Notebook: A reality check
EDITORIAL MUG: Larry Anderson
A reality check is always a good thing in an election year. Let’s start with a response to Karen Fulton’s lengthy September 19 letter to the editor designed to counter a column I wrote earlier supporting Donald Trump’s candidacy for president.
Fulton has her views of Trump and I have mine, and it is unlikely there will be a meeting of the minds. Therefore, I will just do a reality check on a few points Fulton made.
Fulton claimed the Biden-Harris administration was “working to shore up border security,” an incredible departure from reality. The fact is this administration threw open the border to literally millions of illegals and dozens of nationalities and stopped construction of the wall. Biden-Harris openly encouraged this flood of immigrants for political purposes and has spread them throughout the country at the taxpayers’ expense. That’s irrefutable. Fulton also stated Trump stopped a bill that would have slowed the immigration influx. That’s bogus.
The bill was stopped because Congress recognized bad legislation that would have sanctioned up to 5,000 immigrants per day entering the country. It was designed to be bad, knowing Republicans wouldn’t have it, but now the Democrats have a justification for their own miserable failure. Fulton claimed Trump stopped the proposed legislation, but he wasn’t in office and had no authority to stop anything.
Fulton also remarked, “We all need to remember that all of us are descendants of immigrants….” Well, sure, but that’s misleading. Most of us are the descendants of legal immigrants. Liberals don’t seem to understand the difference between legal and illegal immigration and the need for all countries to have a responsible say in who inhabits them. Democrats have made a mess of immigration for selfish political reasons, and that’s the truth. It’s inexcusable and is costing lives and many billions that could be invested elsewhere.
Fulton claimed I don’t want government subsidies. Perhaps I wasn’t clear. I had in mind limiting subsidies to other countries and to review all domestic subsidies that can contribute to waste. “Which government subsidies would I cut…?” asks Fulton. Well, I wouldn’t forgive student loans which are legal commitments nor would I subsidize people who enter the country illegally. I wouldn’t subsidize government entities such as Amtrak that already collect fees for services. I’d start there, but the list is long and our national debt is huge due to profligate spending.
Fulton complained about Trump’s use of tariffs. Tariffs are essentially a tax on goods produced in other countries but sold domestically. Tariffs are as old as international trade and are a financial boon to governments that levy them.
Trump’s point was countries such as China imposed heavy tariffs on American goods while America’s tariffs on China’s were comparatively small or didn’t exist. America’s market for China was open while China’s market to American producers was not nearly as friendly. Trump’s tariffs were an effort to end the disparity and bring some equity to trade. I thought liberals were all about equity, but I guess its application is selective. Isn’t it always?
The Biden-Harris administration has reportedly left Trump’s tariffs on China in place. Tariffs bring money to the government, you see, and it turns out Democrats like money too. They were mighty quiet about this concession to Trump and their own obvious hypocrisy. Don’t tell anyone.
The rest of Fulton’s letter was standard anti-Trump indignation in the liberal vein, so that’s enough from my end. Besides, there are other realities to check.
For instance, the Biden-Harris duo ran their last campaign on the stretcher they would be the most transparent administration ever. Instead we got cover-ups, obfuscation and lies. Uncle Joe’s health and ability to administer his office was covered over by his handlers. We’re getting vague disclosure on two assassination attempts on Trump. Harris refuses to lay out a detailed agenda, have interviews (except with friendlies), or speak in anything other than empty abstractions and boring anecdotes. Who wants to vote for someone who won’t engage the public?
At least Trump isn’t a pretender. What you see is what you get. Harris, by contrast, is just another socialist pretending to be a moderate while plotting America’s submersion in socialist mediocrity. She is unworthy of the office she seeks through deception. That’s reality.
Larry W. Anderson is a tired educator.
