Legitimacy

The Left has been ruling America for so long that everyone pretty much takes it for granted. Their grip on the country’s institutions is so ingrained and so extensive that it is almost impossible to escape its clutches. Trump 1.0 couldn’t pry loose even one finger. Trump 2.0 is undoubtedly an improvement, but the stranglehold remains largely in place.

When a particular ideology and set of behavioral patterns are entrenched over the course of multiple generations, it becomes the norm, the default setting. No one alive today was around when America was a constitutional republic. During the first few decades of the twentieth century (some would argue earlier), the original republic was replaced with a cantankerous democracy that at least purported to operate under the rule of law, and with an overall sense that adults were in charge. This was, however, an increasingly flimsy arrangement that drew its last breath around the 1990s. The younger generation today cannot even conceive of what that society looked like; their entire lives have been lived in a steadily ratcheting tyranny based on Progressive ideology, as normal to them as the sun rising in the east.

One reason why Trump 2.0 has been unable to break the mold is that it cannot attain legitimacy. Admittedly, any challenge to the rule of the Deep State would lack this quality from the get-go. If you presume to govern in place of whom everyone—consciously or unconsciously—assumes to be the default rulers, then ipso facto you are an upstart. The current Administration has not been able to transcend this perception. The reason is simple: If one fails to knock the Left decisively off its pedestal, and to crush their inevitable attempts at usurpation of power, legitimacy can never be attained.

Right out of the gate, it looked as though Trump 2.0 would comfortably settle into the White House, and finally bring sanity to America. A prime example: the closing of the border, and the dramatic ICE raids around the country. But it was never a complete and thorough assertion of power. Witness the arrogant boasting by several governors that they are defying the federal government, continuing to give shelter to illegals, thus aiding and abetting the commission of felony crimes.

Equally threatening is the scandalous episode of the rogue judges. The fact that this power grab continues unabated, and that the authority of these traitors to seize control of the executive functions of the president is acknowledged by those in government, is a huge blow to the Trump Administration’s legitimacy, prestige, and ability to govern. It has emboldened the Left, and demoralized the supporters of reform. Thus we have the visits to El Salvador, a direct outcome of this weakness.

Another blow is the failure to prosecute anyone involved in the crimes of the Biden regime: the stolen election, the poison-jab mandates, the January 6th witch hunt, Mueller, the Russiagate hoax, etc. Remember all that? The perpetrators are walking around free, awaiting the return to their desks. If the new Administration cannot avenge that orgy of criminality, why should anyone take them seriously?

Legitimacy is also lost by kowtowing to the propaganda organs of the Deep State. One self-inflicted wound to the presidency is the spectacle of the never-ending press conference. This ritual drags the President down to the level of the omnipresent Leftist hacks (the “media”) who represent the Deep State. Whatever Trump says or does, they are right there to state their opinion. It doesn’t matter that he responds well to their infantile blather; they have the opportunity, almost every day, to spit in the President’s face. And the spitting is rebroadcast and regurgitated endlessly by the propaganda organs. Once again, they are emboldened.

Trump and his associates believe that they are overwhelming the gaggle of Leftist scribes (and their supporters at home) with stories of “winning,” of great victories for America. But the little woke slimebags couldn’t care less whether America is coming out ahead; all they care about is the next opportunity to get Trump. The whole spectacle resembles Louis XVI being dragged out to the guillotine, every single day all over again. Their goal is to destroy him by any means necessary, and restore The Party to its rightful place as the legitimate and permanent ruler of the United States. They call this “saving our democracy.” (On the topic of relations between the federal government and the Deep State’s propaganda organs, see my Feb. 24 post Banish the Apparatchiks.)

What is needed is distance, not proximity. When the sovereign holds court, the only ones present should be the decision makers themselves, along with guests whose input is needed. Governing should be conducted behind closed doors. After policy is determined, an announcement can be made through a variety of channels, an easy task in the Age of the Internet. If necessary, a lower-level functionary, such as the press secretary, can deliver the news in person. From time to time, the President can make a speech, or conduct a fireside chat. The propaganda organs should never be present.

​If you are going to stage a revolution, then you better go all the way, and fully replace and discredit the tyrannical regime and its lackeys. Especially when that regime has the unquestioned support of half the country’s population, and of the lion’s share of the chattering classes.