Vera Coking, an elderly widow from Atlantic City, knows firsthand the power of unaccountable government agencies. The Institute for Justice successfully defended Vera against the condemnation of her home by a State agency that sought to take her property and transfer it—at a bargain-basement price—to another private individual: Donald Trump. Trump convinced the State agency to use its “eminent domain” power to take Vera’s home so he could construct a limousine parking lot for his customers—hardly a public purpose. And unfortunately, cases in which government agencies act not as protectors of constitutionally guaranteed rights, but instead as agents for powerful, private interests, have become all too common.
The Institute for Justice is funded heavily by the cabal of right-wing foundations like Koch, Bradley, Roe and others. It bills itself as the only true "libertarian law firm" and fights for the rights of any one finding themselves on the wrong end of a government action.
It is, simply put, aligned with the same faux populi who are now being wooed by Trump in his fake bid for the Presidency (which he will not actually ever undertake).
Other examples of Trump hypocrisy coming to light: He was for universal health care before he was against it.
I’m a conservative on most issues but a liberal on health. It is an unacceptable but accurate fact that the number of uninsured Americans has risen to 42 million. Working out detailed plans will take time. But the goal should be clear: Our people are our greatest asset. We must take care of our own. We must have universal healthcare.
Our objective [should be] to make reforms for the moment and, longer term, to find an equivalent of the single-payer plan that is affordable, well-administered, and provides freedom of choice. Possible? The good news is, yes. There is already a system in place-the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program-that can act as a guide for all healthcare reform. It operates through a centralized agency that offers considerable range of choice. While this is a government program, it is also very much market-based. It allows 620 private insurance companies to compete for this market. Once a year participants can choose from plans which vary in benefits and costs.
And there's more in the book ghost-written by Dave Shiflett, right-wing ghost writer and opinion writer for various beltway publications.
[begin rant] This is why it drives me up the wall and back down again that Donald Trump is getting any play, much less any serious play. He's not serious. He's never serious. He's a publicity whore and an egomaniac who is leveraged to the hilt, but he's nothing more than a distraction. While the media and pollsters play with their new shiny thing, the real damage is being done in states and behind the scenes.
Trump isn't rounding up funds. Pawlenty, on the other hand, already has statewide networks ready, willing and able to get the big bucks. But hey, Pawlenty is boring and Trump is always press-ready, thanks to his NBC handlers.
Let this be a warning: Donald Trump is nothing more than a smokescreen while the jockeying behind the scenes goes on out of view. TeaBirchers are lining up their troops, guns and ammo while using Trump as a decoy.
Bonus: Grifters gotta grift.
