TRUMP INAUGURAL ADDRESS: Brilliant, Populist, NOT Conservative

Source: Daily Wire | January 20, 2017 | Ben Shapiro

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His supporters will cheer, of course, as they would at nearly anything he said. His critics will complain, of course, as they would at nearly anything he said. But if Trump’s inaugural address foretold any serious policy, he just presaged a major political realignment: a movement of the Republican Party away from the Reagan conservatism of the past – fiscal conservatism, social conservatism, foreign policy hawkishness – to Pat Buchananite populism. Trump’s philosophy – what we’ve seen of it, at least — is absolutely antithetical to the idea of maintaining liberty at home through small government and abroad through alliances and muscular defense.

That will shake up both sides of the political aisle. It will also make conservative philosophy a stranger to the halls of power for the foreseeable future.

That doesn’t mean that we won’t see significant doses of conservative policy. Trump’s populism has crossover with some such policy, just as it does with Bernie Sanders’ democratic socialism. But it has no philosophical crossover with conservatism itself, because it is predicated on the notion that the government represents the dreams of the people, and the Great Leader represents their agent.

So, in no particular order, some thoughts.

1. The “Dark” Speech Was Politically Brilliant.

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2. Trump’s Definition of Enemies Is Smart.

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3. Trump’s Patriotic Rhetoric Works Well.

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4. Trump’s An Isolationist.

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5. Trump Hates Free Trade.

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6. Trump Isn’t Going To Limit Government. He’s Going To Use It With Alacrity. Immediately after stating that Washington D.C. would have to delegate power back to the people, Trump dropped this line: “At the center of this movement is a crucial conviction, that a nation exists to serve its citizens. Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families and good jobs for themselves. These are just and reasonable demands of righteous people and a righteous public.” This is different from what the conviction of our founders was: not that a nation exists to serve its citizens, but that a nation exists to protect their rights. That difference is not minor. It is foundational…….

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