On The Resurgent Marc Giller tries to slyly slip in some historical revisionism while commenting on Glenn Beck’s apparent about-face concerning President Trump:
On the other hand, the manner in which the mainstream media covers the Trump administration has become so corrupt, so dishonest, so egregiously terrible, standing in solidarity with them against Trump has become unthinkable. Yes, Beck still believes that Trump can be bad—but the sanctimonious reporters who have made it their mission to bring him down are infinitely worse, not to mention more dangerous. That’s because a healthy republic depends upon citizens getting honest information, which is next to impossible when the media tasked with holding the government accountable pumps out propaganda instead of news.
Beck also recognizes that Trump has done some real good for the country. His economic policies of deregulation and tax cuts have reignited an economy that remained moribund under Barack Obama for seven years—and that translates to real relief for Americans who had suffered for too long under stagnant wages, high unemployment and despair for the future. For the media to overlook these important accomplishments while relentlessly focusing on Stormy Daniels, Russian collusion and every other specious claim in the hopes that it damages Trump has only damaged their own credibility.
I was somewhat interested in his comments in the first paragraph concerning corruption in the media, since it’s always important to proctor the media which brings us the news. But his remarks concerning the economy under President Obama eviscerates his credibility. The numbers are out there for all to see: strong recovery from high unemployment numbers and the Great Recession, and, if it matters, the stock market back on track. He does try to dance around these crevasses in his argument by suggesting it was only seven years, not eight, but his is a fool’s errand. I’ve read the numbers and the arguments over there, and lived those eight years. While some Americans have undoubtedly had a bad time of it, most of us have recovered from the Recession and prospered.
And, therefore, I cannot take anything else he says all that seriously, either. Again, according to the numbers, there’s been no economic recovery or acceleration under President Trump, we’re just cruising along because Trump has been mostly impotent. The early gains by the market under his Administration have been followed by a retreat. The market was undoubtedly excited by deregulation, but appalled by the trade war rumors. As with Obama, the market is a mediocre indicator of economic health; more importantly, the market is focused on making money, not on the overall health of the nation. Conservatives may use their reservoir of spittle on the “evil” of regulation, but this is reflective of the view of pro-business forces. Generally, business does not concern itself with the health of the nation, which is more properly the purview of government. But it would be helpful if conservative pundits widened their viewpoint to consider that there is a tradeoff between corporate profits and, say, clean water – the latter being more crucial to national health than those corporate profits.
But it’s passages such as Giller’s which makes it difficult to take their arguments seriously, and that’s unfortunate, because I’m sure a more honest conservative would have important contributions to make to the national conversation. If he had suggested Obama blundered on North Korea, or for not prosecuting war criminals in the previous Administration, or for not pursuing corporate criminals more aggressively, I could take him seriously – but he chose to play to his base.
It’s too bad. We need those voices from all honest viewpoints if we’re going to make this American experiment succeed – and not founder on the rocks of divisiveness and greed.
