COMMONSENSE

What is “commonsense?” We’re all familiar with the expression, but for many of us it is hard to define. It’s reminiscent of former Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s response when asked to define pornography: “I know it when I see it.” According to the dictionary commonsense is characterized by “sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts.” Sounds good, so let’s go with that. 

In his first month in office Donald Trump has accomplished a great deal, arguably more than any other president in history. However, perhaps his greatest achievement has been to cop-opt the common- sense approach to the key issues facing the country, relegating the Dems to the fringes. As I said, we may not be able to define it, but we know it when we see it, and we see it in what Trump is doing.

There have been a plethora of obvious examples, but just a few will suffice to make my point:

1. Immigration. Open borders with no security and no vetting never made any sense. It’s akin to leaving your home unlocked and the doors and windows open allowing anyone unfettered access. No one in their right mind would do that. Most of the advocates for open borders were those who enjoy the security of walled and gated communities or doormen and/or travel with private security. The obvious results have spoken for themselves. It’s commonsense that people and countries need secure barriers such as walls and other security measures for protection. The Vatican Wall and the Great Wall of China have served this purpose for centuries. The original Vatican Wall dates back to 846, although it has been expanded over the years. The Great Wall of China was constructed over a period of over 2,000 years beginning in the third century BC.  Both walls were built to protect citizens from marauders. It is inane to claim they are not needed or don’t work as the Dems have maintained. On the other hand, look at the European Union. The borders between member states generally resemble a sieve. In the past decade some 29 million immigrants, both legal and illegal have entered causing political, social, criminal and economic problems. Trump’s security measures are commonsense, and they are working.
2. Biological males’ access to females’ bathrooms and locker rooms and competing against them in sports. This is another commonsense issue. Only a sliver of the populace advocates this. I doubt that very many females would be comfortable with this, nor be would any sane parent of a young girl. Similarly, females should not have to compete against biological males in sports. Males are generally physiologically bigger and stronger. It is not fair, but more importantly it is dangerous. Anyone who watched a biological male boxer beat up a biological female boxer in the last Olympics would attest to that. For years the Dems have ignored this issue or even defended it. Trump has vowed to resolve it. Again, it’s commonsense.
3. Crime. The Dems’ ill-conceived and ill-advised sanctuary jurisdiction policy and lenient attitude toward crime and criminals has rendered “blue” cities unsafe. Criminals operate with impunity. Law-abiding citizens fear for their safety. Many businesses have been unable to survive. Thousands of people have relocated from “blue” to “red” jurisdictions. This is another commonsense issue.
4. Government waste, fraud and abuse. This is another obvious issue. For decades people have wanted politicians to deal with this issue. Finally, someone, Trump, is doing something about it. Trump, through Homeland Security and ICE, is cracking down, hard. How could any reasonable person object to tackling this issue? Yet, many Dems are objecting, which has led many people to conclude that they have been complicit and have something to hide.

CONCLUSION

In my view, Trump’s policies and actions to date cannot be categorized as either Dem or Republican, liberal or conservative. He is more of a populist. He is working on behalf of all Americans, regardless of political persuasion.

As I have written in previous blogs, he has not only been resolving America’s problems, more significantly he is on the verge of rendering the Dems a minor party. The Dems hate Trump so much that they are blindly and instinctively committed to opposing anything he says or does regardless of the consequences or if they make sense. As a result, they have found themselves on the wrong side of each of the above issues as well as most others. These are not closely contested issues either. Trump has staked out positions favored by 80-90% of the voters, leaving the Dems stuck with positions favored by a very slim minority.

In addition, they are leaderless at the present time. No one has stepped up to try to unite the Party. It is dominated by its far-left wing. The moderates have been cowed into silence.

The Dems have not offered any viable alternative policies or solutions. They have become the party of “no” and name-calling. They still have not come to terms with the reasons why they lost the 2024 election much less corrected them. That does not augur well for them in 2026 or 2028.

Bad for them; good for the rest of us.