Unbelievable! What’s Next?

I didn’t believe it would happen, but my wife did.  I didn’t believe it could happen but her cousin in Dunthorpe did.  I couldn’t believe it was happening but one of my old college roommates, now living in Gig Harbor, did.  I told my golf buddies it wouldn’t happen, but a majority of them said it could and it would.  As a political prognosticator I continue to suck.

Donald J. Trump (R) has been elected President of the United States.

How could this happen?  Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D), the single most corrupt politician to ever be nominated by a major political party, had the wind at her back from the get-go.  She had unlimited name recognition after thirty years of trading on her husband’s political success.  She had corrupted the State Department in such a fashion as to allow herself to be come a multi-millionaire – an over $150M millionaire.  She had so corrupted her own party that she was able to cheat her primary opponent Bernie Sanders (Socialist-VT) out of the nomination.  (Based on the recent Wikileaks disclosures, Mr. Sanders should be the person most upset by Ms. Clinton’s loss.)  She had virtually unlimited campaign funds from the Wall Street barons who were assured that they would prosper even more under an administration led by her.  She had a biased and corrupt national media – print and television alike – that universally condemned and distorted the positions of Mr. Trump while ignoring the corruption that defined her entire public life.  She had a sitting president – Barack Obama – so fearful of preserving his legacy that he and his wife campaigned aggressively for a woman they did not like and whose husband they despised.  And finally, she had any number of establishment Republicans who were eager to condemn and defeat Mr. Trump – as usual Sen. John McCain (RINO-AZ) was there to lead the charge.

With all of that, how did Mr. Trump win and Ms. Clinton lose?  It was pretty simple.  Ms. Clinton represented the continuation of a corrupt political system at the national level – one that ignored the common men and women of the nation and focused singularly on those with wealth and power.  In contrast, Mr. Trump recognized, embraced and gave voice to those who have been ignored.  In the end, Ms. Clinton lost because she is Hillary Clinton and, after all, it was singularly just about her.

I appreciate that Mr. Trump has struck a tone for unification and reconciliation.  That is what a leader should do.  But I am not the leader.  I, like the vast middle class to whom Mr. Trump appealed, believe that Bill and Hillary Clinton epitomizes the corruption and smug elitism that defines Washington.  Two people that believe that government exists first to serve them – to increase their power and to line their pockets by peddling influence.  As a result I believe that the best evidence of “draining the swamp” will be the indictment and conviction of Ms. Clinton along with her husband and the cadre of corrupters that surrounded her, including Susan Rice, Cheryl Mills, and Huma Abedin.

But turning away from the negative there are a host of positive events that can take place in very short order:

Repeal of Obamacare.  Obamacare expanded coverage to a significant number of previously uninsured people.  The overwhelming majority of that occurred as a result of expanding Medicaid eligibility – a result that could have been accomplished without destroying the healthcare coverage for the majority of Americans.  Hopefully, the replacement plan will be a simple matter of continuing the expansion of Medicaid, eliminating barriers to cross-state insurance offerings, and dismantling the federal bureaucracy that has unnecessarily restricted choices available to the majority of Americans.  Oh, and by the way he can eliminate the tens of thousands of positions at the Internal Revenue Service and Health and Humans Services created to serve a failed system.  (The average cost of a federal public employee is over $127,000 per year, including benefits.  Elimination of the 10,000 employees that the Obama administration said were needed for Obamacare would produce and annual savings of more than $1.27 Billion annually).

Return Friedrichs vs. California Teachers Association for consideration by the Supreme Court after confirmation of Mr. Trump’s replacement for Justice Anton Scalia.  Prior to his death Justice Scalia had, in previous opinions, laid out the arguments that compulsory union membership or financial support as a condition of government employment violated the “free speech” and “freedom of association” provisions of the First Amendment for public employees.  With his death, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling favoring the unions was upheld on a tie vote.  A return of that issue to the Supreme Court will almost surely result in affirmation of Justice Scalia’s arguments and result in a form of “right to work” for public employees and a severe crippling of the significant political/financial influence of the public employee unions – music to my ears.

Return Rowe vs. Wade for new consideration where a new conservative majority will most likely find that, in fact, the United States Constitution is silent on the right to an abortion and the balancing of rights between a pregnant woman and her unborn child is a matter best left to the states.  Under the Tenth Amendment power not specifically granted to the federal government is reserved to the States and/or the people.  In the meantime Congress can de-fund Planned Parenthood unless it agrees to a structural, financial and actual segregation of its abortion services from other health services provided to women – no more direct or indirect financial support from taxpayers.

Stop the flow of refugees from Syria and other areas dominated by Islamic terrorists until such time as a verifiable vetting process can determine the identity and intent of such refugees.  In the meantime, we should take up the offer of the Jordanians and Saudis to build and protect safe havens in liberated areas of Syria.

Cancel the series of executive orders that granted amnesty to illegals, imposed federal environmental jurisdiction over every wet spot in America, and shut down exploration and development of coal, oil, oil shale and natural gas on federal lands.

Clean house at the Internal Revenue Service by reducing the number of employees through disciplinary proceedings (The IRS scandal still lingers with no one yet held accountable) and adoption of a simplified tax code that eliminates the tens of thousands of rules and regulations and public employees needed to write and enforce them.

All of these can be accomplished in the first 100 days of Mr. Trump’s presidency.  All will result in costs savings to the government and a reduction of government intrusion in our private and business lives.  All will challenge the entrenched government elites – Republican and Democrat alike – to whether they will actually serve the people instead of just themselves.

It is daybreak in America.