4 thoughts on “South DaCola Podcast 12: 2018 Predictions”
Thanks to the Bushes, the Democratic Party hasn’t been the “War Party” since the 1960s and before.
In hindsight, it began with Nixon and his “Mad Strategy,” which exacerbated the Vietnam War into Cambodia and Laos. Reagan had his dirty wars as well, but the Bushes took it to a higher level, as far as the Republicans are concerned, using the “Wag the Dog” strategy to control the political narrative in this country.
Carter didn’t even have his first American casualty until the end of his third year in office – and his unwillingness to go into Tehran, with one less helicopter, speaks to his less hawkish tendencies than his predecessors.
Clinton is only guilty of using the “No Fly Zone” area over Iraq as an excuse, like during the House impeachment vote, to bomb an other country. Although, that is not something to be proud of as an American or Democrat, it speaks to a Democrat using a conflict that was available and not one that was started by such Democratic President.
Clinton’s Kosovo conflict was his war, but it was just in order to stop ethnic cleansing – and done without any American casualties. And his eagerness to get out of Somalia and his reluctance to go into Rwandan also speak to a far less bellicose attitude by Clinton, than his past Republican predecessors.
Obama inherited a war – from a Bush – and reduced our involvement considerably overtime. His renewed interest in Iraq, due to Isis, was merely the reality or result of trying to get out of Iraq as soon as possible and not merely to look for a new conflict for his own political advantage.
There is no doubt that the GOP today is the “War Party,” and when you consider that they haven’t elected a new Republican nominee as President, who won both the popular and electoral vote, since 1988, further adds fuel to the political necessity of the GOP to use the “Wag the Dog” strategy, in order to stay in power and control the national political dialogue in 2018 and beyond.
It is this “Wag the Dog” playbook option – now owned by the GOP – that should be of the greatest concern to us all as we enter 2018, and how Trump can use it to his advantage, as this podcast, in my opinion, accurately suggests. In essence, it is the thesis of ‘Fahrenheit 9/11.’
However, there is one angle to all of this, which needs to be recognized. And that is that the Democrats don’t know how to impeach a President. If IranContra and the Iraq War do not justify an impeachment, then what does? I am not so sure the Democrats will ever, if they take over Congress in 2018, impeach Trump. I could see a scenario playing out in 2019 and beyond where Trump moves more to the left, in an economic sense, to co-opt the Dems through infrastructure bills, and maybe even universal health care – and then doing all of this to win re-election in 2020 as Trump paints himself as a man of the people and a need for the Republicans to control the White House as long as the Dems control Congress.
I might add, that the latter proposed Trump strategy would also result in Trump being hesitant throughout 2018 from finding a war as he accepts the inevitability of the Democrats taking over Congress in 2018. Many think Trump is an idiot, but I don’t think he is, rather he is as crazy as a fox in my opinion.
Jackley beat Volesky(D) in 2010 and Chad Huber(L) in 2014
Voleskly the Grandma Beater and Mr. Bosworth, real formidable opponents 🙂
Like we said, Jackboots has been (practically) unchallenged.
Thanks to the Bushes, the Democratic Party hasn’t been the “War Party” since the 1960s and before.
In hindsight, it began with Nixon and his “Mad Strategy,” which exacerbated the Vietnam War into Cambodia and Laos. Reagan had his dirty wars as well, but the Bushes took it to a higher level, as far as the Republicans are concerned, using the “Wag the Dog” strategy to control the political narrative in this country.
Carter didn’t even have his first American casualty until the end of his third year in office – and his unwillingness to go into Tehran, with one less helicopter, speaks to his less hawkish tendencies than his predecessors.
Clinton is only guilty of using the “No Fly Zone” area over Iraq as an excuse, like during the House impeachment vote, to bomb an other country. Although, that is not something to be proud of as an American or Democrat, it speaks to a Democrat using a conflict that was available and not one that was started by such Democratic President.
Clinton’s Kosovo conflict was his war, but it was just in order to stop ethnic cleansing – and done without any American casualties. And his eagerness to get out of Somalia and his reluctance to go into Rwandan also speak to a far less bellicose attitude by Clinton, than his past Republican predecessors.
Obama inherited a war – from a Bush – and reduced our involvement considerably overtime. His renewed interest in Iraq, due to Isis, was merely the reality or result of trying to get out of Iraq as soon as possible and not merely to look for a new conflict for his own political advantage.
There is no doubt that the GOP today is the “War Party,” and when you consider that they haven’t elected a new Republican nominee as President, who won both the popular and electoral vote, since 1988, further adds fuel to the political necessity of the GOP to use the “Wag the Dog” strategy, in order to stay in power and control the national political dialogue in 2018 and beyond.
It is this “Wag the Dog” playbook option – now owned by the GOP – that should be of the greatest concern to us all as we enter 2018, and how Trump can use it to his advantage, as this podcast, in my opinion, accurately suggests. In essence, it is the thesis of ‘Fahrenheit 9/11.’
However, there is one angle to all of this, which needs to be recognized. And that is that the Democrats don’t know how to impeach a President. If IranContra and the Iraq War do not justify an impeachment, then what does? I am not so sure the Democrats will ever, if they take over Congress in 2018, impeach Trump. I could see a scenario playing out in 2019 and beyond where Trump moves more to the left, in an economic sense, to co-opt the Dems through infrastructure bills, and maybe even universal health care – and then doing all of this to win re-election in 2020 as Trump paints himself as a man of the people and a need for the Republicans to control the White House as long as the Dems control Congress.
I might add, that the latter proposed Trump strategy would also result in Trump being hesitant throughout 2018 from finding a war as he accepts the inevitability of the Democrats taking over Congress in 2018. Many think Trump is an idiot, but I don’t think he is, rather he is as crazy as a fox in my opinion.
Jackley beat Volesky(D) in 2010 and Chad Huber(L) in 2014
Voleskly the Grandma Beater and Mr. Bosworth, real formidable opponents 🙂
Like we said, Jackboots has been (practically) unchallenged.