From Jim’s blog Trump’s struggle for power
I could have told you that 3 years ago. In fact, I did. In a world increasingly dominated by capital and wealth creation, no one cares about your opinions about cultural issues such as immigration. This is why Trump tweets more about the economy, low unemployment, the stock market going up, GDP, etc. than immigration and other cultural issues. People who make money keep making more money, as a manifested quantifiable result. People who complain about demographic change, the opium epidemic, or trans indoctrination of the youth, have nothing to show for their efforts. That is why Trump was so adamant about the fed lowering rates, as the fed did in 2018, which was a success, or making China deals, but stuff regarding immigration gets the occasional tweet, if that. And little about opium epidemic either.
The fact that Trump was able to force the fed to lower rates in an economic expansion, shows he has power, but he is using it where is is more efficacious for his political career and generating positive press about how well the economy and market is doing [of course, it’s easier for Trump to influence the very person he appointed, as opposed to a Congress that is largely hostile to Trump and wants him to fail]. Same for the drone strike on Qasem Soleimani, which helped drum up support among his base. Trying to get a bill through a gridlocked Congress is not as good use of Trump’s time. Voters, regardless of party, care about the economy first and foremost. Then comes defense and security. Dissident-right issues just do not factor that highly in the electorate. In spite Trump running a successful campaign on promising to build a wall, immigration still takes a backseat to the economy. Elections are won or lost by how strong or weak the economy and stock market is, followed by foreign policy. Given how Carter in 1979 struck out on both of those, is how Reagan won so strongly.
Even if Trump were given 4 more terms, he still won’t do much outside of the realm of economics and foreign policy. That’s not to say he’s a bad president, but He’s never going assume power in the way Jim and others are hoping by being a culture warrior. Republicans are about maintaining the republic, hence the name. That means defense, economics, and ‘law and order’ are prioritized over other stuff, an those are the three things most crucial to a cohesive nation. This is also why liberal elites, as opposed to those overly dramatic low-IQ SJWs on twitter, are not losing sleep over losing in 2020. They know what I know, which is that is that the next four years of Trump will be like the last three, in which conservatives make no progress on culture stuff in spite of Trump no longer having the FBI hounding him, having been acquitted, not having to worry about reelection, and having four full years to do stuff. God willing, if RBG expires, Trump may be able to appoint one more Supreme Court judge, but even then the left is not too concerned given how obviously ineffectual the courts are at staving off progressivism. To consider the 4-d chess equivalent for the left, one can argue that liberal elites want a conservative court because it means that efforts at wealth redistribution by the far/populist-left will almost certainly be ruled unconstitutional, but they still get to keeps their gay and trans agenda and other stuff.
If you are mainstream conservative, and want to stay out of jail, the correct course of action is to call for death for those who let off McCabe but threw the book at Stone. When you see the blade of the salami slicer heading your way, it is time to not be nice. Being nice about a grossly political judiciary and department of justice is suicidal for anyone to the right of Pol Pot. But the mainstream conservatives are quietly being nice, as the salami slicer slices closer and closer.
Hmm..I wonder if there is something Trump can do to save Stone. Starts with a ‘p.’ Trump cares more about optics than helping his own guys. That is why Trump would prefer pardon a black drug dealer, cause of optics, but not Assange or Stone. Reagan and Bush pardoned far worse people, that did actual crimes. As Coulter and others have noted, Trump cares about what is politically expedient first, and will cast away anyone who becomes a hindrance to this, even if they among his biggest supporters.