I consider myself a pretty smart guy. Of course, I have a huge ego that really does not need massaging. Thus, when I run into a situation where I should have picked up on something long before I did is disconcerting, to say the least. This is the situation when it dawned on me that Candidate Trump was a realist, a pragmatist and really had no real ideology guiding his thinking. When I read four of his books and edited the book he published during the campaign, it hit me like a safe dropped from the fourth floor of a building. When the clue bird landed on my shoulder, my help for the candidate improved exponentially. He liked what I wrote and what I said. He must have as he kept me on all the way into the administration.
Russell Kirk: The most dangerous threat to our republic was the persistence of ideologues
This pragmatism is something that no one in the media has picked up on. They, almost to a person, have adhered to an ideology, either on the left or the right, that leaves them totally flummoxed when he is able to pull off trade deals, get judges appointed, have his promises kept and continue to rally the unwashed masses to get engaged in the political process.
As many of you know, I am a Russell Kirk devotee. He has been my intellectual mentor in my evolution as a conservative. I have often referred to him as my anchor point in "re-erecting my navigational gyros" when I get confused and upset about things I really cannot change.
Kirk said the most dangerous threat to our republic was the persistence of ideologues. My research indicated that he was exactly right. I did a study of the ideological disposition of every member of Congress from 1972 through 2006. Of course, the data fell short by about 14 years, but I would bet that my hypothesis would be further validated. What I found was that the ideological divide began widening with every subsequent Congress. By 2006, the ideological divide was so great that I doubted the bridge could ever be built to bring any semblance of bi-partisan support for anything.
Ideologues have secularized politics into a religion. These individuals, so pervasive in both parties, have gained power over the party apparatuses. They are the surrogates, the spokespeople and the commentators in all the media outlets. Second, ideologues polarize political and social thought. There is no compromise and what they say is polemic and dogma. Finally, ideologues, because they are political and social puritans, attack anyone who strays from the given holy writ of a particular party. Look no further than the Democrat party and their discipline in thought and philosophy.
Look at the Republicans who cloak themselves in conservatism
Look at the Republicans who cloak themselves in conservatism. These people are no more conservative than the man in the moon. What they are all focused on—all of them—is power and control of the people in the country. They are the ruling elite and we are the serfs in a very pernicious feudal system. Most of us are just not aware of it.
When you sit down around the kitchen table or at the table in the restaurant or at the bar in your favorite watering hole, make sure you remind people about the dangers of listening to anyone who has access to the media outlets. Most of them are ideologues.
I am reminded of the TV show "V." You will need special glasses to see who is whom. Better still, one should read Russell Kirk to get the civics lessons one might need to inform our friends and relatives about which we should be aware.
We need to follow the wisdom of Russell Kirk. Beware ideologues. They are dangerous and the greatest threat to our republic. Don't trust anything they say as they will take you well down the pathway to tyranny. As the Borg would say, "Resistance is futile." Nonsense. Trust me on this.
Sam Clovis was raised in Kansas and attended the United States Air Force Academy, serving for 25 years on active duty as a fighter pilot. He retired as a Colonel and the Inspector General of NORAD and the United States Space Command.
Sam served as a Fellow at the Homeland Security Institute, contributing in national preparedness and immigration policy. He recently served as a tenured full professor of economics at Morningside College.
Sam has a BS from the Academy, an MBA from Golden Gate University and a doctorate from the University of Alabama. He served as national co-chair and chief policy advisor for the Trump for President Campaign, was a policy director during the transition period and served as the Senior White House Advisor to the US Department of Agriculture. He currently lives in rural Iowa.
I consider myself a pretty smart guy. Of course, I have a huge ego that really does not need massaging. Thus, when I run into a situation where I should have picked up on something long before I did is disconcerting, to say the least. This is the situation when it dawned on me that Candidate Trump was a realist, a pragmatist and really had no real ideology guiding his thinking. When I read four of his books and edited the book he published during the campaign, it hit me like a safe dropped from the fourth floor of a building. When the clue bird landed on my shoulder, my help for the candidate improved exponentially. He liked what I wrote and what I said. He must have as he kept me on all the way into the administration.
