Trump is no conservative. He’s a big-government former Democrat who, previewed solely on his own record, merits and statements, looks as if he could be a bigger spender than George W Bush, if not Obama himself.
But his cabinet, so far, is well to the right of the Congress, which is moving to the right, but not nearly fast enough.
King Banaian pointed this out on the show on Saturday – and John Fund agrees, today, in NRO:
The biggest surprise Donald Trump has provided as president-elect is just how conservative a cabinet he is putting together. “This is a more conservative cabinet than Reagan assembled in 1980,” says Ed Feulner, a key Trump transition adviser. As president of the Heritage Foundation at the time, Feulner provided guidance for Reagan’s choices. The conservative cast of the nominees thus far is somewhat unexpected, given Trump’s well-known reputation as a non-ideological thinker who has often backed big-government solutions. Plus, Trump was a registered Democrat until 2009. Indeed, Trump’s entire family is largely non-ideological. It was only last August, in a meeting with New Jersey governor Chris Christie, that Donald Trump Jr. ticked off a list of his father’s new positions and said, “Well, I guess that means we’re conservatives!”
If they get through the Senate, it’ll be that rare example (as King and Ed pointed out over the weekend) of the cabinet being to the right of Congress.
And if they don’t? It’ll be an epic chanting point for the 2018 mid-terms.
I’ve spent my life watching doctrinaire conservatives achieve power and immediately move way way left. Kind of refreshing to see the opposite no?
If they make it through the Senate … we’ll have Harry Reid to thank. How’s that for irony?
One of things is not like the others…one of these things just does not belong….
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-takes-heat-breitbart-over-labor-secretary-pick-n694136?cid=public-rss_20161212
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My favorite analyst of Trump is John LeBoutillier. He says Trump doesn’t believe in anything. LeBoutillier gets interviewed by Barry Farber for an hour most every week on CRN and it’s normally very interesting.
After reading the list of questions trump’s transition team sent to DOE, my analysis of what he is doing with his cabinet picks is to find great managers who will trim the bureaucracy back to its legitimate functions, efficiently performed. And while that turns out to be an eminently conservative idea, it is also simple good business practice, as might be expected from electing a pragmatic, successful businessman.
Trump is just doing a reverse swamp drainage procedure.
Condi and Darth Vader just endorsed his SecState pick. I feel like Im living in a Tom Clancy novel, so unreal.
So, Trump appoints a man who has practical experience about how the world works and has had a job outside the government for most of his life. What’s not to like? This is what Trump’s campaign was all about. Sometimes you need to fill the swamp before you drain it.
The “drain the swamp” comments referred to the revolving door between government employment and lobbying. As much as you can take what Trump says at any moment seriously.
If “the swamp” consists of government, and the “mosquitoes” are business people, the only way the swamp can be drained is to restrict hiring to workers, the unemployed, academics, and politicians. And maybe clergymen.
Unlike Pruitt and Sessions, Rex Tillerson seems to be a good choice. What I like is that Tillerson is an intelligent, data driven, hard negotiator. It will be a pleasure to see those characteristics again in the Secretary of State.
I would be remiss if didn’t note that Tillerson’s biggest challenge will be his boss, as well as the world.