When Facts No Longer Matter

A Sad State of Political Discourse

The recent back and forth surrounding the wisdom, or lack thereof, for President Trump’s successful capture of Venezuelan dictator Maduro has left me bewildered and frustrated. Mostly, this leaves me very sad. After 50 years in the business of politics and public policy, I had hoped for something better.

When Debate Becomes Impossible

It is impossible to debate with someone whose attitude can be summarized by: “Donald Trump is wrong. Now, tell me what he said or did.” I asked a relative who I respect greatly if he could remember putting “Trump” and “done something right” in a single sentence, since the President had returned to the office. He confirmed he could not remember doing it. As the saying goes, even a stopped clock is right twice a day. What we have now is the Progressives’ reverse engineering to satisfy their need for the President to be terrible and wrong. Discussion on a matter on its merits is rendered impossible.

The Maduro Question

My question was asked in the context of evaluating the removal of Maduro. Most of the hurdles were easy to jump. He was happy Madura was gone, but fretted over the proper process to do it. No Congressional approval? You mean, as when President George H.W. forcibly removed Panama strongman Noriega? Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden did it a combined 12 times.

The Oil Argument Falls Apart

It was done for the oil. If the next two countries of focus are Cuba and Nicaragua, which combined do not come close to having even one percent of the world’s supply, just how does that compute?

A Bounty Tells a Different Story

If removing Maduro was such a bad idea, why did the Biden Administration put a $25 million bounty out for his arrest and conviction?

Attacking Trump at All Costs

The Progressives instantly went to their default position of attacking President Trump. Never mind, as the receipts prove, that the very same group that heavily criticized Trump for cozying up to Maduro suddenly were crying crocodile tears when the President actually got rid of the guy. Make it make sense.

Voices That Actually Matter

Meanwhile, in Venezuela and South Florida, which has a significant Venezuelan population, there was literally dancing in the streets. Former Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman (who represents a significant Venezuelan population), applauded the action. So did Ana Navarro, who last had a good word to say about President Trump, never. Perhaps the most important voice was that of Corina Machado. She had been denied an electoral victory due to the corrupt Madura regime. For her continued resistance to him, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. This is a prize she said she would gladly give to President Trump. The President jokingly called this the Donroe Doctrine. Progressives were aghast. No need to remember what he had done was 100 percent in accordance with the Monroe Doctrine. We have a right to exert force to protect our interests within our sphere of influence.

When Judgment Is Clouded by Agenda

The need to confirm that the President is a jerk and always wrong has clouded the judgment of some to the point that it is hard to seriously engage. Just who has to say what before there would be widespread consensus, President Trump did the right thing. Add a qualifier of “this one time,” if you must, but Dear God, against this fact-based background, put something ahead of your agenda and never-ending need to tell to prove President Trump is whatever the label of the month is (none good).

Violence and a Dangerous Double Standard

Turn the hands of time back a bit. What happened when Charlie Kirk was assassinated? Our defenders of free speech tortured logic and reason to essentially say, “he asked for it.” Not a shock. A recent survey found 42 percent of liberals and very liberals say “violence can sometimes be justified to achieve political goals.” Among all Americans, the number is 11 percent.

A Moment That Should Give Us Pause

Pause to consider all of this. We have reached the point where the removal of a military dictator who you have a bounty on is a bad thing. At the same time, it is fine to approve the use of violence to reach your political objectives is fine and dandy. What is wrong with us?

A Call for Better

The political conversation was not always like this. I’d like to think we could do better. More on this thought to come in future columns

Common Sense

remember-this-when-facts-no-longer-matterCommon Sense: A country where general consensus is not attainable on anything is at a bad place. We must do better.