The Most Important Question: Increasing Divisiveness

The objective to divide the nation even more is the most important issue. No matter how bad Kamala Harris is, with heavy Republican presence in Congress, there is no doubt that conservativism will be successfully protected in law for the next four years.

No one can dispute that Harris would be less divisive than Trump, or that a Harris administration would be less divisive than a Trump administration.

The human race is threatened by weaponized disinformation worldwide. At the dawn of AI, with information war across sovereign borders aimed at destroying democratic governments, with unremitting propaganda and contempt, these threats will grow more diabolical by an order of magnitude. We cannot permit an agent of the disinformation vector to tear the nation further apart than it already is. It is hard to even imagine what a further divided society might look like, but a Trump victory would guarantee that result.

Conservatives: Have No Fear!

Kamala Harris is at least HARMLESS because Republican chairs of every committee and majorities in at least one chamber will certainly prevent and cabin every intention to enact any progressive legislative attempts. 50+ Republican senators are a bulwark certain to make any radical progressive agenda dead on arrival.

For example, there is zero chance that the Republican senate will enact any ban on black arms, military-style guns. There is zero chance that you can get the votes to restore Roe v. Wade in full detail. Harris is relatively harmless because of the Senate and also huge numbers of Republican members of the House of Representatives also.

Take Far Bolder Actions on Chronic Problems

She should FORCE Congress to act on the problems that every American agrees need to be fixed. She should veto the HHS appropriations bill until Congress acts to finally fix Social Security. Force the committees of jurisdiction to stay in negotiations at least five days a week if not more until they reach a big majority to finally fix this. She can allow a temporary appropriations bill for one week at a time as long as these committees remain in continuous negotiations. Let Congress agree to any mix of tax increases or benefits reductions or adjustments. But require that Congress finally make this action.

Force Congress to reduce the tax code. She can veto any IRS appropriations bill until the committees of jurisdictions reduce the insanely complex tax code that EVERY tax economist agrees is stupid beyond description. Allow a temporary appropriations funding one week at a time as long as the committees remain in continuous negotiation to cut the size of the tax code by 20% in phased-in simplification. She can agree to accept ANY changes Congress chooses, but the tax code needs to be simplified MASSIVELY. EVERYONE agrees that this should be done, Democrats and independents. Yet no president has promised to fix it.

Similarly, she should fix the massive explosion of federal debt. All economists left and right are in agreement that the failure by Congress to make the hard decisions is remarkably irresponsible. She should veto any federal budget that does not put these massive deficits on a path to quick elimination. Congress fails to make the unpopular decisions that are necessary to balance our federal budget. She should allow a temporary week-by-week funding of the federal government as long as the budget and appropriations committees remain in continuous negotiations to fix the budget at least five days a week. She can let Congress choose any mix of spending cuts in any area and tax revenue increases in any areas (cut defense spending, cut any other funding, and close any tax loopholes it chooses or raise taxes it chooses (tax gasoline and poisons, etc.)

Merits of a Bipartisan Cabinet to Unify America

Her Cabinet needs to be AT LEAST 50% Republican. Now the Hobson's choice America is facing is: "100% Republican Cabinet" (Stephen Miller, Jim Jordan, Devon Nunes, John Ratcliffe, John Eastland, Chaffetz, Kash Patel) or a 90% Democratic Cabinet. To unify this nation faithfully, we need a Cabinet at least 50% Republican under a Democratic president. A single Republican does not unify 100% of this society.

Promise a Limited Pardon of Trump

Trump faces many state as well as federal criminal charges (tax fraud, elections fraud charges by the state of Georgia, federal charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election results by inciting a bloody coup, charges on retaining classified government documents that he refused to turn over, payments to Stephanie Cliffords to remain silent on sex affair. Many conservative voters understandably feel that many of these charges may be motivated by partisan concern only. Harris can leave many of these charges standing, but assuring all conservative voters that her Department of Justice will not be weaponized for political purposes would reassure them that her administration will not be unduly vindictive. She can encourage with strong rhetoric Georgia to drop the charges of election fraud and promise to drop the federal charges of inciting violence in the Capitol building. These issues have been very well aired and Mr. Trump has paid a very high price emotionally as well as in other ways, including financially for attorneys’ fees. Unifying the nation by dropping certain federal charges will serve the nation’s future. She can leave the sex attack and the flagrant tax fraud cases standing. All conservative voters will be happy to hear that we can move beyond these matters for the future best interests of the nation.

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DISCLAIMER: The sentiments presented above are exclusively those of Dr. Thomas O'Brien and do not necessarily represent or coincide with those of New Statecraft.