Official LRC President Donald J Trump Thread

Excuse me: *complacency

As Huckabee Trump wrote:

Sarah Huckabee Sanders basically just blamed Trump for misleading her

She needs to burn a few more lies. Her eyes aren't smokey enough.

Accelerated,

It is not the America of 1960 with the insane level of personal, corporate, government debt, layer on top of that unfunded entitlements and pensions. There will be payback at some point. I find it hard to model what that will look like however. I can’t say we won’t deserve every ounce of comeuppance.

Igy

The R-Tide is turning wrote:

In the News!!!

"Let's put the shoe on the other foot," Republican Rep. Charlie Dent said. "If a Democratic president had paid off a porn star to keep quiet while he was president, I suspect we'd have oversight hearings, and I suspect there should be some oversight hearings to get to the bottom of this."

"If a Democratic president had done this, we'd be waving a bloody shirt right now," he said of his Republican House colleagues.

Dent is leaving office next month, of course. The few Republicans who have made a show of standing up to Trump all have one thing in common: they have no elections to lose.

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

Accelerated,

It is not the America of 1960 with the insane level of personal, corporate, government debt, layer on top of that unfunded entitlements and pensions. There will be payback at some point. I find it hard to model what that will look like however. I can’t say we won’t deserve every ounce of comeuppance.

Igy

Igy— I am not stuck in 1960. I am speaking of the world as it is today.

There is nothing the U.S. can do to stop the inevitable step down to a 2nd tier nation; another country will take over as #1 and they too will step down after a number of years.

Debts and entitlements are part of the reason for the coming step downwards. Political arrogance is another part. Modeling to predict the step down date is not necessary. You can determine the trend—faster, slower—much easier. Trump is speeding up the step down through loss of political prestige. It is now harder for future presidents to be take seriously because of Trump.

Accelerated,

I see what you are saying and agree. I was not implying you are stuck in 1960, just drawing a comparison in a short historical time frame. I have no personal attachment to American greatness, just a reflection of how much we have fallen short. Gun violence, alcohol and drug addictions are other symptoms of a sick society. If Trump becomes the accelerator that is what we deserve. Hillary would have been more of the same inside game. People voted against that. Failed leadership has been the hallmark of the Presidency for some time. At it’s best mediocre.

Igy

Accelerated wrote:

I have always voted in such a way that tried to prevent one party from being in control of the three branches of national government. Dem or Repub it make no difference. They are incapable of imposing checks and balances on themselves. The results of one party control are obvious for all to see under Trump.

"Democrats are historically incapable of imposing checks and balances on themselves. As my one example, please see Donald Trump."

Come on. The last time Democrats controlled the executive and legislative branches, millions of Americans gained access to healthcare (through a piece of legislation that was unquestionably moderate), a complete economic meltdown was averted (again, through a stimulus plan that most liberals considered quite moderate), important financial regulations were passed, along with middle-class tax cuts, anti-pay discrimination and fairer sentencing laws, among others. Obama's cabinet was not stuffed to the brim with people riddled with conflicts of interest. He was not openly using the presidency to turn a personal profit. He was not alienating our foreign allies or under investigation for conspiring with our enemies while his party covered for him. There is no comparison to be made with the Republican-controlled freak show we are seeing today.

The idea that both parties are bad and incurably corrupt ignores the sizable (and growing!) contingent of Democratic voters who really want to eliminate the ability of wealthy special interests to buy politicians, rein in the military industrial complex, reduce income inequality, and generally ensure that our democratic government functions effectively instead of hamstringing it or actively using it to do harm.

Debt and unfunded entitlements are not unsolvable problems. There's a lot of concentrated wealth that has been gradually leeched away from the working class over the years. We could make a huge dent if we significantly raised marginal tax rates, closed tax loopholes, and dramatically improved the ability of our national revenue agency to do its damn job. Single-payer would substantially lower long-term healthcare costs. Raising the minimum wage would reduce government subsidies to low-income workers. Strengthening unions and crafting better trade agreements to prevent corporations exploiting cheap labor in other countries (US corporations should be legally responsible for their supply chains) would improve middle class wages. The measures that will prevent America from becoming a second-tier nation will only come through one-party (Democratic) control.

Accelerated wrote:

There is nothing the U.S. can do to stop the inevitable step down to a 2nd tier nation; another country will take over as #1 and they too will step down after a number of years.

2nd tier in what regard? I think this is overly pessimistic. The US has had very bad presidents in the past and made out OK. We still have the largest navy (it's not even a close race), largest economy, many allies, and quite a few resources. I don't think we'll be demoted any time soon.

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

Accelerated,

I see what you are saying and agree. I was not implying you are stuck in 1960, just drawing a comparison in a short historical time frame. I have no personal attachment to American greatness, just a reflection of how much we have fallen short. Gun violence, alcohol and drug addictions are other symptoms of a sick society. If Trump becomes the accelerator that is what we deserve. Hillary would have been more of the same inside game. People voted against that. Failed leadership has been the hallmark of the Presidency for some time. At it’s best mediocre.

Igy

One solution would be to gut the powers of the presidency. Don't let them write executive orders, create policy or try to set budgets. Leave them as figure heads who are involved in negotiations with other countries to implement plans agreed to by Congress.

I explained why I vote the mixed way that I do. You can vote all one party as you like. This November I I plan to vote all Democrat because I hope that they can unwind much of the mess created by Trump and "leaders" of the GOP (Freedom Caucus). In 2020 we will see. I think the Freedom Caucus will be dead and normal Republicans will run for office again.

I voted for Obama when the Democrats controlled both Houses and very little of that occurred. Like the claim the Republicans made “we are for fiscal discipline.” Same sack of crap on either side. One side throws money at corporations to stay in power and the other throws money at social programs to stay in power. Both parties support their pet war projects. Neither party has the will to address real problems. Self serving bureaucracy. I guess one can weigh which is the lesser evil at any point in time.

Kind of depressing. I will go for a walk.

Igy

Trump at 50% approval!!!!!

Much higher than cheatin hussein!!!!

Suck on that, democrats/queers.

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

Flagpole,

I don’t have a problem with that view and largely agree. Degrees of bad are still bad. Unfortunately Trump and Hillary are symptoms of a much broader sickness in this country. We seem incapable of finding responsible leadership. Even if we do at some point, there seems to be an institutional bureaucracy immune to affecting rational policy. Perhaps in crisis it will come.

Igy

Put a star on this post.

Kanye’s sucking up to Trump is starting to make more sense. Kim has been begging the adminstration for a prison pardon.

Looop wrote:

I think everyone knows Rudy has devolved into an angry old man whose desperately searching for relevance. He’s found a second chance hitching himself to the Tump wagon. He fits the profile perfectly of a loyal Trump supporter.

Or maybe Giuliani is acting as a double agent to take Trump down.

Maybe he's Leo DiCaprio in the Departed.

Earning the mob boss's trust while working for the cops.

Rudy did make a career putting mob members in jail and Trump does act like a head of a mafia family.

Is he Tom Hagan from the Godfather or Billy Costigan from the Departed?

The Fokus wrote:

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

Flagpole,

I don’t have a problem with that view and largely agree. Degrees of bad are still bad. Unfortunately Trump and Hillary are symptoms of a much broader sickness in this country. We seem incapable of finding responsible leadership. Even if we do at some point, there seems to be an institutional bureaucracy immune to affecting rational policy. Perhaps in crisis it will come.

Igy

Put a star on this post.

I don’t fully agree with Igy. Leadership can be responsible and still be self-serving. There are no 100% clean politicians, there never was there never will be. Hillary fit into the category of politicians who become overly ambitious with the power grabbing game. I don’t consider her a good person, but again it’s not even close between her and Trump in any category. I would even go as far as claiming that in a top seat, one needs to be shrewdly political to build effective alliances, keep opponents at a distance and be able to force their hand when needed.

In terms of rational policy, if you measure against the rest of the world, Democrats have done the best job by far. The GOP has mostly pushed draconian policies with regard to social issues, gun control, foreign policy and more recently under Trump in economics and global trade.

Trumpers wanted to desperately believe he was going to break the political machinery in orders to govern more effectively. That would be laughable if he wasn’t doing exactly the opposite and blatantly using that machinery to his personal gain. People need to accept that the system is designed with checks and balances which are imperfect. That means it’s susceptible to chronism. Whatever your grievances, Trump was never going to be the answer.

OK, I am fine with that. The Democrats have their own failed agenda that continues to be repeated. Government handouts run counter to human nature and create dependency. Globalism in the sense that America must provide defense for the free world and provide a market for consumer goods has reached it’s limits. Both parties are stuck in the past and unable to adapt to realities of a changing environment. That is why we continue to see the same mistakes repeated. Fortunately or unfortuately, depending on yor view, the tipping point has been reached, the current policies that drive power for both parties are simply unsustainable.

Igy

Good morning! How are all you LRC stable geniuses doing this fine am?