No, Mr. President

One of the most entertaining aspects of the Trump era is hearing the things liberals will say in their endless zeal to contradict him. Even mainstream politicians are saying things like "America was never great." Boy, there's a political strategy... Cuomo / Buttigieg 2020: America Sucks!

Even more amusing than watching them publicly take anti-American stances is that often they end up inadvertently taking an anti-progressive stance. My favorite was during the election when Trump proposed a plan for providing federal maternity leave, and liberals actually had the gall to respond that the free market provided better solutions.

And so, Salon has also been duped into making some wonderful arguments on our behalf with yesterday's article, titled No, Mr. President: China didn't steal our jobs. Corporate America gave them away. For those unaware, Salon is an online news & opinion site, which is described even by liberally biased Wikipedia as left wing. They are currently seeking a buyer for the paltry sum of $5 million. For comparison, it is less than the listing price on this ugly, 2-bedroom, 1440 sqft. house a couple miles from their San Francisco headquarters. Yes, for the price of a cramped home with a decent view, you too could own a propaganda dumpster fire beloved by millions.

The subtitle goes

Trump's trade war points the finger in the wrong direction. China behaved normally; corporate CEOs betrayed us

The first half of the article is spent explaining that China has behaved rationally in pursuing its own self interest. That is actually correct and, in fact, candidate Trump routinely shared the same sentiment. Salon actually reported on Trump's stance of not blaming China in 2017, when they quoted him as saying "I don't blame China. After all, who can blame a country for being able to take advantage of another country for the benefit of its citizens? I give China great credit," in two articles with two more loaded titles: Asian leaders have learned that flattering Donald Trump really works and Trump rolls over to China, gives up on American values. Just like they don't know now that they already reported on Trump's Chinese stance, they didn't know then that Trump had been saying the same thing for years. And, despite telling us that "flattering Trump works" and Trump "rolled over," they now say he is engaged in a "reckless" and "misguided" trade war with China. Which is it? Salon isn't paid to keep their story straight, which is the main reason why the company is worth less than the office space they occupy.

There is some difference in sentiments. Salon's take would imply that China is without fault in all this. They are engaged in writing political hit pieces, not making sober analyses of the situation. If they're wrong, it doesn't really matter. They don't even refer back to their own past work anyway! Trump, on the other hand, has accused the Chinese of currency manipulation and of using Mexico and Canada as backdoors to circumvent trade agreements. Just because American politicians are to blame for unfair trade policies doesn't mean that the Chinese are acting in good faith.

In the second half, they address the question of who is really to blame for America's trade woes.

The answer is plain to see, and it lies within our own shores. The fault belongs squarely with corporate America. It was corporate America that made these decisions. Corporate America decided to close their American plants and open new plants in China. Corporate America decided to lay off multitudes of American workers and ruin entire American communities.

In this, they differ from Mr. Trump, who did not actually lay much blame on American corporations, but on America's public officials who allowed the fleecing to occur. Yes, corporation are soulless, greedy vampires, but they are generally assumed to be. They are legally obligated to act in the financial interests of their shareholders. Elected officials, on the other hand, are expected to work in the interests of the American nation. Businesses respond to financial incentives, and governments are supposed to create a legal environment where those incentives are mutually beneficial to the people they are paid to represent.

Watching leftists attack corporate America in their attempt to "get" Trump is like watching a snake eat its own tail. Corporate America is rabidly anti-Trump, and liberals are their adoring acolytes, yet they'll turn on their allies without hesitation if it means displaying opposition to whatever Trump is doing. The goal of every liberal is simply to be able to say, at any cost, "No, Mr. President, you're wrong." (That's actually progress, since they're now calling him Mr. President. I've not heard the phrase "Not My President" in quite a while now.) Having a lightning rod like him at the helm is such a good idea that I can't believe we never thought of it before. It brings the left's radical irrationality to the surface, as they are simply unable to keep it shrouded in the usual layers of deception and plausible deniability. And, occasionally, it tricks them into inadvertently saying something that's partially sane.