In 2008, when she was campaigning as John McCain’s presidential running mate, Sarah Palin pointed out that, reform of the federal government must be, in her words, “sudden and relentless.”  Apparently, in his second but not consecutive term in the White House, President Donald Trump is applying that principle.  He began almost instantly to sign orders implementing his campaign promises, and he continues relentlessly forward.

Throughout the Biden years in the White House, many conservative voters had become resigned to the idea that government corruption and incompetence are pervasive, and worse, irremediable.  I often heard it said, in various ways, that every time we thought matters had reached their nadir, we found that they were worse than we had imagined.  Trump’s actions in his first two weeks have opened up abscesses much deeper yet, more serious than we previously had thought possible.  Perhaps, in a backhanded way, leftist indoctrinators were correct: America truly is saturated with evil, although we must quickly add that it is not America per se that is evil, but rather many of the people who have become ensconced in our institutions.  They must be removed from power, even if we have to pay them to leave.

Some of us had expected that Trump would act slowly and methodically, being careful not to risk making missteps, knowing that any mistake he made would cause an uproar, perhaps even a weakening of resolve among his supporters.  There have, arguably, been such mistakes.  There has, arguably, been a weakening of that resolve in some sectors.

Despite all that, although recklessness is inadvisable, this is no time for timidity.  Half-measures will not suffice.  The bandage, encrusted with years of deepening infection, must be torn off immediately.  It hurts.  To delay will hurt even more.  As Newt Gingrich has warned, the upcoming midterm elections will determine the success or failure of the “America First” agenda.  Those elections will either cement control of the Congress in favor of that agenda or doom it.  A few months of pain, a few months of Democrat “I told you so” criticism of Trump’s policies, will be forgotten if, as Trump has said, success overwhelms the criticism.  Therefore, his strategy seems “Palinesque.”  He must proceed boldly and quickly, and he seems to be doing so, with sudden and relentless reforms.

There are many risks, of course.  Many things can go wrong, and some of them surely will, some of which no one can foresee or control.  It will require strong leadership, and the principled support of strong followers, to weather the inevitable storms.

But that is Trump’s strong suit.  He does not back down.  He does not weary.  Adversity has only strengthened him, and palpable danger has made him only more courageous, more reliant on faith in God.

Sarah Palin may be all but forgotten in politics, but her words live on in the Trump administration.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.