When Joe Biden was president, Republicans rightly complained that he usually abused his energy when doing issues like cancelling pupil money owed. Additionally they rightly complained when the federal authorities usurped the ability of state and native governments. The GOP is historically seen as favoring “federalism”.
Was the GOP grievance concerning the president exceeding his constitutional authority, or was the precise grievance that the president exceeded his constitutional authority whereas pursuing Democratic Get together goals? Maybe this can reply the query:
President Trump and his new transportation secretary, Sean P. Duffy, made it sound as if their energy to drag the plug on New York Metropolis’s six-week-old congestion pricing program was absolute.
Mr. Duffy, who has been on the job for lower than a month, wrote to New York’s governor on Wednesday that “I have concluded” that the tolling program, carried out after a grueling, years lengthy course of, was not “eligible” beneath the federal statute used to enact it.
Mr. Trump’s rationalization was even much less advanced: He hit the caps-lock button and invoked his authority as “king.”
“CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD, Manhattan,” the president wrote on social media, “and all of New York is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”
Lengthy-time readers know that I’m not President’s Trump’s largest fan. However on this case, I give him credit score for honesty. Up to now, commenters have raked me over the coals for claiming that Trump had authoritarian tendencies. I’m glad that I not must make these arguments; I can merely quote from the president’s personal statements.
New York’s congestion pricing plan had lowered site visitors congestion, regardless of being poorly designed relative to congestion pricing in another large cities. If the courts uphold Trump’s determination (which isn’t in any respect sure) then we will count on NYC site visitors to worsen.
I’ve observed a current development in American politics/policymaking. Politics more and more appears to be a type of efficiency artwork. Thus trolling is not merely a way utilized in some conditions, it has grow to be part of the policymaking course of. Whereas Donald Trump is the grasp of the artwork of trolling, the development has filtered all the way down to the native degree.
A number of miles from the place I dwell is the well-known browsing city of Huntington Seaside. (BTW, California suburbs are large–HB has 200,000 residents.) Huntington Seaside just lately determined to place a plaque outdoors town library. As well as, they determined to spend some cash defending the plaque:
Councilmember Gracey Van Der Mark, who submitted the up to date design, additionally mentioned the council had raised an additional $1,000 to pay for a highlight set up to guard the plaque from vandalism.
You may marvel why a metropolis would assume that they wanted to spend taxpayer funds defending a plaque outdoors a library. See should you can guess why town council was nervous:
Public coverage as trolling.
PS. A short follow-up to my earlier submit. Niall Ferguson just lately had this to say (replying to JD Vance):
I’ve mentioned greater than as soon as prior to now three years that the warfare wouldn’t have occurred if President Trump had been reelected in 2020. I supported his marketing campaign for reelection final 12 months, persistently predicted his and your victory, and welcomed the “vibe shift” that victory represented. I’ve additionally supported the President’s earlier calls to barter peace between Russia and Ukraine. So I’m not positive I actually qualify as a globalist. In actual fact, I agree with all 5 of the factors you make. Certainly, I praised your Munich speech. . . . However I merely can’t perceive the logic of starting a negotiation this tough by conceding so many essential factors to Russia.
These of us who’ve understood Trump from the start are under no circumstances shocked by what we see. Trump has repeated praised Putin, even when he was campaigning again in 2016. It’s a pity that so many intellectuals didn’t take his feedback severely, and now discover themselves bewildered by what is going on.
