Saturday, May 28, 2016

Ralph Nader Loves Donald Trump

I call my blog 'Confessions of a Former Social Justice Warrior' because I used to be an SJW. I was, at best, an uncommited SJW who didn't identify with socialism and all that junk but I was more or less on the team. I was suspicious of American exceptionalism, distrustful of law enforcement and totally trusted Big Government. I was a Leftist. Maybe not as extreme as many I knew but a Leftist. This changed when I encountered Jesus Christ in the Catholic Church, became Catholic, and challenged all of my preconceived notions about every aspect of my world view. My politics changed and now see socialism for what it is. As Pope Leo XIII said of socialism in his 1878 encyclical Quod Apostolici Muneris (On Socialism), socialism distorts the social justice nature of the Gospel, divides men and women, and is a plague on society by assaulting the God-given right to private property.

When I was a social justice warrior I was sympathetic to the socialist concern. Sympathetic but not generally supportive. I trusted big government but didn't want big government running the economy, owning private property, and, as a leftist pundit I used to like was fond of saying 'I don't want the government making my shoes.' I was fine with the government providing health care and education but not actual goods and services. The pundit in question was Thom Hartmann, who now I can see is nothing but a fraud. In those days Senator Bernie Sanders was a regular guest of his on Hartmann's nationally syndicated radio show. Ralph Nader was a rare guest as well. I distinctly remember an interview Nader did with Hartmann about a book he had written and released in 2009 with the curious title Only the Super Rich Can Save Us!

The title is curious because Nader is a known leftist with hostility to the wealthy. The plot runs something like this: a wealthy member of the "1%" notices that America is on the wrong track, together with a handful of other members of the super rich, form a political cabal bent on remodeling America...through typical Leftist methods of regulation, redistribution of wealth and a reprioritization of American interests in the model of western Europe. Why Nader thinks the super rich are going to do this is beyond my understanding. The candidate for president who transforms America is modeled after Warren Buffett, whom the Left loves to prop up as a model of what the rich should be like, despite numerous criminal accusations made against him.

The funny thing about this is that Nader is getting his wish with one small exception: instead of a Warren Buffett wealthy Leftist America is on the verge of being transformed by Donald J Trump, who is not a left winger despite what the likes of Ben Shapiro say about him. Trump's slogan and his general approach are eerily similar to those used in by the cabal of Leftist 'heroes' in Nader's book, though Trump's approach lacks the blinding naivety inherent in thinking the American people will swallow a socialist agenda wrapped in red, white, and blue progressivism.

I recommend reading Nader's book because it illustrates the delusion of the modern Left in all it's glory. However, what I recommend instead is Trump's campaign book, Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again. Unlike Nader, Trump's approach is grounded in reality and far more in line with mainstream American values. Purchasing Trump's book is money better spent (if you support him) and will support his campaign for President.

If you want to know more about Nader's book read the Wall Street Journal book review. It's hilarious and does an even better job of showing the difference in thinking between the two approaches to fixing the problems that we as Americans presently face.  Comparing the ideas side by side will show the stark ideological differences between the Left and the rest of us.


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