Trump Would Be Slightly Less Bad Than Hillary

David, it’s 50 years since Blonde on Blonde came out, and now we have a blonde-on-blonde election. I agree that some shades of difference between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are as subtle as L’Oreal Medium Champagne vs. Clairol Honey Shimmer, and that Trump’s ramblings can be as difficult to decipher as the lyrics to “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again.” But I’m a bit more hopeful than you are that Trump could be a slightly less bad president than Hillary (and forgive me for responding so late to your piece, but people are still linking to it).

You make a strong and vigorous argument, as always, and of course it’s important to be realistic about how little President Trump might accomplish for long-suffering conservatives. To me, though, your piece amounts to saying that if, on every issue, you give Hillary the benefit of the doubt while assuming the worst from Trump, they come out about the same.

Since both candidates are shameless, constant liars, their announced plans and positions are even more worthless than those of most politicians. To me it makes more sense to look at what motivates their political behavior. I agree that it’s tough to predict Trump’s actions when he is so inconsistent, but that’s another way of saying that he is not an ideologue. This suggests that he will pursue a centrist course, if only because it’s the path of least resistance, whereas Clinton will be down-the-line leftist/progressive/dirigiste/union/big-government/etc.

For both candidates, their main interest is, of course, themselves; but Hillary’s basic inclination is far to the left and so is the base of her party, whereas Trump’s inclination is centrist consensus and the base of his party is to the right. Even if you assume they both will practice Clintonian triangulation (govern from middle and placate your base with gestures), Trump’s middle will be to the right of Hillary’s. She will fight to shift the nation leftward, while he may let such a shift occur but will not aggressively pursue it (for instance, on immigration, he won’t do much to stop it, but neither will he aggressively work for legalization and amnesty, and he will let Border Patrol and ICE do their jobs).

On the matter of judges and justices, which I think should be conservatives’ biggest concern right now, the same principles apply. Trump does not seem to have strong opinions on judicial philosophy (and I think sticking up for his sister is about the only endearing thing he has ever done, even if he seems a bit unsure about what her job involves), so he will look for safe, innocuous centrists and, as you suggest, give GOP senators a big role.

To be sure, there are plenty of reasons not to vote for Trump (not least the embarrassment factor), and even reasons to hope that Hillary wins (e.g., the GOP will do much better in the 2018 midterms if she does). And if you think Trump will use the Justice Department to entrench racial quotas and will go to the mat to force nuns to provide birth control, then your contention may well be right. But I simply don’t see Trump governing as far to the left as Clinton would. It’s a choice between continuing to slide down the path the nation has been on for decades and being actively dragged down that path, and while it’s a shame that this is what we’re reduced to, it is a choice nonetheless. So you go your way and I’ll go mine . . .