William F. Buckley once stated, “I would rather be governed by the first 2000 people in the Manhattan phone book than the entire faculty of Harvard.” Donald Trump may or may not be whom Buckley spoke of. He is not the perfect candidate. He may not grasp the foundation of the founder’s intent, however he does understand the underlying results when people are allowed to believe in themselves. He is not an insider and is willing to take a look at the inside of Washington D.C. the insiders do not want us to see.
He is a product of current culture and the me generation; and yet he can remind you of the guy next store or the person you meet in the bar and enjoy the football game with because you both root for the same team and even if you don’t, you enjoy the friendly rivalry and still split the tab.
Donald Trump is rooting for Americans. He is neither a politician nor a statesman. He is just a hard working American living the American dream and is sick and tired of watching the country that allowed him the opportunity to live his dreams, go down the tubes. He wants Joe the Plumber to be the next great success story.
He is saying what many in today’s American Culture understand and while I supported Ted Cruz and his Constitutional arguments Trump won. Sadly due to our public education system and media bias we are currently removed from having a constitutional discussion. However, I still have faith in the system and Americans. As conservatives we should not insult those who voted for Trump. We should leave that to Hillary.
So Trump is having the conversation many Americans understand. He is saying exactly what they are feeling and the average “deplorable” American is sick and tired of what the Democrats are saying. They are tired of being called racist, bigots, homophobes, Islamaphobe and every other phobe they seem to label Americans with. They are tired of crony capitalism and the cozy relationships D.C. politicians have with K Street lobbyist and corporate America. They are fed up with politicians who enter congress has middle class Americans and leave as multimillionaires not because they took a risk but because they took the special interest money. Americans are disgusted of not seeing the rule of law imposed. They are tired of elected officials not being held to the same standards as every other American. They have grown weary of these same people telling us how they are going to fix it and it only gets worse.
And while I share many of the same concerns raised by so many good conservatives, and their points are well taken, I see a glimmer of hope. Trump told us the type of judges he would appoint to the Supreme Court. I see the possibility of a Republican Congress holding Trump accountable. I see Republican leadership growing a spine and demanding adherence to the Constitutional mandates of separation of powers. I see a Republican congress, which seems to lack the fortitude to challenge the current President willing to challenge someone within their own ranks. In this we could have a public debate on the Constitutional intent our founders envisioned. Ted Cruz and Mike Lee could lead the charge. I see the opportunity to begin the return to our Constitutional foundations. The beauty of this conversation is the Democrats would be cheering on the Republicans in challenging one of their own.
A return to our Constitutional principles will not happen overnight and we have to have faith in the system. Madison told us, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.” We are not angels and we do not elect angels to govern us. We elect men and woman and all their imperfections. Our government is our choice and there is worth in our individual choices in those we cast our vote for.
I do not know how Trump will govern. So while we argue over the purity of Trump’s intentions and make predictions about how Trump will govern, we run the risk of electing someone we know will not govern us but rather dictate to us and remove us further from our Constitutional underpinnings. We seek to elect an angel when all there is, is Trump or Hillary.
