No time for the timid: The dual threats of progressives and Trump

It’s often said that Barack ObamaBarack Hussein ObamaThanks to President Biden, infrastructure is bipartisan again — it needs to stay that way Obama, Dave Chappelle nominated in same Grammy category Biden taps Powell, Brainard to lead Fed MORE’s principal legacy was Donald TrumpDonald TrumpOvernight Energy & Environment — Biden to release 50M barrels from oil reserve On The Money — Biden: America should ‘rest easy’ about prices Former NYC police commissioner to testify before Jan. 6 committee, demands apology MORE. Soon, Joe Biden’s main legacy also may be Trump. In both cases, Trump could be seen as a broad-based, middle-class populist reaction to massive overreach by progressives, their powerful supporters in the media and tech communities, and a firmly entrenched, permanent bureaucracy.   

Modern politics in the superpower states — whether in the United States, China or Russia — has become a crucible of hardball, winner-take-all, merciless strategies and tactics, utilizing every vehicle available to prevail. In the American model, political leaders, successfully emerging from that crucible and equipped to govern, must be prepared to fully co-opt the progressive left or be strong enough to resist it, as well as prepared to resist the ill-defined, but highly effective, political magnetism of Trump. The far left-leaning Democratic Party leadership in the House and Senate has been effective in aligning with and partially co-opting the radical progressives. Trump has been very effective at building a populist movement to confront and resist both progressives and the permanent bureaucracy. 

Neither radical path represents good governance or a sustainable long-term direction for America. They are highly divisive. Many Americans understand that, and it leaves a centrist path open to any moderate Democrats, Republicans or independents with the political skills, personal strength and resources to resist the radical left, the media, the entrenched bureaucracy and Trump.         

Many Americans feel, with some justification, that liberal Democrats appear to have fully corrupted the media and perhaps even weaponized parts of the federal justice, national security and, recently, health agencies as active arms of their political agenda. The result has begun to feel to a large portion of the country like increased authoritarianism and radical government.

But, the left has made the deadly error of making its plans and tactics increasingly obvious. The trillion-dollar infrastructure bill and the $1.75 trillion social spending bill (some estimate its real price at closer to $4 trillion) most likely will represent a disastrous $5 trillion in new spending. When combined with the destruction of America’s energy independence and renewed allowance for states and local governments to subsidize increased spending through higher federal income tax deductions, the spending will lead to skyrocketing inflation, higher taxes and interest…