Updates on the election for those of us...

[Alex K]

My hope is that Trump, at his heart, isn't an ideologue - I don't think he is. I don't think deep down he passionately cares about conservative policy issues, and he himself may just not be very motivated to pursue them except to make deals with congress.

[I_am_not_mafia]

I have a feeling that he may not be as bad as some are fearing.....well, that's the hope at least.

I don't care if he's the best president ever, ever. Most of the damage is already done. His success will encourage all the other populist f*ckwits, all over the world. His campaign alone reduced political discourse to infantile Twitter-squabbles. This will not just go away. This is life imitating reality TV. This is what the f*cking "celebrity culture" brings us. 

This is my view. He's demonstrated that demagoguery works. This means that someone far more competent than Trump and so inclined will be far more dangerous. The political landscape has irrevocably shifted now. Maybe there will be a backlash soon enough, or maybe Trump will continue trying to grab more power as he has hinted. We'll know if he starts to clamp down on freedom of the press.

[account_inactive]

You people aren't serious....

[Alex K]

On the bright side, he might actually turn out to be a good President.  

Or he might be president in name only.

http://www.carbonated.tv/news/if-elected...y-to-pence

Pence — a diehard conservative — has a reputation for being bigoted, strongly anti-gay, and passionately pro-life.

With that said, some saw it as a silver-lining that the vice president has very little power, so if by some chance the pair wins the White House, he won’t be able to totally ruin everyone’s lives.

However, The New York Times just threw a monkey wrench into the mix by revealing that Donald Trump apparently sought out someone who he feels could take over domestic and foreign policy decisions for him if elected in November.

Think about that. Handing over domestic and foreign policy decisions. What else is there?

Not much. But if I had to guess, I'd expect Gingrich and Giuliani to influence domestic and foreign policy, more than the VP.

[I_am_not_mafia]

My hope is that Trump, at his heart, isn't an ideologue - I don't think he is. I don't think deep down he passionately cares about conservative policy issues, and he himself may just not be very motivated to pursue them except to make deals with congress.

My hope too. He may be happy just flying around in Air Force One and having the red carpet rolled out for him.

[chimp3]

I am putting my humor shades on. Gonna need them.

[Crossless2.0]

Or he might be president in name only.

http://www.carbonated.tv/news/if-elected...y-to-pence



Think about that. Handing over domestic and foreign policy decisions. What else is there?

Not much. But if I had to guess, I'd expect Gingrich and Giuliani to influence domestic and foreign policy, more than the VP.

Oh, well I feel much better. 

With a GOP lock on Congress, this will be a mighty interesting and eventful first 100 days of Trump's presidency. I shudder to think about the mountain of pet GOP bills they will ram through in that short time, and Trump will sign every damn one of them. He'll play ball with the congressional conservatives to gain leverage when it comes time to lean on them for the non-conservative positions he advocated during the campaign -- all of those red meat promises he made to his supporters. Since the GOP establishment has revealed itself as the feckless, balls-less group of jackasses I always knew them to be, they'll have little choice but to roll over.

And the Democrats? Their opposition to all of this won't amount to a fart in the wind. Good job, guys!

[Kingpin]

My hope is that Trump, at his heart, isn't an ideologue - I don't think he is. I don't think deep down he passionately cares about conservative policy issues, and he himself may just not be very motivated to pursue them except to make deals with congress.

I fully agree with you here Alex.  He is a notorious negotiator and deal maker with extremely bullish tactics.  Interesting to see how that will play out in the congressional game.

[Brian37]

I don't care if he's the best president ever, ever. Most of the damage is already done. His success will encourage all the other populist f*ckwits, all over the world. His campaign alone reduced political discourse to infantile Twitter-squabbles. This will not just go away. This is life imitating reality TV. This is what the f*cking "celebrity culture" brings us. 

This is my view. He's demonstrated that demagoguery works. This means that someone far more competent than Trump and so inclined will be far more dangerous. The political landscape has irrevocably shifted now. Maybe there will be a backlash soon enough, or maybe Trump will continue trying to grab more power as he has hinted. We'll know if he starts to clamp down on freedom of the press.

I hope this isn't the end, but again, I have been screaming about the GOP's dangerous rhetoric even before Trump ran. He may not start a war overnight, or topple the government overnight, but be warned, if more politicians employ his tactics it will spell the end of our free society.

[The Grand Nudger]

They practically -have- to, going forward....look at the upset you can manufacture?  Not employing them will be seen as a potential risk.  Whatever amount of votes they could pick up with it will always be appealing to them...and this election has made it clear that they'd, previously, miscalculated the potential cost, that the risk-vs-reward calculations they made had been wrong.  

All those years of blowing dog whistles....wasted opportunity.