Neo-cons seek backdoor power grab to circumvent Trump 2.0

Op-ed views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

“Don’t worry about your enemies because you can’t do anything about them anyway. But you must keep an eye on your friends.”

This famous quote came from fictional oil tycoon, JR Ewing, the star of the prime time soap opera, “Dallas” which aired on CBS during the late 1970s and 1980s. In many ways, it sums up Donald Trump’s first term.

Prior to Donald Trump, Washington’s two political parties could be best described as “red team versus blue team, playing for the same university.” This analogy was shared by the son of a former CIA operative, Chandler Harben. While there were different extremes, both Republicans and Democrats shared one common denominator: “A one-world government is the proven way to control, manipulate and profit.”

Then came Donald Trump. Suddenly, America had a plain-spoken, not-so-perfect political outsider, who easily ran through a crowded Republican field and secured the nomination.

Conservatives such as Ted Cruz and Glenn Beck didn’t know what to think of Trump and refused to endorse him. Pollsters and the corporate media, including Fox News, gave him little chance against Hillary Clinton in the general election. Yet he won decisively.

Trump’s unexpected victory blindsided neocons on both sides of the aisle. Before, it had been an unspoken axiom: America participated in a global economy and what was good for the world was good for America. Suddenly, that narrative was being challenged.

Trump’s declaration of “Make America Great Again” translated to “America first.”

For the average “Joe Six-Pack” it sounded like a grand idea. In essence, let’s tariff the hell out of these corporations and force them to bring jobs back to America.

For American corporations seeking to maximize profit, it threatened their very existence.

On a deeper level, there were two theories at odds.

In his book, “The Tea Party Goes to Washington,” Kentucky Senator Rand Paul explained that New Conservatives (neocons) favor a large central government whose purpose is to “advance and facilitate conservative principles.” The question becomes, “who defines conservativism.”

Neocons define conservatism as “freedom to trade and make a profit.” In political science jargon, this is labeled, “constructivism”

As written in Roselle, Spray and Shelton’s “Research and Writing in International Relations,” about constructivism, “international institutions can reshape state interests and generate shared identities.”

Has anyone noticed how many congressmen, senators and bureaucrats are members of the Council on Foreign Relations? How about the Bilderberg group?  Or, the Trilateral Commission?

Donald Trump emerged with a realism/neorealism perspective. As Roselle, Spray and Shelton noted in framing realism, “bargaining and negotiation processes are driven by the national self-interest of states.” And, “alliances and treaties represent a temporary alignment of strategic interests, not permanent friendship.”

This distinction lends insight into Trump’s openness to dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin, describing it as “a good thing.” From a realism perspective, both countries share many commonalities.

Democrats and neocons, with the help of corporate media partners, shaped the connection to be  “a love of autocracy.” In truth, the connection goes much deeper, starting with a distaste for “wokeism,” which is shared by both men.

A second Trump presidency may signal the end of Neo-Conservativism, at least in the Republican Party. Rank and file party members were dismayed by the dismal midterm performance. Neocons were quick to blame Trump, although evidence suggests that party leadership was the real problem.

In a recent Gallup poll, current Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell showed only a 28% approval rating with Republicans! There is bad blood between McConnell and Trump that goes back to the 2020 election. It will be remembered that McConnell pulled five million dollars from MAGA candidates in close races in Arizona and New Hampshire in favor of RINO crony, Lisa Murkowski who narrowly defeated Trump-backed, Kelly Tshibaka in Alaska.

While encouraged by midterm results, Democrats remain nervous about both the 2024 presidential election and the unfavorable Senate map for 2024. Emboldened by the midterm result, it will be difficult to dislodge Joe Biden, especially if Trump is the nominee.

Enter Ron DeSantis, the rising star of the Republican Party. His 19-point win over the Democratic “has been,” Charlie Crist was the talk of the night! So was Florida’s “red wave.” Almost unmentioned was the recent mass conservative exodus from “blue states” in favor of the Sunshine State. This ultimately translated to new Republican voters.

Also barely noted was the overwhelming majority Republicans enjoy in the Florida state House. In short, Governor DeSantis has been an effective chief executive. It helped that he had no appreciable opposition.

Neocons and Democrats fear a second Trump administration for different reasons. For Democrats, it’s the specter of an “avenging angel” wrecking key Democrat constituencies such as the Education and Justice Departments. For neocons, it’s about more limited access to cheap foreign labor that maximizes their bottom line, at the expense of American workers.

The solution: Encourage and hopefully convince Ron DeSantis to oppose Trump in 2024 for the Republican nomination. From the Democrat perspective, two things can happen and both are good:

1- Trump wins a bloody primary and permanently scars DeSantis.

2- DeSantis is the nominee and Trump runs as an Independent, splitting the vote and re-electing Biden.

Neocons see the 44-year-old DeSantis as untested in the Washington “swamp” waters, making him much easier to control.

Early indications suggest that Trump’s base will support DeSantis, especially if he were the 2028 nominee, following four years as Trump’s vice president. This scenario is currently being floated by a number of straw polls.

The looming questions remain:

1- Will those supporters who voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020 support DeSantis if Trump tears into him in a primary?

2- Is the country totally obtuse to the growing questions of election fraud and election interference?

 

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