The Republican controlled House has reached a deal on an omnibus, 1 trillion dollar bill that will extend the operations of the Federal Government for five more months. The budget deal is a concession to the big government establishment, and it flies in the face of nearly every Trump priority or slogan. WWAJD – What would Andrew Jackson Do? Who cares?
The question today is only, “What will President Trump do?”
If Hillary Clinton had won in November, and this was the best deal a GOP minority could have won, it would still be a bad deal for republicans, and hence for America. For conservatives or populists, this deal represents the return to politics as usual from the establishment. For President Trump, this is his test of leadership. Now, we find out if Trump voters get the art of the deal, or did his voters simply fall for the art of a spiel.
Mr. Trump should kill this deal, and if he can’t he should veto the bill.
The budget deal fulfills none of the promises on which the President ran. Indeed, for the ‘deal,’ the President received nothing in return other than the federal government not closing. Remember when Mr. Trump promised to make America great again by giving the democrats whatever they wanted or demanded as long as we never shut down the federal government? Me neither.
This deal gives us no healthcare repeal or replacement. It gives us no border wall or sanctuary city fix, and it gives us no tax reform. The deal brings us no closer to better trade agreements, nor does it restructure big government or change to whom and for whom big government answers.
No person claiming the label of conservative could vote for this deal. No populist could find this popular. No President who has promised to: drain the swamp, make America great again, or to put America first can sign such a deal.
When conservatives were nervously pacing the floor worrying about a full-throated endorsement of Mr. Trump, “deals” like this were exactly what kept them up at night staring at the ceiling. When populism swept across this country with the false promise that one election would make career politicians change how they vote, how they deal, and how they broker power among themselves, Trump supporters were certain that deals like this would no longer take place. Trump, his team told us, was all about the art of the deal.
If this is Art … it sure is ugly.
The Republican Party is the weakest, most feeble, most reprehensible collection of big-government sell-outs this country has ever seen … except of course for the democrats. This deal represents business as usual, politics as expected, and an establishment fully and unapologetically back at the helm of the USS America.
So I ask again … what is President Trump going to do about this?
President Trump made a promise that he did keep to conservatives. In Gorsuch, he appointed a great jurist and a Constitutional Conservative. Now it’s time to lead again, and Mr. Trump must lead the weak party he now heads out of the swamp.
Mr. President … you won. Elections have consequences.
I don’t have a problem cutting deals with my fellow Americans. On many policy issues deal-making is smart, and Mr. Trump knows that. On some issues, however, we don’t deal. We can’t deal. There are issues that define who we are and how we keep our promises. We cannot make a deal like the one our own House is proposing without the Democrats returning to us our own critical priorities.
I don’t know what Andrew Jackson would do, Mr. President. I do know this; he would not sign his name to a deal where the only concession from the other side was that it wouldn’t shut down the Federal Government.
We have 330 million Americans in this country, and about 329,500,000 of them don’t give a damn about whether or not the Federal Government shuts down. America voted to drain the swamp. This deal seeks to expand it and turn it into a national monument.
Mr. Trump … this is a defining moment in your Presidency and the last opportunity to pivot America back toward founding principles of liberty, prosperity, and smaller, smarter government. It’s right here sir. It’s not the next deal. It is this deal. Concede here, give up here, bow here … and you don’t drain the swamp. You bath in it and you ensure that your fellow Americans can never get free of it.
The political ruling class wants to return to business as usual. Andrew Jackson is dead … for sure … before this civil war. So, really, the only question is: What would Donald J. Trump do to make America great again.
Author: Richard Kelsey
Richard Kelsey is the Editor-in-Chief of Committed Conservative.
He is a trial Attorney and author of a #11 best-selling book on Amazon written on higher education, “Of Serfs and Lords: Why College Tuition is Creating a Debtor Class”
Rich is also the author of the new Murder-Mystery series, “The ABC’s of Murder,” book one is titled, “Adultery.”
Rich is a former Assistant Law School Dean and Law Professor. At Mason Law Kelsey conceived of, planned, and brought to fruition Mason’s Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property, known as CPIP, drawing on his expertise as a former CEO of a technology company specializing in combating cyber-fraud.
In 2014 he was elected by the graduating class as the faculty speaker at their graduation.
He is a regular commentator on legal and political issues in print, radio and on TV. Rich has appeared on hundreds of stations as a legal expert or political commentator. He provided the legal analysis for all stages of the Bob McDonnell trial and appeal for numerous outlets including NPR and WMAL.
Rich also writes on occasion for the American Spectator and CNSNews.com.
In his free time, Rich is part of the baseball mafia of Northern Virginia, serving on numerous boards and as a little league and travel baseball coach.
His Twitter handle is @richkelsey.
