NY Post ^ | January 7, 2017 | Michael Walsh
Right from the jump on Jan. 20, Donald Trump needs to make clear to supporters, opponents and the entrenched interests of DC who’s boss. He’s off to a good start, swatting down a boneheaded Republican attempt to fiddle with the Ethics Committee and getting corporations like Carrier and Ford to bring jobs back to America.
Here are five more ways he can leave an immediate mark:
1. Gain control of Congress by bringing the dissident elements of the GOP to heel. Chief among them are Sen. John McCain, who’s never met a country he didn’t want to destabilize or a war he didn’t want to start, and his mini-me, Sen. Lindsey Graham. The Maverick’s anti-GOP act has long since worn thin, and Graham discovered during his run for the nomination how infinitesimal his “popular support” really was. Yet with a 52-48 split in the Senate, the tandem can do some damage, which is why Trump must also woo such centrist Democrats as West Virginia’s Joe Manchin and North Dakota’s Heidi Heitkamp, either by persuading them to switch parties or offering them a Cabinet appointment. Heitkamp is said to top Trump’s list for agriculture secretary; her vacant seat would almost certainly go to a Republican.
2. Get started on The Wall. As one of the centerpieces of his campaign, Trump cannot afford to fail at stopping the flow of illegal immigration from Mexico. Despite the campaign hyperbole, no one’s expecting a 40-foot high fence from San Diego to Brownsville, Texas; the point is demonstrating the will to do something — now. Similarly, tightening immigration controls from known terrorist states can be done at once under existing presidential authority (Jimmy Carter did it to the Iranians in 1980). A few high-profile roundups and deportations will proclaim there’s a new sheriff in town.
3. Make it clear to ISIS that their destruction begins on Day One. No further domestic terrorism — even of the “lone wolf” kind — will be tolerated. The coy games of footsie the US has been playing with Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran and the Saudis needs to cease and be replaced with a clear restatement of the Bush Doctrine — countries spawning or harboring terrorists will be held responsible for the actions of their citizens.
4. Trump must clarify his relationship with Vladimir Putin’s Russia. With a combined CIA/White House disinformation operation currently underway — designed to make Trump look like the second coming of Alger Hiss — it’s going to be tough for him to cut through the fog. But the Cold War has been over since 1991. We’re now back to the era of Great Power politics, in which nations have shared interests, not friends; in the fight against Islamic aggression, our two countries should be allies of convenience, not enemies of choice.
5. Put ObamaCare humanely out of its — and our — misery. Pay no attention to cries that it can’t be done — the program is only a few years old and has already been tweaked by presidential fiat a number of times. The bottom line is that Obama’s “signature” domestic achievement is little more than a disguised welfare program funded by the middle class under the watchful eye of the IRS. Conservative groups, such as the Heritage Foundation, have already proposed a series of market-based solutions for health care and other entitlement programs, which include repeal of ObamaCare, tax credits for the purchase of private plans, subsidies for the poor and tax-free health-care savings accounts. And Trump’s already signaled he’ll try to preserve such popular features as extended coverage for young adults and pre-existing conditions.
If the Democrats could ram it through Congress late on Christmas Eve 2009, Trump and the GOP can bury it in full daylight of a bright winter’s day. Nothing would say morning in America better.
2. Get started on The Wall. As one of the centerpieces of his campaign, Trump cannot afford to fail at stopping the flow of illegal immigration from Mexico. Despite the campaign hyperbole, no one’s expecting a 40-foot high fence from San Diego to Brownsville, Texas; the point is demonstrating the will to do something — now. Similarly, tightening immigration controls from known terrorist states can be done at once under existing presidential authority (Jimmy Carter did it to the Iranians in 1980). A few high-profile roundups and deportations will proclaim there’s a new sheriff in town.
3. Make it clear to ISIS that their destruction begins on Day One. No further domestic terrorism — even of the “lone wolf” kind — will be tolerated. The coy games of footsie the US has been playing with Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran and the Saudis needs to cease and be replaced with a clear restatement of the Bush Doctrine — countries spawning or harboring terrorists will be held responsible for the actions of their citizens.
4. Trump must clarify his relationship with Vladimir Putin’s Russia. With a combined CIA/White House disinformation operation currently underway — designed to make Trump look like the second coming of Alger Hiss — it’s going to be tough for him to cut through the fog. But the Cold War has been over since 1991. We’re now back to the era of Great Power politics, in which nations have shared interests, not friends; in the fight against Islamic aggression, our two countries should be allies of convenience, not enemies of choice.
5. Put ObamaCare humanely out of its — and our — misery. Pay no attention to cries that it can’t be done — the program is only a few years old and has already been tweaked by presidential fiat a number of times. The bottom line is that Obama’s “signature” domestic achievement is little more than a disguised welfare program funded by the middle class under the watchful eye of the IRS. Conservative groups, such as the Heritage Foundation, have already proposed a series of market-based solutions for health care and other entitlement programs, which include repeal of ObamaCare, tax credits for the purchase of private plans, subsidies for the poor and tax-free health-care savings accounts. And Trump’s already signaled he’ll try to preserve such popular features as extended coverage for young adults and pre-existing conditions.
If the Democrats could ram it through Congress late on Christmas Eve 2009, Trump and the GOP can bury it in full daylight of a bright winter’s day. Nothing would say morning in America better.
