The
Washington Establishment is betting on Trump faltering. Trump can triumph by not letting any of them
subvert from within.
The
well proven maxim, people equals policy, should be Trump’s driving force. Trump can gain inspiration and insight from
Reagan’s earlier victory over the Establishment. These lessons can assure Trump’s tenure
achieves historic change.
The
Reagan Revolution almost did not occur because the Republican Establishment did
everything it could to co-opt it.
Reagan’s transition planning team was hijacked by technocrats who had no
understanding or desire for revolution.
Legions of moderate Republicans, who fought Goldwater in the 1960s and
Reagan in the 1970s, poured into Reagan’s transition teams in the weeks
following the 1980 election. Former Ford
appointees, derisively called “retreads”, filled the short lists for government
executive positions.
It
took the aggressive intervention of Reagan’s Kitchen Cabinet to clean house and
get his revolution back on track.
Reagan’s closest friends, including Joe Coors and Bill Wilson, arrived
in Washington, DC in early December 1980 and personally took charge of the
transition. Their clarity of purpose and
unwavering devotion to Reagan and his agenda, assured that Americans got the
change they so clearly wanted.
President-Elect
Trump has not waited until early December.
Trump’s Veterans’ Day Transition realignment was bold and effective. His
top associates, family members, and key operatives are now the rocket boosters
to propel the Trump Administration into a sustainable orbit.
There
is one advantage that Trump in 2016 has over Reagan in 1980 - the Washington
Republican Establishment openly and vehemently opposed Trump throughout his
campaign. The usual post-nomination
unity was hindered by the “never Trump” forces.
Many anti-Trump Republicans openly boasted about voting against him in
countless social media posts on Election Day.
This
disloyalty and outright sabotage must be remembered. It clears the field for new blood to serve
Trump. It is far easier to “drain the
swamp” when the K Street crocodiles have exposed themselves.
Those
who knifed Trump in the back are waiting for the day he “comes to his senses”
and sells out his “Deplorables”. Many
observers are smugly musing that Trump will have to scale back his revolution
and make peace with the Establishment.
Otherwise, they declare, Trump will not have enough capable people to
run the Executive Branch.
Trump
can once again prove his detractors fools.
The private sector has a vast array of corporate change agents. These
top executives have successfully run enterprises larger than most federal
agencies. Those who profitably navigated
the post-2008 economic collapse are “battle” seasoned and proven
innovators. Those who remained
profitable in the face of global competition have mastered the upheavals of the
21st Century. Many will heed
Trump’s call to join his crusade to Make America Great Again.
Trump
can tap Republican governors who have turned around the governments and
economies of their states. Their
dramatic successes have earned them re-election or assured a Republican
succeeded them.
The
Republican governors were successful because they unflinchingly fulfilled their
campaign pledges, and kept their focus on bettering the economic wellbeing of
their citizens. They were also successful because they hired highly effective
lieutenants to run their state agencies. These successful change agents bring a record
of vanquishing public sector inertia.
They can be paired with private sector leaders to become an unbeatable
team for “Trumping” the Federal Government.
Many
rallied to Trump within weeks of his announcing his candidacy. These included policy experts and strategic
thinkers who helped in the Reagan and Gingrich revolutions. Reagan alumni stood firm with Trump by
courageously endorsing him while enduring ostracism from the Washington “powers
that be”. Hundreds of retired military
and national security leaders, many of whom helped win the Cold War, stepped
forward to offer Trump timely and critical support.
Trump’s
“Deplorables” are counting on him winning for them and America.
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