Reality is the damnedest thing

Parsing the crosscurrents of the moment in post-America requires a deftness on which there is a premium. Even if one deigns to delve deep into the weeds, the prospect of making sense of any minutiae, let alone the big picture, seems elusive. About the the time you think you've found a champion, you also find a caveat.

The supremely unfortunate Trump phenomenon provides a surfeit of examples of what I'm talking about.

There's the Jorge Ramos situation. It is gratifying to see a common assessment form across the spectrum that Ramos behaved like a jerk and blew his credentials as a journalist to smithereens. If one wants to peel back some intriguing layers, one of course finds that his daughter is working on Hillionaire's campaign. But, conversely, let us remember that the incident would not have happened had not Trump couched the immigration issue in such raw terms.

Or consider the matter of trade.

Not only does LITD adhere to pretty much free trade purism, this site has an entire category of posts called "Corporate Acquiescence to the Left." Peruse it and you'll find rants against corporate America's obsequious signing-on to government-imposed emissions standards, its slavish "diversity and inclusion," its fondness for buzz phrases, and indeed its disregard for the concept of national sovereignty. We are not fond of the Chamber of Commerce in most circumstances.

But this kind of bluster and cartoonish extra-Constitutionalism is not the antidote:

• “I would say very simply, ‘Fellas, sorry, you gotta move back.’”
• “I’ll call them up and say, ‘Gotta go. I don’t want you in Mexico.’”
• “I would say to the head of Ford, ‘Sorry, I’m not gonna approve. You’re gonna pay a tax, for every car and every truck and every part that comes across that southern border, you’re gonna pay a 35% tax, OK?’ That’s what’s gonna happen.”

Conspicuously absent is any mention of the legislative branch's involvement. George Will is spot-on to call this Caesarism.

Then, on the Left, there is the phenomenon of a supposedly coronation-headed Hillionaire running out of gas, plagued by deadly serious legal and national-security problems, but still polling ahead of her even-more-out-of-gas rivals.

She's in an intriguing pickle, is she not? She has to tack leftward to prevent Sanders and O'Malley from co-opting her base, but, because she is indeed beholden to big investor-class donors, must be careful not to alienate them. What's an Alinsky disciple to do?

Especially if Uncle Joe decides to jump in the fray.

It's enough to make a three-pillared conservative's head swim.

Which gets to what is surely the best course to stick with at a juncture such as this.

Adhere fiercely to the core set of tenets and promote them tirelessly whenever the opportunity arises.

Hard to do given the buzz-saw din, but prayer and resolve can go far in drowning that out.