AS IT IS: 5 takeaways from tea party speech – MyWebTimes.com
Conservative radio show host Joe Walsh was no apologist for President Donald Trump when he spoke to the La Salle County Tea Party this week. While he proclaimed enthusiasm with Trump's first days in the White House, he told his audience he is no "stupid cheerleader for Trump" like Fox News host Sean Hannity.
Here are my takeaways from Walsh's speech:
Walsh is right on the money with his political analysis. While many Republicans are declaring Trump's victory as huge, Walsh would have none of it. He noted Trump won just 46 percent of the popular vote. And he believes either ex-Vice President Joe Biden or Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders would have beaten Trump. The reason Trump won is largely because Democrat Hillary Clinton was such a bad candidate, Walsh said.
He disputed the idea the Democratic Party is on the decline. He's right about this. In many elections, you hear about the pending demise of a political party. When President Lyndon Johnson trounced GOP presidential candidate Barry Goldwater in 1964, many in the establishment predicted the death of Republicans. After President George W. Bush won re-election in 2004, many believed Republicans had achieved a "permanent" majority." After President Barack Obama's two victories, Democrats felt the demographics of the country forever precluded Republicans from winning the White House. Despite the fallacy of all these fantasies, people still fall for them.
Millennial voters are the challenge for tea party. Walsh correctly pointed out conservatives have little backing among millennials. Education, he said, is a way to counteract that. Still, he said limited-government conservatives have a steep hill to climb in convincing a majority to join their cause.
A man in the tea party audience told Walsh he often fights with his two college-educated kids about politics. He said he walks away in frustration.
Trump is no limited-government conservative. Walsh told the audience he doesn't believe Trump shares their views for smaller, constitutional government. He even said he fears Trump could become "a bit of a strongman."
Trump favors big; he doesn't go small. It's hard to imagine him scaling back presidential powers or reducing the size of the government he oversees. He promises to protect Social Security and Medicare from budget cuts and calls for increasing defense spending. These items comprise most of the federal budget, so I'm guessing the federal government will continue to expand.
To be fair, Trump vows to reduce regulations and pick a Supreme Court justice who would curtail government power. If he keeps these promises, he would align himself with small-government conservatives.
Walsh pledged to back only policies he sees as constitutional. He said he would oppose Trump if the president acts unconstitutionally.
Liberals and conservatives often are fair-weather constitutionalists, only calling out presidents of the opposite party for constitutional violations. This is hypocritical.
In my view, Obama abused his powers when he issued an executive order that exempted from deportation those adults known as dreamers, who were brought illegally into this country as children. I believe this even though I support the dreamers, who are in the United States through no fault of their own. The president cannot overturn a duly enacted law, which is exactly what Obama did in this case.
Walsh is no friend of Adam Kinzinger. In his speech, Walsh was unsparing in his criticism of our local Republican congressman, saying he wanted to "kick him in the ass." And he said Kinzinger is a bad fit for the 16th Congressional District, arguing voters here are more conservative than Kinzinger.
Walsh, elected to Congress in 2010, noted Kinzinger and more than 60 other Republicans joined Congress the same year, touting their tea party views. But most of them moderated their positions after that, Walsh said.
In the 2012 Republican primary, Kinzinger was pitted against longtime Rep. Don Manzullo. Each candidate tried to portray himself as the most conservative. I covered Kinzinger's speech to the Sauk Valley Tea Party in Dixon a few months before the 2012 primary.
Since then, the congressman's relations with the tea party have gotten frosty.
Walsh, a suburban Chicago resident, lost a re-election bid in 2012 to Tammy Duckworth, who in 2016 defeated Republican Mark Kirk to win a six-year U.S. Senate term. Tea party members asked Walsh if he would run in the 16th District, even offering to cover his moving costs. Walsh kept that door open, though he said it is hard to beat an incumbent.
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AS IT IS: 5 takeaways from tea party speech - MyWebTimes.com