Dear Mr. Trump

I am an unabashed conservative; one who holds dear the Constitution as a document that has helped to create American Exceptionalism, allowed and enforced the rule of law (until recently), and most of all limited the power of government to intrude into the lives of Americans.

It is broken.

The 1st Amendment is under constant attack on our campuses, it is being eviscerated by prosecutors (see: Wisconsin), and its very concept has fallen out of favor with the intelligentsia who use social media as a way to drown out any dissent from their orthodoxy. Free exercise of religion, in the eyes of the elite, has become a quaint throwback to another time…a time during which Americans were free to act on their most deeply held beliefs without fear that they would be hauled before courts and destroyed financially, and the court of the media rabble and destroyed in other ways.

The 2nd Amendment — the one that, famously, protects the 1st Amendment — has been tweaked beyond all recognition. Its modifications are used as a club with which to beat law-abiding citizens into submission as they try to exercise their God-given right to self defense and defense against the despots who are fighting to make them compliant drones.

The 4th Amendment has been tortured into something unrecognizable by its writers, with law enforcement prying into seemingly all aspects of our private lives without benefit of court order or any reasonable suspicion.

The 5th Amendment, once the pride and joy of liberal America, has been utterly destroyed (see: Kelo). Eminent Domain is now merely the tool of business to maximize potential profit.

The 10th Amendment, the one that should protect the states from the depredations of an over-powerful federal government is now a joke in Washington. It is simply ignored.

The executive branch makes law as it sees fit; to punish its enemies, reward its friends, or further its own environmental, immigration, and racial agendas.

The Supreme Court has become a laughingstock; swaying to the winds of public opinion, governmental pressure, or craven desires for historical consequence.

Hobbes’ Leviathan is here, now, and bigger than he could have imagined. Government has grown to monstrous proportions, gobbling up the riches of this great land. Regulation is insane, with simple transactions between private parties a maze of incomprehensible controls, violation of even the most trivial resulting in awful consequences. The police are out of control, treating regular Americans as the enemy.

Our borders are porous, with uncounted illegal immigrants overwhelming our public services, committing a shocking proportion of the crimes, and worst of all, bringing with them a political philosophy at clear odds with 200+ years of American Exceptionalism (To your credit, your recent publication of your immigration policies is an excellent and impressive start).

But perhaps the saddest and most damaging change is one of American self-image. We no longer see ourselves as the nation that can do almost anything. We are not the same nation that went to the moon in eight years, or created the atomic age in just four years.

You want to be President of The United States. You clearly understand the anger among many Americans, and have tapped into that with adroitness and skill. And you have, in so many delightful ways, upset the carefully constructed relationship between politicians and the press.

But….while you have entertained me, tweaked those who infuriate me, and altered the paradigm of this election cycle, you have not told me how you are going to fix what is broken (other than your immigration proposal).

I want details, plans and goals; not platitudes and broad generalizations that sound wonderful as soundbites but have little meaning past the day’s news cycle.

Convince me that you deserve my vote, and I will support you.

Regards,

CBD

 

10 comments to “Dear Mr. Trump”
  1. CBD, it strikes me that NO candidate has, as of now, talked of what they would do as President in anything but bland, focus-group-tested generalities. There has been no substance yet; just the Usual Nonsense, all subject to later, poll-driven adjustments.

    I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not. Maybe it’s too early in the game to focus entirely on substance. Perhaps we should let the candidates flounder around a bit and get used to the position they’ve put themselves in.

    I don’t believe Trump is the sole offender in this respect. Not by any means. Yes, he should make all his policies and beliefs clear. As should every other candidate. That he and the rest have not strikes me as a normal speedbump in the electoral process. It’d be nice not to have it, but it’s as common as dirt.

  2. Yep. He’s got our attention, let’s see what he does with it. (Hi folks from the HQ!)

    Really, no puns? Dang. #sadface

  3. I think you can trust Trump to keep what promises he makes. He just won’t promise too much.

    Which other Republican can you trust to keep any of the promises they make?

    Unfortunately, the last 5 years of repub “opposition” to king putt has jaded me. Convince me even Walker or Cruz will keep their promises and I won’t even consider voting for Trump.

  4. Ah….I see you have joined the “I don’t trust a single one of those bastards” club!

    Meetings are every other Tuesday at 7:00pm.

    At a bar.

    We don’t talk….we just drink.

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