The Presidency of Donald J. Trump: No smocking guns. - Page 934 - Politics and Economics

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The Presidency of Donald J. Trump: No smocking guns.

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03-31-2017 , 05:22 PM

#23326

dinopoker

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 9,437

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrWookie

To be fair to him, it's not like anyone could have seen this coming.

Yeah, only about 62 million people, give or take.

Spoiler:

03-31-2017 , 05:23 PM

#23327

dinopoker

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 9,437

Quote:

Originally Posted by champstark

Also really irritating that no one will ask about Israel building the first new settlement in 20 years in the West Bank

Especially after Donald so politely asked Bibi to 'just stop' building them. Sad.

03-31-2017 , 05:32 PM

#23328

FlyWf

It's the other way

Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 58,097

Theory #1 on why he wouldn't just go back to the desk and sign it: he pooped his diaper

03-31-2017 , 05:37 PM

#23329

simplicitus

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 10,841

Quote:

Originally Posted by yeSpiff

Not British and don't follow him closely, but I've always been impressed by the quality of stuff Robbie Williams puts out. Would likely be a hell of a fun guy to know, kinda the George Clooney of pop, with a bit less sincerity and a greater capacity for mischief.

03-31-2017 , 05:39 PM

#23330

xXDeuce7Xx

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 10,847

Quote:

Originally Posted by DTD

It's not likely to be in the first few stories outside the US but if it's even in the news somewhere it may be the biggest news story in the world at the moment.

True, it's in the "World series" of news if you will. Anything short of impeachment/nuking n-korea/WW3 isn't making page 2 outside of the USA though.

03-31-2017 , 05:41 PM

#23331

Namath12

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Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 55,849

Quote:

Originally Posted by einbert

Con man.

https://twitter.com/NYDailyNews/stat...72376872325121

Earlier this week there was a lone holdout who demanded an apology, wonder if she got it

03-31-2017 , 05:43 PM

#23332

synth_floyd

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 7,074

I can't remember. Are you supposed to take his tweets literally? Seriously? Neither? Both?

03-31-2017 , 05:43 PM

#23333

Max Cut

Guest

Posts: n/a

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlyWf

Theory #1 on why he wouldn't just go back to the desk and sign it: he pooped his diaper

senior moment

03-31-2017 , 05:57 PM

#23334

Loki

binary duo

Join Date: Nov 2015 Posts: 12,772

Quote:

Originally Posted by synth_floyd

I can't remember. Are you supposed to take his tweets literally? Seriously? Neither? Both?

All of the above, all at the same time

03-31-2017 , 06:20 PM

#23335

thethethe

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 8,712

Incoming Twitter butthurt?

03-31-2017 , 06:29 PM

#23336

Max Cut

Guest

Posts: n/a

both very good; took a second look to notice the windows

03-31-2017 , 06:34 PM

#23337

+rep_lol

banned

Join Date: Sep 2013 Posts: 14,900

awesome new yorker cover

03-31-2017 , 06:39 PM

#23338

SuperUberBob

Not interesting enough

Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 48,217

$8.99? No wonder why magazines are going the way of newspapers.

03-31-2017 , 06:41 PM

#23339

snafoo

old hand

Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 1,463

Is he using a driver to try to get out of the bunker?

03-31-2017 , 06:41 PM

#23340

David Sklansky

Administrator

Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 17,275

Quote:

Originally Posted by simplicitus

Here's a hypothesis: assume Trump was/is completely sincere and was trying to advocate for policies that were not only politically advantageous among certain, shall we say, less educated voters, but that he also believed were good policy generally. (He wasn't but work with me here.)

Let's face it, Trump basically farmed out his policy shop to Fox's morning show, O'Reilly, Hannity, etc. Large scale manufacturing and low foreign imports Made America Great when Trump was a kid (with the economy a fraction of the size it is now), so why not set the ole policy time machine lever back to 1960. What could go wrong?

Now, point is, Trump is basically clueless about domestic policy (foreign too, but we're dealing with domestic here), whether political or economic or other, including issues like crime, healthcare, immigration, federalism, and basically everything else. And because he had no policy staff and could always count on supportive talking points from people likely Jeffry Lord, Kallyane, and Paul Ryan, Grover Norquist, etc., during the campaign, there was no corrective mechanism when it came to domestic policy, no way for Trump to understand what was real and important vs what Hannity thought up while sniffing nutmeg.

Unlike Hillary, who knew all the policy tradeoffs and pitfalls, and therefore was very narrow in what she could support or advocate for (Bernie is closer to Trump in this regard-he doesn't really do reality-based policy constraints), Trump could loudly proclaim that everyone was going to get great healthcare at lower prices, that manufacturing jobs would come back when we fix those damn trade agreements and round up the illegals and Mexico pays for the wall, etc.

Because Trump and his base do not live in a world where reality constrains policy options and proposals, Trump was able to passionately and sincerely advocate for policy prescriptions that make no sense. And much of the media, with its, "one side says vaccines work, the other says they don't; here's one guest with each perspective, you decide" was both not inclined to and incapable of calling out Trump's bull****, particularly among the sort of "many pictures, few words" media his supporters and potential supporters consume. (Sure, Vox/Slate/New Yorker called him out on the daily, but if you're reading Vox/Slate/New Yorker, you ain't voting for Trump.)

The analogy to Arrested Development's Build a House episode make sense (already with the "elite" references--how low the bar has fallen). When your only concern, whether in running for president or pushing Trump University or building a house, is not achieving some substantive goal (making America Great Again, educating people in a manner that improves their lives, providing viable shelter) but merely meeting some metric (getting elected, signing people up and having then pay additional fees, building the facade of a house but not the interior) that may or may not be related to any substantive goal, then it's easy to undermine the actual end goal.

And you may even believe the substantive goal is easy or implied by the metric, because you're an idiot, so you are sincere in your advocacy. And the voters, being clueless themselves, and "knowing" you are a very successful billionaire, and you're pretty much hitting all the tropes of their Fox News-informed policy understanding, so of course you're going to make America great, because you're not in the pocket of all those "special interests" who come up with really complex things like Dodd-Frank and the TPP, thousands of pages, which have obviously screwed the little guy, because I'm struggling and the neighborhood is going to hell, and the plant closed down and the coal jobs left, so voting for Trump is a slam dunk among a good percentage of the midwest.

In fact, while racism and racial grievances are an important component of Trump's support ("FOX NEWS--not racist, but #1 with racists"), I really think the above story has double or triple the explanatory power. I mean, only real dumb****s are "out" racists and think like "out" racists, while most of the uninformed, uneducated, policy-hating 'Muricans who voted for Trump did so because they shared his simplistic understanding of policy and government, as told by Fox, and thought, "Finally, someone gets it, tells it like it is, and can make American Great Again!"

This more akin to notes for an argument than a developed theory, but I do think "policy-stupidity," which has been fostered, nurtured, and advanced for 40 years by the GOP, its donors, its media, and its politicized "think tanks" is the real reason Trump could run and win.

Now, however, he has to apply his "understanding" of policy and politics to govern, but he can't do that effectively, because when you are not operating with a reality-based model, it's hard to shape reality to your ends, other than by dumb luck (see e.g, homeopathy or any other "fake" science).

Bingo

03-31-2017 , 06:48 PM

#23341

markksman

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Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 20,921

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlyWf

Theory #1 on why he wouldn't just go back to the desk and sign it: he pooped his diaper

He has done that before. How can he be so oblivious he does this more than once. He has to be suffering from dementia.

03-31-2017 , 06:51 PM

#23342

suzzer99

Save the Cheerleader, Save the World

Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 100,230

Quote:

Originally Posted by snafoo

Is he using a driver to try to get out of the bunker?

Yes and he is also digging himself further and further in.

03-31-2017 , 07:04 PM

#23343

Huehuecoyotl

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Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 29,296

Quote:

Already, the administration is bragging that its members are way wealthier than those who worked for former president Barack Obama — a point of pride that doesn't quite match the president's campaign pledge to “drain the swamp” of wealthy GOP donors, lifelong political operatives and those who are simply out-of-touch with everyday Americans.

To back up this point, the White House*held a briefing with reporters on Friday afternoon and presented them with a*handout that featured two pie charts comparing the complexity of the financial disclosure reports filed in the early days of the Obama and Trump administrations. The categories included: “simple,” “moderate,” “complex” and “extremely complex.” The Obama chart shows that most reports were either “simple” or “moderate,” with a teeny sliver*being “extremely complex.” In the Trump chart, “simple” is the smallest slice and a sizable chunk was “extremely complex.” There are no numbers on these graphics or any explanation of how these designations were decided.

It's kind of amazing how petty and dumb the administration is

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.3d9a2cb0da15

03-31-2017 , 07:14 PM

#23344

th14

old hand

Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 1,460

So Much Winning

https://twitter.com/DanScavino/statu...31935653494784

03-31-2017 , 07:19 PM

#23345

SirOsis

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Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 29,516

Did you see the Veep one yet

https://twitter.com/McJesse/status/847939981284974594

03-31-2017 , 07:20 PM

#23346

AllTheCheese

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Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 11,898

Quote:

Originally Posted by th14

So Much Winning

https://twitter.com/DanScavino/statu...31935653494784

loooooolll

03-31-2017 , 07:21 PM

#23347

wheatrich

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Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 21,405

you know how ridic it is when a trump guy tweets or fox news shows what clearly is a pro obama graphic, thinking that supporters are too dumb to notice that.

03-31-2017 , 07:37 PM

#23348

awval999

Election Monitor.

Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 6,269

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlyWf

The detached tone is you dodging the question, awval, because you're too cowardly to own up and say you support Trump's policies.

Some I do, some I don't. Go to the Obamacare thread, I was against the AHCA.

03-31-2017 , 07:41 PM

#23349

master3004

Revisionist Historian

Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 56,466

Quote:

Originally Posted by th14

So Much Winning

https://twitter.com/DanScavino/statu...31935653494784

Bahahaha, that's ****ing amazing

03-31-2017 , 07:45 PM

#23350

awval999

Election Monitor.

Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 6,269

Quote:

Originally Posted by +rep_lol

thats how the long con works and people continue to get taken by somebody until there's literally nothing left, despite red flags everywhere. it's an ego/fear thing, to admit that you've been conned is to admit that you made a mistake- deep down they know they're probably being scammed, but the thought of owning up to that is too stressful/mortifying, and it's more comforting to believe the lie than admit the truth

Look, I've been in this forum for over a decade. I'll let you know if I feel that I got conned. I really don't care, I don't need to "keep my pride" here. The great thing is I get to vote again each and every year for new government.

Tax reform will be a gamechanger on how I feel about the administration. I'll let you know how I feel.

Consider me the Midwest bellwether. If I'm pissed at how the Trump Presidency is going, you better believe that the other white male, upper-middle income whites, previous Obama voters, in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are feeling the same way. And that's the ****ing Presidency guys.

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