Posts Tagged ‘jacksonian’

I’m going to plead with you, do not cross us. Because if you do, the survivors will write about what we do here for 10,000 years.

General James “mad dog” Mathis

Let’s cut to the chase.

Donald Trump was 33 years old when the Iranians Mullahs took our people hostages.

For 46 years he has seen them chant “Death to Israel” and “Death to America” and pursue policies toward that end practically unchecked and unhindered and become the number one source of worldwide terror while only being checked twice.

Once by Ronald Reagan whose mere election was enough to convince Iran that holding our people hostage would be the end of the Islamic Republic. With the hostages released Reagan choose to let them the regime survive.

And briefly by George W Bush who while recognizing them as part of the “Axis of Evil” and had armies to the east and the west of the nation and a Navy to their south, choose not to take them out when they struck at our armed forces against us in Iraq.

Donald Trump, in both cases saw the end result of letting Iran off the hook not only in the spread of radical Islam throughout the world which dates from the time of the hostages but their pursuit of Nuclear Weapons which without a doubt would be distributed to terror groups.

Yet even so, unlike the Mullahs who seized and held our people, he gave them a fair warning, a chance to give up their nuclear weapons and survive as they are.

When they did not he ended their nuclear program for them. If are an American born before 1965 as I was and do not hate your country or are not paid by our enemies, the moment that the United States of America ended the Iranian Nuclear threat to the world is a moment of great satisfaction.

Why is he not going all in to destroy Iran and bring down the Mullahs? Because he understands that while a regime change forced by America might end well with the return of the Shah’s son it might also become the next Libya with every terror group in the world making a play for power.

So now that the choice to be a nuclear power is off the table he is giving them the basic Jacksonian choice as described by the late great Steven Den Bestie:

You leave me alone and I’ll leave you alone. You play fair with me and I’ll play fair with you. But if you fuck with me, I’ll kill you.”

While they may not realize it, the Islamic Republic of Iran is in the same position it was on the day Reagan was sworn in. They may think that the choice before them is: “Do we strike back at America and if so how and when?”

It is not.

The choice Donald Trump is giving them is: “Will the Islamic Republic survive or not?”

May they choose wisely.

John Henry Thomas: We’ll give them a taste of General Sherman’s War

Confederate Col James Langdon: I remember

The Undefeated 1969

About a year before his more famous march through Georgia, William Tecumseh Sherman led a two pronged attack on Mississippi, namely on Meridian, and while the Cavalry prong was broken off by Nathan Bedford Forest against 2-1 odds Sherman’s main force hit the town and the country side around it in a devastating fashion causing millions of (1863) dollars of damage and laying waste to the area as a preview what would happen during his famous March Though Georgia (and South Carolina) in the coming years.

After his withdrawal from Meridian he put out a paper with the intention of having it widely circulated to as he put it “prepare the South for my coming”. It said in part:

If they want eternal war, well and good; we accept the issue, and will dispossess them and put our friends in their place. If they think different, let them persist in war three years longer, and then they will not be consulted. Three years ago by a little reflection and patience they could have had a hundred years of peace and prosperity, but they preferred war; very well. All the powers of earth cannot restore them their slaves, any more than their dead grandfathers. Next year their lands will be taken, for in war we can take them, and rightfully, too, and in another year they may beg in vain for their lives. A people who will persevere in war beyond a certain limit ought to know the consequences. Many, many peoples with less pertinacity have been wiped out of national existence

And that in a slightly round about way brings us to Donald Trump and Joe Scarborough. A topic that I must confess I’m surprised to still be writing about a full week after this could and should have died.

I’ve already explained both why I presume there is no “there” there in this case and why President Trump saw advantage in the move. In fact Twitter’s caving into the Democrat mob on “fact check” might already have produced advantage, namely an excuse to remove their protection from suits, treating them as a publisher rather than a platform, but the more I see the reaction out there the more I think I missed the real point of this.

Gandalf: Saurman you were deep in the enemy’s counsel. Tell us what you know.

Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King Extended Version 2003

As a businessman who had to do business in deep blue cities and deal with deep blue pols, as a celebrity involved in the TV and movie business, as a person who ran casinos and as a much sought after source of funds for political campaigns, Donald Trump, like Saurman was deep in the enemy counsel. For almost half a century he was feted by these types. I suspect he has heard every single bit of gossip and rumor than all these types offered up after a few rounds (while he remained sober) and like the businessman he is squirreled that away for future reference.

TV Exec 1: What’s he writing?

TV Exec 2: Duck? Did anyone do anything with a Duck?

EdTV 1999

Furthermore we’ve already explained that Donald Trump is a Jacksonian who has no compunction about giving back exactly what he has gotten. Treat him nice, he’ll treat you nice. Say a good word about him, he’ll say a good word about you. Try to destroy him, and he will retaliate.

President Trump would have likely let this go if Mika and company had not gone after Twitter over it. And he has plenty of other balls in the air that he is giving his time to. But now that Mitt and others are trying to hit him over it. I think it’s likely that he might give this story one more hit to make the point clear to the next celebrity, newsman, pol who he has known for decades who tries to cross him.

Gillom Rogers: Mr. Books, How is it you’ve killed so many men? My spread wasn’t much bigger than yours.

John Bernard Books: First of all,friend, there’s no one up there shooting back at you. Second, I found most men aren’t willing, they bat an eye, or draw a breath before they shoot. I won’t.

The Shootist 1976

If he is willing to go this far with Scarborough he is certainly willing to do so with you. The left has suggested that they will retaliate against and and all who are Trump allies. Trump has now made it clear that no amount of pressure will prevent him from giving the Scarborough treatment to any person who comes after him the same way if he so chooses, and he has a long memory for events.

I’d swear his ancestry was Sicilian