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| Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. |
While I most often disagree with Holman W. Jenkins, Jr., I do read his "Business World" columns in The Wall Street Journal whenever they appear. On July 2, 2025, for instance, I read his column titled, "Trump and the Loyal Opposition."
In large part, that July 2nd column deprecated the Democratic Party, and what Jenkins, Jr. called its "moral hollowing out." The column also celebrated the performance of our current president, and congratulated voters for having made "the most informed choice in my lifetime."
While that sounds like a real endorsement of our current president, Jenkins, Jr. did not say that voters had made the "best" choice in his lifetime, in voting, in 2024, to place our current president in office. His point, in fact, was that our current president had already served one term, and had been "a noisy presence in public life for 40 years." In other words, the 2024 election of Donald J. Trump to the presidency was definitely an "informed" choice. According to Jenkins, Jr., the voters knew exactly what they were getting.
As I have said, I often disagree with Jenkins, Jr., and I do, in fact, disagree with that assertion. When Mr. Trump previously served, his totalitarian tendencies, now so evident, were not on such bold display as they are now. I think lots of voters (including those who voted for Mr. Trump in 2024) are truly surprised. And distressed, for that matter!
My point in this blog posting, however, is not to comment on the assertion that the voters knew what they were getting, in electing our current president in 2024. I want to comment on a statement made by Jenkins, Jr. at the very end of his July 2nd column:
The names Acheson, Dulles, Schlesinger, Kissinger and Brzezinski may still ring down the ages. But the establishment on which we’ve relied for the multigenerational job of nuclear deterrence—which also happens to be its most important job—is not about to get back on its feet.
Its greatest disgrace may yet lie ahead if Pam Bondi and the Trump administration ever get around to declassifying records of the FBI and James Comey’s doings in the Hillary Clinton email case. This is the one aspect of the 2016 scandals that remains hidden under layers of secrecy—because, as everybody but Joe Public knows, its airing would complete the discrediting of our inherited leadership class (emphasis added; links in the original).
Jenkins, Jr. is saying that the "establishment," our "inherited leadership class," has been and is completely "discredited," although the public apparently doesn't know the worst of it, because scandals arising in 2016 have been "hidden under layers of secrecy." I do note that Jenkins, Jr. seems to have access to the proof of these scandals along with "everybody" else - except, of course, "Joe Public," among whom I, and probably you, will have to count ourselves.
Here's my comment: I believe that Jenkins, Jr. is right, and that our "inherited leadership class," which includes Members of Congress, in both parties, and their very prosperous supporters (we sometimes call them the "billionaires"), are not doing a good job of running this nation.
Since I think that Jenkins, Jr.'s observtion is correct, I suggest that we do something about it. "We, the people," need to take back control from the wealthy, privileged, and entitled.
And we could do that, you know! (But we would have to spend a lot of time - our entire lives, in fact - doing what needs to be done).
Image Credit:
https://youtu.be/GETHsphlPhs?si=5GPNH_35bQnL9Aqo
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