Dear Trump, Please Avoid The Traps

Vox was touting Trump's hard-line tactics on Obamacare yesterday:

I have no doubt that the bill isn't as good as it should be. Who cares? The point is that Republicans have to stop pretending that they're going to act someday and start acting. Their careers depend upon it.

No one is interested in the noble principles and noble defeats of conservatism any longer. That ship has sunk.

Meanwhile, Rand Paul seems to be emerging as the loyal opposition.

Now the most valuable thing that can happen is that Trump and Rand start to cooperate.

Paul Ryan and many of the people who would vote for this bill are traitors to the cause. Failure is written into the bill.

Anybody remember the Minnesotan politicians versus Gov. Jesse Ventura?

The political class doesn't even need to consciously think about it- they are just going to do it. They are going to aim for the tank, and trust that the bi-partisan anti-Trump propaganda is going to work. In four years, some jerk like Paul Ryan is going to be running against Trump and he will pretend everything- from the bad effects of legislation Ryan passed, to however the Fed jacks with the economy, is all Trump's fault.

So, hopefully Trump is significantly less grudging than the media makes him out to be, and he notices how Rand Paul is shaping up to be somebody to do business with. Trump's instincts are right- he does need to ride herd on the Republican in order to force them to in the right direction- but the details are wrong.

Unfortunately, it appears Trump is also having this problem with foreign policy. This Syria stuff stinks. Again, this is crap is going to be hung around Trump's neck, and it seems to me these morons in the media are using the Russia hysteria to help reinforce serious foreign policy errors. Trump should be making common cause with Tusli Gabbard over Syria.

Here's an idiotic case in point: AP Exclusive: Manafort had plan to benefit Putin government.
At this point, if someone has a plan that will benefit the Putin government, the probability is high that it will also benefit us. Us, the American people. Maybe even us, the people of the world.

Now, what is this kind of crap, on balance, doing to American politics? Hasn't it made it harder for Trump to talk to Putin? Isn't it likely that negotiations have been delayed rather than prioritized? Aren't we basically continuing a failed globalist agenda instead of listening to the Russians and the Syrians?

Trump's critical test is whether or not he can avoid Ventura's fate. I think he could do it, but he's got to escape these traps set for him.