When our beautiful Australian Shepherd was a puppy, we took him to herd sheep just to see how he would do. He confronted the sheep with more energy and enthusiasm than discretion. When he was done, the guy in charge said that he had good instincts, but was “too rough with his mouth.”
That, in a nutshell, is the conservative case for Trump. Yes, they say, he can be a bit coarse at times, but that is just a symptom of the strength of his commitment to the cause; at heart, as the story goes, he is just a conventional Republican. A Mitt in wolf’s clothing, if you like. To the extent he might be tempted to veer off the rails, he will be kept under control by our wise and brave GOP legislators, like Paul Ryan and Marco Rubio. And, if all else fails, the judicial system will make sure he doesn’t turn into a man on horseback.
Let’s examine each of those arguments, in order:
1. Trump is really a conventional Republican: Really? Does a conventional Republican call for tariffs, berate businessmen who are just doing their job, describe our alliances as “obsolete,” cozy up to Putin, attack non-politicians on Twitter, and lie all of the time? Would a conventional Republican refer to the current state of the country as “American carnage?” I don’t think so.
2. GOP legislators will keep him under control: Marco Rubio just announced that he’s going to support Tillerson in spite of his reservations about the man. What does that tell you about his willingness to take on Trump? And that is before the big regressive tax cut for which Paul Ryan would happily sell his mother.
3. The judiciary will maintain order: Trump thinks following rules is for chumps. His disdain for the judicial system was openly displayed during the campaign. Judges don’t have an army behind them. Who is going to stop him if and when he flouts court orders he doesn’t like?
No, I can assure you, the sheep are in for a very rough four years.