“All the little birdies on jaybird street Love to hear the robin go tweet, tweet, tweet”
When you think you’ve got something figured out, and everyone tells you you’re flat out wrong, it should at least give you pause. So it is with Trump and his tweets.
Because we only get one President at a time, and because I think Trump, politically, is primarily motivated by love of country, I want him to succeed. Even the Never Trump crowd wants him to succeed. And everyone with any sense that I know thinks Trump should have stopped tweeting when he was sworn into office.
Former FBI director Comey claims it was Trump’s tweets that led him to leak his accusatory memo to his law professor buddy. And the word from Britain is that Trump’s cutting tweets about London Mayor Khan were a drag on Prime Minister May and the Conservatives in today’s election.
Trump let Donald Jr. take over the tweeting duty today. And he let his personal lawyer make the response to Comey’s testimony. It turns out his son tweets just as well as the President. And if you’re going to hire a professional advocate to speak for you, let him do his job.
As a result, we watched Comey hang himself while he attacked the President, without distraction. There’s a lesson here. Old dogs do learn new tricks. (I speak from personal experience). Let’s hope President Trump has realized he should no longer dialogue with the public in 140 character blurts. This is not a perpetual campaign. He’s running a government.
His wife and son will be joining him in the White House next week, and none too soon. I never paid much attention to Melania Trump before the overseas trip, except to remark on her beauty. She showed me something in Rome. In Saudi Arabia, she refused to cover her hair. But at the Vatican, meeting the Pope, she wore a black veil. That’s a statement.
It turns out she’s a Catholic, which is no real surprise. Slovenia, her birthplace, is a Catholic country, part of the Holy Roman Empire. I’m not being cynical here, but this is attractive to a lot of Catholics in this country, among whom I count myself.
She also showed some spunk, slapping Trump’s hand away from her when he extended it. Bravo, Melania! Maybe she can keep him away from his twitter machine.
David French is one of the brighter lights over at National Review Online. Today he’s out with a piece saying America is headed for a divorce, reds from blues. It’s something I’ve been thinking about as well, but I don’t want a divorce. I want a legal separation.
In a divorce you have a property settlement, each party taking their fair share. I wouldn’t mind, at all, seeing the rest of the country separate itself from coastal California. But they can’t have San Diego or San Francisco Bay. Those are two of the reasons we took California away from Mexico in the first place. They are two of the finest natural harbors in the world, essential to our national defense and commerce.
The terms of a legal separation between red and blue state America would be tricky. So, for the time being, French has an interim solution — federalism. What a concept! Who would have thought of that?
As far as counting on Congress to advance the cause, forget about it. Through its control of the vast federal government, the power of Congress, and each member of it, is magnified. And when you empower a Congressman you make it easier for him to raise money. And raising money is mainly what Congressmen are interested in.
President Trump likes power. I think it invigorates him. Cutting back on the federal government reduces his power. I don’t think it really appeals to him.
So how, precisely, can the cause of federalism be best advanced? With judges? To a small degree, yes, but we need a bigger club. Where, perchance, might we find it? Let’s look at the Constitution!
When you come to Article V, read it carefully. And use your imagination.
reaganproject.com 