In late January 2021, while US President-elect ‘Sleepy Joe’ Biden will again perform his Democratic Dander as he is handed the keys of the Oval Office, folks would be very wrong to believe his inauguration marks the death knell for The Donald’s legacy.
More than 70 million Americans voted for Trump. By late January, he personally may be ‘political toast’, but the ideological legacy of Trumpism could already be earmarking the Biden Presidency - like a Democratic predecessor Jimmy Carter - as a political one-term wonder.
The one element about ideological legacies is that their impacts can be felt long after their creators have left the political scene. Karl Marx is long since dead, but Marxism is still thriving in various parts of the globe.
It’s been 75 years since Hitler topped himself in the Berlin bunker, yet the racism of National Socialism and Neo-Nazism is still alive and kicking.
In Ireland, Arthur Griffith founded Sinn Fein in 1905. His movement caused one of the biggest upsets almost a year ago in the Dail General Election.
Fine Gael is still thriving years after the passing of its influential ideological founder Eoin O’Duffy of Blueshirt notoriety. The same could also be said of Eamon de Valera and Fianna Fail.
‘Sleepy Joe’ may have notched up more popular votes than any previous Democratic Presidential candidate in the history of American democracy, but that will not guarantee him an easy four-year term in the White House, or even re-election in 2024.
While ‘Sleepy Joe’ can rightly boast of his Irish roots, and maybe even his determination to ensure Brexit does not damage the Southern Irish economy, he is no JFK or Obama. Why? Because neither of those Presidents had to contend with the radicalisation of the American Republican Party under Trumpism.
‘Sleepy Joe’s Democrats may still retain control of the House of Representatives, but the real power in US politics lies with the Senate - not the White House itself. And the Senate is still under Republican control, and the Republican Party is still under the ideological control of Trumpism - no matter how many of its senators may ‘publicly’ seek to distance themselves from The Donald personally.
Radical Right-wing Trumpism grips the modern-day Republican Party in a way only the Right-wing lobby group, the Tea Party, could only dream off.
Trumpism has become the most powerful and influential lobby in American politics, making the National Rifle Association’s sway look like a blunt pea-shooter.
Trumpism pulls the strings of the American Republican Party in the same way that the Right-wing Monday Club pressure group pulled strings inside Maggie Thatcher’s Tory Party.
At this point in time, there is much talk among the Democratic Party faithful as to how ‘Sleepy Joe’ will undo the policies of The Donald’s past four years in the White House.
Indeed, given the scale of the internal American crisis which will shortly land on ‘Sleepy Joe’s lap, the terms ‘foreign policy’, ‘combating the British Brexit’ and ‘assisting the Southern Irish economy’ will be dumped at the bottom of his ‘to do’ list - in fact, they may not even be on the list at all if Trumpism-inspired Republicans have their way.
Trumpism in practice during a Biden Presidency could have two very serious consequences. Given the radical nature of the Republican Party under Trumpism, ‘Sleepy Joe’ will be so tied down politically in the United States, he will have little time or finances to prevent Southern Ireland taking a massive hit economically under Brexit, especially if the UK leaves the EU in a ‘no deal’ scenario.
And secondly in true Democratic Party style, what is the best way to divert public attention away from an internal crisis? Simple, start a war with someone!
Even if ‘Sleepy Joe’ manages to get the pandemic stemmed and under control, that’s only one policy achieved. What if Trumpism blocks his reforms on health, education, job creation? What if he cannot heal America from the inside?
That leaves ‘Sleepy Joe’ with only one diversionary tactic - pick a fight, and instigate another Gulf War, Afghanistan, or Vietnam. Yes, like all those conflicts, it will cost American lives, but if it diverts attention away from ‘Sleepy Joe’s inability to get internal legislation through the Senate, so what the heck if it costs the lives of a couple of thousand grunts!
Maybe the only way to bolster up ‘Sleepy Joe’s Presidency is to encourage the National Rifle Association (NRA) to look well on his ‘foreign policy’ of battering some wee insignificant nation over ‘human rights abuses’, but not enough to spark a Cuban missile-style brinkmanship which JFK had to deal with.
In short, ‘Sleepy Joe’ must ask himself the serious question: forget the well-meaning spin about healing America, what is the real Achilles heel in Trumpism? The answer is guns!
Americans love their guns and ‘gun control’ is one of the huge debates within the United States. The NRA is at the heart of Trumpism in terms of political clout.
The NRA is naturally suspicious of a Biden Presidency because of the Hard Left leaning of ‘Sleepy Joe’. For us non-Yanks looking at American political terminology, we think when we hear ‘Sleepy Joe’ being described as a ‘progressive liberal’ that his Democratic Party Presidency will resemble an American version of Northern Ireland’s middle of the road Alliance Party.
But in reality, ‘progressive liberalism’ in America is Hard Left socialism. In short, is ‘Sleepy Joe’ America’s version of Jeremy Corbyn? If this is the case, he will have an uphill task in trying to get the NRA to break ranks with Republican Party Trumpism.
And what ‘Sleepy Joe’ also has to contend with is his age. By the time re-election comes around in 2024, he’ll be pushing 81. Are there young bloods within the Democratic Party who are now jockeying for position to pip Biden for the Presidential nomination that year.
Given the volatile nature of American politics, could we be preparing ourselves for another Trumpism upset in 2024? Is there a young Republican Trumpite planning to do what The Donald did to Clinton in 2016 - or indeed, would The Donald himself plan a comeback? Seventy million Americans might think so.
Follow Dr John Coulter on Twitter @JohnAHCoulter
Listen to Dr John Coulter’s religious show, Call In Coulter, every Saturday morning around 9.30 am on Belfast’s Christian radio station, Sunshine 1049 FM, or listen online at www.thisissunshine.com
The one element about ideological legacies is that their impacts can be felt long after their creators have left the political scene. Karl Marx is long since dead, but Marxism is still thriving in various parts of the globe.
It’s been 75 years since Hitler topped himself in the Berlin bunker, yet the racism of National Socialism and Neo-Nazism is still alive and kicking.
In Ireland, Arthur Griffith founded Sinn Fein in 1905. His movement caused one of the biggest upsets almost a year ago in the Dail General Election.
Fine Gael is still thriving years after the passing of its influential ideological founder Eoin O’Duffy of Blueshirt notoriety. The same could also be said of Eamon de Valera and Fianna Fail.
‘Sleepy Joe’ may have notched up more popular votes than any previous Democratic Presidential candidate in the history of American democracy, but that will not guarantee him an easy four-year term in the White House, or even re-election in 2024.
While ‘Sleepy Joe’ can rightly boast of his Irish roots, and maybe even his determination to ensure Brexit does not damage the Southern Irish economy, he is no JFK or Obama. Why? Because neither of those Presidents had to contend with the radicalisation of the American Republican Party under Trumpism.
‘Sleepy Joe’s Democrats may still retain control of the House of Representatives, but the real power in US politics lies with the Senate - not the White House itself. And the Senate is still under Republican control, and the Republican Party is still under the ideological control of Trumpism - no matter how many of its senators may ‘publicly’ seek to distance themselves from The Donald personally.
Radical Right-wing Trumpism grips the modern-day Republican Party in a way only the Right-wing lobby group, the Tea Party, could only dream off.
Trumpism has become the most powerful and influential lobby in American politics, making the National Rifle Association’s sway look like a blunt pea-shooter.
Trumpism pulls the strings of the American Republican Party in the same way that the Right-wing Monday Club pressure group pulled strings inside Maggie Thatcher’s Tory Party.
At this point in time, there is much talk among the Democratic Party faithful as to how ‘Sleepy Joe’ will undo the policies of The Donald’s past four years in the White House.
Indeed, given the scale of the internal American crisis which will shortly land on ‘Sleepy Joe’s lap, the terms ‘foreign policy’, ‘combating the British Brexit’ and ‘assisting the Southern Irish economy’ will be dumped at the bottom of his ‘to do’ list - in fact, they may not even be on the list at all if Trumpism-inspired Republicans have their way.
Trumpism in practice during a Biden Presidency could have two very serious consequences. Given the radical nature of the Republican Party under Trumpism, ‘Sleepy Joe’ will be so tied down politically in the United States, he will have little time or finances to prevent Southern Ireland taking a massive hit economically under Brexit, especially if the UK leaves the EU in a ‘no deal’ scenario.
And secondly in true Democratic Party style, what is the best way to divert public attention away from an internal crisis? Simple, start a war with someone!
Even if ‘Sleepy Joe’ manages to get the pandemic stemmed and under control, that’s only one policy achieved. What if Trumpism blocks his reforms on health, education, job creation? What if he cannot heal America from the inside?
That leaves ‘Sleepy Joe’ with only one diversionary tactic - pick a fight, and instigate another Gulf War, Afghanistan, or Vietnam. Yes, like all those conflicts, it will cost American lives, but if it diverts attention away from ‘Sleepy Joe’s inability to get internal legislation through the Senate, so what the heck if it costs the lives of a couple of thousand grunts!
Maybe the only way to bolster up ‘Sleepy Joe’s Presidency is to encourage the National Rifle Association (NRA) to look well on his ‘foreign policy’ of battering some wee insignificant nation over ‘human rights abuses’, but not enough to spark a Cuban missile-style brinkmanship which JFK had to deal with.
In short, ‘Sleepy Joe’ must ask himself the serious question: forget the well-meaning spin about healing America, what is the real Achilles heel in Trumpism? The answer is guns!
Americans love their guns and ‘gun control’ is one of the huge debates within the United States. The NRA is at the heart of Trumpism in terms of political clout.
The NRA is naturally suspicious of a Biden Presidency because of the Hard Left leaning of ‘Sleepy Joe’. For us non-Yanks looking at American political terminology, we think when we hear ‘Sleepy Joe’ being described as a ‘progressive liberal’ that his Democratic Party Presidency will resemble an American version of Northern Ireland’s middle of the road Alliance Party.
But in reality, ‘progressive liberalism’ in America is Hard Left socialism. In short, is ‘Sleepy Joe’ America’s version of Jeremy Corbyn? If this is the case, he will have an uphill task in trying to get the NRA to break ranks with Republican Party Trumpism.
And what ‘Sleepy Joe’ also has to contend with is his age. By the time re-election comes around in 2024, he’ll be pushing 81. Are there young bloods within the Democratic Party who are now jockeying for position to pip Biden for the Presidential nomination that year.
Given the volatile nature of American politics, could we be preparing ourselves for another Trumpism upset in 2024? Is there a young Republican Trumpite planning to do what The Donald did to Clinton in 2016 - or indeed, would The Donald himself plan a comeback? Seventy million Americans might think so.
Listen to Dr John Coulter’s religious show, Call In Coulter, every Saturday morning around 9.30 am on Belfast’s Christian radio station, Sunshine 1049 FM, or listen online at www.thisissunshine.com
I spend a lot of time in the States. You are so much closer to the truth and reality than Democrats care to acknowledge let alone believe!
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