By now you’ve heard that President Trump struck a deal with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. Trump struck a deal to raise the debt ceiling. Trump struck a deal by going around Congressional Republicans. Trump struck a deal with Democrats.
It’s about time, frankly. But Trump can go a lot further on this path. If I were his chief strategist, I’d tell him to go further. How far? Keep reading.
Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell are lazy, selfish, greedy, and kind of stupid, frankly. They surround themselves with lazy, selfish, greedy, stupid “leaders.” For the record, Paul Ryan is the least effective Speaker since recordkeeping began. He raises money. That’s about all he does well.
So Donald Trump struck a deal with the Democrat leaders.
Pelosi and Schumer are good friends to have. They’re loyal. They do whatever it takes to defend their friends, to advance their party’s positions, and to win every battle. Unlike their Republican counterparts, those Democrat leaders stand by their presidents, too. They stood by Bill Clinton. They stood by Obama. They even stood by Hillary, holding her up when she toppled and swayed. Which she did often.
So Donald Trump struck a deal with the Democrats. Because, at least, the Democrats know how to get stuff done.
Trump is a builder. A deal-maker. A problem solver. He’s not an ideological conservative. We didn’t elect him to be an ideological conservative. We elected him to make America great again.
Because he’s not ideological, Trump doesn’t give a damn how he makes America great again. Just so he gets the job done.
Trump gave Paul “The Dumbbell” Ryan and whining Mitch McConnell every chance to make America great again. Trump urged them, praised them, cajoled them. He warned them, too. He warned them that he wouldn’t put up with lazy, selfish, greedy stupidity from the GOP.
It’s obvious that Trump’s patience with Ryan and McConnell has run out. As it should have. Ryan and McConnell couldn’t find work in the private sector if their lives depended on it. They’re only good for government work. A government where lazy, greedy, selfish, and stupid are considered skills.
So Trump did the smart strategic thing. He struck a deal with Democrats. He’ll strike many more deals with Democrats. Unless Ryan and McConnell get off their asses and do their goddamn jobs.
But if I were Trump’s strategist, I’d go a lot further than striking a deal with Democrats over the debt ceiling. I’d go way further. Way, way further.
If I were Trump’s strategist, I’d tell him to go All. The. Way.
All the way where?
All the way.
**I’d advise Donald J. Trump to switch parties. **
Right now.
Today.
**I’d tell Trump to become a Democrat. **Why the hell not? Churchill did it.Twice!
As a Democrat, Trump stands a chance of making America great again. And that’s why we elected him.
We conservative Trump voters put aside our ideology in 2016. We put aside ideology and put America first. We on the right said to ourselves, “Look, if America goes down, our conservative ideas are dead forever. So let’s make America great again, first. Then, we’ll get back to fighting for our ideas.”
If Donald Trump becomes a Democrat, I’ll support him just as strongly as I support him today. I wouldn’t bat an eye. I have a lot of friends who are Democrats. Like Jane Dueker. I like Jane. I’d like her more if she supported Trump. And if Trump were a Democrat, she probably would.
If Donald Trump becomes a Democrat, the Democratic Party will move to the right. Trust me. I told you about missing the good liberals. Go read that post for a minute and come back.
Did you read it?
If you’re over 40, you probably felt some nostalgia. Nostalgia for the old days. The old days when you could argue with a liberal and still be friends. And Ronald Reagan was still president, so who cares what they thought, anyway.
I suspect there are a lot of good, old-school liberals in the Democratic Party. They would love to be civil and reasonable and debate issues with us. In public. Without fear of violence.
**Those good liberal Democrats wish they were free to wave the flag and be patriotic and tell the communist-anarchist Antifa terrorists to go to hell. **
But, right now, those good Democrats feel constrained. Constrained by a party that won’t let them be liberals. Constrained by a party that demands progressivism and anti-Americanism and anarchy and communism.
You can say, “they should stand up for their principles.” I disagree. So does my favorite philosopher, Epictetus.
Don’t brag about the principles you follow in life. Don’t even mention them to others. Instead, act according to those principles. In social situations, do not tell others how to behave.
Epictetus. The Good Life Handbook: Epictetus' Stoic Classic Enchiridion (Kindle Location 409). The Stoic Gym Publications. Kindle Edition.
Liberals and conservatives should live their principles. Telling others to live by our principles doesn’t get us very far. Eventually, people tune us out. Like people tuned out Antifa. The only way Antifa can get anyone’s attention is to bash their skulls with nail-encrusted Louisville Sluggers.
So I’ll be fine with my liberal friends living their liberal principles and my conservative friends living their conservative principles and all of us arguing over policy and having a drink afterward.
As a Democrat, Trump can put a lot of pressure on the majority party in Congress. Plus, he’ll have a lot of help from the Democrats.
Plus, he’ll be able to campaign for Blue Dog Democrats. To defeat those do-nothing Republicans. So many of Trump’s voters are Blue Dog, blue collar Democrats. They’d feel more at home.
If Trump were a Democrat, he’d have zero chance of getting impeached. CNN would treat him fairly. So would the New York Times. And Amazon lobbyist Washington Post. Democrat Trump would be a celebrity again. And he’d be getting things done.
With a few Republicans and all the Democrats on his side, Trump would pass a lot of legislation. He’d end identity politics in the Democratic Party. And he’d probably end Paul Ryan’s political career. All good.
I want to make America great again. That means high GDP growth. But it also means getting along with my Democrat friends. It means arguing, learning, winning, and having a drink. Like good people do.
It’s so much easier to marginalize the idiots when the decent people get along despite our differences.
It’s American.
It’s great.
It’s why we elected Donald J. Trump.
And it’s the best way for me to get my wish (and my birthday’s coming up). So I advise President Trump to switch parties.
UPDATE: McConnell told President Trump to stop talking about “draining the swamp." Which is more reason for Trump to jump parties.