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Local politics, the county, and the world, as viewed by Tammy Maygra Tammy’s views are her own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bill Eagle, his pastor, Tammy’s neighbors, Wayne Mayo, Betsy Johnson, Joe Corsiglia, President Trump, Henry Heimuller, VP Pence, Pat Robertson, Debi Corsiglia’s dog, or Claudia Eagle’s Cats. This Tammy’s Take (with the exception of this disclaimer) is not paid for or written by, or even reviewed by anyone but Tammy and she refuses to be bullied by anyone. See Standard Disclaimer.
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Harding Trump
Two incompetent Presidents
Just like Trump no one ever thought Warren Harding, who died exactly 95 years ago, had the capability to become president of the United States. But he did look presidential, Trump don’t. He was tall, handsome, always well dressed and well groomed, and an avid golfer. Wow just like Trump, Plus, he gave robust, if vague, speeches about “returning America to normalcy -Trump Make America Great Again”- that appealed to a war- and recession-weary electorate, while Trump inherited a robust economy. In the election campaign of 1920, he championed three issues: tax cuts, immigration cutbacks and tariffs on trade. He also promised to roll back the progressive legislation of his predecessors. That is what Trump ran on too. Harding had other similarities to Donald Trump. He persuaded Congress to pass tax cuts that helped bankroll the Roaring ’20s. The Revenue Act of 1921 reduced the marginal tax rate on the rich from 73% to 58% and the capital gains tax to 12.5%. It also eliminated the excess profits tax that was enacted to help finance World War I. On a percentage basis, these cuts were much larger than Trump's. Two subsequent acts lowered the top tax rate all the way down to 25%. On the trade front, Harding pushed for higher tariffs. He espoused “scientific” tariffs that would prohibit foreigners from selling goods at prices below U.S. production costs. The Emergency Tariff of 1921 slapped high tariffs on imported corn, wheat, sugar, wool and other agricultural products. The Fordney-McCumber Tariff of 1922 raised levies even higher. These actions cut imports dramatically and sparked a predictable trade war. France raised its tariffs on American cars from 45% to 100%. Spain, Germany and Italy also hiked their rates. Although he promised to appoint the most qualified people to his administration, he surrounded himself with business cronies and relatives. As for immigration, Harding championed the Per Centum Act of 1921 that had been vetoed by his predecessor, Woodrow Wilson. That legislation had the effect of reducing the flow of immigrants to the U.S. from 800,000 in 1920 to only 300,000 in 1922. On the global stage, Harding was a champion of “America First” and opposed our entry into the League of Nations. Harding even suffered from some of the same managerial failings as Trump. Although he promised to appoint the most qualified people to his administration, he surrounded himself with business cronies and relatives. His attorney general, Harry Daugherty, was impeached for self-dealing and corruption. His brother-in-law, the superintendent of federal prisons, faced similar accusations. His director of the Veterans Bureau, Charles Forbes, was later convicted of defrauding the government and sent to prison. His legal counsel, Charles Cramer, was accused of corruption and committed suicide in 1923. His campaign manager resigned from the U.S. Shipping Board after selling surplus government-owned ships for pennies on the dollar to friends. And, most famously, his Interior secretary, Albert Fall, orchestrated the Teapot Dome scandal and is the only sitting Cabinet member to have been sent to prison. These and other scandals reflected Harding’s preference for hiring on the basis of personal relationships rather than ability. the similarities to Trump: Harding's philandering. He had a 15-year affair with a friend's wife, Carrie Phillips, that reached into his White House years, and an intense affair with Nan Britton, which began in a New York hotel room and continued in a White House cloakroom. He paid both women to keep silent about their affairs. The Republican National Committee paid Carrie Phillips $5,000 a month to keep quiet on top of an initial gift of more than $20,000. Nan Britton got a lot less. But she gave birth to a daughter, whom Harding supported with $500 a month (often hand-delivered by the Secret Service), plus extra cash when they got together. Historians regularly rate Harding as one of the worst U.S. presidents and often speculate that he would have been impeached had he lived longer. In what might be taken as a cautionary tale for President Trump, President Harding expressed frustration about the scandals that enveloped his administration, just as Trump does. Trumps attempt at being president is failing; he takes no advice from those people who have been in the diplomatic aspects of government. He ignores his generals, and often says I would have been a great general. Trump has alienated our allies. He has lied, name called, lied again, changes his story every time he speaks, he promotes hatred. He continues to go off on rants; he praises his people in his administration, then wham! They decide they can’t work with an idiot and they quit, then Trump calls them everything in the book degrading them on and on. With the Muller investigation coming out soon, Trump is getting very nervous and afraid that he may just get caught and just may go the way Nixon did. I hope he is impeached, and does jail time. His shutting down the government is stupid, he is costing America billions of dollars which could be used in helping America and her infrastructure, healthcare, homeless, veterans, the list could go on and on. Trumps wall is not necessary, not a national security issue. We have modern technology which can do the job on the border. Only time will tell, I hope Americans can survive the policies of trump.
Tammy
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