End of a Irrelevant Narrative

So I'm going to go ahead and join the debate about the special counsel's investigation and whether or not President Trump's campaign colluded with Russia. I've specifically avoided saying anything one way or the other up to this point, but now that the investigation's ended, I'm more willing to participate briefly.

To put it simply, I really don't care that the special counsel's investigation has ended with no evidence of collusion. It's not going to have all that much of an impact on who I support or vote for in the future.

I made a post on one of my social media accounts shortly after the election that pointed out the various policy disagreements I have with President Trump and the Republican party generally. None of that has changed; to the extent that I've discovered I was wrong about some of those concerns, it's largely a matter of overestimating the risks involved, not underestimating the benefits.

To put it another way, it's similar to the remarks former Senator Flake made when he was asked why he didn't do more to oppose President Trump. He pointed out that he was still a Republican, he still liked lower taxes and fewer regulations, and he wasn't going to oppose such things just because someone he disliked was supporting them. By the same token, I'm not going to stop supporting social justice, strong environmental regulations, and a government that's actually involved in public life to a useful degree simply because some of my compatriots were overly aggressive in assuming criminal behavior on the part of someone they disliked.

And I also feel compelled to point out that President Trump was the most unpopular presidential candidate in history well before the special counsel investigation was even being considered. Those of you who are assuming that this result means President Trump can now cruise to an easy re-election may want to reconsider that assumption. I don't know whether or not he will be re-elected, but I'm fairly confident it will be a rather close race.