Democrats working for Trump?

Could we be any more deeply divided by our politics?

The left will never convince me Barack Obama didn’t damage America. We on the right can never persuade Democrats that Donald Trump’s policies are good for our country. I would be a poor choice to present that argument because, like many others, I don‘t like Trump’s blustery style even while I support most of his policies.

There is a message here to unwrap if you can stand thinking outside your comfort zone. My opinion will likely irritate both the left and the right.

While the left voter base and the right voter base are firmly entrenched, actions of the Democrats are, I believe, making Trump more attractive to undecided voters.

House Democrat leaders clearly revealed their malicious intent when they planned an impeachment in search of a purpose even before Trump was sworn in. The vile accusations they made during the Impeachment Trial were exaggeration surrounding charges that did not rise to the level of putting America through their desperate process. Long ago, I said the Clinton Impeachment was a mistake for the same reason, an attitude that displeased my fellow conservatives.

Like entitled, spoiled brats, the left-leaning media and Democrats have refused to accept the results of the 2016 election. They continue even now to reject Trump’s election with vicious arguments, blaming the Electoral College portion of the Constitution, investigating Trump relentlessly, refusing to accept their fellow citizens who think differently and subjecting Trump supporters to retribution ranging from ridicule to violence.

While investigations digging for dirt on the Trump Administration continue, a double standard excuses clear violations by the Obama Administration and other Democrats, like FBI anti-Trump misdeeds including fraud on the FISA Court.

More recently, House Speaker Democrat Nancy Pelosi says she will not accept the Senate Impeachment Acquittal, promises to continue vigorously digging for charges against Trump, and while the House was applauding at the end of Trump’s State of the Union speech, she made a public and petty display of tearing up the speech he had handed to her. Who needs the Constitution when America has Imperial Nancy to decide for us?

These are acts of spite Democrats have substituted for doing the people’s business as they continue to reject Trump’s election. I believe they are driving voters in the middle into Trump’s arms even when, like me, they don’t like his style.

Never mind the Democrats have drifted so far left that Bernie Sanders being called a Socialist no longer even raises an eyebrow. We don’t have to factor in Democrats’ specialty of dividing the citizenry into opposing groups with identity politics and virtue signaling. Forget about endless promises of Nanny government doing everything for us with money they borrow on our tab.

Those are good reasons to vote against Democrats, to be sure. Now their leaders seem to specialize in alienation of open-minded voters with nonstop Trump attacks.

So, my thinking is Trump will be re-elected, with the aid of many voters who aren’t voting for Trump so much as voting against Democrats’ unsavory tactics. And of course Democrat antics go a long way to mobilizing our base on the right to turn out the vote for Trump.

Maybe Trump is basking in popularity not of his own making, a popularity that would clearly be stronger if he discovered how to control his own mouth, to contain his street bluster like an adult. And yet I will vote for him as will many others, because we don’t have to like him so long as he is effective on policy.

If you are still with me, let me stretch your discomfort even more. Where do we credit the booming economy?

In the 2008 election, a key economic turning point was when it became apparent Barack Obama had a good chance to be elected. Starting then, fearing his anti-business policies, countless business decision makers all over America postponed plans to expand, open new facilities, start new product lines or hire more employees. They put plans on hold to keep their financial powder dry while they waited to see what policies would come from the new administration. Then for eight long Obama years the anti-business climate was worse than they feared while they continued their cautious financial restraint.

After Trump’s election, his actions matched his pro-business rhetoric as he reduced the regulatory burden, cut taxes, pushed an America-First foreign policy and others that set loose pent-up business plans for expansion, releasing a flood of economic growth. Trump gets credit for his policies, but my guess is the more important factor is we now have a President who is neither a Democrat nor anti-business, and confidence finally soared.

My belief is 2016 was a turning point not so much because of Trump in particular, but because anti-business Democrats no longer held the White House. The new President, I would argue, could have been any committed Republican and the results would have been similar. Shoot, Trump isn’t even a real Republican!

Admittedly, Trump has juvenile impulse control and is blind to the wisdom of silence when his opponents are digging themselves deeper in a hole. He would do well to watch old films of Muhammad Ali’s rope-a-dope tactic in the boxing ring, covering up while leaning on the ropes and letting his opponent tire himself punching into Ali’s arms. But could Trump control himself with such restraint? I doubt it.

I’ll vote for Trump anyway. And so will a lot of others who don’t like his style, because they like his policies and they have learned the Democrats’ treachery is far worse than Trump’s blunt style.

[Terry Garlock lives in Peachtree City. Contact him at tlg.opinion@gmail.com.]