The next months will show a lot about the country's political health.
Despite Mr. Obama's practiced surprise over the results and his disingenuous "tea leaves" remark, as if the results of the election were benighted in some veil of subtlety, this election was pretty decisive. People are not happy with the status quo, and that means the policies and mood created by Obama and the Democrats. But that is only the beginning. Now what?
My hope is that the government will move to encourage energy production, shift legislation back to the legislative branch, repatriate corporations (and their profits), recreate the concept of "nationhood" and defend the borders, streamline taxation and encourage business development. Those goals would be very constructive, if met. More, they are clear objectives that most people agree upon.
But there is a risk here, the risk of symbolism. The Republicans might lapse into a lot of stupid social problems. The worst would be an effort to unwind the ACA. That would bog everyone down in the morass it is. From the Democrats' side the worst would be for Obama to unilaterally change the immigration laws. This would be most revealing. This would expose the country to incredible stress. Very few people want these laws changed. But if Obama does it through executive order he will be saying that all the damage such a rule would create is secondary to his own personal preoccupations. The country be damned.
These diversions would expose the country to a lot of unhappiness and angst. It would also expose these politicians for the people they are.
Despite Mr. Obama's practiced surprise over the results and his disingenuous "tea leaves" remark, as if the results of the election were benighted in some veil of subtlety, this election was pretty decisive. People are not happy with the status quo, and that means the policies and mood created by Obama and the Democrats. But that is only the beginning. Now what?
My hope is that the government will move to encourage energy production, shift legislation back to the legislative branch, repatriate corporations (and their profits), recreate the concept of "nationhood" and defend the borders, streamline taxation and encourage business development. Those goals would be very constructive, if met. More, they are clear objectives that most people agree upon.
But there is a risk here, the risk of symbolism. The Republicans might lapse into a lot of stupid social problems. The worst would be an effort to unwind the ACA. That would bog everyone down in the morass it is. From the Democrats' side the worst would be for Obama to unilaterally change the immigration laws. This would be most revealing. This would expose the country to incredible stress. Very few people want these laws changed. But if Obama does it through executive order he will be saying that all the damage such a rule would create is secondary to his own personal preoccupations. The country be damned.
These diversions would expose the country to a lot of unhappiness and angst. It would also expose these politicians for the people they are.
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