Politics is Always the “Art of the Possible”
The Right wants to blast Trump for talk of compromise; that’s a mistake.
In 1867, Otto von Bismarck pithily described politics as “the art of the possible.” The extent to which that truth is denied is the extent to which the denier courts likely and very embarrassing losses — losses that can foster a new status quo that is even worse than the one that came before.
On abortion and transgenderism, American conservatives are in danger of losing some eminently winnable ground.
Read the rest at The Blaze.
Note: Due to word-count constraints, I wasn’t able to elaborate on something important. My argument is pro-life only if the ultimate goal regarding abortion remains fixed on attaining full protection of unborn life. Prior to the realization of that goal, however, Trump’s instincts on abortion are basically correct; it would be a mistake to take the maximalist position (or even something like what Florida has done) when that is currently too far outside the Overton Window, it has no chance of nationwide success, and an attempt to force it through might even backfire and make the country less, rather than more, committed to protecting life.
Of course, there is a danger of over-reading my argument to say that we must robotically defer to polls. But that’s wrong (and not just because polls can be wrong) because a statesman’s task is not merely to follow public opinion but to shape, mold, and direct it in service of the common good. Naturally, then, a statesman works with what he has. He may say contradictory things from one moment to the next, or not press his rhetoric to its logical conclusion, but if his ultimate goal remains the same, then he has, in truth, been consistent in the way that matters. See Winston Churchill’s “Consistency in Politics” for a fuller discussion.
Now, I don’t pretend to know whether that is, in fact, Trump’s orientation toward the full pro-life position; it might not be. Regardless, I certainly don’t think that what he’s said is disqualifying. Everyone needs to take a breath.
One typo fixed on Monday, September 25, 2023, at 4:50 p.m.