Thursday, December 29, 2016

PRESIDENT TRUMP, PROMISES MADE, MUST BE PROMISES KEPT…


I must admit that I was rather late in getting onboard the ‘Trump Train’.  Frankly, I was one of those who were quite confident that he would come to flame out long before the final decision would be made regarding who would ultimately become our Republican presidential nominee.  But as members of his competition slowly began to fall by the wayside I was essentially forced to mover ever closer to becoming a Trump supporter.  And when he came to be the last man standing I was left with little choice but to support him.  While I was never a “Never Trumper”, I was a “Trump Doubter.”  But once it was clear that Mr. Trump was gonna be our guy, even though I still had my doubts, I, somewhat reluctantly, jumped aboard the ‘Trump Train.’ 

But over time I’ve come to believe that Donald Trump has the potential to become a truly great president.  But in order for that to happen, two things must occur:  He must follow through on key campaign commitments, and the Republican Congress must ‘act’ on them.  After 8 long years that have resulted in nothing more than the doubling of our national debt, the decimating of our healthcare system, more Americans than ever before now living in poverty and on some form of government assistance and the fewest number of Americans in the nation’s workforce since the days of Jimmy Carter, the American people, by electing Donald Trump, showed, very clearly, that they wanted something different.  Something better.

So here are nine commitments Trump made during the campaign, that the incoming Congress should, and very much need to, assist in making a reality:

1. Completely repeal Obamacare.  Trump's position paper on health care said: "Our elected representatives in the House and Senate must: Completely repeal Obamacare. Our elected representatives must eliminate the individual mandate. No person should be required to buy insurance unless he or she wants to." It further stated that reforms put in place after the repeal should "follow free market principles that will restore economic freedom and certainty to everyone in this country."  Congress must immediately repeal Obamacare — and enact only reforms that "follow free market principles."

2. Confirm pro-life constitutionalists to the Supreme Court.  "The freedoms we cherish and the constitutional values and principles our country was founded on are in jeopardy," Trump stated in September. "The responsibility is greater than ever to protect and uphold these freedoms and I will appoint justices, who, like Justice Scalia, will protect our liberty with the highest regard for the Constitution."  In a letter to pro-life leaders, Trump added: "I am committed to ... (n)ominating pro-life justices to the U.S. Supreme Court."  The Senate should confirm only nominees who fit the model Trump advocated.

3. Build the wall and enforce the immigration laws.  In his immigration plan, Trump promised to: "Begin working on an impenetrable physical wall on the southern border, on Day One."  "All immigration laws will be enforced — we will triple the number of ICE agents," said the plan. "Anyone who enters the U.S. illegally is subject to deportation."  Trump's plan also would "turn off the jobs and benefits magnet" for illegal immigrants. "Many immigrants come to the U.S. illegally in search of jobs," it said, "even though federal law prohibits the employment of illegal immigrants."   Congress should enact all legislation needed to build Trump's wall and fully enforce the immigration laws. 

And any city that insists upon identifying itself as being a ‘sanctuary’ for those in this country illegally, must be made to forfeit ALL federal funding they currently receive.

4. Pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.  "I am committed to ... (s)igning into law the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would end painful late-term abortions nationwide," Trump said in his letter to pro-life leaders.  Congress should place that bill on Trump's desk by Jan. 27, the day of the 2017 March for Life.

5. Defund Planned Parenthood.  "I am committed to ... (d)efunding Planned Parenthood as long as they continue to perform abortions," Trump said in his letter. Congress should defund Planned Parenthood in the first spending bill it sends Trump.

6. Cut income tax rates and end the "death tax."  "The Trump Plan will collapse the current seven tax brackets to three brackets," says Trump's tax plan. It would cut the top rate from 39.6 percent to 33 percent.  Additionally, Trump's plan would "repeal the death tax," which can be a confiscatory tax on family owned businesses. It also drops the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent.  A great Congress would go further than Trump's plan. It would enact the "Fair Tax Act" that would eliminate the income tax, replace it with a sales tax and set the stage for repeal of the 16th Amendment, which made direct federal taxation of individual incomes plausible.  But enacting Trump's plan to cut tax rates and abolish the death tax is a good start to reining in federal tax collections.

7. Make better trade deals.  In 2015, the U.S. had a merchandise trade deficit of $745.66 billion, according to the Census Bureau. Since 1979, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the nation has lost more than 7 million manufacturing jobs.  Trump's trade plan calls for negotiating "fair trade deals that create American jobs, increase American wages, and reduce America's trade deficit." That includes withdrawing from the not-yet-approved Trans-Pacific Partnership and renegotiating NAFTA.  The Senate should ratify better trade deals when they are negotiated.

8. End our nation-building foreign policy.  Trump's foreign policy plan says he will end "the current strategy of nation-building and regime change." Congress should support this, including by reasserting its constitutional authority over the use of military force. That means the president may not use force — except to repel a sudden attack on the United States — unless Congress authorizes it.

9. Enact a balanced budget.  Sean Hannity asked Trump on Fox News on June 17, 2015: "Would you insist on a balanced budget as president?" Trump responded: "I would insist on it relatively soon."  When President Barack Obama took office, the federal debt was about 10.6 Trillion. Now it is about $19.9 Trillion.  Barry “Almighty” and the last Republican Congress kept America on the road to bankruptcy. President Trump and the new Republican Congress must lead us back the other way — and they cannot do it too soon.

And finally there’s one other issue that our new President and our congressional leaders must come together on, and on the very first day of the new administration.  And that would the total and complete defunding of the United Nations when it comes to any and all money furnished to this very corrupt organization that has as its source the American taxpayer.  As far as the other items listed above are concerned, Trump, and our congressional Republicans, will have only a very brief window of opportunity to prove that they are up to the challenge of governing.  And all eyes will be on them, we will be waiting and watching.  They will have less than two years to make progress in getting this country back on the right track.  Time is of the essence. 

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