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Tom Henry

Columnist

Editorial

Open letter to President Trump from a flyover news editor

Saturday, January 28, 2017

Mr. Trump, you are my president. However, many, many of us voted for you not because you were our first choice, but because you were the only choice we could live with. So, your mandate is shaky but your task is not.

You were elected because you were the only candidate that recognized our fierce anger. Biased and now disappointed television pundits forecasted wrong because they were blind to just how angry we are.

They were wrong because millions of ordinary, though timid people, simply wanted to keep their head down and stay out of trouble - not even telling their friends and family who they supported. They feared the wrath from supporters of the media fed destructive, politically correct, leftist, anti-American status quo. The fact that they fearfully hid their views is proof of how far we've fallen, but the fact they voted against more of it, proves our principles and dreams are still intact (but being diluted daily).

If you succeed we all succeed and if you fail we all fail. So I am offering a few words of advice to you.

You won the election because you promised to make us great again and to return us to being a nation of laws. A nation where all people are equally accountable, where laws are actually enforced and where illegal has a negative connotation that can't be baby talked away. New laws are not needed; they just merely need to be enforced.

We also believed that you would, hopefully, limit the size and scope of the federal government. President Ronald Reagan was correct when he said, "We are a nation that has a government--not the other way around."

You promised that we would no longer, by default, apologize or allow ourselves to be cast as the perpetual villain. We don't have to be ashamed of being American. Elitists may hate America, but the principles and ideals - the roots of our very existence - has never been hated by the world and it never will be.

Americans have for generations increasingly prayed that someone would clean up that cesspool we call Washington D.C.. Never forget that you promised to constitutionally "drain the swamp" and change the way business is done there.

There actually are absolutes in the world and everything is not relative. For this reason, political correctness has been slowly killing our great nation. I applaud your willingness to take a stand and therefore, I am willing to give you great latitude (to a point) to upset the existing Washington applecart. Why?

Because we are tired of losing. We are tired of being burdened with oppressive taxes and government regulation. We are tired of being mocked for our traditional beliefs and values such as Christian faith, constitutional government, individual responsibility and equal opportunity rather than wealth redistribution. I do not understand the attempt by the left to demonize the reward that comes to successful people. Wealth distribution absent equal responsibility has failed everywhere its been tried, so hold firm.

Now for a big one...never lose sight that you are our President, not our king. We will have none of that! All of your power and authority comes from the consent of the governed. If you ever forget that, we will loudly tell you those famous Trumpian words, "You're fired!"

If you will take a strong stand for returning us back to our traditional American roots, identity and constitutional government, where every person has the same God given rights and is entitled to equal treatment under the law with no special cases or privileged few, then you will have done much and history will be very kind to you.

But sir, you must learn how to gracefully take a punch as well as to give them. We the people want a fighter, but not a petulant child - so beware of how you are perceived.

It's obvious that the national television media is going to paint you in the worst possible way because you embarrassed them by winning. They didn't get their desired choice.

I respect your decision to keep your Twitter account, because it allows you to bypass the corrupt network media filter and have direct access to the people. But, you are accountable to us and you can't continue to call all news that you disagree with "fake news".

Labeling news based upon whether you agree with the content or not, especially if you try to eliminate them from your position is 100% anti-American. It is up to the American people to decide what news sources are fake. Also, access cannot be denied to the "fourth estate".

You simply do not have the constitutional right to craft, manipulate or muzzle a free press - even those that you hate.

Lastly, your most enduring legacy will come, most likely, from your Supreme Court appointments. If you love America, you must let your only litmus test be that they are hard-core constitutionalists and not rabid activists that curse what our wise founding fathers have already put into place.

If you do all I have mentioned, then I believe we will once again prosper abundantly, be a worthy example of freedom to the world, be blessed by God, be properly respected in the world and once again we will fulfill our mission to all of mankind, both living today and in years to come.