Paul Krugman writing for the New York Times on Wednesday expressed dismay at the victory of Donald Trump. He said in part; “We thought that the great majority of Americans valued democratic norms and the rule of law.” Here is a newsflash for Mr. Krugman: we do.

Trump might not have been a “perfect” candidate. But his resounding election represents a collapse of the establishment. An establishment based on crime. The halls of power live off of theft through confiscatory taxation, licensed killing by abortion, and political kidnapping. An establishment, never forget, that Mr. Krugman supports.

Yes, Mr. Krugman, we still believe in the rule of law. Trump’s election was all about restoring the rule of law and applying the law to an establishment that feels exempt from legal oversight. Yet the establishment does not understand this reasoning. The only possible reason for Trump’s support, from the point of view of the elites, is some sort of latent desire in the minds of the productive citizens of the United States for the “good old days” of lynchings and segregation. I hardly think it is the Trump supporters that are stuck in the past.

Judging by the sheer outrage radiating from the media clearinghouses after the results came in, the establishment feels threatened. They do not feel comfortable in a world that is not dominated by the Clinton and Bush machines. In a nation where the elite are shunned, their practices are scrutinized, and the people hold institutional crime to account, they are operating in completely new territory.

We cannot let them get accustomed to the terrain. When the Allied forces in World War II swept into North Africa, exposing the soft underbelly of Nazi-occupied Europe, Winston Churchill made the following rousing observation: “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” I ask the readers, what would have happened if the Allies had stopped advancing after reaching Tunisia? Hitler would have made up the lost time very easily.

And in the words of Patrick Henry, we must not react by “lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope.” Trump is merely one man. Every vehicle of the establishment will be called out to oppose him or buy his people off. If we bask in the sun of Trump’s largely unexpected victory, the establishment will recover from the knockout blow and again operate without the oversight of the people. Criminality will advance yet again from the bureaus of D.C.

Electoral victory, and the four years of respite from the “norm” that the victory brings, (the same norm which Mr. Krugman longs for) must be backed up by real political action at all levels of government. Allow me to set forward a list of tactical objectives that must be understood, and pushed, over our short respite from an establishment-controlled paradigm.

1. Abortion should be limited by regulation of abortion mills to keep them sanitary.

Following the Kermit Gosnell trial in 2013, state level regulations have been slowly closing down many unsanitary and dangerous facilities. Abortion mill closures quantifiably save lives. We can step in here and force movement in the right direction by entering into a conversation with our state representatives. It is up to us to hold our delegates to their promises. Also, giving financial aid to organizations that help single mothers and adoption agencies, or founding new services with the same goals, replaces the demand for establishment-licensed killing.

2. Property taxes should be opposed, and replaced or abolished where possible.

The bureaucratic elite lives off of confiscatory taxation. Property taxes are the least justified because the claim behind the tax is that the government has a right over private property. Clearly, the reasoning violates the right to property held so dear by the Founders.

Private business and private charity should replace government coercion in supplying the services financed by property taxation. Local school systems and welfare need some vigorous competition from private sources. In Detroit, illiteracy rates hit 93% in 2015. The citizens of Detroit are literally being robbed in order to finance the creation of an ignorant class of citizens doomed to sit on the state’s payroll. Detroit’s situation is merely an extrapolation of where the rest of the nation is heading.

Such actions are unacceptable in a country wishing to preserve its freedom. But we cannot expect others to do the work for us. Private institutions that actually help those suffering and abused children should be founded. Or perhaps a new service could grow off an existing non-profit or religious organization like a church or synagogue. Either way, those children must be saved from the entity that wishes to enslave them, and thereby a powerful argument for property tax reductions may emerge.

Do not “lie supinely on your back” and hope that your newly elected representative will do it for you. You elected him or her to get out of your way, not to solve your problems.

3. Voter fraud must be limited by auditing the voter rolls for deceased persons, illegals, and felons.

Prior to the election on November 9, several stories broke about voter fraud in Virginia, California, and Colorado, just to name a few. Now that we have elected legislators opposed to voter fraud, it is time to hold them to their promises. Call them, write them, and enlist the support of the community and other elected officials such as the sheriff. Just and fair elections are essential to the republican process. Oh, and yes, Mr. Krugman, fair elections do represent the rule of law.

The above is only a very short list of issues that must be hit, and hit hard while the establishment is still reeling. Private entrepreneurship, lobbying of state representatives, writing letters to the editor, political blogging, going down to your state house and testifying before a legislative committee; it all needs to happen. We have our respite from the onslaught of the criminal establishment, but we need to do something with it or we will not be better off four years down the road.

To modify an expression I have heard quite often recently -- we’ve drained the swamp… but we still have to kill the gators.