American Politics Journal -- The Trump Card



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Guest Editorial
Trump Card

by Peter Roff

Jan. 6, 2000 (AmpolNS) -- The Reform Party, which started life as the plaything of an egocentric billionaire with an insatiable need for self-promotion, is being taken over by another eccentric billionaire with an insatiable need for self-promotion.

Donald Trump, imperial pit boss of Atlantic City, NJ, says he will decide by summer whether or not he will run for President of the United States as the Reform Party candidate. He has stamped his trademark name onto airlines and office towers and board games and is now thinking about whether or not he wants to stamp his brand on the nation. Call it the United States of Trump. Or the Trump States of America.

Anyone in America can grow up to be President -- even the son of a multi-millionaire apartment magnet from the outer boroughs of New York City. "Fred Trump's son" cannot and does not claim humble origins. That a rich man wants to be President is not, on the face of it, a bad thing.

Some of our greatest Presidents - George Washington, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR -- have been wealthy. Presidents with strong, Trump-ish egos like Andrew Jackson, and LBJ have led this nation through some of its most profound changes. Being rich or self-confident should not automatically disqualify anyone from running for or being President.

Trump's political positions, however, reflect a disturbing type of dual-sided populism that has become increasingly significant in American politics. He says, for example, he is personally opposed to abortion but avers that he is strongly pro-choice.

He calls for tax cuts that will benefit business and existing wealth, rather than alleviate the tax burdens on the nuclear family or spur economic growth. And he has called for a recession-inducing one-time wealth tax of 14.2% on fortunes over ten million dollars that will cause a flight of capital from American financial markets, raising interest rates through the roof.

His platform grows out of the nexus of greed, envy, and lust. While Trump is but the latest in a long line of ignominious political candidates who describe themselves as "fiscal conservatives and social liberals," he appears to have captured a moment in time when the nation is making critical, long-term choices about the future. As a result, he is getting a better hearing for these ideas than perhaps he deserves.

A "fiscal conservative" inspires in you, Joe Voter, envy of those who are doing better than you are while absolving you of any responsibility for your economic lot. This is accompanied by supposed support for tax cuts, not because they foster economic growth that benefits everyone, but through a direct appeal to greed.

Republicans put this issue into play. The cynical decision to move to tax cuts as a means to buy votes rather than grow the economy has moved the GOP off course on economic issues to a place where big-spending Democrats can indeed follow, blurring the distinctions and obscuring the message of real tax cuts. In its place, are deceptive messages moving voters through the politics of greed and envy.

A "social liberal" seeks biological liberty without consequence. Whole-heartedly embracing "it feels good so do it," they support unfettered pursuit of any kind of physical or emotional pleasure. And not just with willful disregard for the consequences but by actually underwriting them.

Democrats, in pursuit of a message, should be blamed for injecting this line of thought into politics. Vote-seeking, risk averse, popularity hungry politicians of both parties have taken up with enthusiasm this line of argument over the last twenty-five years.

This is where the Trump presidential campaign comes in. It blends the worst elements into a single political philosophy. It promises, in a brightly wrapped package, further decline of western civilization and its inherent values that leave most Americans scratching their heads.

In the end though, if we are looking for the joker in the deck, it is not Donald Trump but we, the people. Whether Democrat, Republican, or Independent, we have stopped demanding excellence of our leaders. Those who stand for principle are excoriated as extremists in exchange for the bland, vanilla passivity of the poll-driven, spun message campaign. And if the leaders who hold these positions can so easily lead us like sheep to a cultural slaughter, we may deserve the outcome.

Peter Roff is a political strategist and former Political Director of GOPAC, the controversial political committee once headed by House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Mr. Roff is a frequent commentator on politics and culture for MSNBC and the Fox News Channel.