4 ideas Democrats running for president have embraced that could end America as we know it

OPINION: John Hawkins

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There is no shortage of extremely bad ideas that have been embraced by some or all in the Democratic field. Reparations, guaranteed income, guaranteed jobs, paying off student loan debt, a $20 minimum wage, Medicare for all – it just goes on and on. However, even though it’s extremely early in the presidential primary process, we are already seeing candidates embracing the idea that our country may not be able to survive long-term.

1) The Green New Deal: Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, and Kristin Gillibrand are co-sponsors of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal, while Marianne Williamson, Julian Castro, and Andrew Yang have said they support the Green New Deal. This is no small matter because the Green New Deal is the most radical legislation in American history. The cost of the Green New Deal is estimated to be somewhere around 93 trillion dollars, which is roughly 21 times bigger than the budget of the federal government. As a practical matter, this number is so big that it’s worth asking whether it’s even POSSIBLE to borrow enough money to pay for it over ten years’ time. Getting beyond that, the bill and the FAQ that initially came with it before it was withdrawn because it was so controversial, proposes that we get rid of airplanes, cows, and cars while upgrading every building in the United States and becoming free of carbon emissions in 10 years without nuclear power, despite the fact that this is impossible with the current level of technology possessed by human beings. A realistic attempt to implement something like this would be likely to destroy our economy and bankrupt the country even as it failed miserably.

2) Decriminalizing Border Crossings and Healthcare for Illegal Immigrants: As shocking as it may seem, just saying that the Democratic Party is in favor of open borders doesn’t give you the full sense of how bad the Party is on this issue. That’s because not only do they want the borders to be open, they’re looking for ways to incentivize more illegal aliens to break our laws. During the June 27th Democratic debate, the candidates were asked if their healthcare plans covered illegal immigrants. Every single hand on the stage went up – and keep in mind that as a practical matter, what that means is that American citizens will be paying even higher premiums to provide “free” healthcare to illegals that can’t afford it. During that same debate, 8 out of the 10 candidates on the stage supported decriminalizing crossing the border illegally. In other words, if Democrats have their way, not only will it no longer be illegal to cross our border without permission, but we’ll have some free healthcare waiting when you get here. When a country no longer has borders in a meaningful sense, is it still a country at all?

3) Packing the Supreme Court: About half of the Democratic field, including Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand, Pete Buttigieg, and Kamala Harris have said they are open to packing the Supreme Court. This is a dangerous idea because at best, it could mean the end of a stable legal system and at worst, it could mean the end of our Republic. When Democrats gained enough power, they would pack the Supreme Court with enough judges to guarantee that anything they proposed would be found “constitutional.” Then when the cycle swung around to Republicans, they would do the same thing. How do businesses and individuals thrive in a situation where what’s “constitutional” can radically shift every few years based on which political party is in power? Even more threatening is the possibility that once a particular party is in power, they may change the laws to guarantee that they stay in power and with the Supreme Court declaring it “constitutional,” we could quickly become a Republic in name only.

4) Ending the Filibuster: Harry Reid ended the filibuster for lower court and executive nominations and Mitch McConnell eliminated filibusters for Supreme Court nominations. As a practical matter, these were relatively minor changes that haven’t dramatically changed the way our country works. The same cannot be said of ending the legislative filibuster, which is something that Elizabeth Warren and Jay Inslee have already endorsed while others like Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Pete Buttigieg have said they would consider. This one has the potential to destabilize the country. In fact, as David French told me in an interview last month, it could be the end of the United States as we know it.

 I think that ending the Senate’s legislative filibuster would place the future unity of the United States of America in question. …If we change it to where if you squeak out a victory, you can implement sweeping change and then that sweeping change can be undone almost immediately by someone else who squeaks out of victory, you’re introducing a lot more hostility and instability. Think about this. If you end the legislative filibuster, you could have immediate court-packing of the Supreme Court followed by a reversal of precedent that guarantees an awful lot of fundamental individual liberties. In an environment that polarized, I think it’s inherently destabilizing.

We’re already hearing “this is the most important election of our lifetimes” EVERY election year, so what happens when the other side can make sweeping legal changes that fundamentally change your life every time they win by the skin of their teeth? It’s hard to see the country holding together long-term under those circumstances.

Op-ed views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of BizPac Review.

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John Hawkins

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