Open War On The President

     Scott Adams renders the verdict:

     I saw this quote on CNN.com today: “The episode is the latest woe for Trump, whose administration is engulfed in a series of scandals linked to Russia.”

     A “series of scandals linked to Russia”? Would it be equally accurate to characterize it as a series of stories manufactured by the media, none of which have been confirmed to be a big deal?

     Today’s headline news is that an alleged Comey memo indicates President Trump tried to obstruct justice in the Flynn investigation by saying to Comey in a private meeting, “I hope you can let this go.”...

     I’m no lawyer, but I can’t see any judge or jury in the United States prosecuting someone for expressing a hope that the future turns out well for his friend.

     Watch the headlines and pundits today transmogrify “hope” into “asked to end the Flynn investigation.”

     That isn’t news.

     That is an assassination.

     Bookworm expands with her usual flair:

     Donald Trump is the perfect antidote to Leftism. A Leftist who knows I’m conservative asked me how I could support Donald Trump knowing now what we do about him. I said I supported him more now than I did when I voted for him. Despite the appalling, libelous opposition aimed at him, he’s slowly but surely fulfilling his promises — including building a virtual wall simply by allowing ICE to enforce existing immigration laws. The Leftist was shocked that I was proud, not ashamed.

     Indeed. Though President Trump has conducted himself honorably and according to his campaign promises, the Left and its media allies will have none of it. We must be made ashamed of the man we elected. They’ll fabricate accusations without limit, and treat them as proven despite a complete lack of evidence.

     The entirety of major-media “reporting” these past four months has been dedicated to the Spaghetti Theory of Political Combat: Fling enough at the wall and eventually, some will stick. Nothing they’ve flung has adhered to Trump yet, but they remain dedicated to their strategy. Worse, supposed conservative luminaries are buying into it as well...on the basis of the media hysteria and nothing else.

     I cannot imagine that Trump foresaw this during his campaign. If he had, would he have wanted the job?

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     Remember what the Left did to Sarah Palin after the 2008 election? Their mud-flinging made it impossible for her to function as Alaska’s governor. She was literally harassed into resigning her office. Yet Alaska recovered from the episode, largely because of the stability and good sense of its legislators and Alaskans generally. That’s not in the cards should the Left succeed in its comparable campaign against President Trump.

     The Left’s sole desire is for power. It will do anything that it believes will advance it toward political supremacy. Their program to render President Trump impotent by bombarding him with a host of unsubstantiated accusations will have devastating consequences should it succeed...but leftists can’t see that far forward. Once they’ve regained power, they believe they’ll be able to stabilize things – and to ensure that power remains in their hands forever after, of course.

     The street violence we’ve seen from Antifa and Black Bloc is a minor consideration compared to the likely aftermath of a Trump impeachment. Decent people can defeat thugs so cowardly that they must conceal their faces even though the police have largely stood down. A coup against the legitimately elected president is a far more serious matter.

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     If there’s a guaranteed-effective countermeasure to a media-Democrat alliance dedicated to ruining a president by a campaign of slander, I can’t think what it might be. Americans can stop patronizing the calumnious media, which would be a good idea in any case. They can resolve not to believe the accusations and imputations of such low creatures as Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, which is even more advisable. But when prominent Republican and conservative spokespersons begin to lean toward the accusations, implying oh-so-gently that “it might be better for the country were Trump to resign,” what then?

     Unless someone comes up with a potent counter-strategy, Trump, his supra-partisan allies, and his supporters will be encircled and isolated. Certain steps are plainly mandatory:

• Trump must purge the executive branch of all its remaining Obama-era holdovers.
• He must pursue and prosecute those who’ve leaked against him.
• He must continue to fulfill his campaign promises.
• He must ignore the adversary press.

     Even if Trump does everything right and never puts a foot wrong, it will take enormous courage and resolve for him to remain in office. The New York Metro real-estate market, with its accumulation of regulatory, union, and activist excrescences, is certainly trying enough to toughen a man, and no one has negotiated its hazards better than Donald Trump, so perhaps he has the characterological and emotional resources he’ll need. The tragedy is that he should need them at all.