Townhall Review | Commentaries

President Trump’s approval numbers are low and controversies are high, nevertheless some good things are happening in our democratic system.

Congress, for example, is stepping up to its responsibilities to debate and decide policy. With Trump less interested in policy particulars, Congress can become what the founders intended, the first of the branches of government. They are debating health care, tax reform and war powers instead of waiting for the president.

Federalism is also flourishing, with states and cities becoming more proactive in policy affairs. I don’t always agree with them, but California and other states have figured out that they can make decisions about immigration or the environment. Again, that’s how the republic is supposed to work.

There’s even a new appreciation for checks and balances and separations of power as the Constitution established them.

Call them unintended good consequences of Donald Trump’s presidency, perhaps, but these are healthy signs for our democratic system.

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California’s travel ban, forbidding the expenditure of state money to travel to states that have policies they don’t like, is what I call “bully federalism.”

You may remember federalism, the idea that state and local governments retain considerable power in our federal system. Under the 10th Amendment, states can fight back and defend their powers against Washington.

But California’s federalism is not defending against federal power, it is offensive in nature, seeking to force its policies onto other states.

California doesn’t want state officials—or even university students—to travel to states that do not agree with its policies on LGBT issues. With the 6th largest economy in the world, California has the economic power to be a bully.

Do we all have to be like California? Is California the only state that gets things right? Is there no respect for the laws of other states, as seems to be called for by the “full faith and credit” provision of the Constitution?

No one likes bullies.

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One of history’s worst natural disasters produced one of the best weeks of Donald Trump’s presidency so far. The chief executive and his administration rose to the challenge of responding to Hurricane Harvey and even his implacable media critics praised his change in attitude.

The normally hostile New York Times, for instance, featured two positive headlines: “Trump, in Texas, Says His Goal is the Best Relief Effort Ever” and “Hurricane Gives Trump a Chance to Reclaim the Power to Unify.”

What was so different about the president’s tone? In reacting to the catastrophe, he didn’t attack, ridicule or blame anyone; he didn’t punch—or counterpunch—at his favorite targets in politics or media. Instead, he sought to lift up, rather than to run down—an effort that inspired new hope for a successful presidency.

As he now pivots toward tax reform and other crucial issues, he should continue to concentrate on the constructive while trying to remember two key words: stay positive!

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As Texas begins the long process of recovery from the catastrophe of Hurricane Harvey, Americans across the country should embrace four important lessons:

• First, let’s acknowledge that government isn’t always the enemy—and in emergencies like this one, government at the local, state and federal levels has a crucial, life-saving role to play.

• Second, we see that government alone isn’t enough—private businesses, and countless individual volunteers proved indispensable for rescue and recovery.

• Third, in times of crisis our various divisions—racial, political, religious—matter less than we thought. No one asked rescuers or the rescued about political affiliation or ethnic background when lives were at stake.

• Finally, the country can put aside its passionate disagreements, and work together when it’s necessary, as we strive to return to normal life.

And yes, after Harvey, we’re reminded that normal life—whatever its shortcomings and frustrations—is worth defending and even cherishing in this phenomenally fortunate nation.

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And still the rains come, falling catastrophically upon Houston, Texas, the larger Metropolitan areas and the entire region of the Texas Gulf Coast.

As of Sunday (yes, Sunday), 9 trillion gallons of water had already fallen from the storm, enough to fill the Great Salt Lake twice according to Matthew Cappucci of the Washington Post. Now, over 20 trillion gallons are expected.

In order to equal the amount of water already rained on Houston, the Mississippi River in its entirety would have to drain into that city for nine days straight.

By the time the rainfall has fallen, at least some in the actuarial business for insurance companies are saying that it might be a one in 1-million-year flood that is now falling on one of the most highly populated areas of the United States.

Right now we continue to be concerned for and to pray for those whose lives are so affected by Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath and we pray that help can come and can come quickly.

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It’s no secret that how a president responds to a natural disaster can affect his fortunes. President Barack Obama’s reaction to Hurricane Sandy contributed significantly to his 2012 reelection. President George W. Bush’s fumbled response to Hurricane Katrina was part of a ruinous sequence of events in 2005 that destroyed his second term’s political momentum.

So, here’s some specific advice for President Trump.

First, watch all of the coverage closely. Speak with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Brock Long often. If you must tweet, tweet only about the storm and its impacts. Act as a concerned family member would when news of a family tragedy arrives but details are few.

And some advice for my colleagues in the media: Be very slow to politicize this storm. It looks to be quite awful in its impacts.

And, crucially, if people express online or on air that they are praying for the victims of the storm, ditch the snarky assaults on such traditional expressions. Prayer’s not a sentiment. It’s a real and often cherished act and gift.

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No matter how the efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare turn out, I’m sorry to say that President Obama’s Affordable Care Act has federalized health care forever.

It has changed the conversation so that, instead of debating whether the federal government should or constitutionally may take over health care, we are instead debating how.

As political scientist James Q. Wilson pointed out, once Congress has entered a field of regulation, the legitimacy of federal action is established and is rarely debated again. Sadly, in the case of Obamacare, this was accomplished by a straight party-line vote of Democrats.

Surprisingly, in that same time frame, the federalization of education policy was also accomplished, but is now turning back to the states. There was such an outcry over Common Core and federal testing that teachers and parents changed the law in Washington.

Unfortunately that’s not likely to happen with an entitlement like healthcare, which has now—almost certainly—been federalized forever.

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The views held by the protestors in the recent events in Charlottesville, Virginia—the voices of white supremacy, neo-Nazi organizations and the KKK—have no place in our society.

But make no mistake: There are other—credible—voices on the political right in America today that have been marginalized on college campuses and other venues across our country. I’m thinking of voices and organizations that advocate for the life of the unborn child or for religious liberty, which have been shouted down or categorized as hate groups.

There is no moral equivalence between the views of white supremacists and the views held by those protesting against them. And the mainstream media should also be willing to differentiate between those white nationalists and, for example, today’s champions for religious liberty.

Many progressives may not like them, but they do not deserve to be mixed together with the vile hatred we saw in Charlottesville.

Nuance isn’t popular in today’s politics, but let’s not lose sight of the differences where they matter.

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Tragic recent events in Charlottesville, Virginia raise new questions about an old debate. Why did Southern states leave the Union in the first place, resulting in a war that killed more than 700,000 Americans?

Mississippi, the 2nd of 11 states that ultimately seceded from the federal government, gave a clear explanation in its 1861 declaration of secession: “Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery—the greatest material interest in the world,” the delegates affirmed.

They saw slavery as essential to their survival, claiming that, “none but the black race can bear exposure to the tropical sun … and a blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization.” While individuals who fought for the Confederacy may have been decent and even noble, no one should pretend the Confederate cause was honorable.

As the great Mississippian and Nobel Prize-winner William Faulkner famously declared, “The past is never dead. It’s not even passed.”

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Virtually all Americans agree that the KKK is a vile, racist group has no place in contemporary public debate.

What constructive action can we take?

If you really hate the KKK, then cut taxes. Data show that poor economic performance enflames racial tension. According to Gallup polling, after the Bush tax cuts racial anxiety went down. But since 2010 anxiety has been rising—rapidly. One reason for that is that the U.S. has been growing at half its historic rate.

When JFK proposed tax cuts in the early 60s, those cuts were opposed by southern segregationists. Senator Robert Byrd threatened a filibuster if Kennedy put forth both a tax cut and a civil rights bill. He knew that lowering taxes would increase growth, causing businesses to hire more African Americans.

Our growth-less recovery has helped spawn high unemployment among youth and minorities—fueling a spike in extremist groups of both left and right.

It’s time to cut taxes and get those idle hands to work.

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