Nailed it!
I thought it was great. I’ve long believed Trump is at his best when Paul Manafort and the campaign has him under control. He dug himself out of a big hole – the Judge Curiel fiasco, Hillary’s bump after the primaries – in June and July by giving these detailed policy speeches and avoiding turnovers by going off his core message.
Here is what I heard:
Taxes
– Trump scrapped the tax plan that I hated last fall. In particular, he moderated the rate on top earners, which was my major objection to it. This is a significant improvement.
– Trump floated making childcare tax deductible for working class women and said he has a plan coming on that. This is something which Hillary has been talking about which I don’t oppose. The topic has flown under the radar in nationalist circles, but Hillary talks about it all the time on her Twitter feed. We don’t want White working class women to have any economic incentive to vote for Hillary.
– Trump stuck to lowering the corporate tax rate. I don’t object to this because it is a major cause of offshoring and corporate inversions. If you want jobs and wealth to stay in America, you can’t have high corporate taxes while simultaneously giving corporations a free hand to relocate to tax shelters and offshore production through globalist free-trade deals like TPP. The backwards system we have now is designed to destroy jobs.
Entitlements
– Unlike Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, Trump isn’t proposing to reform Social Security and Medicare, so Hillary isn’t going to be able scare old people like Obama succeeded in doing in 2012. Romney probably lost Florida because of this.
Energy
– Like guns, this is an issue on which I largely agree with mainstream conservatives. We’ve protested the War on Coal several times in Kentucky. Hillary wants to kill the coal industry. Trump wants to put coal miners back to work like we do.
– It is true that we have insane energy resources which are locked up offshore or on federal land and that tapping them would be an instant shot in the arm to the economy.
– The Democrats want to ban fracking which is one of the most insane items on their agenda. Imagine what gas prices would be like now were it not for the relief caused by the pressure fracking has put on OPEC.
Healthcare
– Trump really didn’t address this issue except to say that he wants to “repeal and replace Obamacare.” I guess he has to give the mainstream conservatives something.
Trade
– This is Trump’s sweet spot: he has threatened to withdraw from the WTO, promises to renegotiate NAFTA, tear up the TPP. He attacked the South Korean free-trade agreement. Trump has singlehandedly moved the Overton Window on the trade issue. He wisely chose to use Detroit as the backdrop of the free-trade disaster.
– Trade is the centerpiece of Trump’s America First economic policy as it would be if any White Nationalist or Southern Nationalist candidate came to power. If we came to power here in the South, tearing up these globalist free-trade deals would be one of the first things we would do to address the economy.
– When it comes to the American economy, trade is the most important problem that needs to be addressed. As I said above, you can’t have free-trade and high personal and corporate income taxes, a highly regulated economy, high paying union jobs, a national healthcare system, entitlement programs, etc.
The trade issue determines all of these other issues. Corporations that can engage in free-trade and corporate inversions will relocate overseas to tax shelters. They will offshore production overseas, lay off their unionized workers, and export back to the American market duty free. In turn, the loss of tax revenue overseas has a cascading effect of bankrupting entitlement programs, driving up the national debt, and forcing employers to fight tooth and nail against rising healthcare costs. It also undermines domestic environmental and labor regulations and puts pressure on states to lower taxes to compete more effectively.
Basically, the trade issue illustrates why the Rust Belt became the Rust Belt, and why the Sun Belt became the Sun Belt. The difference is that now the Sun Belt is losing its jobs in a race to the bottom with Third World countries like China and Mexico.
Regulations
– Trump wants a temporary moratorium on new regulations. This is a good idea because of how the trade issue intersects with high taxes and regulations to drive jobs overseas. The system we have now makes no sense and creates incentives to drive production and investment overseas.
The “America First” economy we used to have in the 19th and early 20th century was a low-tax, low-regulation economy that encouraged domestic investment and production by placing the tax burden squarely on the shoulders of foreigners. The “Marshall Plan mentality” globalist system we created after WW2 fundamentally reversed this equation by placing the tax burden on domestic employers and encouraging production and investment overseas in low-wage, low-tax, low-regulation countries.
Even if you believe in some of the accomplishments of 20th century progressives whether it was unionized labor, entitlement programs, abolishing child labor, or financial reforms like the Glass-Steagall Act, as I do, free-trade is the gaping hole in the boat that will eventually sink the entire ship. An open economy will gradually and inexorably force us to become more like Vietnam.
Immigration
Immigration wasn’t addressed but its enormous impact on the job market and wages ought to be obvious.
We can knit pick all day long and one over rates, and regulations.
The reason this address worked is because of the fundamental premise of economic nationalism, that, once again, and as usual, Trump promulgated the implicit notion that nations and countries have interests that are often different from and more important than the mere aggregate of the interests of the individual actors within the nation or country, e.g. individuals, corporations.
What’s not obvious is the answer to the immigration question, as it were. I know people who think Trump just used anti-immigration rhetoric to get elected and noticed in the primary. But he’s backpedaled and low pedaled at the least on that lately.
I think he’s just using white people and that we have to stop seeing him as some leader. If we must vote for him to force the door open that’s one thing, but realize that he’s just a door opener, not some leader of any movement to forge a nation for whites.
Brad you seem sort of downright happy with this guy on some indefinite basis that is deeply disturbing. He’s not trustworthy in any long haul. Trust those of us from the northeast and NYC who know him.
1.) I keep hearing that, but I follow his rallies and haven’t seen any evidence of it. He still talks about building the wall, refugees, etc. Romney did the exact opposite in 2012.
2.) Trump isn’t running as a White Nationalist. We have always known that.
3.) No, I made a big fuss about his tax plan in the fall, and he listened to the criticism and improved it.
So are you seeing him as a means to another end, or as some fruition of the goal of separating? I suppose you might not want to answer that. But I find your seeming tone disturbing. You southerners don’t know this guy the way New Yorkers do.
I’m pretty sure Trump is a fascist.
Are you saying we should support Hillary, or just stay home on election day?
I’m going to write out a big essay which explains my thoughts on Trump. Not in August though.
I look forward to this!
Most people pay State estate taxes, and will pay State estate taxes regardless of what Trump does if elected President.
The trade, energy and child tax components of the speech were good. However:
– no mention of immigration policy which is a major economic issue unto itself
– called for supply side tax policy featuring tax cuts with a top rate of 33 % (the number supported by Paul Ryan)
– called for temporarily suspending our already grossly inadequate financial regulations
– no mention of major infrastructure investments
– no mention of raising the minimum wage
– called for repealing obamare and taking away the ability of millions of people to get coverage if suffering from a pre-existing condition
This mishmash of populism and gop orthodoxy is going to get Trump blown out big time because it is contradictory and alienates too many people.
I don’t think so.
1.) He addressed immigration in a separate policy speech. He did the same with foreign policy and the VA.
2.) He moderated the tax plan he released last fall by raising the top rate which made it better.
3.) He inserted reinstating the Glass-Steagall Act into the official GOP platform.
4.) He addressed infrastructure investments in the book he released last fall.
5.) He’s on record in support of raising the federal minimum wage, but not to $15 an hour.
6.) Supporting Obamacare would only exacerbate the problem he has now with the cucked wing of the party.
I forgot to mention Trump’s call to abolish the estate tax which is a boon to the rich and also his call to allow people with hedge fund income to avoid taxation. Those are very anti-populist proposals.
It may not be as stark as I made it out to be, but there are definitely some major concessions to Paul Ryan here with nothing discernible in return. It’s unlikely Ryan and his allies will stop undermining Trump, and the meantime he has diluted his core economic message.
‘- no mention of immigration policy which is a major economic issue unto itself’
So what? Trump has mentioned immigration is every speech and nearly every interview he gives.
‘- no mention of major infrastructure investments’
Once again, he’s spoken on the topic many times.
‘- no mention of raising the minimum wage’
Good. It’s a proven job killer.
– called for repealing obamacare … ‘
Hooray. Obamacare is a disaster.
Aren’t you a socialist/ communist or something along those lines?
Sam: I think of myself as more a third positionist than socialist. My ideal within the constraints of the American system would be Bernie Sander’s program, minus the social liberalism and with robust immigration restriction.
There is not going to be any large scale major infrastructure investment of the sort people have in mind. No matter which face of the same political coin is in office from now on.
Elites don’t drive. They fly.
Only around large airports and where government officials do business will roads be well taken care of. The rest will be patched as low budgets allow.
“I’ve long believed Trump is at his best when Paul Manafort and the campaign has him under control.”
That’s not exactly a minority view, Mr. W. This is the way it is with Trump now: Every time he’s out in public–which is, like, every day–it’s like watching an epileptic walk a tightrope. The only thing that those who love him can do is keep their fingers crossed …
Those who love him can do something more: intervene when he’s doing dumb things rather than cheer him on.
Yes, Afterthought–and you can see how warmly you and I have been received here, at Occidental Dissent, when we’ve tried to do just that.
We’ll get there.
It’s called “concern trolling”
Really? Maybe you should look that term up. From Wikipedia:
“A concern troll is a false flag pseudonym created by a user whose actual point of view is opposed to the one that the troll claims to hold.”
To the average American white man–you, for instance, Crud–such a figure is indistinguishable from persons like Afterthought and me, who are attempting to assess a bad situation realistically. In your Teutonic, forest-dwelling mind–fifteen-hundred-years displaced, to North America–it all blurs together: “concern trolling,” “realistic assessment.” Those are both simply things you don’t want to hear, things you’d swat away with a club if you could. Fortunately–for me, that is–your type is easy to identify, even at a distance, so I’m able to keep myself out of your striking distance.
John, you have often said you know nothing about politics and campaigns and that most of us on this board know more than you.
Correct?
It just seems odd to me that you in your supposed ignorance have relished enumerating so many of the negative talking points used by the #Nevertrump brigade and hostile media to assail Trump.
You’ve become quite the analyst in short order.
I guess I’m a quick study, Sam.
Seriously–I find it mystifying that you don’t grasp that I’m not “assailing” Trump. I’m trying to shout, via the internet, “For God’s sake, Trump, get your head out of your ass. You’re blowing this thing.”
As for the #NeverTrump brigade, as you call it: I really don’t even know what that is, though I gather it’s a group of Republicans who tried to derail Trump’s pursuit of the nomination and are now working against his Presidential bid. If I happen to be saying thing that they, too, are saying, well, that’s probably because the things I’m pointing out are so obvious that persons don’t have to share political perspective to see them.
Let’s take the Michelle Fields case, for example …
Somebody made an accusation, and the facts weren’t clear. All Trump had to say was something like, “We’ll be looking for video that might clarify what, if anything, happened. Obviously, whatever happened was not dramatic enough that it got the attention of everyone who was present, but I won’t say anything more until we have a clearer picture of the event.”
Is that really that complicated, Sam? Isn’t that more intelligent, more likely to keep things from escalating, than what Trump actually said, which was something like, “I think maybe she made it up.”
I gather you live somewhere on planet Earth. I gather you’ve experienced human interaction. Haven’t you noticed that some things work better, when you’re dealing with people, than do other things? I’m being rhetorical, because I know, simply from the way you deal with persons here, at Occidental Dissent, that you know how to deal with people. The only thing that mystifies me, as I say, is why you can’t see that that’s all I’m addressing: Trump’s disastrous way of dealing with certain situations.
I’ll say it again: Trump has remarkable strengths, which, involve, too, his way of dealing with persons in certain situations, but his strengths are ever in the toils of his faults.
Yes, some of the things I’ve said about Trump are being said by media figures who are hostile to him. That doesn’t mean I share those figures’ hostility to Trump. It simply means I agree with them on those points, which, as I say, have basically to do with his handling of certain situations. If those media figures go on to say things like, “And not only that: he wants to build a wall with Mexico and keep out all Muslims,” well, then, I say, “Hold on a second. Those things are what’s good about him.”
I hope that’s clear enough, Sam. I feel as if I’m trying to pull a lever, to switch the route of a train that’s barreling toward something I love–Trump–and that you and other persons here at Occidental Dissent are pulling in the opposite direction, trying to stop me, because you think I’m trying to do Trump harm.
You do also know that repeating such negativity has its own demoralizing role.
‘Let’s take the Michelle Fields case, for example …
Somebody made an accusation, and the facts weren’t clear. ‘
Michelle Fields isn’t just a somebody. She has lied several times in the past accusing other in similar fashion attempting to make a name for herself.
Trump conferred with Lewandowski who told him he did not try to throw her to the ground.
Trump
“I heard that nothing happened. You know, we’re surrounded by Secret Service. We have many Secret Service. You see some of them here. When we left, I spoke to them. Nothing happened. This was, in my opinion, made up,” he told CNN.
Trump
“Now I didn’t see anything. All of a sudden we heard about it later on. But the Secret Service said nothing happened. The Secret Service are amazing people. They said absolutely nothing happened. He [Corey Lewandowski] didn’t hear about it until like, the next day,” Trump continued.
“I wasn’t involved in it. But the Secret Service was surrounding everybody. They said nothing happened. Everybody said nothing happened. Perhaps she made the story up. I think that’s what happened,” he said.
So, what was so wrong about what he said?
Everybody there including the Secret service said NOTHING happened.
Subsequently, security cameras proved without a doubt that Fields and her cohorts pulled a dirty trick in hopes of ending Trump’s campaign.
The facts were clear. Trump was correct.
Now, IF the videos proved conclusively that Fields was assaulted and thrown to the ground then you could make the case that Trump erred .
But he didn’t.
His judgment, instincts and his evaluation of the testimony given by eye witnesses was sufficient for him to reach a conclusion.
Sam–I like you, I really do. If you think Trump handled it the right way, well, then, you and I disagree. I really can’t add anything to what I’ve said on this subject. I’m still hoping Trump wins.
‘Sam–I like you, I really do.’
Isn’t that what the Sicilians say right before the unsuspecting mark gets the bullet behind the ear?
I’m not at liberty to discuss that …
I suppose he’s conducted himself with a surface level of politesse but the subtext is pretty obvious.
I don’t know. I guess I just prefer to see things clearly–as quickly as possible. My Sicilian blood, I suppose …
About as warmly as Omar Mateen’s father at a Clinton rally.
Manafort obviously has reasserted control.
For–what is it? About the fourth time this month?
It is nothing more than a convention bounce and a bad news cycle. It will fade and the race will tighten back up. Those who are trashing Trump know this, but are being disingenous.
Oh, yes, a “bad news cycle”–one of those meteorological phenomena by which Trump is persistently vexed …
If the US decides its fate because a Pakistani pokes white men in the chest while waving around a Koran then there isn’t much that can be done.
Structurally Clinton can’t make a mistake. She can sit Omar Mateen’s father behind her at a rally and it doesn’t matter. Because Trump is a fascist.
Right? That’s like putting Dylan Roofs dad behind Trump.
Correct.
In reality we should have seen Hillary totally collapse in the polls considering how many incredibly bad news stories have come out against her but that doesn’t seem to matter because Trump is ‘Literally Hitler.’
Deeper and deeper …
The fundamental problem is an ideological one. Trump is by any objective measure a fascist. The GOP isn’t.
OK, Trump’s stupid critics wanted details and he provided them. Now what are they going to bitch about?
His words hurt the libs feelings thats all that matters
A very good analysis.
He killed it. Hillary is having a bad week and it’s only Tuesday. Orlando Shooters Dad at her Rally – then stories about her Health. The right wing media needs to up the mudslinging. This is a propaganda election.
Michelle Fields was discussed in this thread. Sad to think of how many people were duped by this lying sleazeball. Not Trump.
http://www.dangerandplay.com/2016/08/10/michelle-fields-of-the-huffington-post-caught-in-plagiarism-scandal/
Michelle Fields of the Huffington Post Caught in Plagiarism Scandal
AUGUST 10, 2016 BY MIKE CERNOVICH
Fields plagiarized several articles and authors, including Steve Eder, Michael Barbaro, Joshua Green, Brent Scher, and Matthew Boyle.
Fields thought she would get away with her plagiarism, as she was careful to not steal direct sentences. (Plagiarism software programs usually only catch people who copy word-for-word.) Fields instead took the work of others without giving them attribution.