The moment the judicial branch began weighing in on President Trump’s deeply flawed immigration executive order, I worried that the opposition would lose the plot. If anything, it’s worse than I imagined. Trump has helped, but that is no excuse.
Trump’s coarse criticism of the judges who have blocked his executive order have led Democrats and others in the center-left to focus on the wrong things. From them we hear…
…that Trump is ignorant of constitutional checks and balances, which only makes sense if one believes the eloquence of Barack Obama’s criticism of Citizens United is enough to differentiate it from Trump’s critique (hint: it doesn’t), or…
…that Trump is prepared to defy the judicial branch’s rulings, which he has yet to actually do (hyperbole on my Facebook feed notwithstanding), and which might require the opposition party to rethink honoring this fellow at their annual fundraisers, or…
…that Trump is ignorant of what his own order does, given his references to a “ban” (which his staff keep walking back) and the “Bowling Green massacre” flap.
What we are not hearing from the opposition is the actual truth: that Trump’s policy will not make us safer, would not have prevented any major terror attacks on American soil, and will make it easier for the enemy to hit us on the home front. Indeed, just with his tweets threatening horrible things if his order is not upheld in court, Donald Trump has the policy field of argument largely to himself.
Of course, this is part of a larger weakness the Democrats have on security issues, thanks to their knee-jerk desire for any gun restriction they can find. Contrary to what many Democrats may think, they have not been losing the gun control argument due to the cultural alienation of “flyover country,” or fear of government tyranny, or an obsession with the Second Amendment to the Federal Constitution. Rather, the left is losing the gun control argument because it has failed to show the American public that gun control will make Americans safer.
That error in analysis is no longer merely limited to gun control, I’m afraid. For those of us who oppose Trump’s order, we must remember the wisdom of Margaret Thatcher: “First you win the argument, and then you win the election.” For the overwhelming majority of the American people, the argument is not “Is this legal?” In fact, the left itself has devalued legality and constitutionality to the point where, sadly, most Americans accept the law is simply what the latest judge or justice says it is.
For the American people, the argument is this: “Is this effective?” – and for over a week, they’ve only heard the Trump Administration repeatedly insisting “YES!!”
In fact, the answer is No. Trump’s order actually makes it harder for our friends in the Middle East and North Africa (Sunni Syrians suffering under Assad and Daesh, Shia Iraqis suffering under Daesh, Kurds, Libyans fighting Daesh as we speak, Iranian political dissidents, etc.) to reach our shores (and provide vital information and aid to our cause). His order makes it, I would argue, easier for our enemies by making it clear which nations (or which subgroups within other nations) will be treated with less scrutiny. Finally, it makes it clear to our enemies that Trump will do, if anything, less than Barack Obama (to say nothing of George W. Bush) to take the fight to them and help our friends build better futures for themselves (and for us).
Of course, not all Democrats would agree with the arguments I’ve just raised (especially that last one), but these are among the arguments that will actually defeat Donald Trump politically, and make it easier to reverse the policy in the most optimal manner: by order of a different president on 20 January 2021.
UPDATE: Mere hours after I post this, I’m directed to a WaPo Op-ed by former CIA Director Michael Hayden criticizing the order. Good for him; more of this is needed.