Trump Cotton 2016: the ratchet and pawl of tickets

A ratchet and pawl is a type of gear mechanism which can only turn in one direction. Donald Trump is teasing his shortlist of vice presidential possibilities, and among them is one of the most socially conservative, obstructionist republican senators — Tom Cotton.

Trump is a ratchet spinning in the wrong direction, powered by xenophobia, fear, and dissatisfaction. His social positions are a step backwards to a more hateful time, and his economic policies run contrary to bipartisan wisdom. Despite innumerable glaring flaws, any one of which would be the end of a normal candidate, Trump has maintained his momentum.

Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton is a pawl. He allows backward legislation to pass while blocking laws which would move the country forward. He led the government shutdown in an effort to prevent Obamacare. He attempted to undermine the Iran Deal. He prevented the appointment of an Ambassador to the Bahamas simply because he knew that Obama and the would-be-Ambassador were friends, and he wanted to “inflict special pain” on the president. To mix metaphors, the political process is meant to work like a tug of war with both sides pulling for more but they compromise. In Cotton’s mind, anything that he disagrees with cannot pass, which breaks the system.

The potential for a Trump Cotton ticket is concering. Trump may have a talent for saying terrible things, but he has no governmental experience to turn them into law. Cotton brings that experience.

Needless to say that no matter the second name on the ticket, a Trump ticket will be a disaster — but Cotton’s name would take things from bad to worse. We have now only to wait for Trump to reveal his running mate, which he says will happen before the convention.