Politics Thread

[Juice]

I keep hearing this. What specifically has he done that is good, and why? I think he's done very little of actual consequence so far, and the crap that he has done isn't the stuff I want him prioritizing. I see a president who is all talk, and doesn't know enough about how our government functions to shape any meaningful legislation. The worst part is that he doesn't care to learn, either. The guy can't even staff his administration, for crying out loud.

In terms of things that he has actually done, or set significantly in motion, we have: a poorly written and executed EO on immigration that has resulted in an ongoing battle with the judicial branch, a crackdown on illegal immigrants, a raid in Yemen that seems to have been poorly executed, and a largely unnecessary war with the media over key issues such as the crowd size at his inauguration.

We were promised a hugely improved alternative to the ACA right out of the gates. How is the progress going on that? Word is that there is no progress, and that his administration has provided House and Senate GOP with nothing.

Things I like: the federal government not longer funding Planned Parenthood, adding border control agents (I don't support the wall), getting rid of the ACA (the idea as a whole, but I'm not hearing great things in the process), deciding to not to revisit the gay marriage issue, getting rid of regulations on businesses. Those are a few off the top of my head.

And your views on his "immigration crackdown", his crackdown is actually not a crackdown at all considering Obama deported more people at this point last year than Trump has. But when the media cries wolf on the evil ICE agents and the terror they're spreading, it probably seems like a crackdown.

[Masterofreality]

The thing that concerns me, is that studying and learning don't really seem to be things that Trump is particularly interested in. It sounds like he is going to place the entire onus of legislating on Congress, outside of a few 'key' areas that entertain him.

For example: "Talking about building walls and deporting illegals is fun, so I'll engage with that. Healthcare reform is incredibly complicated and boring, so I won't." The reality is that anything these guys do on Healthcare reform will have a much more direct impact on most American people's lives than a bunch of verbal jacking off about building walls and travel bans.

We are already seeing him disengage with large swaths of Presidential responsibility and we are less than two months in. It's going to be interesting to see how this country functions for the next 4 years.

But in reality, isn't that what the Founding Fathers envisioned? Only in recent times has the "President" been likened to a King with all of the alleged power & responsibility. The other two branches of government were always entrusted to handle the dirty business of coming up with the schematics of "governing" .

The President is called the "Executive Branch" for a reason. Effective Executives delegate, while "leading" on all the main points. They don't immerse themselves in all the minutiae, although some past Presidents seemed to want to act like a Know it All on everything. Trump seems to be trying to handle the Business of Government like a business. That may frustrate the press because they may not always have a central whipping boy, although they'll still identify Trump as that...even after giving Obama a total pass for 8 years. Reagan definitely delegated while Billy Clinton and Caire Underwood....errr, Hillary, had to be in the middle of everything.

You may not like what Trump is "leading" toward, but there is an interesting NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll today.

NBC/WSJ poll: Who should take the lead in setting policy for the US?

Trump + Hill GOP: 52%
Hill Democrats: 37%

image.jpg

Despite all of the negative press, the country seems to trust the Republicans more. And The Dems- especially Nancy Pelosi are the most unpopular politicians...although Mitch McConnell is right there too.

I'll REALLY be interested to see if NBC, which has become much more leftist in its reporting recently, actually shows this on tonight's newscast....of will they just bury it like they did many of the foibles of Obama. The poll doesn't quite fit their Chuck Todd narrative.

[Caf]

Things I like: the federal government not longer funding Planned Parenthood, adding border control agents (I don't support the wall), getting rid of the ACA (the idea as a whole, but I'm not hearing great things in the process), deciding to not to revisit the gay marriage issue, getting rid of regulations on businesses. Those are a few off the top of my head.

And your views on his "immigration crackdown", his crackdown is actually not a crackdown at all considering Obama deported more people at this point last year than Trump has. But when the media cries wolf on the evil ICE agents and the terror they're spreading, it probably seems like a crackdown.

You are nothing if not consistent.

[Juice]

You are nothing if not consistent.

Men lie, women lie, numbers don't.

[GoMuskies]

Trump is proposing to increase military spending by $54 billion. Not a huge fan of that.

[Masterofreality]

Trump is proposing to increase military spending by $54 billion. Not a huge fan of that.

Depends if some of it is to increase the Enlisted Folks pay/ PTSD treatment, VA support.

*Details*

[ArizonaXUGrad]

Put that in the no column for me as well. Toss in the immigration scam he is tossing around and this absolutely stupid wall as well. I have said it a hundred times, spend some time living in areas that are affected by illegals then you can come back to me. The hysteria over that and the wall is mind numbing and stupid. Next time I head down to Rocky Point and enjoy nice warm water and beaches in Mexico I will snap a photo of the Border Patrol station down there. There has to be at least 100 vehicles sitting unused in the gated parking lot. It's that way each and every time I drive by. I tell my wife each time we pass it, fleecing of America.

The conversation should be about health insurance, keeping costs down, increasing insurance rolls. It needs to be about the wealth gap, stagnant wages, and tax reform. Instead we get more and more fear mongering.

Trump is proposing to increase military spending by $54 billion. Not a huge fan of that.

[Caf]

Men lie, women lie, numbers don't.

Numbers don't lie. People love to twist them to help themselves lie though. Deportations peaked under Obama in 2013, but he changed policies (to 'families not felons') in 2014. He had a much softer immigration policy ever since then. So it is a crackdown.

[GoMuskies]

Depends if some of it is to increase the Enlisted Folks pay/ PTSD treatment, VA support.

*Details*

Some of it is supposed to be improvements at the VA, which are clearly about 100 years overdue. Another focus, which I'm not all that thrilled to pay a ton more for, is border security. Not a huge fan of this statement: “It will include a historic increase in defense spending to rebuild the depleted military of the United States of America at a time we most need it.”

[GoMuskies]

Trump also seems to be big on "law and order". To which Obama might wittily (and correctly) reply: "The '90s called, and they want their domestic policy back." Criminal justice reform to lock fewer people up is the way we should be heading in 2017.