Voting In the Age of Trump

So, what do you do next Tuesday if you’re not a Democrat (and will probably never be as they move more and more to the left) and yet you’re appalled by much of what Donald Trump says and especially how he says it.  Plus, good Republicans, like Paul Ryan, are leaving.  But you still have to vote.

One idea might be to figure out who you want to be happy on Tuesday night.  Or, alternatively, who you don’t want to be happy on Tuesday.  Maybe, in an ultimate case of “the lesser of two evils,” the question is whose victory party would be more obnoxious?  The Democratic celebrations could be pretty bad, and their policy ideas, to the extent they have any other than “Trump’s horrible” and “Medicare for All will be free,” are not where I think the country should go.

On the other hand, if the Republicans win, will that encourage President Trump and those in the Republican Party who support him to do even more of what he, and they, are already doing?  Of course, with President Trump, I’m not sure he will be any different regardless of the result on Tuesday.  If he “wins” (i.e., if Republicans, especially those supported by him, win and the Republicans keep control of the House and Senate), he will take it as affirmation that what he has been doing works and he will keep it up.  If he “loses,” he will probably conclude it is because he wasn’t strong enough, so he will double down on his tweets, etc.

With respect to the Republican Party, maybe losing would knock some sense into them.  But two thoughts:  One, is it worth the risk?  Some (like the Freedom Caucus and others who pledge allegiance to talk radio) would probably, like President Trump, think their loss was because they were too wishy-washy.  Two, what mischief might a Democratic House, especially if combined with a Democratic Senate, get up to – and how long would it take to fix it? 

One other thought.  While I don’t like a lot of what President Trump talks about, I do like what some of the people in his administration are doing.  I worry whether these people would be able to continue the good work they are doing if the Democrats win big time.

When it comes to foreign policy, I am not sure how much of a difference the election will make in what President Trump does.  President Obama did what he wanted in foreign policy even with the Republicans controlling the House of Representatives and, ultimately, the Senate.  Richard Nixon pretty much saved Israel in October of 1973 even with Watergate swirling all around him.

Also, I am not sure there is all that much difference, in substance (as opposed to tone), between President Trump and the Democrats in foreign policy.  None of the Democrats want the United States to be a leader (other than on environmental matters, I suppose).  As Robert Kagan said when he talked to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs on October 9, of the four leading politicians in 2016 (Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Barack Obama), only one of them saw the United States as needing to play the role of leader and protector of the liberal world order – and she’s not running anymore.  A Democratic approach might sound nicer than President Trump, but it would still be focused on us at home and the heck with the world. 

So, what to do?  Vote Republican, I guess, and hope for the best – because the likelihood of the alternative turning out better is small.

PS What I wrote above applies to national races.  There are other elections on Tuesday, too, and those races and those candidates have nothing to do with Donald Trump – or Nancy Pelosi.  Those candidates need to be looked at on their own – and voted for on their own – based on their own abilities and qualities.  Because doing that is the best way to make sure the dysfunction we have in Washington stays there and doesn’t take over our state and local governments, too.

Comments

[Sue Allen]

A sad commentary on the state of affairs of national politics. You can see why good people don't want to run or why they are getting out of politics.