America The Beautiful No More

Last week, Senate Republicans confirmed their 23^rd federal appeals court judge, breaking a record for the number confirmed during a President's first two years. The previous record was set by President George H. W. Bush at 22 confirmations. "The Senate continues to confirm impressive nominees whom President Trump has asked to serve our country," said Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell. This opinion is contested by Senator Diane Feinstein who complained that the latest appointment was a man “who lacks judicial experience and has a blatantly political record.” 

Clearly, Republicans have rushed to confirm Trump's nominees for the bench while they enjoy a Senate majority. In addition, the probable confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court bench means the Republican Party will have soon a lock on and shape the direction of U.S. court rulings for decades. The appointees are all Republicans who share similar ideologies. Let’s not forget that a century ago, Republican ideology had it that if you were poor, it was a sin but if you were rich, it was a sign that you were favoured by God.

The Republicans in Congress, as well as the executive branch, give the impression that they have a divine right to rule. I am not saying that all Republicans are bad and all Democrats are good. However, Congressional Republicans enjoy so much power nowadays, not just because of their political majorities but also because the Democrats seem weak and rudderless. And in politics, perception is usually more important than reality.

Will the November mid-term elections change the balance in Congress? I shall be interested to see what big issues emerge in the campaign. There are three where the parties are poles apart. Immigration: Republicans want a strong, ‘keep out of America’ policy, Democrats are more measured. For example, they care about children being separated from their ‘illegal’ immigrant parents. Far too many Republican politicians don’t appear to be bothered about this. Guns: Republicans support Second Amendment rights, notwithstanding that mass shootings and murders occur with far too much regularity. The NRA and other gun groups are content they won’t be touched by the law. Their stance is: ‘people need weapons to defend themselves.’ I’d be curious to know how many gun holders have stayed safe by discharging their weapons first. Will their campaign contributions be publicised? Democrats favour more gun control but know it is a lost cause. The courts are against them.

Finally, Abortion: Democrats are inclined to be pro-choice, Republicans generally are pro-life and support the dismantling of Roe v Wade. Interestingly, the President believes the decision should not rest with the federal government; it is an issue for the individual states. He may be right. However, those who support pro-life, coupled with the right to force a woman to give birth, surely should accept some responsibility for the welfare and upbringing of the child? In western society, rights are balanced with equal responsibility.

On these three issues, it seems the Republicans have a lot of support from voters. Does this mean that the Democrats will lose in November? The polls currently indicate a swing to the Democrats but this side of the aisle needs to do better than simply concentrate on Trump’s shortcomings. In contrast, the Trump administration and its political supporters are not bothered by the President’s well-publicised positions on women, minorities and people of colour. There is even support for his position on water-boarding. Evidently it is alright to drown a man half to death.

Once Trump was elected to the White House, theory has it that he became the President of all the people, not just those who voted for him. This is not evident in his acts. For example, take the American environment. Reviving the coal industry may be good for a few people in Pennsylvania but there is no such thing as clean coal, whatever the executive branch and environment ‘experts’ might say. Scott Pruitt, the discredited and sacked Secretary of State for the Environment, has left an Environment Protection Agency whose staff fear their ability to protect public health is much diminished.

The Trump administration has no record worth mentioning on the environment. To pull out of the Paris Accords on grounds of cost is ridiculous. If Planet Earth is irretrievably damaged, how will future generations benefit, let alone exist? But the Republicans are in charge and too often demonstrate a lack of caring about the human race. Their attitude, harnessed by America First, is so misguided.

Trump bleats about unfair trade and how America has been robbed by China and the European Union nations, not to mention its neighbour, Canada. The administration has imposed savage trade tariffs. Congress did nothing to stop it. Under the Commerce clause in the Constitution, Congress had the legal right to intervene but didn’t do so. Now Trump finds he has to bail out American farmers to the tune of $12 billion because of tariffs.

Trump’s aim is to hit those who trade with America by stopping imports. For example, foreign steel prices have risen by 25% for American buyers. In turn, this forces American industry to buy American, so the theory goes. World trade is complicated. It is probable that in the short term, the American steel industry cannot supply the type of steel required by American manufacturers and when it can, the cost will not be competitive for buyers. Furthermore, American exporters will find their markets cut off in the tit-for-tat tariff exchanges. Trump ignored advice from experts and the history of trade wars. He relied on instinct. Congress should have stopped him. When standing up to the man in the Oval Office, Congress has taken a knee.

Trump does not seem to rely on research, just hunches or gut, and he notoriously fails to study briefs. He seems to rely almost exclusively on Fox News for facts. His tax breaks for American workers are working in the short term but at a savage cost. The poor will not benefit and welfare programmes will be scrapped. So, in my eyes, this makes Trump the President for the upper middle classes and, especially, the wealthy, his friends, his donors and himself.

I believe Trump socialises with and speaks to a very small group of people, mostly billionaires, who believe everything has a price and profit is all-important. Others in Trump’s coterie are Republicans who believe America and its institutions belong to them.  I include in this the Republicans in Congress, the Supreme Court and, of course, the White House. These people give the clear impression they will stop at nothing to keep what they now hold. Many welcomed, some retrospectively, Russian interference in the 2016 election to defeat Hillary Clinton. This is in direct contravention to what the Founding Fathers wanted, not to mention the law.

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both warned against foreign entanglements, so it is never surprising when a President moves towards isolationism. All Presidents practice America First, regardless of political persuasion. Trump didn’t invent it. But unlike his predecessors, he behaves as if the rest of the free world, including America’s firm allies, are less than secondary. Instead, he cosies up to North Korea and Russia, his nation’s sworn enemies. He relies on gut instinct that he can make a better deal than anyone else with these duplicitous regimes.

In the past week or so, he has insulted the German Chancellor, suggesting Germany is in thrall to Russia because of energy supply. Who else will the Russians sell to? Next he came to UK where he diminished our Prime Minister by telling her she had messed up Brexit, and admonished her for not following his advice on Brexit. Whilst it’s true that the negotiations with EU have so far been slow and unproductive, the intervention of the President gives energy to those in the EU with whom Mrs May must negotiate.

Then Trump went to Helsinki where he asked to kiss Mr Putin’s posterior. “No,” he said, “Mr Putin and Russia did not interfere in the 2016 Presidential election.” Two days later, Trump walked this statement back. “I misspoke,” he said. He asserted he meant the very opposite of what he had said. Could it be advisers told him that even the friendliest of Republican leadership, as well as the media, were up in arms? Make no mistake, Mr Trump is a loose cannon, a danger to world peace and world economics, not to mention linguistic accuracy and truth.

When it comes to foreign policy, does the middle-American public care? The evidence suggests it does not. This is one reason why the Republicans may do far better than expected. Isolationism plays well in the Rust Belt and parts of the Mid-west. Here we find Trump people, those disaffected by politicians and who hate the elite.

I await the next few months with both interest and dread. It will be a nasty campaign. My biggest fear is that American politicians will behave so badly that America’s political divisiveness will become explosively worse. Times have indeed changed since President Obama.