Big Red Car here with some observations as it relates to strategy and President-elect Trump.
I am trying to ration my political commentary to allow the man to actually be inaugurated but I did want to note something that I think is being overlooked.
Bear with me, if you can.
Victory Tour
President-elect Trump has taken off on a Victory Tour which started in the Rust Belt.
Well on his way — far ahead of his predecessors — to forming his government, he is taking a lap to thank folks and to do a bit more.
Proponents will, predictably, love it while opponents will decry it. Ho hum. Nothing new there.
The Rust Belt Strategy
Nobody saw Candidate Trump making any inroads in the Rust Belt but the Trump Campaign. Hell, the Rust Belt was universally ignored.
Then, he won it all. He swept the Rust Belt in places his opponent never even visited. How could that be?
Strategy, Big Red Car? Really?
The Victory Tour returns him to the scene of his triumph and brings with it l’Affaire Carrier. Say what you will but for the folks whose jobs were saved, it is a big, big, big deal.
Critics may fairly note that the President of the United States cannot micro-manage each and every employment situation in the Rust Belt and across the United States. Fair play to you, says the Big Red Car.
But, what the President can do is to set a tone. Set an attitude. So, Big Red Car, what is that attitude that your President Trump is setting?
ALL JOBS MATTER!
The strategic implications will have a long term impact if President Trump follows through on his initial efforts.
The Rust Belt working folks will have their champion. They put him in the White House and even before he moved into his new government subsidized housing, he came to thank them. They are no longer ignored.
He brought l’Affaire Carrier with him as concrete results of what he can do that his predecessors were unwilling to even try. Not perfect results but results nonetheless.
Payoff? Strategy has a payoff, Big Red Car
The payoff is:
1. The Rust Belt will — may, will is a bit too strong just yet — become Trump Country.
2. The Rust Belt will support President Trump because he has become their voice.
3. This will play Hell with any Democrat Senators seeking re-election in 2018. [Yes, the 2018 Senate and House races have already begun. Sigh. Merry Christmas!]
4. This is a change of attitude and attitude is the greatest asset a leader has. [When you have a Secretary of Defense named “Mad Dog”, it changes stuff. You think?]
5. The 2020 Census will be upon us and redistricting will follow thereafter. The Dems are left with a sliver of support in the big cities — only the big cities — on the East and West coasts. This will solidify Republican ownership of governers’ mansions and statehouses and this will drive re-districting like never before.
Bottom line it, Big Red Car
President-elect Trump has extraordinary strategic vision and instincts. Can’t see it any other way, can you?
The Rust Belt is open for him to control. If he does this, the future is solidly Republican. [A footnote for y’all — the Big Red Car doesn’t care a whit about parties. The Big Red Car cares abut governance and results. Only results count.]
If executed correctly by the Trumpians, the Democrats are a regional party with a single back bencher row in the Congress. This will set the SCOTUS direction for 40 years into the future.
OK, that’s it. Back to our regular programming. But, hey, what the Hell do I really know anyway? I’m just a Big Red Car. Be good to yourself and remember it’s date night.
