Conservatives: Hold Trump’s Feet To The Fire

We’re just a few days into the formation of the Trump administration, and Trump’s moves thus far can generously be described as a mixed bag. On the one hand, he’s selected RNC chairman Reince Priebus as his White House chief of staff, a move designed to reach out to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan in formulating a conservative legislative agenda; on the other hand, he’s hired former Breitbart CEO Steve Bannon, a fellow traveler with the alt-right and ardent enemy of the Republican Party, as his White House chief strategist. On the one hand, he’s said that he would repeal and replace Obamacare; on the other hand, he’s said he would keep Obamacare’s demand that insurance companies cover pre-existing conditions. On the one hand, he’s talked about appointing John Bolton Secretary of State; on the other hand, he’s continued to talk in glowing tones about Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.

That means we can have hope that he’ll be a great president. It also means we should be careful that he doesn’t ditch conservatism in a populist ditch somewhere. Trust, but verify.