There has been much rejoicing among the conservative pundits about how incoming President Trump is going to “drain the swamp” and how he’s apparently already started. Conversely, the leftists, media, and swamp-dwellers are having fits over the prospect that he will actually do exactly that.
Based on observation of what President Trump has done and said since the election, I would advise the leftists to calm down, and the conservatives to curb their optimism; the most anyone can reasonably expect is for him to slow down the growth of the swamp if at all.
I say this because of a number of factors, not the least of which is the fact that the beureaucracy is so pervasive and entrenched than nothing short of a COMPLETE revamping AND restaffing in addition to a huge reduction in government agencies will do little more than pause the march toward tyrannical, unrestrained communism.
As for President Trump, his statements and actions show little more than a desire to redirect the priorities of the “swamp” rather than actually drain it. Granted, his stated policies for the most part are laudable and if effectually implemented would be a good start, but it appears that he isn’t really all that interested in actually implementing them. I offer the following indications:
1) So far, a significant percentage of his proposed appointees are persons that have consistently (and some actively) opposed his policies in the past. There is little or no reason that they won’t continue to do so. If he were actually focused on “draining the swamp”, he wouldn’t be purposely giving high government positions to those who have a vested and open interest in protecting the status quo.
2) We know historically that without a significant majority in both House and Senate, leftists (Democrats and their allies) will block any legislation to effect meaningful reforms or measures to drain said swamp, usually with the help of Republicans who are habitually abettors of the leftist agenda. Knowing this, President Trump has pulled enough Conservative legislators out of both the House and Senate to insure that the Republican majority in the Senate is razor thin, and the House majority may ievaporate entirely. As I write this, the Republican majority has been reduced to 1, and may decline to nothing within the next few weeks. What better way to do nothing significant to “drain the swamp” than to insure that you do not have the votes in Congress to pass your agenda?
2) It is becoming increasingly obvious that unless both government spending and taxation are reduced (especially spending), we will find ourselves in the midst of a hyperinflation fueled depression that will make the Great Depression look like a picnic at the beach in comparison. It is also obvious that increasing (or even maintaining the current rate) of spending and increasing the money supply will only accelerate the process. Yet, President Trump has called for an elimination of the debt ceiling, not forcefully called for national budget (as commanded by the Constitution), and has supported continuing resolutions that not only call for increased spending, but fund programs designed to perpetuate unneeded and unhelpful government programs.
“But DOGE”, you say, “That’s going to reduce waste and spending by billions, may even more!”. Keep in mind that DOGE will not have the authority to actually cut any spending or programs. All it can do is make recommendations to Congress and the GAO. Because of the fact that neither Congress or the GAO have historically show any desire to actually cut spending or eliminate unneeded programs, I’m not sure that the Dept. of Government Efficiency will be much more than just another bureaucratic organization designed to look beneficial, but in practice does nothing more that employ more bureaucrats and perpetuate itself. I have no doubt that those chosen to head the agency have very good intentions; I just believe that Mr. Trump is too smart not to realize the ultimate futility of the exercise.
3) President Trump will need the support of an overwhelming majority of Congresscritters to enact most of his agenda. Sadly, although all of the Democrats, Socialists, Green Party, etc. are leftist Marxist/socialists, not all of the Republicans and Libertarians are conservative. Many of them habitually vote as if they were socialists; that’s how the leftists have basically gotten everything they want for so many years. Mitch McConnell, Lindsay Graham, and Dan Crenshaw are just a few examples of Congressmen who quite forcefully talk the conservative talk, but vote the opposite of their rhetoric when their votes actually count.
Because of all of this, I don’t expect to see any significant change in the direction of the federal government other than curbing the influx of illegal invaders and in foreign policy. Fortunately, these two issues are ones in which President Trump is very solid.
