd like you to read and commit to memory:
"But then you watch something like the way much of the news media responded to Mr. Trump’s congressional address, and you feel despair. It was a speech filled with falsehoods and vile policy proposals, but read calmly off the teleprompter — and suddenly everyone was declaring the liar in chief “presidential.”"
"But then you watch something like the way much of the news media responded to Mr. Trump’s congressional address, and you feel despair. It was a speech filled with falsehoods and vile policy proposals, but read calmly off the teleprompter — and suddenly everyone was declaring the liar in chief “presidential.”"
Thank you Mr. Brooks -- I found this very insightful, cutting through all the bluster to clearly show Trump's basic philosophy (if you can call it that) of gov't. I also found your closing paragraph on life being a 'series of daring adventures from a secure base' to be quite inspiring -- however, I feel that the ideas there are all basic to the democratic party. Overall, the republican party seems hell-bent on delivering as many benefits to the rich and the corporations as possible, and telling everyone else that they now have 'freedom'. We are on an express train to an extremely divided society, which should scare everyone.
I have to admit, I have stopped watching these contrived for the cameras act of kabuki theater about 10 years ago. One half stands the other sits there stone-faced. At least no one stood up and called him a liar. Although I am not sure that this is actually progress given our reality-TV, post-fact world.
I have grown tired of the charade. It's obvious to me now it is all an act. Contrived stage-craft. True this has been done in the past - but in the past it was employed as-needed and to make a rhetorical point. But this speech and just about everything I read, see and hear seems to be stage-craft. Everything and nothing of it is the long-con. And finally it proves that as long as you put an (R) after your name -- all is forgiven.
Oh, and that hornet's nest that was kicked to gin up the base -- just ignore that. Why you ask? The President actually gave a speech where he did not become unhinged. Lets sing kumbaya now.
I have grown tired of the charade. It's obvious to me now it is all an act. Contrived stage-craft. True this has been done in the past - but in the past it was employed as-needed and to make a rhetorical point. But this speech and just about everything I read, see and hear seems to be stage-craft. Everything and nothing of it is the long-con. And finally it proves that as long as you put an (R) after your name -- all is forgiven.
Oh, and that hornet's nest that was kicked to gin up the base -- just ignore that. Why you ask? The President actually gave a speech where he did not become unhinged. Lets sing kumbaya now.
1
The entire speech was Trump reading off the teleprompter?.......oh, so that's why he didn't mention his 306 electoral votes, his landslide victory, and his mandate. What a relief. I was beginning to worry he had forgotten all that.
2
Well said. But also Trump never said how he would pay for his extravagant claims.
My father landed at Normandy, and we won a war that had to be won, or we wouldn't be here today.
My father is turning in his grave. Trump spits on our common history.
My father is turning in his grave. Trump spits on our common history.
1
The socialistic democrats still not accept their defeat. The democrats are very weak and are grasping at nothing. Enjoy the next four years as they will be very long and highly productive.
There is nothing moderate about Trump: he is a totally excessive cry baby.
Most "isms" rely on over-simplification. Easy fixes to intractable problems, or hard truths that cannot be averted by being ignored - think of climate change, or the very real impact on wages of technology and competition from the other 6.5 billion people. They don't have simple answers.
So "tax cuts," "free college," "deregulation," "market based plans," "school choice" "Medicare for All," "strong military" "reduced military," are all likely to have impacts beyond the advertised effect. We just don't want to think about them.
Reagan conservatism was a retreat from 60s Liberalism. Current conservatives are retreating from policies that go as far back as Teddy Roosevelt. Chester A. Arthur, even. No matter what people like to think, undoing more than a century of policy will have an impact and nothing says it has to be good. There was a reason all those reforms got implemented.
Trump got elected on a a wave of emotion that can best be summed up as "anything is better than what we have now." But in reality, a lot of things can be a lot worse. Both Conservatives and Liberals need to do more than try to sell their philosophy. They need ideas that will actually work. And that approach is likely to be both incremental and non-ideological.
And cooperative. So good luck to us all.
So "tax cuts," "free college," "deregulation," "market based plans," "school choice" "Medicare for All," "strong military" "reduced military," are all likely to have impacts beyond the advertised effect. We just don't want to think about them.
Reagan conservatism was a retreat from 60s Liberalism. Current conservatives are retreating from policies that go as far back as Teddy Roosevelt. Chester A. Arthur, even. No matter what people like to think, undoing more than a century of policy will have an impact and nothing says it has to be good. There was a reason all those reforms got implemented.
Trump got elected on a a wave of emotion that can best be summed up as "anything is better than what we have now." But in reality, a lot of things can be a lot worse. Both Conservatives and Liberals need to do more than try to sell their philosophy. They need ideas that will actually work. And that approach is likely to be both incremental and non-ideological.
And cooperative. So good luck to us all.
88
What does it take? Trump "without the clownish behavior" is not the one who claims the Oval Office. A sow's ear, Mr. Brooks, not a purse.
1
Leave it to David Brooks to provide some rationale for Donald Trump because the so-called President will not, cannot, do it himself. To speak of an evolving ideology and Donald Trump in the same sentence is simply nonsense; Trump has no ideology beyond self-aggrandizement and adulation. The odd collection of individuals around him, few if any of whom could be said to be long-time Trump loyalists (since Trump is not a long-time figure in national politics) each have their own agenda for specific areas -- destroy environmental protection, privatize schools, advance the agenda of health insurance companies. Trying to weave these threads into a coherent fabric simply makes no sense. Whatever ideology was represented by Olde Tyme Republicanism (the interests of corporations and their major stockholders) has devolved into a three-ring circus. A similar, slightly less drastic, critique could be made of the "New Democratic" Party of the Clintons -- Dixicrats brought back into the fold from their Nixonian sojourn into corporate Republicanism. We have no governing philosophy in the United States, people are confused and as such are headed for the shelter of authoritarianism. "The Revolution" that erupted with the over-reach of the corporate state, having destroyed the economic status of millions, is well underway. It's not a pretty sight, certainly not one based on the logic of political philosophy beyond the rants of a quasi-madman alone at night, tweeting in his bathrobe.
2
Welcome to Sweden, David.
Amen David. Amen
One reaction I heard following the speech, which I fear is true . . . "Trump read well from the teleprompter and it's clear he didn't hear a word he said". The speech was written to correct the sad Inaugural effort. The man has little knowledge and no experience. This was the only speech we've heard where he was able to string words together. Craziness returns within days as he wanders the deck of an aircraft carrier in a new jacket and hat, a slightly better image than that of his late night wanderings in the Whitehouse in his bathrobe tweeting. So so sad are we. Brooks found substance where there was none.
1
" the guarded order of national corporatism over the wide-open riskiness of free-market capitalism."
That is called Fascism or National Socialism.
That is called Fascism or National Socialism.
1
What I find really troubling is that the movement Trump speaks of had among its followers in the early 2000's, people who are now my daughter's in-laws and husband, as well as other staunch Republicans, whom she met when she began her life as an international/transnational student from the Philippines and who subscribed to, first, the demonization of the Clintons, Fox, the Koch brothers, the Drudge Report, and then, Breitbart, and Alex Jones, all signalling a rising generation's prevailing mentality.
2
Trump just proves that Republicans arent wedded so much to principals, but power.
12
Trump's speech was smoke and mirrors and his actions so far in his role as President betrayed his words, will continue to betray his words. As for America's enemies, I would say he is the one we need to worry about the most.
3
Want to see those tax returns, then return the House and Senate to Democrats in '18. No more obfuscation. turn party over country on its head, run out the undermining Republicans, who will destroy our country for their personal gain.
4
Wouldn't it be ironic if Trump's downfall, his impeachment, came through a coalition of Democrats, who hate everything about him, and Conservative Republicans, who become fed up with his non-conservative policies and decide that a Pence presidency is their salvation.
"But in the 1990s conservatism devolved from a flexible balance to a crude anti-government philosophy, the Leave Us Alone coalition. Republicans talked as if Americans’ problem was they were burdened by too many restraints and the solution was to get government off their backs."
David chooses to forget, Goldwater started that mantra in 1964 and Reagan made it his mission as he said in 1981- “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.”
David chooses to forget, Goldwater started that mantra in 1964 and Reagan made it his mission as he said in 1981- “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.”
2
David has decide Trump has a coherent plan to reach conscious objectives. The basis for this view is that Trump has managed to stick with a teleprompter to run through a script of unknown authorship.
I guess we all like reassurance of Trump's sanity, but perhaps we need a bit more evidence?
I guess we all like reassurance of Trump's sanity, but perhaps we need a bit more evidence?
5
"But in the 1990s conservatism devolved from a flexible balance to a crude anti-government philosophy, the Leave Us Alone coalition. Republicans talked as if Americans’ problem was they were burdened by too many restraints and the solution was to get government off their backs."
Funny, I don't remember Mr Brooks discussing this "devolution" of conservatism at all during the Bush years, much less the Obama years. Nice to see him join those of us who saw it this way from the time of Reagan, however late he is to the game.
Funny, I don't remember Mr Brooks discussing this "devolution" of conservatism at all during the Bush years, much less the Obama years. Nice to see him join those of us who saw it this way from the time of Reagan, however late he is to the game.
Both parties have wore out the political vocabularies that have kept them in power for decades. Trump represents a movement that is trying out new vocabularies and narratives to describe and understand the realities of this rapidly changing world. Democrats, also, are in the process of experimenting with new vocabularies and narratives to persuade their constituencies that their party has the answer for the disruptions of this new global political and economic order. Although both parties, at this point, are fumbling around with their messages and policies, the process I believe is a healthy one. We have gone too long without asking ourselves: "who are we," "how did we come to be what we are," what might we become." Both parties, for too long, have avoided these existential questions and instead adhered to general principles and plans of action. Now having said that, both parties, especially the Republican, are woefully unprepared, both intellectually and emotionally to approach these types of utopian questions in a meaningful way, but what we are all experiencing, and is confounding to conservatives and liberals alike---is coming face to face with a world that was always composed of contingency and not some foundational belief system---religions, ideologies, theories,---that if believed in would provide certainty in our lives. Unfortunate that Trump was the messenger, but, in his own crude way he is challenging an entire nation to develop a new vision for this country.
In addition to the desire for security our country appears to be heavily influenced by the narratives of scarcity (i.e. there's not enough for everyone so hoard what you have) and fear (i.e be afraid of the "other"). instead of confidence, risk-taking, and personal responsibilty we have insecurity and blame. It's true that "All of life is a series of daring adventures from a secure base." How sad that our political system (and especially #45) don't ascribe to that outlook in order to focus their decision-making on the common good. If we held our political leaders accountable for "creating a framework in which people grow up amid healthy families, nurturing schools, thick communities and a secure safety net" we might not be in this terrifying mess.
2
When you deal with people who make crazy as a way of life, one seemingly sane day does not equate to stability and sanity; it's just a brief respite.
3
It has been obvious to many observers that Trump's politics are not about Republicanism. His brand has been something on which Republican politicians have merely hitched a ride for their own convenience. So let's stop pretending that Trump is a Republican and let's call Trumpism what it is, National Socialism, a political philosophy that combines rabid nationalism with support of the working classes. Although it may not be a popular political brand, at least not since it abruptly went out of fashion in 1945, I feel hard pressed to come up with a better definition.
4
Misogyny, war lust, greed, the need and power to humiliate-- there is so much common ground.
6
" This is a response that is open to welfare state policies from the left and trade and macroeconomic policies from the free-market right — a single-payer health care system married to the flat tax. "
There is a real question as to whether a global free market economy can ever provide enough revenue to fund a single-payer health care system, in addition to the world's largest military apparatus, and plenty of reason for doubt.
There is a real question as to whether a global free market economy can ever provide enough revenue to fund a single-payer health care system, in addition to the world's largest military apparatus, and plenty of reason for doubt.
I find Trumps policy statements to be wholly consistent with long term republican goals. To blame Trump for the culmination of all their bad ideas when they finally have power is disingenuous. He is not a departure from the hard right but the example of it.
1
Reagan was as big a fraud as Trump is, he just wasn't as crazy.
7
"Donald Trump ... is not offering compassionate government, the way a Democrat might, but he is offering forceful government."
Not just what "a Democrat might", but what the founding fathers did want. Reading the book "Hamilton" I learned that the power of unlimited pardons by the president was put into the constitution just so the government could show compassion. Let's not forget that.
Not just what "a Democrat might", but what the founding fathers did want. Reading the book "Hamilton" I learned that the power of unlimited pardons by the president was put into the constitution just so the government could show compassion. Let's not forget that.
1
I've never understood what was so great about Ronald Reagan's brand of Republicanism. He was a genial man and seemed rather "nice," on a personal level; that was good. (A temperament like that seems better and better to me all the time.) But I never understood why right out of the gate he broke the air traffic controller's union (like why do that?). It set the precedent of money before people, health, and safety. It sort of broke the contract the country had made with the Greatest Generation, of honoring its citizens and helping people have successful lives. It became more the government against the people than for the people.
4
A big question left unanswered here: Just why did and do all those conservatives applaud enthusiastically at "their own repudiation"? How has this reversal of so many conservative tenets taken place so swiftly and successfully? Because there is one more pillar of modern conservatism Brooks neglects to mention: willingness to exploit (at the least) prejudice, racism, and xenophobia. And on this pillar Trump stands solidly and--until the Republican congress comes to its senses--securely.
*That* is the line of continuity between the old GOP and Trumpism. And it is powerful enough to allow national GOP leaders to feel comfortable ignoring not merely Trump's many destructive policies and anti-democratic practices, but the very real threat that his presidency is based on possibly treasonous collusion with an antagonistic foreign power.
*That* is the line of continuity between the old GOP and Trumpism. And it is powerful enough to allow national GOP leaders to feel comfortable ignoring not merely Trump's many destructive policies and anti-democratic practices, but the very real threat that his presidency is based on possibly treasonous collusion with an antagonistic foreign power.
I see contemporary conservatism as resting on three principles, but they are not the ones described here. The first and most essential is individual responsibility. The second is small government and the third is free markets.
All work in the context of theoretical constructs. Of course, individuals have to assume some responsibility for themselves, but when the philosophy has to rest on the traditional conservatism of private charity as the only alternative to government intervention and people, for whatever reason, are unwilling or unable to response to the challenge, it falls short.
Small government means low taxes and people like that. They also like the idea of getting rid of regulations. That expecting people to act in the best interest of the general good is a contradiction of traditional pessimistic views of human nature doesn't seem to get much attention.
Free markets are perhaps the most damaging aspect of modern conservatism. The idea that the "creative destruction" of contemporary capitalism solves all problems ignores the reality that a lot of people suffer from the process.
It has taken years for us to get to the point where this kind of conservatism is deeply rooted. It affects both Republicans and Democrats. I agree that it's time to think anew before rising inequality and declining opportunity undermine democracy.
All work in the context of theoretical constructs. Of course, individuals have to assume some responsibility for themselves, but when the philosophy has to rest on the traditional conservatism of private charity as the only alternative to government intervention and people, for whatever reason, are unwilling or unable to response to the challenge, it falls short.
Small government means low taxes and people like that. They also like the idea of getting rid of regulations. That expecting people to act in the best interest of the general good is a contradiction of traditional pessimistic views of human nature doesn't seem to get much attention.
Free markets are perhaps the most damaging aspect of modern conservatism. The idea that the "creative destruction" of contemporary capitalism solves all problems ignores the reality that a lot of people suffer from the process.
It has taken years for us to get to the point where this kind of conservatism is deeply rooted. It affects both Republicans and Democrats. I agree that it's time to think anew before rising inequality and declining opportunity undermine democracy.
1
I very much appreciate your ongoing insights about how power is disconnecting Republicans from their core values. I believe this is of great service to the country. "Why is it that power is so corrupting?"
1
Missing was the one sentence that should always end his pieces.
"I still vote for, support, and apologize for Republicans regardless of the aforementioned contradictions."
"I still vote for, support, and apologize for Republicans regardless of the aforementioned contradictions."
3
Can we please stop giving Trump credit for this speech and instead call it what it was: a speech somebody wrote that Trump read aloud from a teleprompter.
1
I agree with much of what you say here, but there are still dots you don't connect: "The old Reagan conservatism was economic individualism restrained by social and religious traditionalism....But in the 1990s conservatism devolved from a flexible balance to a crude anti-government philosophy, the Leave Us Alone coalition. "
Reagan was a leader of crude anti-government philosophy. While he may not have practiced it, he certainly gave voice to it and it caught on. And the GOP embrace of social conservatives boosted anti-science anti-intellect thinking, which has destroyed the party. We haven't shifted from Reagan, we have manifested his vision. While he did a few good things, he was a good poster boy for our self-destruction.
Reagan was a leader of crude anti-government philosophy. While he may not have practiced it, he certainly gave voice to it and it caught on. And the GOP embrace of social conservatives boosted anti-science anti-intellect thinking, which has destroyed the party. We haven't shifted from Reagan, we have manifested his vision. While he did a few good things, he was a good poster boy for our self-destruction.
1
Stop pretending that today's Republicans should be the party of Lincoln and TR. Today's Republican party looks a lot like the Democratic Party that supported Jim Crow and unending spending on the military before the Great Society and the Vietnam war transformed it.
Nixon's Southern strategy was transformative and after a few decades we see the results.
Nixon's Southern strategy was transformative and after a few decades we see the results.
3
Did anyone else wonder with Trump's bragging about the stock market rise in his speech how many of his base supporters without jobs or investments will benefit from the rise? And how many wealthy investors will make money in porportion to their wealth? Oh yes, their on paper wealth will trickle down to them, magically.
None of the things you mention that Trump will do: infrastructure, health care plan, etc.-- will actually be done.
The truest thing in this piece is the mention of the "donor class." They may be 1% of us but they are 100% of the governing body at present. The three other branches of government are either co-conspirators or merely obstacles.
The truest thing in this piece is the mention of the "donor class." They may be 1% of us but they are 100% of the governing body at present. The three other branches of government are either co-conspirators or merely obstacles.
1
The sight of Ryan and McConnell, grinning ear to ear behind Trump in their identical blue ties, only reinforced the fact that they had assumed the position, bent over before this sorry excuse of a president and allowed him to subvert all the core principles of the GOP without uttering so much as a whimper. Partisanship before country, profit before environmental protection, tax cuts for the rich and heaping shovelfuls of manure for the poor.
'... much of Trump's policy agenda contradicts his core philosophy."
I don't think this is true. Trump's core philosophy is quite simple: Say what makes the Donald feel good.
If whatever he thinks right now makes him feel good, then he'll say it. If the exact opposite makes him feel good fifteen minutes later, he'll say that.
The mistake everyone makes is paying any attention to what he says. If everyone, from his lieutenants to world leaders, simply ignore him, we'll be much better off.
I don't think this is true. Trump's core philosophy is quite simple: Say what makes the Donald feel good.
If whatever he thinks right now makes him feel good, then he'll say it. If the exact opposite makes him feel good fifteen minutes later, he'll say that.
The mistake everyone makes is paying any attention to what he says. If everyone, from his lieutenants to world leaders, simply ignore him, we'll be much better off.
"A single-payer health care system married to the flat tax"... Unfortunately these are not easily reconcilable concepts. The flat tax concept is utterly unfair and counterproductive; 10% of revenues represents a completely different burden for a household making $50,000 p.a. or one making $1 million.
1
Hopefully, when people are done falling all over themselves congratulating Trump on a "Presidential" performance - he IS the President you know, try to remember why this is such a big deal - they will look again at the content of his speech and see the he-wolf always lurking underneath.
Afterward, my husband and I bet each other on how long it would take for this blip to be overshadowed by the next tweet or gaff or scandal, but neither of us laid their money on the next day.
The Sessions scramble is pure Trump. By naming a man of such low morals and integrity to a position where those traits are paramount, a collision of man and mission was inevitable. No one knew that it was laying in wait the day he took office.
I hope "alternative" Trump can continue to "act" Presidential - the other more real Trump was a constant source of embarrassment to us all.
But "alternative" Trump is, in some ways, even more dangerous. Do not be fooled into thinking anything about this man or his plans for this country are "normal".
Remember what his supporters would say after a more flagrant display of the real, un-Presidential Trump, "Don't listen to what he says or how he says it - watch what he does."
I have a strong feeling the real Trump can't be kept in line for long anyway.
Afterward, my husband and I bet each other on how long it would take for this blip to be overshadowed by the next tweet or gaff or scandal, but neither of us laid their money on the next day.
The Sessions scramble is pure Trump. By naming a man of such low morals and integrity to a position where those traits are paramount, a collision of man and mission was inevitable. No one knew that it was laying in wait the day he took office.
I hope "alternative" Trump can continue to "act" Presidential - the other more real Trump was a constant source of embarrassment to us all.
But "alternative" Trump is, in some ways, even more dangerous. Do not be fooled into thinking anything about this man or his plans for this country are "normal".
Remember what his supporters would say after a more flagrant display of the real, un-Presidential Trump, "Don't listen to what he says or how he says it - watch what he does."
I have a strong feeling the real Trump can't be kept in line for long anyway.
1
Starting with Reagan, who increased the national debt by 90%, Republicans have always ignored huge deficit spending when a Republican is in office. It is only when a Democrat is president that it becomes a problem for them. As for being global policemen, Trump is calling for a huge and unnecessary increase in military spending.
1
Mr. Brooks last paragraph seems to sum it all up but it also negates everything else that was written. All the "--isms" that are floating around are just the by-product of partisanship inside a "state of radical flux" means it is too early to make opinions about Trumpism--something created in flux. Instead the thinking anew should be on the concrete and not policy in flux. For instance, is the present administration capable of governing a democratic country.
First I saw tump point to the democratic side several times when he wanted to warn/lecture them. Running up the military budget is an old GOP trick to run up the debt now and then claim entitlements need to be cut down the road. It's often offered with tax cuts for the wealthy which was included in his speech.
1
What Mr Brooks describes seems to me significantly like what I rremember about Italy and Spain in my childhood, when Mussolini and Franco held sway.
1
According to Brooks article Trump is actually not that far from much of Bernie Sander's thinking: Repudiation of Republican foreign policy hawks and America as global policeman; Repudiation of social conservatives and all the religious stuff; and repudiation of Republican fiscal hawks against increase of government spending programs/preservation of entitlement programs.
It would appear that Trump and Sander's type thinking is of a national socialistic type: Stated contraction of nation (withdrawal from vast foreign policy goals); stated removal from falling into a core of archaic religious, social conservative type thinking in favor of secularism; and expansion of government programs for the people.
The big question seems to be exactly what form this national socialism will take. Will the Trump type become more of a white supremacy movement, become an exclusionary national socialism movement and will it result actually in greater and more forceful foreign policy, or will it lean more to the Sander's inclusive type national socialism and extreme care in foreign policy action?
Of course my above reading of all of this is strictly dependent on Brook's reasoning here and what little I know from news of Trump and Sanders.
But it does seem like America's political parties today are like two hands trying to mold the clay of America into some sort of proportionate shape which is not too much foreign policy overreach but not a sinking into religion, white supremacy, etc.
It would appear that Trump and Sander's type thinking is of a national socialistic type: Stated contraction of nation (withdrawal from vast foreign policy goals); stated removal from falling into a core of archaic religious, social conservative type thinking in favor of secularism; and expansion of government programs for the people.
The big question seems to be exactly what form this national socialism will take. Will the Trump type become more of a white supremacy movement, become an exclusionary national socialism movement and will it result actually in greater and more forceful foreign policy, or will it lean more to the Sander's inclusive type national socialism and extreme care in foreign policy action?
Of course my above reading of all of this is strictly dependent on Brook's reasoning here and what little I know from news of Trump and Sanders.
But it does seem like America's political parties today are like two hands trying to mold the clay of America into some sort of proportionate shape which is not too much foreign policy overreach but not a sinking into religion, white supremacy, etc.
Why does anyone NOT want universal health care? Why does any woman NOT want agency over her body? Why would any parents NOT want higher education available to their children regardless of their income? Why would we WANT our environment polluted and depleted? And why would we NOT want state-of-the-art highways, bridges, highspeed rail and transit systems? And the anserr is NOT that it's too expensive. Others, please add to this list as it goes on, and Nancy& I are flumoxed by them.
The smirking Paul Ryan and ah shucks laugh-smile of Mike Pence hardly reflect repudiation of republicanism.
Ryan thinks he can get his way with Trump as the administration hasn't offered up a single piece of legislation in six weeks leaving the poor saps voting for Trump to wonder, "Is he really going to remember the 'forgotten' men and women that he promised so much and to date delivered so little?" To Ryan, Trump is completely incompetent requiring his legislative hand to guide cuts in Medicare and Social Security.
MIke Pence was looking secure in his knowledge that soon he will be president. it was priceless to see him laughing as Trump talked about a wall. Pence must be thinking he will have the Oval Office in months rather than years.
Ryan thinks he can get his way with Trump as the administration hasn't offered up a single piece of legislation in six weeks leaving the poor saps voting for Trump to wonder, "Is he really going to remember the 'forgotten' men and women that he promised so much and to date delivered so little?" To Ryan, Trump is completely incompetent requiring his legislative hand to guide cuts in Medicare and Social Security.
MIke Pence was looking secure in his knowledge that soon he will be president. it was priceless to see him laughing as Trump talked about a wall. Pence must be thinking he will have the Oval Office in months rather than years.
Regarding Tjrump's speech on Tuesday: This time we can use the expression "Putting lipstick on a pig" without being called sexist.
Why is the military build-up proposed? We currently spend more money on defense than the next six countries combined, and we're still winding down the military from two mistakes in the middle-east. Are we going back to the days of "Deficits don't matter", at least, while the Republicans are in office? Who are we going to pick a fight with, North Korea, what is with the Republicans and going to war? Is it because the weapons are assembled in 32 different states, and the stock piles are getting expense to store?
I'm sorry, but saying that Trump has a guiding philosophy - as in something he thinks about - is ignoring the impulsive egocentric behavior that we are treated to every day. Whatever overlay you manage to fit on his utterances and behavior today will not fit his presentation tomorrow. He has said he wants to be unpredictable; but what he really is is erratic, incurious and shallow. For the most part, that kind of profile has found a home in Congress, not the White House.
How many uncompromising factions are there in this supposed Republican party? Before the election many pundits predicted the splintering of Republican. After the election there is higher probability of splintering.
what we saw was a GOP Congress giving repeated standing ovations to statement after statement--perhaps only because the man was able to successfully read them from a teleprompter! Trump did not write the speech; it was written by others who sought to make him seem rational and coherent after the chaotic and indeed scary 4 weeks he has been in office. Again, why listen to Trump's speech--every utterance he makes is either a lie, a "head-fake" or simply unthought out. Unlike previous Presidents, Trump's words are simply to allow him to do what he wants for his own profit--whatever smoke screen works.
"there used to be fiscal hawks who worried about the national debt. Trump demolished these people...vowing a long list of spending programs and preservation of entitlement programs."
Once upon a time, conservatives wanted to cut taxes (mainly on the rich) and reduce spending, while liberals wanted to raise taxes (mainly on the rich) and increase spending. Along comes Trump, who wants to cut taxes AND increase spending at the same time, a platform so brazenly illogical that nobody has previously campaigned on it.
And now, after winning the election by promising everything to everyone, he's stalling for time. Because of course, he can't deliver on the impossible. His speech did not reveal any new details about how he plans to pull a herd of rabbits out of his hat. He's stuck in permanent campaign mode, because he CAN"T switch to policy mode. Actual policies that deliver on all of his contradictory promises do not exist.
And Wall Street is loving it, of course. Probably, they know something we don't about which campaign promises are going to be kept and which are going to be broken. But make no mistake, many of Trump's promises WILL be broken. Just ask his former creditors who got fleeced, or the students who enrolled in Trump University.
Once upon a time, conservatives wanted to cut taxes (mainly on the rich) and reduce spending, while liberals wanted to raise taxes (mainly on the rich) and increase spending. Along comes Trump, who wants to cut taxes AND increase spending at the same time, a platform so brazenly illogical that nobody has previously campaigned on it.
And now, after winning the election by promising everything to everyone, he's stalling for time. Because of course, he can't deliver on the impossible. His speech did not reveal any new details about how he plans to pull a herd of rabbits out of his hat. He's stuck in permanent campaign mode, because he CAN"T switch to policy mode. Actual policies that deliver on all of his contradictory promises do not exist.
And Wall Street is loving it, of course. Probably, they know something we don't about which campaign promises are going to be kept and which are going to be broken. But make no mistake, many of Trump's promises WILL be broken. Just ask his former creditors who got fleeced, or the students who enrolled in Trump University.
The modern GOP in Washington (Presidency, Congress, appointees) believes in nothing but crony capitalism, to grab power and loot the country for themselves and their "friends". Any other appearance is due to smoke and mirrors.
“[Regular Republicans] wanted a father figure government that would protect them from the disruptions of technological change and globalization.” Is that Think-Tank-Speak for “the masses wanted a benevolent dictator”? Mr. Brooks remains unable to break from the official position that actual criticism of The Donald is verboten. The dime upon which the Republican Party turned was Reagan, not The Donald. Time indeed to think anew.
Trump has sold us to the Russians for thirty pieces of silver, and instead of protecting us, the Republican party has joined in. How can we ever trust the law and order party again? How can anyone think this is okay, no big deal?
A disturbing, contemptuous, nightmare - the Republican Party in action.
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What you are actually saying is that you understand the basic Democratic platform is what will best serve the nation.
"There used to be Republican foreign policy hawks, people who believed that it was in America’s interest to serve as a global policeman, actively preserving a democratic world order. Trump explicitly repudiated this worldview, drawing instead a sharp distinction between what’s good for America and what’s good for the rest of the world."
The President of the United States was once known as the leader of the free world. Trump can't afford to be that leader. To do so would force him to confront the Kremlin, which sees America's withdrawal from our 75-year long position of political and military leadership as an opportunity to use whatever methods it can to grab influence in central and western Europe.
Trump can't afford to confront Russia because of its hold over him, economic more than likely, though without seeing his tax returns we'll never know. And with the GOP's unwillingness to fully and fairly investigate a clearly tainted election, we also never know exactly how much help he received from them to get to the Oval Office in the first place.
And that's another thing missing from modern so-called Conservative Republicans: love of country above love of party.
The President of the United States was once known as the leader of the free world. Trump can't afford to be that leader. To do so would force him to confront the Kremlin, which sees America's withdrawal from our 75-year long position of political and military leadership as an opportunity to use whatever methods it can to grab influence in central and western Europe.
Trump can't afford to confront Russia because of its hold over him, economic more than likely, though without seeing his tax returns we'll never know. And with the GOP's unwillingness to fully and fairly investigate a clearly tainted election, we also never know exactly how much help he received from them to get to the Oval Office in the first place.
And that's another thing missing from modern so-called Conservative Republicans: love of country above love of party.
I don't think we should read too much or too deeply into Trump's statements.
The constant characteristic about Trump is that he changes his mind/words almost daily.
Mr. Brooks says, "Time to think anew". Yes, but his closed fist in the air signals something else to me: "Do it my way, or else" and that is his history.
The constant characteristic about Trump is that he changes his mind/words almost daily.
Mr. Brooks says, "Time to think anew". Yes, but his closed fist in the air signals something else to me: "Do it my way, or else" and that is his history.
Search for logic in the Trump agenda and you will find mostly contradiction, but for one thing. Trump is a master at bait and switch. So best assume that one position can become the opposite tomorrow if it serves his personal emotional needs. David has finally arrived at a conclusion here that is not markedly different from the liberal way forward. He has certainly taken a painfully long and circuitous route to finally get there.
1
"Trump would use big government to crack down on enemies foreign and domestic."
More Brooks blather: Donald is in office precisely because of "enemies foreign" and he treats all of us who didn't vote for him as "enemies domestic."
More Brooks blather: Donald is in office precisely because of "enemies foreign" and he treats all of us who didn't vote for him as "enemies domestic."
There's no way to normalize this. Trumpism will never be something that can be described as being at its "best".
There's nothing good about it.
And there was nothing new about Donald Trump, or his speech on Tuesday night.
If anything, it was just more of the same packed under a new set of lies, and the only reason he was standing up there is because the Republican Party ignored themselves by anointing him as their standard-bearer.
For all the reasons you have mentioned, Mr. Brooks, they deserve his repudiation.
But this country doesn't.
There's nothing good about it.
And there was nothing new about Donald Trump, or his speech on Tuesday night.
If anything, it was just more of the same packed under a new set of lies, and the only reason he was standing up there is because the Republican Party ignored themselves by anointing him as their standard-bearer.
For all the reasons you have mentioned, Mr. Brooks, they deserve his repudiation.
But this country doesn't.
I don't believe that this piece is intended to say much about Trump's fitness to serve as president--and I don't believe that it does say much about that, except indirectly. It does say, after all, that even Republican voters are likely to reject some Trump proposals, that he is ignoring issues that have mattered to many people, that some of his approach contradicts what we understand about how the world actually works, and that some of his proposals actually contradict his own brand. In terms of personal qualities, it implies that he is small minded, incoherent, and mean. It does not condone any of his more extreme attitudes and behaviors.
As a dispassionate analysis of the content of Trump's speech, it raises a number of interesting, important, and potentially useful perspectives. What we should do with these is try to better understand how we might act more effectively to unseat Trump and put America back onto a course that will best serve the majority of its citizens.
As a dispassionate analysis of the content of Trump's speech, it raises a number of interesting, important, and potentially useful perspectives. What we should do with these is try to better understand how we might act more effectively to unseat Trump and put America back onto a course that will best serve the majority of its citizens.
I think what you're really saying is that "Trumpism" means nothing except the self-aggrandizement of Donald Trump. As if we didn't know.
Trump won mainly because some people with more money than God wanted to get the Democrats out of power, mainly so they can run roughshod over the environment. The voters were a means to an end.
But that does leave issues for people who actually care about governance: What do we need so many people for? What are they all to do? A century ago farming and manufacturing needed way more labor than is now the case. Surely there is a limit to the number of personal goods and services we can all consume.
But that does leave issues for people who actually care about governance: What do we need so many people for? What are they all to do? A century ago farming and manufacturing needed way more labor than is now the case. Surely there is a limit to the number of personal goods and services we can all consume.
The economist Jack Rasmus got it right. Trump's policies are just a "repacking of corporate-radical right attempts to reassert corporate hegemony and control over the global economy and US society. His antecedents are the policies and strategies of Nixon, Reagan and Gingrich’s ‘Contract for America’."
David may wish that this agenda was a coherent 'conservative philosophy' but at its core it is the efforts of the corporate elite to squeeze more and more profit out of an increasingly erratic and unpredictable system.
In its wake, then and now are rising poverty, stagnant or diminishing wages, little or no consumer protection, market driven banditry in everything from housing, health care, stock trading and repeated efforts to loot Social Security.
Education used to be a public service necessary to a strong economy. Now it's a commodity. You only get what you can pay for, after borrow from a bank so you can pay them.
You need 'law and order' when this version of the free market is hanging around your neck like a stone. For Trump you also need diversions, enemies and scapegoats which he is supplying every day. Reagan did it with a smile, Trump prefers a sneer. But they both serve the same masters only with a different style.
This isn't about nostalgia for high sounding principles, none of which apply to the corporate elites. What we see is once again an American version of class warfare, 21st century style. The numbers don't lie. Only politicians and columnists do.
David may wish that this agenda was a coherent 'conservative philosophy' but at its core it is the efforts of the corporate elite to squeeze more and more profit out of an increasingly erratic and unpredictable system.
In its wake, then and now are rising poverty, stagnant or diminishing wages, little or no consumer protection, market driven banditry in everything from housing, health care, stock trading and repeated efforts to loot Social Security.
Education used to be a public service necessary to a strong economy. Now it's a commodity. You only get what you can pay for, after borrow from a bank so you can pay them.
You need 'law and order' when this version of the free market is hanging around your neck like a stone. For Trump you also need diversions, enemies and scapegoats which he is supplying every day. Reagan did it with a smile, Trump prefers a sneer. But they both serve the same masters only with a different style.
This isn't about nostalgia for high sounding principles, none of which apply to the corporate elites. What we see is once again an American version of class warfare, 21st century style. The numbers don't lie. Only politicians and columnists do.
1
Yes imagine the power that would be unleashed with a single-payer health care system.
Imagine all americans not having to wonder what is or isn't covered in their health "insurance".
Imagine not being bombarded with multiple, random bills for services provided two months after a visit to the hospital?
Imagine deciding to start your own business rather than stay at your job because of the "benefits".
Imagine all americans not having to wonder what is or isn't covered in their health "insurance".
Imagine not being bombarded with multiple, random bills for services provided two months after a visit to the hospital?
Imagine deciding to start your own business rather than stay at your job because of the "benefits".
An interesting Friday perspective considering that on Tuesday night you gave the Trump speech an "A" on PBS.
Very thoughtful and provocative article. I hope, David, that you will clear the time to expand it into a short book, perhaps like Walter Lippmann's The Public Philosophy.
We are indeed in a time of "radical flux." The divisions in the Republican party were temporarily papered over by Trump's electoral victory. But now they are reappearing. Perhaps the Reagan mix of "economic individualism restrained by social and religious traditionalism" was too unstable to survive buffeting? Certainly the neo-liberal era is ending in division and, for many, despair.
We need a new public philosophy. "Compassionate Conservatism" is a marvelous name, but can it be more than that?
We are indeed in a time of "radical flux." The divisions in the Republican party were temporarily papered over by Trump's electoral victory. But now they are reappearing. Perhaps the Reagan mix of "economic individualism restrained by social and religious traditionalism" was too unstable to survive buffeting? Certainly the neo-liberal era is ending in division and, for many, despair.
We need a new public philosophy. "Compassionate Conservatism" is a marvelous name, but can it be more than that?
Republican voters were happy with the Trump speech. Their happiness with Trump did not center on the words in the speech but rather that he delivered it hinged. They already believe he has delivered on his promises because he tells them he has done so although there is no solid evidence of same. So, Republican voters will continue to be duped by the showman until their lives are shredded by Ryan, et al and even then Republicans will expertly blame it on the Democrats.
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What we've learned is that the Republican leadership is packed with hypocrites and liars.
More spin and specious platitudes tinged with grandiose Quixotic meanderings about millions of jobs - no ideological vision about the future of the Country, no reference to our role in foreign affairs or diplomacy, no real substance yet again. The disgusting manipulation of the bereaved Seal window was a bizarre attempt to show his compassion, please have you no decency. For all of their faults and unfulfilled promises at least his predecessors had some sense of moral compass and global perspective which framed their course - this man's odyssey is a concerning continuation of the self-serving and hedonistic history he has shown for his entire life. No hope for change here.
1
What about the disparity between what Trump says and what he does? What are we to believe from his statements? Other than unpredictability, irrationality and reactionism, it's difficult for me to judge his statements so far.
If the best thing you can deduce about a formal speech by the newly elected President of the United States is that it was void of any clownish behavior,.......................
I would like to know, "why" Democrats sit on their hands when Trump says things like "put our citizens first"? And, I don't want to be seen as picking on Democrats ---- what made Mitch McConnell, throw a wrench in Obama's work for eight years? Of course, I'm stupid, right -- it's the money - each is bought - none on them represent the state nor the people that sent them --- they represent the money that got them there, and nobody gets there without it. I guess, they should all be proud of themselves.
You continue to be the voice of reason David, thank you for not joining the mud slinging masses, in case nobody's noticed it hasn't worked very well for the last thirty plus years, not to mention it is the grand plan of both parties, keep everyone stirred up and have their attention diverted on minutia while the real deals are done that benefit the special interests. You nailed it in both the positive and negatives points of Trumps speech, I only wish the D.N.C. would have evaluated the pulse and wishes of the people as well as you just did, but being part of the dinosaur establishment was their Achilles heel as well, young people in particular are to well educated and have to much information at their fingertips to be led down the primrose path anymore by promises that are never meant to be kept. Trump did seem to be arrempting to strike a balance, backing away from some of his more divisive rhetoric, and I agree the positions on health care and education, particularly the voucher and H.S.A. proposals espoused by Rand Paul won't fly they are the antithesis of what his base and America wants and needs. Thanks for the balanced narrative David you're the best.
1
Mr. Brooks, in one paragraph you extol that "old Reagan conservatism" while in the next you decry the current "crude anti-government philosophy" of the Republican party. I find the cognitive dissonance stunning. Do you not remember Reagan's "government is the problem, not the solution"? What about the mockery of those "scary" words, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help"? You simply seem incapable of recognizing that the very things you decry about Trump had their genesis in St. Reagan and that the current fine mess we find ourselves in is indeed something that you and all other "main stream" Republicans share the blame for. The first step in solving a problem is admitting that you have one, and it seems to me that you are still not there.
Am reminded of a scene in Argentinian film, "Pronto una sombra tu seras,"in which a protagonist, Coluchini,(played by Pepe Soriano) speaks to an imaginary Christ on a hilltop, and then explains to his companion(Angel Miguel Solis) that as a "viejo pecador,"Christ has pardoned him:"Me perdona, me perdona"he exclaims with joy.Solis replies that Christ could be a swindler, to which Coluchini responds"No importa, es lo que uno necesita!"That sums up how many of us Trump supporters feel about our vox populi!His intentions r good as far as we r concerned, he speaks in the language of the folk, and we reject out of hand criticism of the President by liberal eltitists,who have led soft lives in genteel surroundings, and never had to scrap, struggle for a day's work to feed their families..Brooks teaches at Yale.Jolly for him.Even with years of hard work, we could never afford to save enough to pay the tuition at Yale or similar institutions.
If government can create a framework in which people grow up amid healthy families, nurturing schools, thick communities and a secure safety net, then they will have the resources and audacity to thrive in a free global economy and a diversifying skills economy.
In other words Scandinavia...
In other words Scandinavia...
Regular voters want protection and security. We don't need a father figure. We need a functioning government that works for us rather than against us, that stands up to businesses when they begin to demand more than they need in tax breaks or start to hurt workers in their quest for profits. At the present time, and for quite a long time we haven't had a government composed of senators or representatives who listen to or understand what life has been like for the average American. We've heard about politicians feeling our pain. How much pain do they experience when it comes to medical care? How much pain have they gone through when it comes to finding a job, watching their children struggle to find jobs, affordable housing, and all the things that are required to establish oneself as an adult in America?
What the GOP (and the Democrats to a lesser degree) overlooks is how little support is provided to Americans in comparison to other similarly advanced countries. We pay plenty in taxes but receive very little back because no one lobbies for us. We hear how important it is for businesses to be able to hire and fire at will, to be free from regulations about safety, fair hiring practices, employee rights, environmental considerations, even paying taxes. What about us? What about our rights as citizens and employees? If government constantly bows to businesses citizens suffer. And when citizens suffer it's not good for the country.
What the GOP (and the Democrats to a lesser degree) overlooks is how little support is provided to Americans in comparison to other similarly advanced countries. We pay plenty in taxes but receive very little back because no one lobbies for us. We hear how important it is for businesses to be able to hire and fire at will, to be free from regulations about safety, fair hiring practices, employee rights, environmental considerations, even paying taxes. What about us? What about our rights as citizens and employees? If government constantly bows to businesses citizens suffer. And when citizens suffer it's not good for the country.
70
Am I the only one who is confused by the distinction being made between the Reagan conservatism of "economic individualism restrained by social and religious traditionalism" and a supposedly crude anti-gov't philosophy of "Leave us Alone"? Reagan ("Gov't IS the problem") was the founding father of the "leave us alone" movement. As far as I can tell, the difference between "economic individualsim" and 'get the gov't off our backs" is simply one of phrasing. As David should know, safety nets cost money, which has to be raised by taxes, which have been a third rail in conservative politics ever since Reagan.
How much money would be raised by this flat tax, and how exactly would it pay for the safety net David envisions?
How much money would be raised by this flat tax, and how exactly would it pay for the safety net David envisions?
27
"If government can create a framework in which people grow up amid healthy families, nurturing schools, thick communities and a secure safety net, then they will have the resources and audacity to thrive in a free global economy and a diversifying skills economy."
David, you are describing the Democratic party! It's amazing how quickly Trumpism has brought out the best in you, your social conscience, which in column after column I'm watching take a sharp veer to the left.
Yes, Trump only offers a cold heart and a hard fist. His America is one of survival not growth, of winning at any cost even if means pushing your neighbor off the cliff. It's a depressing philosophy, one that could only come from a mean-spirited man born and raised into wealth, with wealth accruing off the misery of others, from racially discriminating apartment buildings to mountains of debt financed then lost in bankruptcy, with only one person coming out on top. The Art of the Steal. Cheat, lie and rob your way to power.
There's more to life than brute strength, tax cuts for the few, and survival of the richest. It sure sounds as if you of all people, Mr. Brooks finally get that.
Donald Trump has turned the GOP inside out in his quest to remake America in his own image. In the process, he's exposed the hypocrisy and basic unfairness of today's modern "conservatism.
David, you are describing the Democratic party! It's amazing how quickly Trumpism has brought out the best in you, your social conscience, which in column after column I'm watching take a sharp veer to the left.
Yes, Trump only offers a cold heart and a hard fist. His America is one of survival not growth, of winning at any cost even if means pushing your neighbor off the cliff. It's a depressing philosophy, one that could only come from a mean-spirited man born and raised into wealth, with wealth accruing off the misery of others, from racially discriminating apartment buildings to mountains of debt financed then lost in bankruptcy, with only one person coming out on top. The Art of the Steal. Cheat, lie and rob your way to power.
There's more to life than brute strength, tax cuts for the few, and survival of the richest. It sure sounds as if you of all people, Mr. Brooks finally get that.
Donald Trump has turned the GOP inside out in his quest to remake America in his own image. In the process, he's exposed the hypocrisy and basic unfairness of today's modern "conservatism.
304
well said, ma'am, well said.
So, Trump delivers the White Citizens Council version of his vision for America rather than his sawed-off shotgun hooded Klan vision of America, and you interpret this as some kind of . . . what?
Three weeks ago you wrote that Trump wasn't fit for the presidency. Three weeks later that is truer than ever.
You know better.
Three weeks ago you wrote that Trump wasn't fit for the presidency. Three weeks later that is truer than ever.
You know better.
164
Read the column again. Mr. Brooks hasn't changed his mind about Mr. Trump.
Trump is the compassionate mob enforcer. His job is to put a bullet through your kneecap, but he lets you decide which knee.
109
David Brooks for President!
9
Some good points, but I think not!
"to get the government off their backs"? ... so to speak. Don't forget 'corporate wellfare"
24
Ah, Mr. Brooks in this piece, you exposed yourself. Previous columns were full of handwringing over Trump's excesses and the dangers he posed. Again, you compartmentalize. Because you want to see Reagan republicanism with rose colored glasses, you show Trump as exceptional. Isn't it time you thought of the direct road from Reagan to Trump, which began when Reagan criminalized African Americans for just being that. Sorry - you bought it, you own it - ALL - the xenophobia, the racism, and the misogyny.
154
Brooks asserts an 'ism' where there isn't.
Trump doesn't speak English. He speaks Jerkish.
The key thing about concocted word 'Trumpism' is the 'I'.
Trump doesn't speak English. He speaks Jerkish.
The key thing about concocted word 'Trumpism' is the 'I'.
34
America did not send its best Tuesday night.....
23
" . . .a state of radical flux?" It depends on how you spell "flux."
7
David, David, David ... so, why, dear man, aren't you a Democrat?
53
He ought to be - a Demo that is. He's bright enough. But he has never got over his fawning adoration for Reaganism. I remember those years - bloated military spending, huge deficits, David Stockman, Earl Butz, selling arms to Iran to fund the Nicaraguan Contras. And the Republican party's first effort at one party rule. And that cancerous tumor on American values Gingrich emerged. Hardly the good old days.
"They did it because partisanship is stronger than philosophy, "
Philosophy ? Pleeez ...
They are sticking to the philosophy apparent for decades:
ME against THEM.
Philosophy ? Pleeez ...
They are sticking to the philosophy apparent for decades:
ME against THEM.
69
I think you're awfully optimistic David. It could be argued that Trump is offering us a glossy form of nihilism. I listened carefully, and although he didn't act like an ass, he still offered up a web of platitudes, empty promises and mostly, crackdowns. He's still going to abolish this, define that, take away this, and round those people up. Sure, there will be jobs, lots of jobs, for the forgotten people of America but how? and who will pay them? And this will all happen while pouring money into law enforcement and military for reasons which remain largely unnamed because they are probably very frightening. The result will be who knows what? It's pretty hard to feel any excitement if you are thinking rationally.
58
Resist!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
70
"The Republicans who applauded Trump on Tuesday were applauding their own repudiation."
Well, not quite.
You see, the Republicans see in Trump, an appallingly ignorant and alarmingly incurious man, a great opportunity to get their agenda through.
You know, tax cuts for the rich, nomination of ultra-conservatives to the Supreme Court, scrapping of the "entitlement" programs, repeal of "Obamacare" with "replace" an afterthought and on and on.
They are even trying to squelch any serious investigation into the Russian meddling of our internal affairs so that Trump will survive just long enough to get their agenda through.
Power at all costs has become the Republican philosophy.
Well, not quite.
You see, the Republicans see in Trump, an appallingly ignorant and alarmingly incurious man, a great opportunity to get their agenda through.
You know, tax cuts for the rich, nomination of ultra-conservatives to the Supreme Court, scrapping of the "entitlement" programs, repeal of "Obamacare" with "replace" an afterthought and on and on.
They are even trying to squelch any serious investigation into the Russian meddling of our internal affairs so that Trump will survive just long enough to get their agenda through.
Power at all costs has become the Republican philosophy.
271
Yes,...precisely..the enemy of my enemy is my friend
In the USA the Republican Party now includes traditional conservative pro-free trade legislators and President Trump. The closing Trump advertisement in the election railed against a supposed cabal of international elite financial figures who were claimed to be causing America's decline. It pictured financier George Soros, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, and GS CEO Lloyd Blankfein as the prime villains. Trump's inaugural address also reiterated the populist theme that the day of revenge against financial elites has arrived.
Despite this, the one certain thing that can be predicted is that the Republican controlled congress will enact and President Trump will sign is elimination of the estate tax. This literally could be called taking from the millionaires to give to the billionaires. Estates under $5.49 million are now totally exempt from the estate tax. Billionaires are not as able as mere millionaires to employ various strategies to avoid estate taxes. Repealing the estate tax will give $billions to a fraction of the top 1%, which will ultimately have to be made up by the rest of the taxpayers. There is no doubt as to what Republican control of both congress and the presidency will be with regard to tax policy despite the revenge on the financial elites that Trump promises.
That is shifting income to the rich by taxing dividends, capital gains, inheritances and corporate profits much less than the tax rates on wages .."
http://seekingalpha.com/article/4047890
Despite this, the one certain thing that can be predicted is that the Republican controlled congress will enact and President Trump will sign is elimination of the estate tax. This literally could be called taking from the millionaires to give to the billionaires. Estates under $5.49 million are now totally exempt from the estate tax. Billionaires are not as able as mere millionaires to employ various strategies to avoid estate taxes. Repealing the estate tax will give $billions to a fraction of the top 1%, which will ultimately have to be made up by the rest of the taxpayers. There is no doubt as to what Republican control of both congress and the presidency will be with regard to tax policy despite the revenge on the financial elites that Trump promises.
That is shifting income to the rich by taxing dividends, capital gains, inheritances and corporate profits much less than the tax rates on wages .."
http://seekingalpha.com/article/4047890
1
And the downfall of America.
What humorless sour little boy Trump really is. I cannot fathom what else anyone sees in him.
61
Ascribing a core philosophy to DT is a long stretch, unless you narrow the idea of philosophy towards the infinitesimal.
23
Grover Norquist is the happiest Republican ever! Finally, finally, a republican president with just enough digits to sign whatever is placed in front of him, so long as you serve it up with meatloaf.
52
More lies about the good old daze of St Reagan. This is the same model wearing an oversized suit. Hate and fear are all these people have ever had to offer.
44
I'd love a single payer health care system married to a flat tax... :)
11
I give credit to William F Buckley Sr for the creation of modern conservatism. It is the 100th anniversary of Mexico nationalizing its oil industry and Buckley Sr seems to be completely forgotten. Bill Sr did not call himself a conservative he was a proud fascist and in 1917 asked the State department to declare war on Mexico. Senior would be proud of what he has wrought.
Senior supported Franco and Joseph McCarthy and Donald Trump seems the culmination of his fascist beliefs albeit his sons gave us fascism by another name.
Modern conservatism is not conservative it is and always will be fascism neatly packaged and presented by sophists. Conservatives believe in government and real conservatives would believe in government of the people by the people and for the people. Modern conservatives are conservative in name only and Donald Trump is there latest triumph. The are and always have been fascists.
Senior supported Franco and Joseph McCarthy and Donald Trump seems the culmination of his fascist beliefs albeit his sons gave us fascism by another name.
Modern conservatism is not conservative it is and always will be fascism neatly packaged and presented by sophists. Conservatives believe in government and real conservatives would believe in government of the people by the people and for the people. Modern conservatives are conservative in name only and Donald Trump is there latest triumph. The are and always have been fascists.
32
David,
You lament that "conservatism devolved from a flexible balance to a crude anti-government philosophy, the Leave Us Alone coalition" and "The Republicans who applauded Trump on Tuesday were applauding their own repudiation. They did it because partisanship is stronger than philosophy,
Rest assured that Republican philosophy is alive and well and clear to anyone who has been listening since the Reagan years. It can best be summed up as: "Do unto me, as I would want you to do unto me."
You lament that "conservatism devolved from a flexible balance to a crude anti-government philosophy, the Leave Us Alone coalition" and "The Republicans who applauded Trump on Tuesday were applauding their own repudiation. They did it because partisanship is stronger than philosophy,
Rest assured that Republican philosophy is alive and well and clear to anyone who has been listening since the Reagan years. It can best be summed up as: "Do unto me, as I would want you to do unto me."
31
THREE STRIKES And you're TRUMPed! Trump repudiated three core values of the GOP: 1) foreign policy where the US was supposed to be the policeman of the world. 2) social conservatives who opposed the weakening of the moral fabric of the country. 3) concern about the national debt. None of these core values of conservativism during the past 30 years are anywhere to be seen on Trump's radar screen. Not that he's in possession of any other facts or informed opinions. So overnight the GOP has been changed into an instrument of the Fascist Dictatorship that Trump has established to replace the Constitution! The GOP were always a bunch of hypocrites. But now, they've outright rejected the Constitution? They applauded Trump's imbecilities and betrayals of their core values. What were they thinking? Were they thinking at all?
25
The POTUS did not mention any social conservative pet issues because it might be a good hedge. One of the reasons people might still want to live with Mr Trump is the threat of a Pence Administration. Political scientist should make a comparative study between his choice of Pence and President George H.W. Bush's choice of Quayle
29
Bush chose Quayle?
He didn't need to call out specific issues dear to social conservatives, since all they really cared about last November was Trump's promise to appoint a justice to the Supreme Court who they hoped would move the court back to a safe majority for their causes.
1
Gee, both from Indiana.
As usual, what a clarity of thought, what a fantastic analysis of this past Tuesday, and of what we have seen these recent months and weeks. Mr. Brooks makes sense of things -- for me at least.
I have this strange feeling when I see President Trump on television. His jaw, his eyes, the way he moves his head reminds me of newsreels of Mussolini. So I need to understand the connection my brain makes between the two of them and I must go back to find out exactly what Mussolini did to come to power and what he did with it.
I have this strange feeling when I see President Trump on television. His jaw, his eyes, the way he moves his head reminds me of newsreels of Mussolini. So I need to understand the connection my brain makes between the two of them and I must go back to find out exactly what Mussolini did to come to power and what he did with it.
9
Deconstructing the cartel that is Washington DC will not be easy. There are entrenched institutions firmly rooted on in DC, the people no longer want a government that runs their lives.
The EPA, Education, Commerce, Treasury, OSHA, NOA, Labor are all redundant layers with many thousands of employees. Unelected representatives mandating rules and fees.
And what happens when they fail? They are rewarded with bigger budgets, more personnel, so they can make more rules.
Enough already! They set prices, limit production, and exclude competition. That's a cartel.
The EPA, Education, Commerce, Treasury, OSHA, NOA, Labor are all redundant layers with many thousands of employees. Unelected representatives mandating rules and fees.
And what happens when they fail? They are rewarded with bigger budgets, more personnel, so they can make more rules.
Enough already! They set prices, limit production, and exclude competition. That's a cartel.
8
Re: OSHA, sounds like somebody never worked as a lineman for the power company.
1
Prithee, Mr. Brooks, what is a "Regular Republican"?
Are they the ones running around with tri-corn hats and yellow flags with snakes on them?
Or are the "Koch Brothers", and the like, "regular" just coincidentally loaded with billions of dollars to spend to be sure that no pesky regulatory commissions get in the way of more profits?
How about the "Kingdom of God" appearing in a charter school near you as Ms. DeVos seems partial to advocating?
In case you missed it, "Regular" and "Republican" are two words long missing together in the bunch you, until Mr. Trump came along, advocated in your past columns.
Your "news" isn't even "fake", it's outlandish and, I might add, a bit too late. It's YOUR party and, brother, once more you've run out of lipstick painting this "particular", certainly not "regular", elephant!
Are they the ones running around with tri-corn hats and yellow flags with snakes on them?
Or are the "Koch Brothers", and the like, "regular" just coincidentally loaded with billions of dollars to spend to be sure that no pesky regulatory commissions get in the way of more profits?
How about the "Kingdom of God" appearing in a charter school near you as Ms. DeVos seems partial to advocating?
In case you missed it, "Regular" and "Republican" are two words long missing together in the bunch you, until Mr. Trump came along, advocated in your past columns.
Your "news" isn't even "fake", it's outlandish and, I might add, a bit too late. It's YOUR party and, brother, once more you've run out of lipstick painting this "particular", certainly not "regular", elephant!
35
David.
How many 'proof-of-purchase' medallions did you have to send in to secure the 'secret de-coder ring' that gave you the insights claimed about Trump's speech? What brand of cereal?
The rest of us would like one so that we might ourselves convert the gibberish that regularly emerges from the president's mouth to arrive at policy analysis.
How many 'proof-of-purchase' medallions did you have to send in to secure the 'secret de-coder ring' that gave you the insights claimed about Trump's speech? What brand of cereal?
The rest of us would like one so that we might ourselves convert the gibberish that regularly emerges from the president's mouth to arrive at policy analysis.
22
Violates his core philosophy?! Are you kidding me?
If he had a core philosophy it would be, "say anything".
If he had a core philosophy it would be, "say anything".
73
The carefully worded Tuesday speech by President Trump, together with his more adult tone, gave listeners the false impression of reasonableness.
Many in the media who are not good listeners bought the sales pitch. Republicans, tired of the increasingly harsh, extremist approach which over a few decades has turned the G.O.P. into a militant cult, warmed to what they saw as a welcome realism.
Since Donald Trump has established his inherent dishonesty and ignorance of domestic and international history, truly objective listeners were not moved.
For example, his posturing as a discoverer of job-creating infrastructure renewal was galling to those who recall how Republicans stone-walled the efforts of President Obama to do the same thing.
On the other hand, some Democrats might have been ready to elect the teleprompter on the spot – if they could only press the delete button to remove the veiled anti-Muslim threats and the references to an imagined nationwide crime wave.
Many in the media who are not good listeners bought the sales pitch. Republicans, tired of the increasingly harsh, extremist approach which over a few decades has turned the G.O.P. into a militant cult, warmed to what they saw as a welcome realism.
Since Donald Trump has established his inherent dishonesty and ignorance of domestic and international history, truly objective listeners were not moved.
For example, his posturing as a discoverer of job-creating infrastructure renewal was galling to those who recall how Republicans stone-walled the efforts of President Obama to do the same thing.
On the other hand, some Democrats might have been ready to elect the teleprompter on the spot – if they could only press the delete button to remove the veiled anti-Muslim threats and the references to an imagined nationwide crime wave.
48
Partisanship is not only stronger than philosophy, GOP partisanship is the republican's only philosophy. The entire republican party, bad puppy Trump included, work only for the 1%. And the hypocrisy! Pretty much everything Trump has done and said would have caused a republican meltdown had he been a democrat, except for his shoveling of more of America's wealth upward. Fewer rules for the wealthy, fewer rights for the rest of us. That's 100% republican.
177
In response to Ken - Can't the liberal responses on this site spend time to become knowledgeable of the facts so they can offer independent thinking and their own ideas instead of repeating democratic talking points verbatim? So when Donald Trump passionately declared his goal to create good paying jobs and cut taxes for the middle class to bring them back you chose to accuse him of only working to help the middle class! I am just at loss to understand how almost everything I have read since Trump was elected chooses to ignore what he is doing and only blame him for the ridiculous things he said during the campaign and the outrageous style of delivery. No president can be judged until they have had at least nine months in office.
After reflection, in Trump's case, it may be even longer as the obstructionist Democrats delay and delay the fulfillment of their duty to consent to his cabinet appointments.? Why do the Democrats keep proving they can't learn from their mistakes. They were giddy when Harry Reid invoked the nuclear option. Now they are paying for it. Wait til the next Dem President wants his cabinet approved. Isn't this just sickening? Can't we compensate congress based on productivity? Imagine the change in behavior on both sides and the speed at which the cabinet could be approved and new laws could be enacted.
After reflection, in Trump's case, it may be even longer as the obstructionist Democrats delay and delay the fulfillment of their duty to consent to his cabinet appointments.? Why do the Democrats keep proving they can't learn from their mistakes. They were giddy when Harry Reid invoked the nuclear option. Now they are paying for it. Wait til the next Dem President wants his cabinet approved. Isn't this just sickening? Can't we compensate congress based on productivity? Imagine the change in behavior on both sides and the speed at which the cabinet could be approved and new laws could be enacted.
1
So how can America get Trump supporters to read Mr. Brooks' critic and analysis? We need to engage Trump supporters in one-on-one conversation to congenially share our political concerns about and what seem to be obvious contradictions of President Trump and his so-called policies. Talking inside our own echo chambers will not right the ship.
Similar to the silent "women in black' campaign protesting Bush 43's Iraq War II, on as many Saturday morning's as I can manage, I stand on a sidewalk next to a bridge entrance ramp holding a sign with a simple message. Previous week's signage included "Love Trumps Hate and Hate Is Never the Answer" and "Fake News is not a Free Press You Dislike!". This week's is "From Russia With Love? Where's Congress' Investigation" Of course there are many angry shouts and an occasional flung object but my sign statements will be there regualrly.
My signs and outreach to Trump supporters beg simple questions. How can Trump's policies Make America Great Again for everyone and not just the uber rich? Will Trump define "fake news" in light of our First Amendment's free press and his alt-facts speak and media of choice (Alex Jones, Fox & Friends).
Engage and ask simple questions. If Trump supporters don't have simple answers, that may grow doubt sooner rather than later.
Similar to the silent "women in black' campaign protesting Bush 43's Iraq War II, on as many Saturday morning's as I can manage, I stand on a sidewalk next to a bridge entrance ramp holding a sign with a simple message. Previous week's signage included "Love Trumps Hate and Hate Is Never the Answer" and "Fake News is not a Free Press You Dislike!". This week's is "From Russia With Love? Where's Congress' Investigation" Of course there are many angry shouts and an occasional flung object but my sign statements will be there regualrly.
My signs and outreach to Trump supporters beg simple questions. How can Trump's policies Make America Great Again for everyone and not just the uber rich? Will Trump define "fake news" in light of our First Amendment's free press and his alt-facts speak and media of choice (Alex Jones, Fox & Friends).
Engage and ask simple questions. If Trump supporters don't have simple answers, that may grow doubt sooner rather than later.
3
Let's not fall into the blame game of Trump. It is not poor sorry Trump that wrote that speech or even gave the speech. It's Bannon. Pretty soon maybe Trump will blame Bannon, but not likely.
And the Republicans are just as dumb to stand by a party that they don't recognize.
And the Republicans are just as dumb to stand by a party that they don't recognize.
6
The tone of his speech was much easier on the ears, but the concepts were a straight-up repudiation of the very things that have made America great.
5
You forgot to mention a core element of Trumpism: shameless lying. The fact-checking done by the media is the only hope we have of preserving some expectation of truth-telling. It is far too important to keep politicians from misleading us to let them off the hook because they told lies calmly while reading them off a teleprompter. Let us count the ways in which Trump lied during his speech:
1) he lied about the details of his lobbying ban
2) he lied about drugs moving across the border
3) he lied about jobs created due to him rather than before him
4) he lied about the money saved on military contracts
5) he lied about jobs created by DAPL
6) he lied about deportation details
7) he lied about crime rates among undocumented immigrants
8) he lied about welfare eligibility and benefits
9) he lied about participation in the labor force
10) he lied about the amount of money spent in the Middle East
11) he lied about the murder rate
12) he lied about money from NATO
1) he lied about the details of his lobbying ban
2) he lied about drugs moving across the border
3) he lied about jobs created due to him rather than before him
4) he lied about the money saved on military contracts
5) he lied about jobs created by DAPL
6) he lied about deportation details
7) he lied about crime rates among undocumented immigrants
8) he lied about welfare eligibility and benefits
9) he lied about participation in the labor force
10) he lied about the amount of money spent in the Middle East
11) he lied about the murder rate
12) he lied about money from NATO
19
LOL.
A few years ago I read a history book about France, "Paris Between the Empires". The French after Waterloo had this problem in that they couldn't quite decide if Napoleon was a hero or villain.
On the one hand, they didn't want to go off to war. But they were annoyed that France wasn't running Europe anymore which, of course, was the natural state of affairs as far as the French were concerned.
In 1840, King Louis-Phillipe decides to try and reconcile everyone and has Napoleon's body disinterred from St. Helena and re-buried with full honors in Paris. So they brought the body back and staged a procession with the body down one of the main avenues in Paris. Remarkably, 600,000 people showed up to watch the procession.
The French being good at this, one wag remarked, "The July Monarchy has staged its own funeral." And sure enough, a few years later the King was overthrown and replaced by Napoleon III who proceeded to kick over the then international order (established at the Congress of Vienna) and go to war.
This sort of reminded me of that.
Good luck David. I don't think you have a political party to root for anymore.
A few years ago I read a history book about France, "Paris Between the Empires". The French after Waterloo had this problem in that they couldn't quite decide if Napoleon was a hero or villain.
On the one hand, they didn't want to go off to war. But they were annoyed that France wasn't running Europe anymore which, of course, was the natural state of affairs as far as the French were concerned.
In 1840, King Louis-Phillipe decides to try and reconcile everyone and has Napoleon's body disinterred from St. Helena and re-buried with full honors in Paris. So they brought the body back and staged a procession with the body down one of the main avenues in Paris. Remarkably, 600,000 people showed up to watch the procession.
The French being good at this, one wag remarked, "The July Monarchy has staged its own funeral." And sure enough, a few years later the King was overthrown and replaced by Napoleon III who proceeded to kick over the then international order (established at the Congress of Vienna) and go to war.
This sort of reminded me of that.
Good luck David. I don't think you have a political party to root for anymore.
5
Speaking of parenting, firstly parents are teachers. Especially by example. My dream parents wouldn't have been the constantly unpredictable swing between micromanaging - scared of my making mistakes; and totally incapacitated, unavailable. Mom was undiagnosed untreated manic-depressive. Dad was in denial and tried to ignore it and the damage it was doing. I got good at pretending and hiding what was really going on. This administration is eerily familiar. The opposite of inspiring to grow, feeling secure enough and supported enough to move forward and reach out our roots without fear of being shoved back. To ask questions without being told to shut up. To disagree without being sent to our room without supper. If this administration had filled out adoption papers to adopt this nation, they would never have qualified. As an adult I've had to be the parent to myself, and I guess that's what we all need to do when the government is unavailable and immature. We will find inspiration elsewhere. We have to create community in this chaos, like what happened at airports spontaneously after the chaotic travel prohibition. It would be nice to have an inspiring WH but it simply won't happen this time. I wish the news would give us inspiring community stories every day instead of the constant WH dysfunction. My therapist has doubled her case load since November.
10
David this is the worst column you have ever written.
You aid and abett trumpism by folding in on the truth.
Trumpism sucks and so does congress and in fact all three branches of government and you know this fact.
Neither party understands the true defining policies of being a government conservative vs. liberal or otherwise.
Define the terms then look at reality .
We are no longer a democratic republic. It happens quickly. ? 50 years. ?
You aid and abett trumpism by folding in on the truth.
Trumpism sucks and so does congress and in fact all three branches of government and you know this fact.
Neither party understands the true defining policies of being a government conservative vs. liberal or otherwise.
Define the terms then look at reality .
We are no longer a democratic republic. It happens quickly. ? 50 years. ?
7
There is no need to resort to elaborate political theory to describe the man.
His never-ending bullying of people he knows are lacking in money and power;
his incessant praising-of and pandering-to cops and the military;
his ongoing toleration and encouragement of the thoughts and ideas of bigots;
his daily practice of resorting to lies and fear to bolster his hold on his present supporters and gather new ones;
his standing aside unmoved by the plight of undocumented families dragged away from this country to uncertain futures elsewhere;
his near-total ignoring of the ethical rules governing the presidency which are supposed to prevent presidents from financially benefiting from the office;
these tell you what you need to know about him.
Which is that at age 70, he is still a man mentally and morally driven to hanging around beauty contests.
His never-ending bullying of people he knows are lacking in money and power;
his incessant praising-of and pandering-to cops and the military;
his ongoing toleration and encouragement of the thoughts and ideas of bigots;
his daily practice of resorting to lies and fear to bolster his hold on his present supporters and gather new ones;
his standing aside unmoved by the plight of undocumented families dragged away from this country to uncertain futures elsewhere;
his near-total ignoring of the ethical rules governing the presidency which are supposed to prevent presidents from financially benefiting from the office;
these tell you what you need to know about him.
Which is that at age 70, he is still a man mentally and morally driven to hanging around beauty contests.
17
Brooks’ old GOP coalition of hawks describes the America that I’ve always rejected. What is Trump but another hawk? Or a vulture fattening on the negativity he promotes? While Americans were distracted by wars, new TV shows, and new devices, the world changed. It’s always time to think anew because the world is always changing.
Population headed for 10 billion; climate change evident everywhere; the world too complex for most of us to identify as part of rational government. Too many bought the nationalistic hype that America (once) had a perfect democracy. Evidence to the contrary abounded, and for many, the hope was to grow justice and ethics, and not to restore an imaginary past. In the last century, old empires fell. A new one came and went. There's no more USSR. But there is a Russia, with an unaccountable egoist driving it to war.
The American empire emerged and those who celebrated that power thought it would last forever. We too are in danger. Even Sweden has re-instituted the military draft, in part, because of increased Russian incursions. And in Sweden’s efforts to adapt, a new enemy roils it with practiced propaganda—Rupert Murdoch—the man most responsible for the foul swamp that is America’s political discourse. Brooks needs to think again and pick a side.
Population headed for 10 billion; climate change evident everywhere; the world too complex for most of us to identify as part of rational government. Too many bought the nationalistic hype that America (once) had a perfect democracy. Evidence to the contrary abounded, and for many, the hope was to grow justice and ethics, and not to restore an imaginary past. In the last century, old empires fell. A new one came and went. There's no more USSR. But there is a Russia, with an unaccountable egoist driving it to war.
The American empire emerged and those who celebrated that power thought it would last forever. We too are in danger. Even Sweden has re-instituted the military draft, in part, because of increased Russian incursions. And in Sweden’s efforts to adapt, a new enemy roils it with practiced propaganda—Rupert Murdoch—the man most responsible for the foul swamp that is America’s political discourse. Brooks needs to think again and pick a side.
9
All the fancy words in all the Trump apologists' columns in all the world can't make a silk purse out of a fatuous, mean dunce.
Justifications/normalizations for the harm done to innocent people will be recorded by history, demanding one question to be answered:
What side were you on?
Justifications/normalizations for the harm done to innocent people will be recorded by history, demanding one question to be answered:
What side were you on?
18
Single payer health married to a flat tax? Really? You have surpassed Tom Friedman as the top spinner of blue sky slogans. Single-payer is coming anyway after our current system collapses. But the flat tax is merely a transfer of the tax burden from the wealthy to the middle class. What we need is a progressive income tax system with a confiscatory top end that hopefully no one will pay because there would be generous deductions for plowing that wealth back into the economy in the form of job-creating investment. You want to make obscene wealth? Be a true jobs creator. The problem today is that too much wealth has been taken off the table. The Republicans wanted to cut taxes to 'starve the beast'. They cut taxes all right, only they starved the middle class.
20
"But in the 1990s conservatism devolved from a flexible balance to a crude anti-government philosophy, the Leave Us Alone coalition. Republicans talked as if Americans’ problem was they were burdened by too many restraints and the solution was to get government off their backs."
But that WAS Mr. Reagan's position. If you try to assert that 1990's Conservatism devolved from Mr. Reagan's version, it is directly as a result of Mr. Reagan himself.
More Republican/Movement Conservative hypocrisy again.
But that WAS Mr. Reagan's position. If you try to assert that 1990's Conservatism devolved from Mr. Reagan's version, it is directly as a result of Mr. Reagan himself.
More Republican/Movement Conservative hypocrisy again.
17
@Robbie J: So true. Remember Reagan's claim that the most frightening words in English were "I'm from the government and I'm here to help you." or "Government isn't the solution, government is the problem." It's all been downhill from there.
2
America worships wealth and celebrity. This is Donald Trump and to a great degree the Entire Republican establishment. The fact that Trump inherited his wealth and used it to build celebrity isn't the issue. That Americans bought it is the shame. While this administration will implode, the damage done even in these few months will remain.
Just like George W. Bush unleashed terrorism in the world, Trump and his cronies have unleashed authoritarianism in America.
Just like George W. Bush unleashed terrorism in the world, Trump and his cronies have unleashed authoritarianism in America.
21
I, too, am wondering how long Republican Trump supporters will continue to support Trump when his plans are fully revealed and policies are implemented. What they expected to get from him may be much different than what they actually receive in return.
95
That's just it, we are not looking for our country to "give" us anything. We just want to have the opportunity to earn again. The left are the only ones demanding a place on the governments teet. This simple fact is what you just can not comprehend.
1
The opportunity to earn again? Yeah, they want that opportunity without getting the education, without moving, without the work or sacrifice and that is called a hand out.
2
Once again some seem so blinded by rage at Brooks that they cannot actually read the words he's written. Brooks ought not to be a stand-in for our disgust with the Trump administration. They are two different phenomenon.
It is important to read a conservative analyze his own movement and write things like this:
"The third thing we learned is that much of Trump’s policy agenda contradicts his core philosophy. Trumpism is all about protection, security and order. But many of Trump’s policies would introduce more risk into people’s lives, not less."
It is important to read a conservative analyze his own movement and write things like this:
"The third thing we learned is that much of Trump’s policy agenda contradicts his core philosophy. Trumpism is all about protection, security and order. But many of Trump’s policies would introduce more risk into people’s lives, not less."
15
Brilliant analysis. Absolutely spot on.
Now it's up to the Republican Congress to moderate the destroyer in chief. Will they throw this nation under the bus and all it stands for just so they can get big tax cuts for their cronies and boost corporate profits even more? Yeah, they will.
The only thing that will save us from Trumpism is will his bastion of rural supporters. Will they go down with the ship after he demolishes the floor that supports them? It will take some serious suffering to get them to vote Democrat. After all, they couldn't trust Hillary so they voted for Trump. He told them what they wanted to hear. Now they get to live with what he does.
Now it's up to the Republican Congress to moderate the destroyer in chief. Will they throw this nation under the bus and all it stands for just so they can get big tax cuts for their cronies and boost corporate profits even more? Yeah, they will.
The only thing that will save us from Trumpism is will his bastion of rural supporters. Will they go down with the ship after he demolishes the floor that supports them? It will take some serious suffering to get them to vote Democrat. After all, they couldn't trust Hillary so they voted for Trump. He told them what they wanted to hear. Now they get to live with what he does.
25
We Trump supporters have already been doing some serious suffering for the past 8 years while Obama and the left worried about such pressing issues of the lefts agenda such as the perceived right of a male to shower with females, that being in the country illegally is not really illegal if the left says so, that Islam is really a religion of peace even though their core tenants state quite the opposite. That everyone that does not agree with them is stupid and deplorable. That free speech only applies to liberals. That the rights of minority groups outweigh the right of majorities. That every problem that exists can be blamed on white Christians.
The left has been running on drunken power for 8 years and could not even see that they nominated a despised and flawed candidate who ran their party into the ground. Even my other, a Democrat since the 50's, and Hillary supporter, can not believe where her party is heading. Her husband was a Dem House member in Texas as well as serving on Kennedy and LBJ's staff. She is still hoping the left comes to their senses but even she said she would leave party if Ellison had became DNC Chair.
The left has been running on drunken power for 8 years and could not even see that they nominated a despised and flawed candidate who ran their party into the ground. Even my other, a Democrat since the 50's, and Hillary supporter, can not believe where her party is heading. Her husband was a Dem House member in Texas as well as serving on Kennedy and LBJ's staff. She is still hoping the left comes to their senses but even she said she would leave party if Ellison had became DNC Chair.
Listening to Trump's speech I really didn't really get any sense of a political movement. What I heard was that before him, there was no one in Washington who could deliver those things we all want -- a booming economy with jobs for all, excellent health care, and a top-notch educational system. None of that had been accomplished before because no one had understood the complexity of attaining it all, and even if they had, regulations would have stopped them from moving forward. Now that he was there, he would fix things that had been sorely neglected for years.
A political movement has some philosophy behind it. What I heard was someone with a Messiah complex and delusions of grandeur instead of a coherent philosophy, unable to see the work others before him had done and just now realizing how complex governing can be. If only the rest of us would free him and those who recognize the greatness of his ideas from pesky regulations, there would be no limit to what he can accomplish. Just trust him. Calling what he is doing a political movement lends credence to the belief that he knows what he is doing. So far it's not clear that he does.
A political movement has some philosophy behind it. What I heard was someone with a Messiah complex and delusions of grandeur instead of a coherent philosophy, unable to see the work others before him had done and just now realizing how complex governing can be. If only the rest of us would free him and those who recognize the greatness of his ideas from pesky regulations, there would be no limit to what he can accomplish. Just trust him. Calling what he is doing a political movement lends credence to the belief that he knows what he is doing. So far it's not clear that he does.
303
There is nothing, I repeat nothing that is best about Trumpism!
26
Trumpism at its best? If you mean repeated lies...well, that would be true as that is the Trump brand.
53
Mr. Brooks - I loved your second paragraph - watching the GOP stand in unison and then sit and then stand to applaud and then sit again was like playing the game "What-A-Mole". It was like why are you all applauding this nonsense and then seeing the smirks on Ryan's and Pence's faces - just amazing. We already have the strongest military in the world - we have better needs at home. The swamp still needs to be drained.
88
How many of you have seen the chilling videos of Saddam Hussein's parliament where people are taken to the back and shot?
You seem to think this is something new. Maybe you missed the GOP applause when Reagan declared that ketchup was a "vegetable" to justify further cuts in food programs for the poor. Tax cuts for the 1% have to paid for no matter what, right?
"He didn’t mention a single social issue — abortion, religious liberty, marriage, anything."
He didn't have to: his judicial nominees will do all the dirty work, returning back alley abortions to the states while codifying the destruction of women's health services. No need to plan for pregnancies, right?
He didn't have to: his judicial nominees will do all the dirty work, returning back alley abortions to the states while codifying the destruction of women's health services. No need to plan for pregnancies, right?
63
"We can succeed only by concert. It is not "can any of us imagine better?" but, "can we all do better?" The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise -- with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country."
Abraham Lincoln
December 1, 1862
Abraham Lincoln
December 1, 1862
19
Uhhh, Reagan was the one who started the "government IS the problem" meme. That did NOT begin in the 90s.
139
Goldwater, really, but I take your meaning.
Yes, remember Reagan's well-worn applause line about the scariest words being, "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help you"?
A Republican does it again.
Republicans like George W. Bush used to at provide lip service to the evils of the Federal Debt whilst producing massive deficits thru their tax policies. At least Trump is less of a hypocrite about it.
There, I finally found something nice to say about Trump!
There, I finally found something nice to say about Trump!
13
The old Republican party that David describes only existed when they were the opposition party trying to convince voters to throw the bums out. Once in power, the GOP always illustrated their true values: winning the next election and servicing the wealthy class. In that respect, Trump is pretty much a typical Republican.
161
Could it be that there is also an underlying strain of authoritarianism that runs through the various facets of Republicanism you describe and that have now come more explicitly to the fore? I say that as someone who has always had a certain respect for old-style Republicans, while disagreeing with them on much, but who also knows there are always deeper psychic elements behind our politics. (And same for Democrats, who are hardly without their troubles.)
7
Of course, his White House will continue to be chaos, given what we have already seen. Will any of the garbage Bannon's puppet spewed on Tuesday, or ever, make sense of the dumpster fire that is his presidency? I highly doubt it. He is out for himself and it doesn't matter if we turn into Western Russia or not as far as he is concerned. We have seen this as well.
13
I think so many are giving Trump too much credit. He has no inner vision for the country or or for anyone else but himself and his bank account .
At 70 years old, he has finally grown to adolescence 55 years after his contemporaries. Now like a spoiled teenager, he behaves as he has to to receive attention and adoration. In front of Congress, he tries to sound presidential, in front of rowdy crowds he does the "bad boy" act, one on one he listens intently making you believe he cares about what you think. It's all an act and if he and we survive four years of Trump, we will look back at thousand zigs and zags of his presidency but he undoubtedly will declare how great he made America or blame someone else for the carnage.
At 70 years old, he has finally grown to adolescence 55 years after his contemporaries. Now like a spoiled teenager, he behaves as he has to to receive attention and adoration. In front of Congress, he tries to sound presidential, in front of rowdy crowds he does the "bad boy" act, one on one he listens intently making you believe he cares about what you think. It's all an act and if he and we survive four years of Trump, we will look back at thousand zigs and zags of his presidency but he undoubtedly will declare how great he made America or blame someone else for the carnage.
34
"There used to be social conservatives, who believed that the moral fabric of the country had been weakened by secularism and the breakdown of the family. On Tuesday, Trump acted as if this group didn’t exist. He didn’t mention a single social issue — abortion, religious liberty, marriage, anything."
But his supreme court nominee is an arch social conservative. His vice president is a nut case social conservative!!.
After the chauvinist nationalism, social conserativism is his next favorite thing. The only reason he didn't mention it Tuesday nite was he was trying to improve his popularity; social conservatism is a minority movement that the Christian Right wants to foist on American through the installation of a theocracy
But his supreme court nominee is an arch social conservative. His vice president is a nut case social conservative!!.
After the chauvinist nationalism, social conserativism is his next favorite thing. The only reason he didn't mention it Tuesday nite was he was trying to improve his popularity; social conservatism is a minority movement that the Christian Right wants to foist on American through the installation of a theocracy
22
@Iced Teaparty " social conserativism is his next favorite thing." I don't see how that can be true because Trumps loves groping and grabbing, uh, you know what. Social conservatives deplore such behavior--at least that's what they claim.
1
The GOP promises are the same as Trump's promises: Slogans wrapped about hollow shells. Costs? Pretend they don't exist. Effectiveness: Ignored in the rush for alleged free-market "choice" or wrapped in patriotism and fear-mongering over safety. And rumbling through it all, white nationalism and radical Christian conservatism.
President Trump simply picks and chooses. And lies about it all.
President Trump simply picks and chooses. And lies about it all.
26
Intellectual laziness. Trump read from a teleprompter. He was not normalized or altered by the Tuesday's show. Unraveling this morning, the fallout of Sessions lie has unearthed the continual contact of Trump associates with Russia during the campaign. Comey, has come under fire and will be removed over his suppression of evidence re: Russia and Trump and his outrageous interference in the election. None of this distances Republican schools of thought from their embrace and defense of the corrupt Trump White House
20
Beyond the racism and hatred of Jews, Trump and his supporters don't really believe in anything.
17
Trump's son in law is Jewish, and Trump has pledged his support of Israel and Netanyahu, far far more sincerely than emphatically than Obama ever did. There is far more anti semitism on the left than there is among Trump's supporters.
2
Then why the uptick in hate crimes and destruction of Jewish cemeteries?
2
Mr. Brooks, where is your outrage, your sense of right and wrong, and your duty as a journalist to call out the sheer hypocrisy of your party and the danger that has befallen our country and our people? Please stop legitimizing this travesty of a presidency with your analysis.
25
This is his outrage and his job!
While this is an interesting reflection and Brooks seems to have an eternally hopeful view that somehow it will work out his best observation is about the '90's when conservatism became crude anti-government philosophy, or Gingrich's dyspeptic shrieking took over. Republican leadership has been cultivating a negative, nasty-minded view for the last twenty-five years, playing on the doubts and wonders of voters, and fertilizing every conspiracy theory. DJT is merely the icing on the cake of anxiety built by McConnell and nurtured by Ryan. They have been Chicken Little crying to all and sundry that things could go wrong so let's not do anything. They see no benefit, no opportunity (except to themselves) only fear. In so doing they have exploited in a manipulative way the fears of many people about the larger world. McConnell and Ryan are the ones who would advise high school grads to stay in their towns and not look for education, adventure or new ways of living. They are afraid, and they want everyone to be afraid.
17
Bravo. Thank you for telling it like it is.
3
Speech takeaway
1. It was the same exclamations from his campaign speeches except it was given to the excited GOP caucus and GOPers in the hall wearing suits.
2. It was a compilation written just for the teleprompter
3. The only thing missing were the campaign signs
4. There was no move to unity instead it treated the people who did not vote for him as if they were not there
5. His remarks on tariffs and stopping the drugs and the drug cartels were appealing
6. He seeks to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act with nonsensical features that will make it so liked – it's a smokescreen
7. His remarks on the Care Act were reckless and exaggerated – it’s in trouble because of the withdrawal of subsidies to exchange insurers
8. His stance on allowing immigrants to come in based on merit is what we do now for H1 visas.
9. Chicken packers, tomato pickers, bed makers, house cleaners, strawberry pickers, mortar mixers, lawn rakers and cutters -- forget it.
10. Mexican immigrants are a menace – they are rapists and killers and we have the evidence here in the balcony.
11. It’s OK for a President to stigmatize
12. The state will bully businesses to meet new guidelines in their production and import/export decisions and be relieved of enforcing EPA regulations
13. We will lower taxes but no one has seen the spreadsheets
14. We respect our police but let’s not mention the Black Lives Matter folks
15. The only thing new was the buttoned coat and the blue- and white-striped tie
1. It was the same exclamations from his campaign speeches except it was given to the excited GOP caucus and GOPers in the hall wearing suits.
2. It was a compilation written just for the teleprompter
3. The only thing missing were the campaign signs
4. There was no move to unity instead it treated the people who did not vote for him as if they were not there
5. His remarks on tariffs and stopping the drugs and the drug cartels were appealing
6. He seeks to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act with nonsensical features that will make it so liked – it's a smokescreen
7. His remarks on the Care Act were reckless and exaggerated – it’s in trouble because of the withdrawal of subsidies to exchange insurers
8. His stance on allowing immigrants to come in based on merit is what we do now for H1 visas.
9. Chicken packers, tomato pickers, bed makers, house cleaners, strawberry pickers, mortar mixers, lawn rakers and cutters -- forget it.
10. Mexican immigrants are a menace – they are rapists and killers and we have the evidence here in the balcony.
11. It’s OK for a President to stigmatize
12. The state will bully businesses to meet new guidelines in their production and import/export decisions and be relieved of enforcing EPA regulations
13. We will lower taxes but no one has seen the spreadsheets
14. We respect our police but let’s not mention the Black Lives Matter folks
15. The only thing new was the buttoned coat and the blue- and white-striped tie
27
Well, I've heard quite a bit about Black Lives Matter over the past few years and I'm thrilled to hear the President mention that Police Lives Matter.
1. #8 The H1B Visa program, which your hero Obama expanded, deliberately destroys the lives of US workers and their families. 2. #4 Obama and the Democrats spent 8 years, (actually the last 2 decades) acting as if there were no working class whites in the US, or if such people existed, they were doing just fine even though their livelihoods had been sent to Asia. Recent remarks by Dems have made it clear that in the Dems' minds, unemployed whites in fly over country really deserve homelessness and starvation, and you fault Trump for not being a "unifier"??? 3. #14 You clearly do NOT respect LEO's, who represent the only protection and safety possible for those of us who can't hire private security forces, preferring a group that wants law abiding citizens to have no protection from criminals.
1
The Trump pitch is massive deficit spending for the military, foreign wars, a border wall, and infrastructure repair; better, cheaper health insurance without specificity; no tax increases, but plenty of tax cuts. This isn't new. It's a remake of Morning in America with Voodoo Economics. We've seen this movie before. It didn't end well. The rich got richer, the poor got poorer, and deficits didn't matter. GOP suckers fall for it every single time.
32
"In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem".
-Ronald Reagan
In a nutshell, David, Republicans ignored the first part of the statement and embraced the second. Two generations on, we have a mutant political party that has nursed on the notion that "government is the problem". The last thing I'm going to do is look back on the Reagan era with rose-colored glasses, but at least, as you suggest, it was coherent. I must say that you seem to have woken up to this fact a bit late. It's great that you reject "Trumpism". You'll need to do it more loudly than this.
-Ronald Reagan
In a nutshell, David, Republicans ignored the first part of the statement and embraced the second. Two generations on, we have a mutant political party that has nursed on the notion that "government is the problem". The last thing I'm going to do is look back on the Reagan era with rose-colored glasses, but at least, as you suggest, it was coherent. I must say that you seem to have woken up to this fact a bit late. It's great that you reject "Trumpism". You'll need to do it more loudly than this.
18
How easily you get impressed Mr Brooks?
7
Reading this article, with which I fully agree, I cannot help but think how Trump is successfully wrecking the Republican Party. Were Hillary be in the White House now, the GOP would have mounted plausibly a smart opposition -- cooperating on some, vigorously against others -- and lived to fight another election. But Trump is utterly destroying his adopted party and the Russian link is one of the most troubling and least likely not to pop forcefully in future elections.
Imagine the political collapse if the Democrats win bug in 2018. Imagine the faraway hole in which Trump will need to hide if in 2020 a Democrat becomes president, but then imagine the misery of the GOP from 2018 onward (who there is going to come and say "I told you so" other than McCain who is an octogenarian?)
Imagine the political collapse if the Democrats win bug in 2018. Imagine the faraway hole in which Trump will need to hide if in 2020 a Democrat becomes president, but then imagine the misery of the GOP from 2018 onward (who there is going to come and say "I told you so" other than McCain who is an octogenarian?)
13
Americans first of all need to control their own destinies in reproduction: an unplanned pregnancy is an economic and personal disaster for most of us.
The most family friendly and conservative intervention would be to provide family planning and birth control for all, regardless of ability to pay.
Children are expensive in time, effort, lost sleep, and money. Only a woman who has carefully crafted her situation can afford to have one. She needs a stable relationship, stable economic status, and stable housing just for a start.
She also needs personal growth and mental health as well as being free of addiction. She needs an understanding of how to promote the health and mental well being of a child. Most poor Americans have very few of these necessities. Dysfunctional parents bring up dysfunctional children who become dysfunctional adults who are often unable to sustain themselves. Please, please, please, David, confront the realities of parenthood when you talk about the value of families in our nation.
The most family friendly and conservative intervention would be to provide family planning and birth control for all, regardless of ability to pay.
Children are expensive in time, effort, lost sleep, and money. Only a woman who has carefully crafted her situation can afford to have one. She needs a stable relationship, stable economic status, and stable housing just for a start.
She also needs personal growth and mental health as well as being free of addiction. She needs an understanding of how to promote the health and mental well being of a child. Most poor Americans have very few of these necessities. Dysfunctional parents bring up dysfunctional children who become dysfunctional adults who are often unable to sustain themselves. Please, please, please, David, confront the realities of parenthood when you talk about the value of families in our nation.
20
Then they shouldn't MAKE babies. Is it still ok to say that????
I am confused by the next to last paragraph. Are you proposing a single payer health care system married to a flat tax in an attempt to steer a middle course?
I applaud Mr. Brooks for seeing the dishonesty of the current Republican political establishment. And I say "hooray" for him for calling out Trump as the charlatan that he is. In his case, his new found stance shows his devotion to his "enlightenment" ideas written about earlier. Bravo Brooks.
I applaud Mr. Brooks for seeing the dishonesty of the current Republican political establishment. And I say "hooray" for him for calling out Trump as the charlatan that he is. In his case, his new found stance shows his devotion to his "enlightenment" ideas written about earlier. Bravo Brooks.
6
The softness of GOP'ers was nauseatingly exposed by DJT's speech-reading to the Joint Session of Congress - GOP'ers would have wildly applauded if DJT's text had been Ned's First Reader, or included phrases such as ' See Dick run '.
31
Lady Gaga has a song called "Applause," in which she talks about being "here for the applause."
That's Trump. He wants the applause, the adulation, the crowds, the ratings, the numbers, the clapping hands, the beautiful women, the gold towers and palaces.
He'll do or say anything to get them. And to get people chanting "Trump, Trump, Trump."
That's Trump. He wants the applause, the adulation, the crowds, the ratings, the numbers, the clapping hands, the beautiful women, the gold towers and palaces.
He'll do or say anything to get them. And to get people chanting "Trump, Trump, Trump."
134
Trumpism at its best is America at its worst.
Lies
Bigotry
Colluding with America's enemies for political and financial gain
Conflicts of interest
Misogyny
Attempting to undermine the First Amendment
Nationalism
Militarism instead of diplomacy
Incompetence
Refusing to take responsibility for issuing orders resulting in a failed mission, but declaring it a success nonetheless
Using the dead hero's widow to evoke sympathy while ignoring the hero's father
Illegal, unconstitutional executive orders
Making the US taxpayers foot the bill for his family's parties and business trips
Hypocrisy
Giving power to a White Nationalist
Destroying public education
Removing environmental protections
Crippling our alliances with Canada, Mexico and our NATO allies
This is only a partial list.
Lies
Bigotry
Colluding with America's enemies for political and financial gain
Conflicts of interest
Misogyny
Attempting to undermine the First Amendment
Nationalism
Militarism instead of diplomacy
Incompetence
Refusing to take responsibility for issuing orders resulting in a failed mission, but declaring it a success nonetheless
Using the dead hero's widow to evoke sympathy while ignoring the hero's father
Illegal, unconstitutional executive orders
Making the US taxpayers foot the bill for his family's parties and business trips
Hypocrisy
Giving power to a White Nationalist
Destroying public education
Removing environmental protections
Crippling our alliances with Canada, Mexico and our NATO allies
This is only a partial list.
509
Mr Brooks, Trump has finally made you realize that you are in fact a European style social democrat. You're welcome!
220
Brooks is no such thing. You misunderstand the American conservatives as they have behaved since 1981.
2
Will he ever admit it or is he cashing in on writing as if he's still the pundit who helped usher in this hot mess?
1
"The third thing we learned is that much of Trump’s policy agenda contradicts his core philosophy."
You call it a contradiction. I call it "bait and switch."
I sure hope Trump's working class, rural populists enjoy seeing the Cabinet become a Goldman Sachs alumni meeting.
You call it a contradiction. I call it "bait and switch."
I sure hope Trump's working class, rural populists enjoy seeing the Cabinet become a Goldman Sachs alumni meeting.
1325
The Moscow branch of Goldman Sachs, no less.
2
Define rural.
@ Upstate Albert: your comment is well taken and quite a popular stance but to think it would have been different under Clinton is delusional, you would just substitute Summers, Rubin and probably Rahm Emmanuel (after doing such a splendid job in Chicago) and the others thru the revolving door of Goldman to the fed and back again for Mnunchin and Cohen, although considering Cohens role in bringing about the nightmare Greece now finds itself in makes him the worst of the worst in my opinion and maybe you missed it but Hillary was Goldmans choice most of the way, they like Adelson covered their bases towards the end, as long as they get what they want it really doesn't matter who's in office.
Addressing the Congress Trump did avoid "clownish behavior." But make no mistake, he replaced Donald the Clown with Donald the Vicious, Donald the Isolationist, Donald the Autocrat. The comedy is gone; in its place we have tragedy.
319
In harking back to Reagan as time of legitimate conservativism you seem to have conveniently forgotten that he ran on a policy of pandering to southern hate; destroying government as the problem and not the solution; hyper phony patriotism; and nonsense economics.
What we have today is the natural result of Reagan and not a departure from it. Time to wake up to the fact that whatever you think you have been fighting for these decades is what helped get us to where we are.
That should have you feeling pretty sick right now.
What we have today is the natural result of Reagan and not a departure from it. Time to wake up to the fact that whatever you think you have been fighting for these decades is what helped get us to where we are.
That should have you feeling pretty sick right now.
562
"Trumpism at Its Best" is an oxymoron. Like saying "Hell at Its Best, Straight Up".
169
'Who will vote for him?' when a friend of many years two years ago in March mentioned Trump and why. Not true, this American forgot to ask 'Why'. Our Country in a state of turmoil, a fog has descended upon the citizens, an effort on the part of some Americans to set matters right and President Obama, while thanking the Press Corps bids it 'Good Luck!'.
Trump, a 'Man of the People', a compassionate soul who wants to take his Country back. Unfortunately, Russia also seems to want to play a part. David Brooks goes on about Philosophy and I thought it was about Ideology. Perhaps a little visit down Memory Lane might be in order and this distrust of Government.
Our troops going into the swamp during the Vietnam era, LBJ plunging ahead like a rhinoceros, Nixon after everybody got sick of the war telling us he had a secret plan for ending it and that delicate negotiations were under way.
Up the ante and stand up straight. The most unfortunate and foolish President now to lead us to 2020. Not an original bean in his head, a round of applause if he does not fall on his face. A Congress in Office trembling and The Supreme Court looks bent out of shape; oh, yeah.
But what about Will of The People? We are 'moving on' or moving away to other parts of the Country because we are bankrupt in far more ways than we realize. 'Time will tell', another platitude. The National Alarm Bell has gone off and we might as well plunge our heads into the sand and watch 'Queen Victoria'.
Trump, a 'Man of the People', a compassionate soul who wants to take his Country back. Unfortunately, Russia also seems to want to play a part. David Brooks goes on about Philosophy and I thought it was about Ideology. Perhaps a little visit down Memory Lane might be in order and this distrust of Government.
Our troops going into the swamp during the Vietnam era, LBJ plunging ahead like a rhinoceros, Nixon after everybody got sick of the war telling us he had a secret plan for ending it and that delicate negotiations were under way.
Up the ante and stand up straight. The most unfortunate and foolish President now to lead us to 2020. Not an original bean in his head, a round of applause if he does not fall on his face. A Congress in Office trembling and The Supreme Court looks bent out of shape; oh, yeah.
But what about Will of The People? We are 'moving on' or moving away to other parts of the Country because we are bankrupt in far more ways than we realize. 'Time will tell', another platitude. The National Alarm Bell has gone off and we might as well plunge our heads into the sand and watch 'Queen Victoria'.
17
I listened to president Trump's speech, and thought he did a fairly decent job of sticking to the teleprompter to avoid his proclivity for stupidity eruptions. Of course, he diverted a bit when he imagined Ryan Owens gazing down with pride over the length of the applause he was receiving. He even seemed a bit envious.
Surely, no one can be fooled by a campaign-style speech almost devoid of specifics and remarkable only for the fact that Trump didn't trip all over himself and humiliate the country?
Then, I saw Chris Wallace, of Fox "News", declare that, with this address, Mr. Trump had just become president...........
Will this madness never end?
Surely, no one can be fooled by a campaign-style speech almost devoid of specifics and remarkable only for the fact that Trump didn't trip all over himself and humiliate the country?
Then, I saw Chris Wallace, of Fox "News", declare that, with this address, Mr. Trump had just become president...........
Will this madness never end?
916
Trumpism is what feudal monarchism looks like in the 21st century. It's all about the king and coffers, it's all about money and always will be. What does "privatization" really mean? It means turning government programs over to for-profit corporations (see: awarding Mexican-border wall-building contracts, or awarding immigrant detention center building contracts, or awarding private school contracts for schools owned by companies, etc. etc.). This sets the environment for radical gouging. Consider that this country spends nearly twelve times what Russia does on defense, yet on the battlefield, it might be a draw (we allow the Lockheeds and the rest of them to charge the government $350 for a two-inch bolt). Watch as the money rolls in to the king and his court, who don't have to worry about retirement checks (oh yes, let's "privatize" social security, so yet another private conglomerate can administer it for profit).
75
Wow, what a piece of fantasy. DB writes: "much of Trump’s policy agenda contradicts his core philosophy." Mr. Trump's core philosophy is simple: to attract as much attention to himself as possible. The idea that he has a cogent stable philosophy is betrayed every day when he changes his words, apparently changing his mind, perhaps based on the last thing one of his billionaire friends whispered in his ear or responses to his latest tweet. Sweet nothings are indeed what occupies DJT's mind.
77
"Donald Trump ...without the clownish behavior."
Whenever Trump is forced to read sentences off of a page he does seem more like a normal man. But go back and listen to his response to anti-semitic, gravestone toppling acts last week: a colorless reading in monotone. The words are there but the humanity is missing.
Whenever Trump is forced to read sentences off of a page he does seem more like a normal man. But go back and listen to his response to anti-semitic, gravestone toppling acts last week: a colorless reading in monotone. The words are there but the humanity is missing.
940
That is because when humanity is called for, DT has no passion.
2
This behavior, Trumps inability to speak the truth, his inadequacy at speaking with empathy or feelings reminds me of "The Manchurian Candidate." It is scary...
@Rabble
It's fortunate for all of us that we are not judged by the microscope turned on political leaders.
I once read a speech historian say that Obama spoke with a lisp. And he does. That useless bit of information then became an unavoidable distraction every time I heard the POTUS speak. What is sad is that a lisp is out of a person's control and difficult to correct through therapy. What is sadder is listening to politicians like Obama and the two Clintons dropping "g"s at the end of words when they meet with the working class. I would be writing stories about that condescension if I was in the media. It is very revealing.
It's fortunate for all of us that we are not judged by the microscope turned on political leaders.
I once read a speech historian say that Obama spoke with a lisp. And he does. That useless bit of information then became an unavoidable distraction every time I heard the POTUS speak. What is sad is that a lisp is out of a person's control and difficult to correct through therapy. What is sadder is listening to politicians like Obama and the two Clintons dropping "g"s at the end of words when they meet with the working class. I would be writing stories about that condescension if I was in the media. It is very revealing.
1
So David,it's out with the bad in with the worse?
The Republicans ought to just retire in shame because of their abuses to our hard won values of freedom and equality. Their leveraging of immigration fears to foment ethno-nationalism is birthing a new party credo that treads toward dangerous territory.
Our peace and our prosperity were both based on core values that , fading from the scene, forewarn of a future that allow for neither.
The Republicans ought to just retire in shame because of their abuses to our hard won values of freedom and equality. Their leveraging of immigration fears to foment ethno-nationalism is birthing a new party credo that treads toward dangerous territory.
Our peace and our prosperity were both based on core values that , fading from the scene, forewarn of a future that allow for neither.
26
"Political parties can turn on a dime." From your lips to God's ear.
20
Trump focused on one thing that is very important to Republicans above all that America must remain white. This is one thing Republicans will always hang onto since they know they can't win without white nationalism even as the country is getting less white.
After the 2012 defeat, Republicans were supposed to reach out to Hispanics, but they did just the opposite and won BIG. If you take out white nationalism, then you have conservatism that would have lost the presidential election easily.
Trump, who stands for winning only, had no problem with pushing white nationalism.
After the 2012 defeat, Republicans were supposed to reach out to Hispanics, but they did just the opposite and won BIG. If you take out white nationalism, then you have conservatism that would have lost the presidential election easily.
Trump, who stands for winning only, had no problem with pushing white nationalism.
43
The Republican's problem is their lack of ideas. They fall back on trickle down tax break mania every time they are given the chance to govern. When out of power they just say no, acting like governance is akin to a crack pipe. Out of this comes Trump, bereft of ideas, but sparkling with a shiny veneer.
The wall, increases in military spending , tax breaks for the wealthy, eliminating regulations, and repeal of the ACA constitute Republican ideas. The net impact will be a greater wealth gap, less Americans with health insurance, an economy with widely fluctuating results, a lower standard of living for the core of Trump voters and the spring planting of the seeds for Republican parties ultimate demise.
Watch states like Texas as they approach the tipping point. They are headed toward a game changing demographic reversal. Progressives and Democratic leadership will be wise to focus on states like this as labs for identifying new leaders and refining methods to register new voters. The long game will render this era a stomach ache...granted a really bad stomach ache.....the kind you remember 30, 40 , 50 years later.
The wall, increases in military spending , tax breaks for the wealthy, eliminating regulations, and repeal of the ACA constitute Republican ideas. The net impact will be a greater wealth gap, less Americans with health insurance, an economy with widely fluctuating results, a lower standard of living for the core of Trump voters and the spring planting of the seeds for Republican parties ultimate demise.
Watch states like Texas as they approach the tipping point. They are headed toward a game changing demographic reversal. Progressives and Democratic leadership will be wise to focus on states like this as labs for identifying new leaders and refining methods to register new voters. The long game will render this era a stomach ache...granted a really bad stomach ache.....the kind you remember 30, 40 , 50 years later.
22
At age 65 it's all gravy with a real bad attack of chronic agitta !
I won't live long enough to see a resurgence of Agape Love and democracy.
I hope we see the pendulum swing that way.
America was " puffed up " for so long post ww2 it made us overstep our role in the world and think we could alter events. Ha!
I won't live long enough to see a resurgence of Agape Love and democracy.
I hope we see the pendulum swing that way.
America was " puffed up " for so long post ww2 it made us overstep our role in the world and think we could alter events. Ha!
3
What Trump showed is that even a clown can read a speech written by some grown from a TelePrompTer for about an hour. A speech filled with lies and promises that will not be fulfilled. Where Trump is a genius is in his ability to lower the bar so low that his ability to read a speech for one hour without engaging in his normal narcissistic, idiotic buffoonery is now considered Presidential.
43
Mr. Brooks is under the impression that the Republican Party began with Ronald Reagan. It did not; although Reagan did sow the seeds of its current dysfunction. Until Reagan, "social conservatives" were considered crazies (c.f. John Birch Society, Barry Goldwater) and marginalised or kept out of the Party. Although religion was encouraged, the Party did not foist Christian religious values on public policy until Reagan welcomed in Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, the"Moral Majority" and their ilk. The Republican Party favored an isolationist foreign policy during and after the second word war as exemplified by Robert Taft. Isolationism was a powerful force within the Republican Party well before Donald Trump. Let us not forget that Richard Nixon greatly expanded government (OSHA, EPA,Clean Air Act, social security extended to cover disabilities, expanded NIH, etc. etc.). Most of the funding for the "war on drugs" went toward treatment until Reagan redirected it toward enforcement. Nixon is considered by many to be the last "liberal" president: Even Carter's and Clinton's administrations were to the right of Nixon's. Donald Trump is not doing anything new to the Republican Party. Hopefully his disruptions will restore badly needed progressive balance to the Party that was lost with Reagan.
20
Just for the record, the Republican isolationists led by Robert Taft lost out to the Eisenhower Republicans who persued an activist foreign policy not much different from President Truman's.
2
They applauded because they are in power and see trump as merely a tool, no matter what he says....
They applauded because they are for ideology before country, AND power before ideology....
They applauded because they engage in Darwinian social engineering, and so long as they keep trump fed, and have things to hold over/against him, they will manipulate him, our great nation and electorate to serve their own interests....
Their applause, for the man they recently held in utter contempt, is a sign of their complete and utter moral bankruptcy...
They applauded because they are for ideology before country, AND power before ideology....
They applauded because they engage in Darwinian social engineering, and so long as they keep trump fed, and have things to hold over/against him, they will manipulate him, our great nation and electorate to serve their own interests....
Their applause, for the man they recently held in utter contempt, is a sign of their complete and utter moral bankruptcy...
343
Wish I could recommend this twice.
3
From...
"The old Reagan conservatism was economic individualism restrained by social and religious traditionalism"
…to:
"But in the 1990s conservatism devolved from a flexible balance to a crude anti-government philosophy, the Leave Us Alone coalition. Republicans talked as if Americans’ problem was they were burdened by too many restraints and the solution was to get government off their backs.”
Why not credit Reagan with being the father of “crude anti-government philosophy?”
Cause and effect, no? When has Reaganism truly been on the side of the working class? The Republican clown show has been on the road since 1980.
"The old Reagan conservatism was economic individualism restrained by social and religious traditionalism"
…to:
"But in the 1990s conservatism devolved from a flexible balance to a crude anti-government philosophy, the Leave Us Alone coalition. Republicans talked as if Americans’ problem was they were burdened by too many restraints and the solution was to get government off their backs.”
Why not credit Reagan with being the father of “crude anti-government philosophy?”
Cause and effect, no? When has Reaganism truly been on the side of the working class? The Republican clown show has been on the road since 1980.
21
We also learned or re-learned how Trump attempts to manipulate naive and fickle populace, including pundits, by "acting presidential". He is so simple and so are we. We should be wary of getting sucked in by this con man.
22
Brooks is right about Trump's intentions to use 'big government' (which ought to be anathema to Republicans) and to do it nastily (which is what justifiably arouses Democrats' and Independents' anger and fear).. Trump's motto is the exact reverse of Theodore Roosevelt's: rather than 'walk softly and carry a big stick' he intends to stomp noisily and his small hands will brandish unconstitutionally small twigs for however long or short his presidency lasts.
11
Except for the part about health care, the policies you listed were at the core of national socialism. Woe be the USA.
1
Trump's tax returns are the potential "Rosetta Stone"for explaining Trump's inexplicable behavior toward Russia and the interaction of his key advisors with Russian officials during the campaign. Does the complete failure of David Brooks to mention this seminal issue or the numerous factual errors in Trump's joint address mean that Trump's assault on factual accuracy and ethical behavior has finally worn down pundit resistance ? To talk about "Trumpism" in some abstract, pedantic way, and ignore the squalid freak show, and cluster of chaos, that continues with the revelations that AG Jeff Sessions lied under oath about contacts with the Russian Ambassador,during his confirmation hearings, is ominously disturbing.
85
Your conclusion makes no sense. And why did it take a speech minus the antics for you to figure out what Trumpism is? Finally, why do you assume it's an "ism"? You give him way too much credit. As Spicer would say: "there's no 'there' there." Trump's plans are but a hodgepodge of right-wing nationalist, racist, misogynist, homophobic fantasies. Don't try to make them out to be more than that.
79
Mr. Brooks tries to fit the Republican repudiation into some kind of coherent, logical "turn on a dime." But how can this be? How can you change the ideology that you adhered to for 30 to 40 years? It just doesn't make sense. I am very confused about Republicans. It really scares me. They seem to have no ideology, no principles, and no backbone. Please pardon this modern analogy--they appear to be zombies being led to the chasm by Trump and his Russian crew. This is mind control on a massive scale. Our country is not under attack by military forces. We are being undermined by adept, psychological warfare.
22
Sad to read these musing from a distance rather than calling things as they are- the republicans have no moral compass, only the rich will benefit, the world be damned and Trump first. The 30,000 foot view whitewashes the horror unfolding in front of us and this country is in grave danger of things getting seriously worse, day by day.
18
1) “Republican foreign policy hawks, people who believed that it was in America’s interest to serve as a global policeman, actively preserving a democratic world order.”
FALSE: They did indeed preach this ‘gospel’ but most certainly they did not practice it. Yes, it was in America’s interest to serve as a global policeman, actively preserving an American Empire whilst the USA imposed an American World Order. The United States’ bloody record in Vietnam, Central and South America…are well known. … Foreign Policy Hawks were not only Republican. Under President Obama, the State Department was busy destabilizing Ukraine, Syria, Libya, Yemen …
2) “There used to be social conservatives, who believed that the moral fabric of the country had been weakened by secularism and the breakdown of the family.”
FALSE: The Moral Fabric of the country was torn by the embrace of Torture and the prostitution of the institutions of the State to the 1%.
3) “Finally, there used to be fiscal hawks who worried about the national debt.”
FALSE: Nobody was worried about the National Debt. This was an ideological ploy to deny equitable use of the national wealth.
4) “Republicans talked as if Americans’ problem was they were burdened by too many restraints and the solution was to get government off their backs.”
FALSE: ‘Laissez Faire’ [leave us alone] predates the existence of the Republican Party in the United States. It is the old cry of privilege to be allowed unconstrained freedom to exploit
FALSE: They did indeed preach this ‘gospel’ but most certainly they did not practice it. Yes, it was in America’s interest to serve as a global policeman, actively preserving an American Empire whilst the USA imposed an American World Order. The United States’ bloody record in Vietnam, Central and South America…are well known. … Foreign Policy Hawks were not only Republican. Under President Obama, the State Department was busy destabilizing Ukraine, Syria, Libya, Yemen …
2) “There used to be social conservatives, who believed that the moral fabric of the country had been weakened by secularism and the breakdown of the family.”
FALSE: The Moral Fabric of the country was torn by the embrace of Torture and the prostitution of the institutions of the State to the 1%.
3) “Finally, there used to be fiscal hawks who worried about the national debt.”
FALSE: Nobody was worried about the National Debt. This was an ideological ploy to deny equitable use of the national wealth.
4) “Republicans talked as if Americans’ problem was they were burdened by too many restraints and the solution was to get government off their backs.”
FALSE: ‘Laissez Faire’ [leave us alone] predates the existence of the Republican Party in the United States. It is the old cry of privilege to be allowed unconstrained freedom to exploit
16
""He didn't mention a single social issue - abortion, religious liberty, marriage, anything."
And yet these are the very areas where Trump and the GOP are determined to be as invasive as possible. Trump and his team don't want to rein in the polluters, the healthcare price gougers, those in his team threatening First Amendment rights, and of course the NRA etc. but they sure want to make their presence felt in your bedroom, your choice of partner and your reproductive choices.
In fact Trump and the Republicans love "Big Gubmint" as long as it rhymes with "Big Brother."
And yet these are the very areas where Trump and the GOP are determined to be as invasive as possible. Trump and his team don't want to rein in the polluters, the healthcare price gougers, those in his team threatening First Amendment rights, and of course the NRA etc. but they sure want to make their presence felt in your bedroom, your choice of partner and your reproductive choices.
In fact Trump and the Republicans love "Big Gubmint" as long as it rhymes with "Big Brother."
18
Good to have you back, David, with your sharp intellect aiming at the right targets.
5
Brooks fails to cite the new president's draconian policies on immigration which represent the worst aspects of Trumpism and the GOP.
11
I find it just laughable how conservatives\republicans\independents\libertarians, ( did I miss anybody ? ) are distancing themselves from the man, while creating all these sorts of brands. ( all derivatives of the T name. )
Look. ( taking a page from the pundits on the TV machine )
You guys\gals are republicans.
The guy ran on the ticket under the heading ''republican''
Your representatives and Senators were sent to Washington as republicans
Your gang will then vote on legislation and send to Prez as republicans.
Your guy will then sign bill as a republican,
It will become republican law.
Don't be trying to weaseling out now. You OWN this guy republicans.
Look. ( taking a page from the pundits on the TV machine )
You guys\gals are republicans.
The guy ran on the ticket under the heading ''republican''
Your representatives and Senators were sent to Washington as republicans
Your gang will then vote on legislation and send to Prez as republicans.
Your guy will then sign bill as a republican,
It will become republican law.
Don't be trying to weaseling out now. You OWN this guy republicans.
33
This is how propaganda is sold. This weird cheerleading, as if there's a silver lining to Trump. Hopefully, saner minds will prevail. If you're lucky enough not to have to repatriate your family once it's over. If you're lucky enough to live through this.
19
Why David, you almost make it sound as if Trumpism could be a good thing - when, in fact, we all know that Trump will prove the same disaster in our national life that he was in his business life.
What does that say about the conservative verities that Trump is repudiating?
David, let me strongly suggest that the verities of Reagan Republicanism - that mix of holier-than-thou political messaging, attitude, warmongering, and exploitation of cultural wedge issues that provided cover for the libertine economics that ultimately gutted the American middle class while deepening the suffering of the poor - actually made Trump possible.
Reagan was an actor whom a gullible segment of the American electorate mistook for a deep thinker, while Trump is a reality TV star whom this same segment of the electorate mistook for an authentic business titan.
As Mel Brooks has Adolph Hitler sing his Broadway version of The Producers, "the thing you got to know is, everything is showbiz". And what a tawdry form of showbiz it is.
What does that say about the conservative verities that Trump is repudiating?
David, let me strongly suggest that the verities of Reagan Republicanism - that mix of holier-than-thou political messaging, attitude, warmongering, and exploitation of cultural wedge issues that provided cover for the libertine economics that ultimately gutted the American middle class while deepening the suffering of the poor - actually made Trump possible.
Reagan was an actor whom a gullible segment of the American electorate mistook for a deep thinker, while Trump is a reality TV star whom this same segment of the electorate mistook for an authentic business titan.
As Mel Brooks has Adolph Hitler sing his Broadway version of The Producers, "the thing you got to know is, everything is showbiz". And what a tawdry form of showbiz it is.
57
I'm glad that you can admit that the old ways no longer apply. I know that this wasn't easy for you to admit considering how much you revere Reagan.
I'm glad that Trump didn't focus on social issues. For too long minority communities have been hurt and held back by the Republican focus on social issues. The civil rights movement, LGBT rights movement, and women's rights movement were all necessary because Republicans felt that these groups didn't deserve to live their version of the American dream.
Germany shows that the government can take care of the needs of the people and still embrace capitalism. They've provided healthcare since the 1880's, their students are either taught a trade or go on to affordable higher education, and companies embrace trade but don't offshore jobs to save labor costs as much as we do in the USA.
The Republican party could be part of a new deal to help Americans but they would rather focus on the 1%. America has been strongest as a nation when we've chosen to invest in infrastructure, education, and technology. Provide Americans a level playing field and watch things get better fast.
I'm glad that Trump didn't focus on social issues. For too long minority communities have been hurt and held back by the Republican focus on social issues. The civil rights movement, LGBT rights movement, and women's rights movement were all necessary because Republicans felt that these groups didn't deserve to live their version of the American dream.
Germany shows that the government can take care of the needs of the people and still embrace capitalism. They've provided healthcare since the 1880's, their students are either taught a trade or go on to affordable higher education, and companies embrace trade but don't offshore jobs to save labor costs as much as we do in the USA.
The Republican party could be part of a new deal to help Americans but they would rather focus on the 1%. America has been strongest as a nation when we've chosen to invest in infrastructure, education, and technology. Provide Americans a level playing field and watch things get better fast.
564
Why does a child in a foreign land deserve so much taxpayer assistance (drone strikes) compared to a child living in the US (food, shelter, education)?
Don't we all want a nation worth defending?
Don't we all want a nation worth defending?
4
Mr. Brooks, what speech did you watch Tuesday night? The evening's highlight, if you can call it that, was his shameful exploitation of a widow's grief at having lost her husband in a botched military maneuver that was still on the drawing board but he gave it his blessings without sufficient knowledge of the mission's planning or the dangers and risks it posed to the soldiers who were in harm's way. The president blamed his generals and the former president for the debacle while he basked in the glow of the standing ovation given posthumously to a brave man who should not have died at all.
Further, the president "didn't mention a single social issue" because he doesn't know anything about the issues that divide the country today, such as LGBT rights and bathroom preferences, or religious liberty, which is why he demonizes a religion as radical and terrorist, or abortion, an issue on which he has flip-flopped to his party's colossal embarrassment. His fix on crime is to mention the wanton murders that plague the city of Chicago, which is a dog whistle and a wink and nod to his supporters as to why Chicago is so dangerous.
This administration has showed the nation nothing but incompetence and malfeasance since the day this president took the oath of office. This is governance at its worst, straight up.
Further, the president "didn't mention a single social issue" because he doesn't know anything about the issues that divide the country today, such as LGBT rights and bathroom preferences, or religious liberty, which is why he demonizes a religion as radical and terrorist, or abortion, an issue on which he has flip-flopped to his party's colossal embarrassment. His fix on crime is to mention the wanton murders that plague the city of Chicago, which is a dog whistle and a wink and nod to his supporters as to why Chicago is so dangerous.
This administration has showed the nation nothing but incompetence and malfeasance since the day this president took the oath of office. This is governance at its worst, straight up.
1432
You could fill this Administration with people picked up for soliciting and get a better result.
Trumps speech spoke loud and clear to his base - white, Christian, male America - and some of their wives. That base of trump supporters thinks they are under assault. Having never actually been persecuted for who they are and the color of their skin - they mistakenly see other groups demanding a fair shot as taking something away from them. Having never been afraid to walk into a church on Sunday - they glibly declare a war on Christmas because some people choose more inclusive language. And not having the economic security to which white Americans deems its birthright - they blame poor undocumented immigrants rather than the billionaire Trump and his cronies. It has been disheartening to see how easily my fellow citizens abandon principles and common decency. as it turns out the GOP isn't the party of personal responsibility. . They are the party of entitled people who blame everyone but themselves for their problems.
63
For gosh sakes, Mt. Brooks, there is no "best" with Trump. He's the worst of human nature, most chillingly in his lack of empathy, and his whole administration is a disgraceful kakistocracy. There is no on the other hand, silver lining, let's wait and see. There's nothing there but corruption, hypocrisy, greed, mean-spiritedness. Russia. Taxes. Russia. Taxes. Russia. Taxes. Focus.
17
Oh, please, Mr. Brooks. Don't play us all for suckers. "If government can create a framework in which people grow up amid healthy families, nurturing schools, thick communities and a secure safety net, then they will have the resources and audacity to thrive in a free global economy and a diversifying skills economy."
Now contrast that with your sainted Ronald Reagan, who, in his inaugural address (January 20, 1981) said the complete opposite of what you write above: "government is the problem." You have written ad nauseam, Mr. Brooks, of the heroics of Conservatism. But underneath the gleaming veneer of civility and patriotism lurks the fetid underbelly: racism; sexism; protectionism; militarism; and, now, thanks to "Republican voters," fascism. Yes, we have it here, and wouldn't your sainted Reagan be proud!
I think you're in serious error when you write that "Republican voters will simply reject these proposals." Donald Trump got 62-millions of them to accept his "core philosophy [of] protection, security and order." But where are these virtues to be found? He has lined his cabinet with the uber-wealthy who are also of the most supreme ignorance when it comes to policies that they will roll out of the departments they are tasked with directing. Who among them is a creator? They are free market capitalists who see the privatization of public services for behind-closed-doors profits. And you know this.
No. 45 isn't a Republican; he's a free-lancing thief of public trust.
Now contrast that with your sainted Ronald Reagan, who, in his inaugural address (January 20, 1981) said the complete opposite of what you write above: "government is the problem." You have written ad nauseam, Mr. Brooks, of the heroics of Conservatism. But underneath the gleaming veneer of civility and patriotism lurks the fetid underbelly: racism; sexism; protectionism; militarism; and, now, thanks to "Republican voters," fascism. Yes, we have it here, and wouldn't your sainted Reagan be proud!
I think you're in serious error when you write that "Republican voters will simply reject these proposals." Donald Trump got 62-millions of them to accept his "core philosophy [of] protection, security and order." But where are these virtues to be found? He has lined his cabinet with the uber-wealthy who are also of the most supreme ignorance when it comes to policies that they will roll out of the departments they are tasked with directing. Who among them is a creator? They are free market capitalists who see the privatization of public services for behind-closed-doors profits. And you know this.
No. 45 isn't a Republican; he's a free-lancing thief of public trust.
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Between your column and Paul Krugman's, as well as the first 40 days of the Trump administration, I am becoming convinced that Donald Trump is not really in charge of the Trump administration. He very often appears confused ("well, somebody told me") and unaware of issues surrounding his office. It appears that until his handlers sit him down and tell him what to say that he's nothing more than an empty headed flag-bearer and useful lightening rod.
1446
He must be terrified that he has to seem so presidential so much of the time.
2
Trump really ISN'T in charge. He's just a mouthpiece, as the TelePrompter speech to Congress aptly demonstrated. I doubt he's even the author of his midnight tweets.
TeamTrump's behaviors hint at the plot line of Richard Condon's "Prizzi's Glory," where organized crime actually takes over the presidency. N.B.: Condon was also the author of "The Manchurian Candidate." Prescient indeed!
TeamTrump's behaviors hint at the plot line of Richard Condon's "Prizzi's Glory," where organized crime actually takes over the presidency. N.B.: Condon was also the author of "The Manchurian Candidate." Prescient indeed!
2
They claimed all they needed was him to be "a pen." Seems to be working out that way.
3
I was very saddened listening to the President speak to the joint session of congress.
I listened to our President announce that he would repeal and replace ObamaCare, and half of Congress stood up and cheered wildly. CHEERING at the notion that they can put 20,000,000 people out of health insurance. CHEERING that they can put small hospitals and health clinics for the poor out of business. CHEERING that they can finally remove the name OBAMA from any link to national health care.
I listened to our President honor the widow of a fallen soldier - which is fine. But this President is the one who also said months ago that Senator John McCain, a former POW, was not a war hero, because his plane got shot down over North VietNam. Our President said he liked soldiers who do not fail in their mission! THEN... he gave his highest accolade to the widow that evening by saying that she received the longest applause ever, a new record he assured her.
Mr. Brooks mentions conservatives' aversion to risk. A simple measure of risk is severity, times frequency, times detectability. President Trump and the cheering Republican congressmen have suggested that the safest path to success is in adulation.
I am very saddened.
I listened to our President announce that he would repeal and replace ObamaCare, and half of Congress stood up and cheered wildly. CHEERING at the notion that they can put 20,000,000 people out of health insurance. CHEERING that they can put small hospitals and health clinics for the poor out of business. CHEERING that they can finally remove the name OBAMA from any link to national health care.
I listened to our President honor the widow of a fallen soldier - which is fine. But this President is the one who also said months ago that Senator John McCain, a former POW, was not a war hero, because his plane got shot down over North VietNam. Our President said he liked soldiers who do not fail in their mission! THEN... he gave his highest accolade to the widow that evening by saying that she received the longest applause ever, a new record he assured her.
Mr. Brooks mentions conservatives' aversion to risk. A simple measure of risk is severity, times frequency, times detectability. President Trump and the cheering Republican congressmen have suggested that the safest path to success is in adulation.
I am very saddened.
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I didn't hear the speech, but I read it. What I read were the words of a man standing on a sailor's corpse to make himself seem taller. Maybe it was something in the tone of voice he used.
16
An optimist might say that a good thing about Trump is that he has given David Brooks focus. While I may have a few quibbles, this column is actually a well-reasoned analysis I can read and respect. How refreshing.
One of those quibbles is the importance Brooks places on family and community. Yes, they are important, but to think we can reconstruct families and communities as they were decades ago is to ignore the realities of our day.
The single most important advantage we can give future generations navigating societal changes is to give them an education that helps them learn how to think.
Instead, we have a president who doesn't, and a secretary of education who wants to privatize public education as a for-profit business and allow guns in schools to deal with those grizzlies.
The antidote to societal decay is critical thought. Mr. Brooks would do well to take that up as a more plausible path to healing families and communities.
One of those quibbles is the importance Brooks places on family and community. Yes, they are important, but to think we can reconstruct families and communities as they were decades ago is to ignore the realities of our day.
The single most important advantage we can give future generations navigating societal changes is to give them an education that helps them learn how to think.
Instead, we have a president who doesn't, and a secretary of education who wants to privatize public education as a for-profit business and allow guns in schools to deal with those grizzlies.
The antidote to societal decay is critical thought. Mr. Brooks would do well to take that up as a more plausible path to healing families and communities.
18
Oh please... "Trumpism" a philosophy, really? Now you are ascribing Trump's random claptrap demagoguery to some coherent form of a Trump political philosophy David Brooks ? The man read a speech in Congress that approximated some of his knuckleheaded crowd pleasing nonsense he's spouted off for the last 18 months on the campaign trail. Virtually every legistlative threat he's made in the name of what you call, erroneously, Trump's philosophy will never be enacted in to law, save perhaps, some symbolic approximation of a higher and longer wall. Those Republican legislators might as well have sat on their hands the way the Democrats did, because they are entirely fractured when it comes to the alt-reality that forms the practical implementation of any of Trump's America first, last, and only Hollywood fantasy. If the Republicans had anything to cheer about, it's that they
finally have a "full house." But as far as making a Faustian pack with that devil, we have to believe that some of those Republicans have a semblance of a brain, and yes, something that approximates a coherent political philosophy.
finally have a "full house." But as far as making a Faustian pack with that devil, we have to believe that some of those Republicans have a semblance of a brain, and yes, something that approximates a coherent political philosophy.
595
Brooks never stated Trumpism a philosophy. The suffix "ism" refers to a belief or behavior or approach or even style. Trumpism does not necessitate thought and is, in fact, antithetical to it.
4
Before and after the speech, Trump's clown act is very much alive! The NY Times photo of his highness giving his power salute on the aircraft carrier, is enough to make me stop reading or watching the news. His recent proclamations about building up the carrier fleet to 12 ships, shows he has no imagination. The USS Ford cost $13 billion(with a B). One of thes ships alone could probably wipe out a quarter of the worlds population, but he looks good in his commander-in-chief jacket!
13
Where did David get this one?
Re-establishing our role as the chief protector of democracy around the world doesn't impact our economic nationalism one bit. Each initiative actually reinforces the other, to my way of thinking.
Can we assume that David Brooks is quite disappointed that the uncultured barbarian he has looked askance at for over a year has become a smooth orator able to hold the Congress through most of an hour?
As a bonus, Trump doesn't have to refer to himself at least once or twice per minute like the arrogant golfer we had last time.
Re-establishing our role as the chief protector of democracy around the world doesn't impact our economic nationalism one bit. Each initiative actually reinforces the other, to my way of thinking.
Can we assume that David Brooks is quite disappointed that the uncultured barbarian he has looked askance at for over a year has become a smooth orator able to hold the Congress through most of an hour?
As a bonus, Trump doesn't have to refer to himself at least once or twice per minute like the arrogant golfer we had last time.
2
"The last thing Trump showed was this: We’re in a state of radical flux. Political parties can turn on a dime. At least that means it’s a time to think anew."
Mr. Brooks has suggested a number of times that a new centrist party be established that would unite the "sane" elements in both Democratic and Republican parties, or what is left of them.
See, e.g.:
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/29/opinion/the-future-of-the-american-ce...
If the US were Europe (or Israel for that matter) a new centrist party (or any new party) could and perhaps would appear in the time it takes to fill out forms and pay the registration fee.
But it does not seem to work that way in the US.
There will be no new centrist party.
The Republicans will continue to self-destruct, undergoing mutation through Trumpism, which seems to constantly re-generate itself in new and different and contradictory forms, and the Democrats will go leftward, alienating Democratic centrists and Republicans who might have defected to them.
Mr. Brooks is politically and intellectually adrift; his identity no longer exists. This might be the time to take a "book-writing break".
Mr. Brooks has suggested a number of times that a new centrist party be established that would unite the "sane" elements in both Democratic and Republican parties, or what is left of them.
See, e.g.:
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/29/opinion/the-future-of-the-american-ce...
If the US were Europe (or Israel for that matter) a new centrist party (or any new party) could and perhaps would appear in the time it takes to fill out forms and pay the registration fee.
But it does not seem to work that way in the US.
There will be no new centrist party.
The Republicans will continue to self-destruct, undergoing mutation through Trumpism, which seems to constantly re-generate itself in new and different and contradictory forms, and the Democrats will go leftward, alienating Democratic centrists and Republicans who might have defected to them.
Mr. Brooks is politically and intellectually adrift; his identity no longer exists. This might be the time to take a "book-writing break".
10
It’s not surprising that Trumpism is a repudiation of traditional Republican politics-as-usual. It’s equally a rejection of Democratic same-ol’-same-ol’. Trump with his curious mishmash of convictions, some at home on the right, some on the left, was summoned to yank BOTH sides of our extremist governance, kicking and screaming, closer to the center where real compromise and forward movement can occur. We’ve been so entertained by the far-left’s attempts to demonize him and prevent THEIR being muscled to the center that we haven’t even seen the BEGINNING yet of the resistance he’s going to get from a far-right equally opposed to moderation.
But his success at this historical necessity is critically important to effectively addressing the existential challenges that face us, the most pressing being rescue from a pedestrian economy of low-growth, automation slowly but implacably obsolescing all human labor, and climate change. Without moderation we’ll spend the next generation simply screaming at one another while the consequences of these challenges unmet consume us; and, actually, consume all of humanity.
David is right: Republicans applauding Trump on Tuesday were applauding their own repudiation, understanding that much of their excess is as counterproductive as that of Democrats. It’s just a pity that Democrats aren’t there yet. But to regain real relevance to our governance, they’ll need to find their way.
EVERYONE needs to reflect and … embrace the horror.
But his success at this historical necessity is critically important to effectively addressing the existential challenges that face us, the most pressing being rescue from a pedestrian economy of low-growth, automation slowly but implacably obsolescing all human labor, and climate change. Without moderation we’ll spend the next generation simply screaming at one another while the consequences of these challenges unmet consume us; and, actually, consume all of humanity.
David is right: Republicans applauding Trump on Tuesday were applauding their own repudiation, understanding that much of their excess is as counterproductive as that of Democrats. It’s just a pity that Democrats aren’t there yet. But to regain real relevance to our governance, they’ll need to find their way.
EVERYONE needs to reflect and … embrace the horror.
15
"It’s just a pity that Democrats aren’t there yet. But to regain real relevance to our governance, they’ll need to find their way." What utter nonsense. Trump's popularity is in the toilet. The dems only need to say no to everything Trump and wait for 2018. You view Trump's election as a turning point that indicates something deep in the country. I view it as a black swan event. Hillary was hated by many on the left and center due to 30 years of RWCTs. In four years they will again vote democratic. In 2016, has everyone forgotten that the demographics get worse for republicans every 4 years? The republican autopsy said it was urgent back in 2012.
24
@Richard Luettgen
This says it all
Phil Las Vegas 7 hours ago
Trump owes hundred of millions of dollars to Deutsche Bank, the same Deutsche Bank caught laundering $10 billion of Putin Mafia money, freshly fleeced off the Russian people, overseas, mostly in Cyprus (the Bank of Cyprus is owned by the Putin Mafia), but also in assets in America. For example, a few years ago Deutsche Bank told Trump he needed to pay $40 million immediately, of the $600 million he owed them. Trump didn't have it. Then, a Russian oligarch, and part owner of the Bank of Cyprus, buys a Trump home in Florida, that Trump had paid $40 million for two years earlier. The oligarch generously paid $100 million. Now Trump has the money to pay back Deutsche Bank: Putin's launderer. Subsequently, the head of Deutsche Bank gets caught laundering for Putin, so he steps down. His new job: head of the Bank of Cyprus. The Bank of Cyprus hired him based on the advice of its two vice-chairs. One is Putin's closest friend. The other is Wilbur Ross. Wilbur Ross is our new Secretary of Commerce! What a small world this is!! So, at this point you should be asking: what is Trump's relationship with the Putin Mafia and the banks they own (Cyprus), or at least heavily influence (Deutsche)? At the very least, we should investigate, with a special prosecutor. Because Trump is unable to say anything negative about the leader of the Russian Mafia.
Trump is Toast
This says it all
Phil Las Vegas 7 hours ago
Trump owes hundred of millions of dollars to Deutsche Bank, the same Deutsche Bank caught laundering $10 billion of Putin Mafia money, freshly fleeced off the Russian people, overseas, mostly in Cyprus (the Bank of Cyprus is owned by the Putin Mafia), but also in assets in America. For example, a few years ago Deutsche Bank told Trump he needed to pay $40 million immediately, of the $600 million he owed them. Trump didn't have it. Then, a Russian oligarch, and part owner of the Bank of Cyprus, buys a Trump home in Florida, that Trump had paid $40 million for two years earlier. The oligarch generously paid $100 million. Now Trump has the money to pay back Deutsche Bank: Putin's launderer. Subsequently, the head of Deutsche Bank gets caught laundering for Putin, so he steps down. His new job: head of the Bank of Cyprus. The Bank of Cyprus hired him based on the advice of its two vice-chairs. One is Putin's closest friend. The other is Wilbur Ross. Wilbur Ross is our new Secretary of Commerce! What a small world this is!! So, at this point you should be asking: what is Trump's relationship with the Putin Mafia and the banks they own (Cyprus), or at least heavily influence (Deutsche)? At the very least, we should investigate, with a special prosecutor. Because Trump is unable to say anything negative about the leader of the Russian Mafia.
Trump is Toast
53
You,that seldom fail to cry about unspecified regulations choking business growth,now admit that climate change is an existential threat to the U.S. and indeed the world.Hard to square that belief with Trump's executive orders and its choice to lead the EPA
23
What utter nonsense. "Straight up" outright lies, misleading half-truths and a total lack of substance. Donald Trump's SOTU speech revealed once again that he is Road Runner who see the country as WIly Coyote that he ios trying to get to run straight over the cliff.
If the speech was Trumpism at its best, then the nation is truly on a path to perdition.
If the speech was Trumpism at its best, then the nation is truly on a path to perdition.
273
Um, that's what Brooks is saying. Maybe try reading to the end?
3