United Liberty

His idiocy on the bither issue aside, there are many issues I have with Donald Trump. He has supported eminent domain abuse, socialized health care, significant tax hikes, TARP and the auto bailout.

Another issue that I’ve mentioned several times here is his support for destructive trade policies. As noted yesterday, Trump signed the Americans for Tax Reform’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge. However, he included a caveat that makes his pledge worthless; noting that he would support policies against nations - including China - that have “consistently taken advantage of our great country.” This essentially means Trump wants a trade war despite the history of the damage done by protectionist policies, including a significant role in causing the Great Depression because of the passage of the Smoot-Hawley tariff.

But Trump doesn’t apply his populism consistantly. As was noted yesterday by Justin Elliott at Salon.com, some items in Trump’s clothing line are…[drumroll please]…”Made in China”:

Donald Trump, who plans to announce his decision on a presidential bid on his TV show during the season finale (there’s a shocker), has signed the Americans for Tax Reform’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge; but there is a catch:

Billionaire developer and GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has signed Americans for Tax Reform’s pledge to oppose any new taxes, according to ATR President Grover Norquist.

“I Donald J. Trump pledge to the taxpayers of the United States of America that I will oppose and veto any and all efforts to increase taxes,” the pledge reads. But Trump apparently added in his own writing “Except on China and other countries that have consistently taken advantage of our great country.”

The pledge was dated Tuesday, April 26.

What’s the point to signing the tax pledge, the purpose of which is to oppose destructive economic policies, when you’re going to support tariffs on our trading partners? That’s an absurd notion. We know how protectionism played a significant role in causing the Great Depression because of the passage of the Smoot-Hawley tariff.

Don’t get me wrong. We need to become more competitive, but you don’t do that by imposing tariffs or pushing for “fair trade” (what exactly is fair trade, anyway?). You do that by getting rid of the deregulation, reducing the tax burden and getting rid of impediments to trade (ie. tariffs).

The Club for Growth, which has been slamming Donald Trump all week for past statist positions (supporting nationalized health care, higher taxes, limiting trade and supporting and engaging in eminent domain abuse), hit him again yesterday for backing the auto bailout:

The Club for Growth today criticized Donald Trump for saying that the federal government should back the auto industry and that “You cannot lose the auto companies.”:

Yesterday, we learned that he villains in Red Dawn were being changed from the Chinese to the North Koreans.  I can already tell that a lot of people are going to be up in arms regarding the change and scream “PC!”  The truth of the matter is that the free market determined the change.

[P]otential distributors are nervous about becoming associated with the finished film, concerned that doing so would harm their ability to do business with the rising Asian superpower, one of the fastest-growing and potentially most lucrative markets for American movies, not to mention other U.S. products.

As a result, the filmmakers now are digitally erasing Chinese flags and military symbols from “Red Dawn,” substituting dialogue and altering the film to depict much of the invading force as being from North Korea, an isolated country where American media companies have no dollars at stake…

Quote thanks to Hot Air.

Honestly, that’s not PC, that’s capitalism baby.  They don’t want to shut off a huge potential market, so they went with a nation that could fit the role and wouldn’t alienate a group they would be trying to sell it too.  Basically, they want to make more money by not pissing off a group of communists they can exploit for imperialistic capitalism.  Ain’t America great?

Now, I’m a huge fan of the original film.  It’s half the reason I wanted an AK-47 when I got old enough.  I promise you, every AK owner stands in front of a mirror, hoists his weapon up with his right hand, and yells out “Wolverines!”

Early yesterday, rumblings of a bid for the Republican nomination for president by Jon Huntsman, a one-term Governor of Utah and current Ambassador to China, were growing loud. By the end of the day, Huntsman had resigned his post giving the impression that such a bid was likely:

Jon M. Huntsman Jr., the U.S. ambassador to China, sent a resignation letter to President Barack Obama on Monday, the White House said. Huntsman now is likely to explore a Republican presidential bid, according to supporters.

In a letter hand-delivered to the White House, the former Utah governor said that he wants to return to the United States by May. The letter thanks Obama for the opportunity to serve the country and praises the U.S. embassy staff in Beijing.

If Huntsman won the GOP nomination, he would be challenging the reelection of his former boss. White House officials are furious at what they consider an audacious betrayal, but know that any public criticism would be likely to benefit Huntsman if he enters the primaries.

Huntsman boasts the most foreign policy experience of any of the likely GOP candidates, and would be a formidable entry to the unformed GOP field. He had a fiscally conservative record as governor, opposes abortion and is a strong supporter of gun owners’ rights.

The ambassador has moderate views on gay rights and the environment, which would be an asset in a general election but could be a hurdle in the primaries. In a campaign, Huntsman could be expected to point out that he has created jobs in both the private and public sectors.
[…]
He may form an exploratory committee this spring, with a final decision expected by summer. Allies have begun building the nucleus of a potential campaign.

Below is a collection of several links that we didn’t get around to writing about, but still wanted to post for readers to examine. The stories typically range from news about prominent figures in the liberty movement, national politics, the nanny state, foreign policy and free markets.

Below is a collection of several links that we didn’t get around to writing about, but still wanted to post for readers to examine. The stories typically range from news about prominent figures in the liberty movement, national politics, the nanny state, foreign policy and free markets.

Below is a collection of several links that we didn’t get around to writing about, but still wanted to post for readers to examine. The stories typically range from news about prominent figures in the liberty movement, national politics, the nanny state, foreign policy and free markets.

Below is a collection of several links that we didn’t get around to writing about, but still wanted to post for readers to examine. The stories typically range from news about prominent figures in the liberty movement, national politics, the nanny state, foreign policy and free markets.

Below is a collection of several links that we didn’t get around to writing about, but still wanted to post for readers to examine. The stories typically range from news about prominent figures in the liberty movement, national politics, the nanny state, foreign policy and free markets.