Tea at Trianon: Trump Wins Every Democratic Debate

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Monday, October 21, 2019

Trump Wins Every Democratic Debate

From Bobby Jindal at the WSJ:

The Republican National Committee should offer to be the official sponsor of a weekly Democratic presidential debate. There would be no better advertisement for President Trump’s re-election. Every time the Democratic presidential contenders gather together, it’s a contest between the merely delusional, the vaguely vindictive and the patently absurd.

There are funny moments, like when Andrew Yang risked the ire of the political-correctness police and told us, “I am Asian, so I know a lot of doctors.” There are substantive moments, like when former Vice President Joe Biden reversed himself on China, apparently now agreeing with Mr. Trump that intellectual-property theft is a serious problem. The debates would make for entertaining television, were the ideas discussed not so dangerous.

John F. Kennedy challenged and inspired the nation by exhorting: “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” Today’s Democrats seem to believe JFK got it backward. They compete to see who can borrow and spend more money to give away more “free” government benefits. Mr. Yang brilliantly cuts out the middleman and, channeling his inner game-show host, showers cash on lucky supporters.

Jeb Bush famously remarked that he might have to “lose the primary to win the general.” Today’s Democrats have reversed that proposition—they seem intent on losing the general election to win the primary. Their radical ideas include open borders, confiscating guns, paying reparations for slavery, adding trillions of dollars in new government spending, taking away employer-based health care and restructuring the entire economy through the Green New Deal.

When it comes to health-care policy, some of the Democratic candidates are lying and some are merely confused, but all are deceiving the American people. President Obama falsely promised that Americans could keep their health care plans if they liked them. Today’s Democrats disagree on whether to kill private insurance quickly through Medicare for All or gradually through a government-run public option. They may differ on candor and strategic timing, but they all seem to want to take away consumers’ ability to choose and keep private health insurance.

Aside from Sen. Bernie Sanders, who at least is honest about how disruptive his plans would be, Democrats won’t tell doctors, hospitals and other providers that Medicare for All will cut their reimbursement rates by at least 11% on average, according to the socialists themselves, and by as much as 40% compared with private insurance rates. Democrats won’t tell taxpayers about the $33 trillion in new government spending projected over 10 years, or the only way to pay for it, which is higher taxes on the middle class.

Mr. Biden is trying to position himself as the moderate alternative to Ms. Warren and Mr. Sanders while avoiding the gaffes and unforced errors for which he’s known. This campaign strategy is like a football team playing prevent defense in the first quarter. It’s never a good sign when campaign staffers admit their plan is to hide the candidate from the voters. Upon closer inspection, however, Mr. Biden isn’t the moderate he claims to be. Judging by the policies he now supports, the Joe Biden of 2019 is much more liberal than Hillary Clinton or any other previous Democratic nominee.

Mr. Biden recently remarked that “nobody should be in jail for a nonviolent crime.” That’s excellent news for Paul Manafort and Bernie Madoff. The former vice president now opposes the death penalty and wants to reverse key parts of his own 1994 crime bill. Like the other leading Democratic contenders, Mr. Biden wants taxpayer dollars to subsidize abortion. He wants to spend $1.7 trillion over 10 years to zero out America’s carbon emissions by 2050 and create a public option open to all, not just those on the ObamaCare exchanges. With more than a year to go before the election, there’s plenty of time for Mr. Biden to come out in favor of abolishing the Electoral College or packing the Supreme Court.

When 60% of Democrats want a nominee even more progressive than President Obama, it’s fair to say that these are dangerous times. Only Ms. Warren and Mr. Sanders could make the Obama years seem like the good old days. Mr. Trump recently said, “Whether you love me or hate me, you’ve got to vote for me,” implying that otherwise the left-wing radicals will destroy the country.

Many voters will be happy to vote for Mr. Trump because they approve of what he’s accomplished—cutting taxes, deregulating the economy, unleashing domestic energy production, investing in the military, appointing conservative judges and supporting Israel. There will, however, be voters who are not particularly fond of him but will choose him over the Democrats. Far better to bear four more years of Mr. Trump’s mercurial temperament, these voters will rightly conclude, than risk it all on the Democrats’ radical and destructive policies. (Read more.)