One of the constant failures of the left’s (Democrat’s) political life in the past three years is the crystal ball they used to predict the future of public life in the U. S. Since Donald Trump, with his beautiful Melania at his side, descended the escalator at Trump Tower, all the predictions of the future have been wrong. Perhaps some kind seer will give the poor losers a used crystal ball to see if they can improve their fortune-telling.
To begin with, Mr. Trump’s candidacy was seen by the left as no more than another publicity stunt by the reality TV host.
“Never!” the Left cried, “will this buffoon win the nomination”. And with some very formidable opponents lined up against Mr. Trump, winning was a daunting task indeed. Sixteen Republicans vied for the electoral spot opposite the queen-in-waiting, Hillary Clinton. Those of us with a grim determination to see who would prevail were presented with a progression of those sixteen dropping off the campaign trail one by one, as state after state went for the New York billionaire. When the dust had cleared, the Republicans had their standard-bearer.
But the crystal ball of the Democrats then decreed that Mr. Trump had no chance of winning the Presidency, and that prediction was bolstered by a large number of Republicans who became known as “Never Trumpers”. One, Mitt Romney, even went so far as to vote for his wife for President, their disdain for The Donald was so great. Revelations such as the Access Hollywood tape and accusations of extra-marital affairs (none conceded by the candidate) emphasized the futility of the newly-minted Republican’s chances.
However, the night of November 8 (coincidentally my brother’s birthday, which has nothing to do with this essay, but it is an interesting tidbit for those of you already bored) saw the results. Mr. Trump carried 30 states to 20 for Mrs. Clinton, and until January 20 he would be President-elect and she would be a stunned and sore loser. In fact she admitted she turned, in part, to wine for comfort. Now she was just a frumpy 69-year-old grandmother bitter over the vagaries of life, blaming everyone but herself for losing what she felt was rightfully hers.
Those gazing into the crystal ball saw a glimmer of hope in overturning the polling for President. Perhaps a recount of votes in three states would show that President-elect Trump did not deserve the Oval Office. Failing that, maybe some path to changing votes in the Electoral College would change the result. But those two scenarios were just dim, fog shrouded teasers in the distance.
What would the now not so reliable predictor have to say about the incoming administration under the new President? Paul Krugman, an award-winning economic writer for The New York Times, looked into the crystal ball and saw recession or even depression, in the future under President Trump. Never in the course of human history — sorry to borrow a line from a foreign leader — has a prophecy ever been so wrong. Just seventeen months into his first term, the economy under President Trump is roaring along. Unemployment is at a 69 year low, with black and Hispanic unemployment the lowest ever recorded, the stock market will finish this week around or over 25,000, jobs and economic confidence are promising new highs in the future. And wages have risen 2.7% over the last year, above the rate of inflation, something not seen in over a decade. Some economists look for GDP growth in the second quarter of this year to be as high as 4.8%, a number never seen in Barack Obama’s dreams during his eight years in office. Any good Democrat should take a hammer to the crystal ball Krugman was using!
From the beginning of Mr. Trump’s Presidency, opposition from the Democrats was organized and unrelenting. Their confident prediction was that mobilizing their minions to march against the administration, and the Representatives and Senators who wear the donkey as their logo would vote in lock-step against Republican proposals, and by year’s end the President would be forced to resign. Didn’t happen.
Another look at the future was through a few Democrats who claimed that impeachment was the vehicle through which President Trump could be compelled to quit his high office. Such bills were introduced into the House of Representatives, but never came close to getting enough votes to effect the removal of the President. Another failure of the Left, but one that is still on the horizon if the Democrats can regain control of the House this fall.
“Armageddon”! came the word from the left as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Bill was passed with zero Democratic votes in both the House and Senate. According to the ‘ol crystal ball, most Democrats predicted that most Americans would see taxes rise and only the rich would benefit. Oops! Another failure, for according to most analysts, over 90% of the Middle Class would see taxes fall, and many are the workers who have been given bonuses because their companies saw profits rise and shared the largess with their employees. By mid-year after the bill passed, most Americans agreed that they were better off, in spite of what the Dems thought would happen.
“A bull in a china shop”! That is what was seen by the crystal ball of the Left when they asked for the future of foreign relations under a President Trump. We would be the laughing-stock of other nations, and nothing of substance would come, and the neophyte President might even trigger a war somewhere. Of all the failures of Democratic predictions, this was the most spectacular. Because most on the Left felt that President Trump would favor his “buddy”, Russian President Vlad Putin, they were left with the reality of an American leader who was tougher on Vlad and the Russians than President Obama ever was. Other triumphs in foreign relations were: ISIS has been reduced to a caricature of its former self, NATO nations are contributing more to the common defense of Western Europe, the Middle East has more nations (grudgingly) admitting Israel’s right of existence, the disastrous Paris climate accord has been ditched, we pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, and the list goes on. America is once again respected on the world stage, as this President does not (and never will) apologize for our strength, and we have begun to assert leadership once again.
But the crowning jewel of foreign affairs was just concluded. For the first time, the leader of the Hermit Kingdom, Kim Jong Un, met with President Trump and agreed to dismantle his nuclear arsenal and finally enter the community of nations. Former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama just talked; President Trump talked tough and acted. For the first time in over twenty years, there is little talk of a nuclear conflict involving North Korea.
What new prediction comes from the somewhat murky crystal ball used the Left and the Democrats? THE BLUE WAVE!! This will occur when the Democrats win back the House and Senate in the mid-term elections on November 6. As many as 60 seats will flip in the House and at least three in the Senate, putting the Congress in the hands of the Democrats for the first time since the 2009-2011 legislative cycle. But cracks in the glass are already being seen. Now most pundits concede that the Senate will stay in Republican hands and the House is now in play to do the same. We cannot be sure, and this time the crystal ball just might be partially right, but with the record of dismal failure, do you want to be on it?
Are the Left and the Democrats just bad prognosticators? No, not really. They have allowed their visceral hatred of Donald Trump to see the future through clouded lenses. And in doing so, by not accepting the will of the American people, these have ill-served the people they are supposedly devoted to helping. There is only one solution for that faulty crystal ball — vote to keep the Republicans and Trump in power!