Trump Thread

[Strike For The South]

The "shady " that the government does is generally derided by those who have never had to make an actual decision in their lives. Ron Paul is a hack who was never above giving pork to his district.

[HopAlongBunny]

Trump is certainly showing a weakness of the American system.
If their is no "political will" to stop possible corrupt practices, misinformation and illegal activity; the President is essentially untouchable.
Can he preemptively pardon individuals? Apparently yes. Ford did it, Bush did it and I see nothing stopping Trump from doing it.
Good luck to America in this developing Constitutional crisis.

[Hooahguy]

Trump is certainly showing a weakness of the American system.
If their is no "political will" to stop possible corrupt practices, misinformation and illegal activity; the President is essentially untouchable.
Can he preemptively pardon individuals? Apparently yes. Ford did it, Bush did it and I see nothing stopping Trump from doing it.
Good luck to America in this developing Constitutional crisis.

He is essentially untouchable because the ruling party doesnt have the political guts to do anything about it. The political hellstorm that will arrive if the GOP ever decided to impeach Trump is worse than just letting him do his thing.

[rory_20_uk]

He is essentially untouchable because the ruling party doesnt have the political guts to do anything about it. The political hellstorm that will arrive if the GOP ever decided to impeach Trump is worse than just letting him do his thing.

I wonder whether they are calculating - almost hoping - that in the mid-terms the democrats will win enough seats to have the majority and then they can be the ones to impeach. They've a pretty good chance of winning the House at least and they only need 51 seats to progress impeachment to the Senate. If that were to occur he'd be so busy fighting investigations and impeachment along with the compulsory business that nothing else would get done.

Then assuming (a big assumption) that there are insufficient flat earther / anti-immunisation / mouth-breathing hicks to give him another 4 years we can all draw a line under the four years where the entire Trump cabal clasp their Presidential Pardons for all that happened in the four years.

[a completely inoffensive name]

The "shady shit" that the government does is generally derided by those who have never had to make an actual decision in their lives. Ron Paul is a hack who was never above giving pork to his district.

Yes, but at the time it seemed he was the only one who even acknowledged the history. I remember listening to the boos during the debates when he was the only candidate advocating for less foreign intervention.

And of course he was consistent. There's a great video from 1988 where he tells a fat person to lose weight and stop asking taxpayers to pay for his fatness.

Basically, I'm just saying its important to remember the outsiders who came before Trump. The Paulites were just as loyal as the Trumpists are today.

[Strike For The South]

Yes, but at the time it seemed he was the only one who even acknowledged the history. I remember listening to the boos during the debates when he was the only candidate advocating for less foreign intervention.

And of course he was consistent. There's a great video from 1988 where he tells a fat person to lose weight and stop asking taxpayers to pay for his fatness.

Basically, I'm just saying its important to remember the outsiders who came before Trump. The Paulites were just as loyal as the Trumpists are today.

I mean consistent in the fact he punches down. I would argue that the Trumpites are more loyal than the Paulites. Nationalism is much more powerful than taxition.

[Montmorency]

Another look into a Trumpish community

For people here, it's confirmation that their new president is delivering on his campaign promise to generate 25 million jobs and become, in his own words, "the greatest jobs producer that God ever created".

I think for Democrats it's impossible to reach people like this without targeted messaging. Start with a specially-tailored and simplified platform for the demographic, determine what media the demographic has access to and primarily consumes, and pump that message through those media. But don't try addressing them directly, couch the message impersonally and hope they get a whiff of something they like on its own terms (i.e. divorced from anti-Democrat identity).

It wouldn't work as well as local supporters on the ground canvassing and advocating, but as a strategy that doesn't have much force without the half-farcical step of colonization (which if possible would tend to revitalize economies anyway).

[Strike For The South]

These people need food, healthcare, and jobs. It is no wonder they voted for the "outsider" populist.

Also, it would be a mistake to waste time an inordinate time on these people.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Trump's victory, at its core, was payback to the dems for more or less abandoning their status as the party of the "working man." Too many dems play the Wall Street Shuffle (ask Bernie, he'll tell you!) or get lost in a mosaic of little interest groups. There is political power in the aggregate of those smaller interest groups, and they do trend left -- but the working class used to be a real core element for the Dems. Not so anymore.

[Montmorency]

These people need food, healthcare, and jobs. It is no wonder they voted for the "outsider" populist.

Also, it would be a mistake to waste time an inordinate time on these people.

Trump's victory, at its core, was payback to the dems for more or less abandoning their status as the party of the "working man." Too many dems play the Wall Street Shuffle (ask Bernie, he'll tell you!) or get lost in a mosaic of little interest groups. There is political power in the aggregate of those smaller interest groups, and they do trend left -- but the working class used to be a real core element for the Dems. Not so anymore.

When I make my comment, I don't mean adjusting Democratic policies along the lines of "The Politics of Evasion" - that has arguably been devastating to the long-term health of the party. I'm pointing out that these people are generally isolated from the media and interpersonal channels the Democrats use to spread their message, and so become a kind of second-hand legend rather than something to be perceived and judged. My suggestion entails what you might call 'counter-propaganda', to saturate the channels of knowing and learning common to the localities and their people, not just as campaigning messages, but at all times over the long-term in the living environment. The effect should be for Democratic ideas and thinking to take root into their consciousness and affect their belief systems, in a way that can't be accomplished by a direct or discrete "message".

It's satisfying to think of these people as apathetic simpletons who can't change and can't be persuaded to think critically, but to the extent that democratic principles are favored they can't just be shed or repressed. To some extent their engagement and incorporation is what guarantees the viability of left-wing policy or ideals.