American Hurricane
I was 21 and living in Aspen Colorado in between the Air Force Academy and Syracuse university, when President Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981. I wasn’t a political person at 21, but I voted for Reagan because he projected American greatness as a strong leader against the forces of evil of communist Russia. His strategy was brilliant and simple. To unleash the forces of American free market innovation to drastically increase GDP and the tax dollars to fund a military buildup that communist central planning could not match. His success had the double benefit of super charging our economy and pulling us out of the stagflation of the 1970s, while extending the great Pax Americana as Soviet Russia crumbled. All without firing a shot. Reagan remains the most effective and inspiring President of my lifetime. Back then, Americans were on the same page about the really big stuff like preventing nuclear war with “peace through strength.” We all could understand it because it was simple and self-evident. Never underestimate the power of common sense.
I remember being horrified in March 1981 that a President who was elected and reelected in landslides, could be so hated that a citizen tried to kill him. Then it dawned on me over the weekend, that Reagan’s political opponents also called him Hitler. Since 2016 Democrats stoked similar vitriol with escalating political aggression against Donald Trump. It started with Hillary Clinton labelling half the country that voted for him as deplorable. Then a failed impeachment attempt based on the Russia-gate hoax perpetrated by Hillary Clinton and the DOJ. When Trump decided to run for reelection, multiple questionable lawsuits and criminal charges emerged that appeared to be orchestrated by the Biden DOJ.
Many in the media started labelling Trump as the second coming of Adolf Hitler and President Joe Biden calling him the gravest threat to democracy with a “bullseye” on this back who must be “eliminated.” Is it any wonder there was a crazy person out there who believed this and decided to act? As some have accused Trump, this is all a dog whistle to the fanatical violent crazies in this country. Donald Trump’s hands aren’t clean either. He can be a boorish narcissist (what politician isn’t?) and his campaign vitriol sometimes goes over the edge, and his inaction to stop the Jan 6 Capitol Hill riots will forever tarnish his image. However, he is not a threat to democracy anymore than Joe Biden is.
Like the threat of nuclear war, the weekend’s assassination attempt on Donald Trump has dredged up that existential kind of fear we all try to suppress. As a nation, we are as divided as we have ever been. Maybe not quite equal to our Antebellum era but getting there fast. This at a time when America is the singular champion defending the world of men against the forces of Mordor rising in the East. We can’t afford not to be on the same page on the big stuff. Does that mean either Donald Trump or Joe Biden is Gandalf the Gray? Not exactly but I do think they each represent very different world views. I think one of those world views, collectively represents Gandalf. So, let’s talk about them.
The first says the most important issues the U.S. faces are climate change, re-aligning society and law enforcement based on race, sexual and political identity, diminishing national defense, permitting historic illegal immigration, making abortion a constitutional right, and continuing to grow the size and scope of federal power. I know those that support these policies have a different spin, but that’s my take. The other side of the aisle supports a strong military deterrent, secure borders, safe streets, freedom of opportunity in a color-blind society, and shrinking federal government back to a sustainable and constitutional scope.
Neither view is perfect but our country functions best when there is strong consensus of the big stuff. That means some issues are more important than others. If everything is a top priority, there is no priority. Abortion is a contentious national issue but if the nukes are flying (and we are closer to that than any other point in my lifetime), abortion is not going to matter. So, national defense must be priority one. Next is the unsustainable level of federal spending. We now pay as much on interest for the $34 trillion national debt as we do on defense. Not only is the spending out of control but many federal policies directly implant unsustainable moral hazard which steadily weakens us. Unfortunately, both sides of the aisle are not taking this threat seriously enough. That’s because 67% and rising of our all our national spending goes towards mandatory social safety net programs and nobody wants to give up their government paychecks. Making the needed structural changes for a sustainable safety net is impossible without leadership that convinces Americans to take less so that our way of life can be protected for future generations. It’s a national security threat that affects all of us.
Like most Americans, whether it’s the issues of age or personalities of candidates, I don’t have perfect alignment of my values and beliefs with either of the choices we have. For me, however, one is definitely better than the other. That means I am willing to accept some things I don’t agree with. Millions of Americans will also decide how they are aligned on November 5, 2024. The famous Rolling Stones lyric comes to mind: “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you get what you need.”
I will let this eloquent Op-Ed from The WSJ have the last word:
“Political hostility and hateful rhetoric have been rising to a decibel level that far too often in the American past has led to violence and attempted murder. Some of us still remember 1968 all too well. President Biden spoke to the country from his weekend home in Delaware, as he should have done, and he properly denounced “political violence.” So did leaders of both political parties. But the statements will amount to little if they aren’t followed with a change in behavior and rhetoric.
The shooter alone is responsible for his actions. But leaders on both sides need to stop describing the stakes of the election in apocalyptic terms. Democracy won’t end if one or the other candidate is elected. Fascism is not aborning if Mr. Trump wins, unless you have little faith in American institutions. We agree with former Attorney General Bill Barr’s statement Saturday night: “The Democrats have to stop their grossly irresponsible talk about Trump being an existential threat to democracy—he is not.”
One great risk is that the shooting in Butler, Pa., will cause some on the right to seek violent revenge. This is where Mr. Trump and the Republicans have an obligation—and a political opportunity—at their convention in Milwaukee and through November. If they weren’t already, Americans after Saturday will be looking for stable, reassuring leadership. The photo of Mr. Trump raising his fist as he was led off stage by the Secret Service with a bloody face was a show of personal fortitude that will echo through the campaign. No one doubts his willingness to fight, and his initial statement Saturday night was a notable and encouraging show of restraint and gratitude.
His opportunity now is to present himself as someone who can rise above the attack on his life and unite the country. He will make a mistake if he blames Democrats for the assassination attempt. He will win over more Americans if he tells his followers that they need to fight peacefully and within the system. If the Trump campaign is smart, and thinking about the country as well as the election, it will make the theme of Milwaukee a call to political unity and the better angels of American nature.
That leaves plenty of room for criticizing Democrats and their failed policies. But the country wants civil disagreement and discourse, not civil war. The near assassination of Donald Trump could be a moment that catalyzes more hatred and an even worse cycle of violence. If that is how it goes, God help us. Or it could be a redemptive moment that leads to introspection and political debate that is fierce but not cast as Armageddon. The country was spared the worst on Saturday, and this is a chance to pull out of a partisan death spiral. That is the leadership Americans are desperate to see.”