Trump vs. political & media hookworms Exclusive: Ilana Mercer suggest running mate that would mean 2 strong 'Alpha Males' 2015.08.06 Ilana Mercer
Working people warm to Donald Trump. He appeals to a good segment of real Americans. The circle jerk of power brokers that is American media, however, lacks the depth and understanding to grasp the fellow-feeling Trump engenders in his fans.
POLITICAL POWER VS. ECONOMIC POWER
To understand why his campaign has legs, it is necessary to grasp the difference between The Donald and The Career Politician. Why so? Because although his supporters can ill-articulate these differences, they live them and feel them viscerally. Their reaction to Mr. Trump is informed by a sense of Trump the private citizen, the businessman, the anti-politician. As such, they grasp that Trump’s reality, incentives and motives sharply diverge from those of the professional politician. His reasons for doing what he’s doing are different.
Differently put: A successful politician and a successful businessman represent two solitudes, never the twain shall meet – except when the capitalist must curry favor with the politician so as to further his business interests, a reality brought about by corrupt politics. Trump’s donations to both parties fit a pattern forced by the regulatory state, whereby, in order to keep doing business, business is compelled to buy-off politicians.
“What, then, is the difference between economic power and political power?”
Capitalism.org supplies a succinct reply: “The difference between political and economic power is the difference between plunder and production, between punishment and reward, between destruction and trade. Plunder, punishment, and destruction belong to the political realm; production, reward, and trade belong to the economic realm.”
By definition, a professional politician is opportunistic and parasitic. For his survival, he must feed off his hosts. To convince the host to let him hook on and drain his lifeblood, the political hookworm must persuade enough of them to believe his deception. The energies of this political confidence trickster are thus focused on gaining voter confidence by promising what will never be delivered and what is impossible to deliver.
The methods of politics, encapsulated in the title of broadcaster Mark Levin’s latest book, are deceit and plunder, in that order. (And no, Mr. Levin, electing a conservative will not transform this modus operandi.) The machinery of politics is coercion and force. If elected, a politician gains power over those who did not support him as well as over those who supported him. Once in power, and backed by police power, he revels in the right to legislate and regulate vast areas in the lives of people.
Conversely, to succeed, a man in the private economy must deliver on his promises. If he doesn’t fulfill his promises, he loses his shirt. He goes belly up.
Whereas success in politics depends on intellectual deceit and economic plunder; success in the private economy indicates that an individual has delivered on his promises: He has provided goods and services people want, built buildings and resorts they inhabit and frequent, provided his investors with a return on their investment.
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Flawed though he most certainly is, Donald Trump belongs to the category of Americans who wield economic power.
Trump has had moral and business failings aplenty. He has taken risks for which he has paid with his capital and good name. (He certainly owes recompense to the Scottish farmers of Aberdeenshire, whose lives he upended with his development.) Not given to the contemplative life, Trump is a pragmatist. He has waded into some very polluted waters. But he swims. He doesn’t drown.
To that people relate.
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As a longtime observer and analyst writing in opposition to the state and the political process, I find the specter of the anti-politician – the rugged, unrefined, cowboy individualist – fascinating, certainly worthy of tracking, and quintessentially American.
Among America’s great industrialists and capitalists there has always been a long history of noblesse oblige – the notion that wealth, power and prestige carry responsibilities. Public service to the American founders meant that men put their own fortunes and sacred honor on the line. Their lives too
"Conversely, to succeed, a man in the private economy must deliver on his promises. If he doesn’t fulfill his promises, he loses his shirt. He goes belly up. Whereas success in politics depends on intellectual deceit and economic plunder" Nobody gets fired anymore. check this out
Embattled former MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott nominated by Obama to sit on NTSB
In the face of one of the worst winters in Boston's history, former MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott was either an ineffectual leader in keeping public transportation moving or was a sacrificial lamb, depending on your point of view.
But the former MBTA head, who voluntarily resigned from her position in February after a series of debilitating snow storms brought public transportation in Boston to a halt, may have landed back on her feet.
President Barack Obama announced a slew of new key nominations Tuesday including a recommendation for Scott to sit on the National Transportation Safety Board.
The board is an independent agency that investigates civil aviation accidents in the United States as well as significant railroad, highway and marine accidents.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board's website, it has five members. If confirmed by U.S. Senate, members serve five-year terms.
"She's obviously got a long career in the transportation space and I certainly wish her well," Gov. Charlie Baker told reporters after he was asked about the appointment.
Scott served as general manager of the troubled MBTA from 2012 to April 2015. Frank DePaola took over as interim general manager.
Her departure during the record-breaking winter aside, Scott has often been touted as a straight-talking expert on transportation issues.
"She is one of the top leaders in the country when it comes to transportation and federal policy to support it," said David Elvin of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission back in April.