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The Trump Administration 2017-


Ms. Spam
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Puzder's out. Looks like labor still has enough juice. Interesting that the teachers' union couldn't stop DeVos, who seems a lot less qualified to me. A few years ago, the teachers had more political juice to push around Republicans than the more general labor bloc.

 

There was just something that felt... inevitable... about the guy who greenlit the Carl's Jr. ads who had decidedly heterodox views on labor laws and being a squish on immigration being Trump's pick there. What's really weird was that he public ally balked at the job at first.

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The dude was not going to make it through confirmation. He quite possibly knew this wasn't one Republicans would rubber stamp as much. There are a lot of things in Puzder's closet. Plus, I suspect he would have had the tallest order from Trump to get business restarted in America. Maybe he didn't want to deal with that. Lazy trumps actually doing a job.

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As a third party voter, and hearing "wasted vote" on the daily, I am loving that both Clinton and Trump were caught rigging the election (Clinton in the primaries and Trump in the general).

 

Granted, I think colluding with Russia is much worse than colluding with the media and the DNC, but Bernie would have killed Trump in the general. Where is the Democrat's anger towards their own party's corruption and stupidity which lead to this cluster-**** happening?

 

Democrats need to use this to develop new, fresh party leadership because as terrible as this is, this is the best scenario for them. However, I have little faith in the current left leadership to not completely bungle this opportunity. I see both parties learning nothing and doubling down on the same stupid policies which got us into this mess to begin with (identity politics on the left and the brown people are coming to kill us on the right).

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As a third party voter, and hearing "wasted vote" on the daily, I am loving that both Clinton and Trump were caught rigging the election (Clinton in the primaries and Trump in the general).

 

Granted, I think colluding with Russia is much worse than colluding with the media and the DNC, but Bernie would have killed Trump in the general. Where is the Democrat's anger towards their own party's corruption and stupidity which lead to this cluster-**** happening?

 

Democrats need to use this to develop new, fresh party leadership because as terrible as this is, this is the best scenario for them. However, I have little faith in the current left leadership to completely bungle this opportunity. I see both parties learning nothing and doubling down on the same stupid policies which got us into this mess to begin with (identity politics on the left and the brown people are coming to kill us on the right).

I've never agreed with anything more.

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Would that truly solve anything? Most people identify with a political party in a general sense. Most tend to have views that cross "party lines". Today it seems like Democrats versus Republicans is mirroring Alabama-Auburn. I mean an Alabama fan intentionally poisoned that tree on Toomer's Corner. It is that rabid and partisan now.

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Anyone wondering how this whole day without immigrants protest where immigrants don't show up for work is helpful to the argument? Doesn't that just point out all the jobs that are being filled by labor that can be exploited for cheaper wages?

 

 

 

The dude was not going to make it through confirmation. He quite possibly knew this wasn't one Republicans would rubber stamp as much.

 

They knew, Senate leaders flat out told the White House just before the plug was pulled.

 

 

 

There are a lot of things in Puzder's closet.

 

The allegations seemed pretty weak to me. The only thing that struck me as problematic would have been the ex-wife thing, but she recanted it herself as a divorce tactic and has even been vocal in demanding it not be rehashed. All the rest was pretty weak sauce.

 

Really, I think it was what I said. Labor just has the juice still. Recall that Bush lost his own first nominee to the post, Linda Chavez, who also was skeptical about kissing union butts.

 

 

 

Plus, I suspect he would have had the tallest order from Trump to get business restarted in America.

 

Not really the correct cabinet nominee.

 

 

 

What has to happen before more Republicans go McCain and realize they are doing more damage than good by backing Trump? Asking for a friend in Canada.

 

My question would be more of when Congress is going to actually start functioning. The best way to separate themselves from Trump would be to, y'know, start passing some stuff. I know the Senate is busy with the Democrats slow-walking these confirmations, but I'm not seeing any movement at all on legislation from them, and I can't figure out what the House has been doing for the past month.

 

This is a golden opportunity for them to reassert themselves as the preeminent branch, yet they seem paralyzed.

 

 

 

Are political parties necessary?

 

They are if you don't want a ballot filled with about 100 people and the most famous winning every time.

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We need at least 5 political parties. No one I know feels truly represented by Democrats or Republicans

*raises hand*

 

Now you know one. I feel truly, 100% represented by the GOP. Maybe for the first time in my life.

 

I haven't always been able to say that. Had some religious crazy that believes in fairy tales and the space ghost been elected (like Huckabee), or some weak stooge (like Jeb!), or any one of those dime-a-dozen free market fundamentalists that have the Koch brothers balls deep in their as-hole (like 75% of the GOP)... well, then that'd be different. But I can't think of a single issue that I actually disagree with Trump on.

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As a third party voter, and hearing "wasted vote" on the daily, I am loving that both Clinton and Trump were caught rigging the election (Clinton in the primaries and Trump in the general).

 

Granted, I think colluding with Russia is much worse than colluding with the media and the DNC, but Bernie would have killed Trump in the general. Where is the Democrat's anger towards their own party's corruption and stupidity which lead to this cluster-**** happening?

 

Democrats need to use this to develop new, fresh party leadership because as terrible as this is, this is the best scenario for them. However, I have little faith in the current left leadership to not completely bungle this opportunity. I see both parties learning nothing and doubling down on the same stupid policies which got us into this mess to begin with (identity politics on the left and the brown people are coming to kill us on the right).

I actually see the anger in my circles toward Bernie losing out to Hillary. A lot of people who've never taken notice of politics before have gone to some local Democrat meetings to see what they can do to energize and help the Democrats and then they see the real reason that Democrats are not exactly the spear head of resistance. Petty infighting and a sense of we must do something but will endlessly harp on it.

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https://action.donaldjtrump.com/mainstream-media-accountability-survey/

 

I would highly recommend a pseudonym. But have fun. There's some great questions in there:

 

#22: "Do you believe that if Republicans were obstructing Obama like Democrats are doing to President Trump, the mainstream media would attack Republicans?"

 

I used a lot of "OTHER" answers.

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We need at least 5 political parties. No one I know feels truly represented by Democrats or Republicans

*raises hand*

 

Now you know one. I feel truly, 100% represented by the GOP. Maybe for the first time in my life.

 

I haven't always been able to say that. Had some religious crazy that believes in fairy tales and the space ghost been elected (like Huckabee), or some weak stooge (like Jeb!), or any one of those dime-a-dozen free market fundamentalists that have the Koch brothers balls deep in their as-hole (like 75% of the GOP)... well, then that'd be different. But I can't think of a single issue that I actually disagree with Trump on.

 

Really? So you can say you 100% support everything Trump is doing without hiding behind your usual "It's okay because it'll never pass/get through court/the house" or "It's the Dems fault and now they have to suffer" rationalizations?

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As a third party voter, and hearing "wasted vote" on the daily, I am loving that both Clinton and Trump were caught rigging the election (Clinton in the primaries and Trump in the general).

 

Granted, I think colluding with Russia is much worse than colluding with the media and the DNC, but Bernie would have killed Trump in the general. Where is the Democrat's anger towards their own party's corruption and stupidity which lead to this cluster-**** happening?

 

Democrats need to use this to develop new, fresh party leadership because as terrible as this is, this is the best scenario for them. However, I have little faith in the current left leadership to not completely bungle this opportunity. I see both parties learning nothing and doubling down on the same stupid policies which got us into this mess to begin with (identity politics on the left and the brown people are coming to kill us on the right).

I actually see the anger in my circles toward Bernie losing out to Hillary. A lot of people who've never taken notice of politics before have gone to some local Democrat meetings to see what they can do to energize and help the Democrats and then they see the real reason that Democrats are not exactly the spear head of resistance. Petty infighting and a sense of we must do something but will endlessly harp on it.

 

I still see the anger that Bernie didn't win. I see a lot of anger that Hillary didn't win (or rather, Trump won). I see a lot of my Democrat friends up in arms about Trump's dealings with Russia, and rightfully so!

 

At this rate, Democrats have a slam dunk at both the mid-terms and the general election. However, there is a severe lack at introspection by the Democratic Party. I see great merits in both parties, so I am willing to vote for either party. But if they run on this anti-Trump anger, they may win, but the two parties will both continue to play the lesser of two evils game election cycle after election cycle. And honestly, with the Republicans starting to turn on Trump it might cause the Republican base and elected officials to evaluate policies and leadership that many voters vote against. Because of this, the Republicans might actually come out on top of this entire Trump mess. I really hope this happens to both parties.

 

I would like to see more analysis on whether Sanders could have definitively beat Trump. The polling at RealClearPolitics indicate Sanders would have taken FL, PA, WI, and MI and multiple election day exit polls indicate a Sanders victory. But then again, who actually thought Trump would win... In the end, I don't think it matters because you have the two finalists that were both trying to rig the system. All citizens should be disgusted with their respective parties and want their parties to investigate and act upon the deceitful election practices. But I don't see this...all I see in both parties is primarily anger directed outward with no internal accountability about their own practices.

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Really? So you can say you 100% support everything Trump is doing without hiding behind your usual "It's okay because it'll never pass/get through court/the house" or "It's the Dems fault and now they have to suffer" rationalizations?

 

Honestly, outside of making a fool of himself, he hasn't been doing all that much. There's a whole lot of noise from within the White House and declarations of the end of the republic from the left, but, when you come down to it, it's been mostly exercises in wheel spinning and the typical reversing of the other party's executive policies (back to where it was 8 years ago).

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We need at least 5 political parties. No one I know feels truly represented by Democrats or Republicans

*raises hand*

 

Now you know one. I feel truly, 100% represented by the GOP. Maybe for the first time in my life.

 

I haven't always been able to say that. Had some religious crazy that believes in fairy tales and the space ghost been elected (like Huckabee), or some weak stooge (like Jeb!), or any one of those dime-a-dozen free market fundamentalists that have the Koch brothers balls deep in their as-hole (like 75% of the GOP)... well, then that'd be different. But I can't think of a single issue that I actually disagree with Trump on.

 

Really? So you can say you 100% support everything Trump is doing without hiding behind your usual "It's okay because it'll never pass/get through court/the house" or "It's the Dems fault and now they have to suffer" rationalizations?

 

That wasn't your statement. Your statement was that you don't know anyone that feels truly represented.

 

I do. Because, Trump is the first GOP candidate in basically my lifetime that I have no major policy disagreements with. That does not mean that I 100% agree with everything Trump ever does ever ever, right down to the color ties he wears. It means I feel represented because his views, by and large, align with mine.

 

Is there some political issue you have in mind that you think I'm missing and I actually disagree with him on? I guess... try me?

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We need at least 5 political parties. No one I know feels truly represented by Democrats or Republicans

*raises hand*

 

Now you know one. I feel truly, 100% represented by the GOP. Maybe for the first time in my life.

 

I haven't always been able to say that. Had some religious crazy that believes in fairy tales and the space ghost been elected (like Huckabee), or some weak stooge (like Jeb!), or any one of those dime-a-dozen free market fundamentalists that have the Koch brothers balls deep in their as-hole (like 75% of the GOP)... well, then that'd be different. But I can't think of a single issue that I actually disagree with Trump on.

 

Really? So you can say you 100% support everything Trump is doing without hiding behind your usual "It's okay because it'll never pass/get through court/the house" or "It's the Dems fault and now they have to suffer" rationalizations?

 

That wasn't your statement. Your statement was that you don't know anyone that feels truly represented.

 

I do. Because, Trump is the first GOP candidate in basically my lifetime that I have no major policy disagreements with. That does not mean that I 100% agree with everything Trump ever does ever ever, right down to the color ties he wears. It means I feel represented because his views, by and large, align with mine.

 

Is there some political issue you have in mind that you think I'm missing and I actually disagree with him on? I guess... try me?

 

 

No need. Your response answered the question just fine.

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I still see the anger that Bernie didn't win. I see a lot of anger that Hillary didn't win (or rather, Trump won). I see a lot of my Democrat friends up in arms about Trump's dealings with Russia, and rightfully so!

 

At this rate, Democrats have a slam dunk at both the mid-terms and the general election. However, there is a severe lack at introspection by the Democratic Party. I see great merits in both parties, so I am willing to vote for either party. But if they run on this anti-Trump anger, they may win, but the two parties will both continue to play the lesser of two evils game election cycle after election cycle. And honestly, with the Republicans starting to turn on Trump it might cause the Republican base and elected officials to evaluate policies and leadership that many voters vote against. Because of this, the Republicans might actually come out on top of this entire Trump mess. I really hope this happens to both parties.

 

I would like to see more analysis on whether Sanders could have definitively beat Trump. The polling at RealClearPolitics indicate Sanders would have taken FL, PA, WI, and MI and multiple election day exit polls indicate a Sanders victory. But then again, who actually thought Trump would win... In the end, I don't think it matters because you have the two finalists that were both trying to rig the system. All citizens should be disgusted with their respective parties and want their parties to investigate and act upon the deceitful election practices. But I don't see this...all I see in both parties is primarily anger directed outward with no internal accountability about their own practices.

 

The core problem is the amount of time and money spent on both sides building what amount to political echo chambers. This takes many forms - gerrymandering, demographic sorting, highly partisan media silos, politicization in academia and so on. The political system has become geared towards rewarding ideological purity over pragmatism and a longer term approach that thinks in terms of what's best for the national interest. Progressives will harp on about identity politics and privilege while conservatives will harp on about whatever their conspiracy theory of the month happens to be because each side has spent decades investing in the building of these mindsets within their respective constituencies, and using fear and hysteria to make their bases fanatical and epistemically closed. Each are very tightly warded against influence from the outside: disagree with a progressive and you're racist, fascist etc. Disagree with a conservative and you're a commie, pro Shari'a law or whatever. While there are exceptions on both sides, these exceptions contend with the weight of institutional support for the party line and membership groupthink. It's a bad situation, but what they say about reaping what you sew.

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I'd like to get people's opinions on this. During the Bush years you'd hear a lot about media bias and of course even moreso now with Trump. During Bush's term it was usually chalked up to conservative whining. But I clearly remember Dan Rather losing face when he ran with the Bush National Guard story without proper sources and thus, lending lots of credence to the bias claim.

 

http://www.elderstatement.com/2014/04/the-elder-statement-media-bias-it.html?m=1

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Media bias is one of those things where if you can't see it, you're so far gone that there's really no talking to you. It's obvious and pervasive, and even when reporters aren't actively trying to distort things, it colors the angle that they cover the news and what they consider to be newsworthy in the first place. It makes it easier for suspect narratives to go unchallenged.

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American media doesn't inform anymore when it comes to even mildly political topics, they just distract and obfuscate. The headlines tell you exactly what they want you to believe and all you will find in the story is facts that support that conclusion. There are other facts, but you have to find them elsewhere. Try Reuters, at least the headline usually leaves you guessing about the conclusion they want you to come to.

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