Has U.S. Democracy Been Trumped?

[andrei]

Yes, and also the prospect of president Pence is arguably worse.

 

No worries, the tolerant left, who doesn't discriminate, wishes the same to both of them.

[kenberg]

The election means that the Dems have very little say in what happens. So what should they do? I hope that when the 2018 elections in the House and Senate roll around, they will be able to say more than "I boycotted the inauguration". Here are some thoughts: With regard to the ACA, they could acknowledge that the voters, intentionally or not, have set the stage for its repeal. They could strongly advocate for the replacement to be fully developed before the current plan is repealed. Moreover, they could suggest, but only if they mean it, then they would like to work cooperatively in developing a replacement. As things stand now, it is not clear if even Reps have any say in the development. Trump is almost done designing it, so he says. As if Monday he will set it out, Tuesday the House will approve, Wednesday the Senate will approve, Thursday he will sign. That is not going to happen even if, and I doubt it is so, Trump has something of substance ready to go. If the ACA had been a cooperative effort from both sides of the aisle and the White House, it probably would be working better, would have had broader support, and it would have been easier to fix the glitches. That didn't happen. Past is past, we could try to do better. Rehashing who is to blame is not my idea of doing better.

 

Not that I think any of this will happen. I don't, or I try not to, live in a dream world. But in two years there will be another election, in four years there will be another presidential election, and the Dems will have to say what they have done, or at least what efforts they have made. It has to be more substantial than boycotting the inauguration.

 

 

As for legitimacy, the first election I voted in (1960) Kennedy made a huge fuss about a non-existent missile gap. The first election I took an interest in (1952), McCarthy was calling Stevenson a Communist. There is a lot of crap during elections, we cope as best we can. People voted, the machines weren't rigged, we have, for better or worse, the Electoral College system, Trump won. On Friday, he becomes the president. That's the end of that phase. If Dems want the support of the people two years from now, they need to get started showing that they can accept reality and deal with it as productively as possible.

 

We can hope.

[cherdano]

The election means that the Dems have very little say in what happens. So what should they do? I hope that when the 2018 elections in the House and Senate roll around, they will be able to say more than "I boycotted the inauguration". Here are some thoughts: With regard to the ACA, they could acknowledge that the voters, intentionally or not, have set the stage for its repeal.

https://cdn3.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/7822829/Screen_Shot_2017_01_17_at_12.17.47_PM.png

 

[cherdano]

I don't know. I'd hardly label Trump as a Republican. I wouldn't be surprised to see him impeached by the Republicans in an attempt to get a true believer into the office.

He's made it clear that he is happy to sign off on tax cuts for the wealthy. That should be enough to have him considered a True Republican^TM by the DC Republican establishment. (They don't care about abortion or opposing gay right or any of that stuff unless it helps them win elections in order to cut taxes for the wealthy.)

[y66]

If Dems want the support of the people two years from now, they need to get started showing that they can accept reality and deal with it as productively as possible. We can hope.

Not just hope. Check out Keith Ellison's roadmap which he discusses with Ezra Klein at: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/panoply/the-ezra-klein-show/e/keith-ellison-the-democratic-national-committee-has-become-the-48843420.

 

Another Minnesotan with above average insight.

[Winstonm]

Will Kremlimgate turn out to be Trump's Nixon failing?

[billw55]

Will Kremlimgate turn out to be Trump's Nixon failing?

No, because the public doesn't care anymore. Pretty much no matter what scandal is revealed, most of his followers will deny it, rationalize it, blame it on Obama or Clinton, etc.

[Winstonm]

No, because the public doesn't care anymore. Pretty much no matter what scandal is revealed, most of his followers will deny it, rationalize it, blame it on Obama or Clinton, etc.

 

Trump followers are still the minority, though.

[Winstonm]

This is ridiculous, more in keeping with crying fire in a crowded theater and should be treated as such.

 

At some point reasonable people have to say, enough, we will not allow this type of propaganda-by-pseudo-news contamination into our culture.

[Zelandakh]

Will Kremlimgate turn out to be Trump's Nixon failing?

I would think the fallout from Summer Zervos is more likely to be such an issue - more of a ML than Wg - although I suspect we have not yet heard of the one that will finally catch up with him.

[Winstonm]

I would think the fallout from Summer Zervos is more likely to be such an issue - more of a ML than Wg - although I suspect we have not yet heard of the one that will finally catch up with him.

 

That would be entirely decided by the midterm elections - if Democrats still do not control either House or Senate after those, then the Republicans will not go after Trump for anything less than a smoking gun treason charge; however, if it could be found that he was in contact and cooperation with Russia during the campaign, and he continues to profit financially from that cooperation there are enough anti-Russia Republicans to turn the tide against him.

[PassedOut]

A little too late this time around, but I expect to see lots more stories like this during the next election cycle: From Headline to Photograph, a Fake News Masterpiece

 

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — It was early fall, and Donald J. Trump, behind in the polls, seemed to be preparing a rationale in case a winner like him somehow managed to lose. “I’m afraid the election is going to be rigged, I have to be honest,” the Republican nominee told a riled-up crowd in Columbus, Ohio. He was hearing “more and more” about evidence of rigging, he added, leaving the details to his supporters’ imagination.

 

A few weeks later, Cameron Harris, a new college graduate with a fervent interest in Maryland Republican politics and a need for cash, sat down at the kitchen table in his apartment to fill in the details Mr. Trump had left out. In a dubious art just coming into its prime, this bogus story would be his masterpiece.

 

Mr. Harris started by crafting the headline: “BREAKING: ‘Tens of thousands’ of fraudulent Clinton votes found in Ohio warehouse.” It made sense, he figured, to locate this shocking discovery in the very city and state where Mr. Trump had highlighted his “rigged” meme.

 

“I had a theory when I sat down to write it,” recalled Mr. Harris, a 23-year-old former college quarterback and fraternity leader. “Given the severe distrust of the media among Trump supporters, anything that parroted Trump’s talking points people would click. Trump was saying ‘rigged election, rigged election.’ People were predisposed to believe Hillary Clinton could not win except by cheating.”

 

In a raucous election year defined by made-up stories, Mr. Harris was a home-grown, self-taught practitioner, a boutique operator with no ties to Russian spy agencies or Macedonian fabrication factories. As Mr. Trump takes office this week, the beneficiary of at least a modest electoral boost from a flood of fakery, Mr. Harris and his ersatz-news website, ChristianTimesNewspaper.com, make for an illuminating tale.

 

Contacted by a reporter who had discovered an electronic clue that revealed his secret authorship of ChristianTimesNewspaper.com, he was wary at first, chagrined to be unmasked.

 

“This topic is rather sensitive,” Mr. Harris said, noting that he was trying to build a political consulting business and needed to protect his reputation. But eventually he agreed to tell the story of his foray into fake news, a very part-time gig that he calculated paid him about $1,000 an hour in web advertising revenue.

He even included a picture to make the story more believable.

 

The say that Russia had nothing to do with this one, but isn't Harris a common Russian surname??

:P

[mikeh]

No worries, the tolerant left, who doesn't discriminate, wishes the same to both of them.

Compared, of course, to the very polite, understated views of those on the right, especially with regard to uppity blacks in high office, or women with the temerity to run. Ah: republicans: such caring, compassionate, polite people.

[y66]

This too shall pass. Strength and honor.

[Winstonm]

This inauguration speech is a call for fascist nationalism. Sad day.

[mike777]

This inauguration speech is a call for fascist nationalism. Sad day.

 

 

Did not see the speech but calling for a fascist nation does not sound like a good start.

 

 

I did see where Cnn or nbc news reported yesterday that Trump is in violation of the Constitution on day one.

[Winstonm]

Did not see the speech but calling for a fascist nation does not sound like a good start.

 

 

I did see where Cnn or nbc news reported yesterday that Trump is in violation of the Constitution on day one.

 

Inauguration speech was a call to return to isolationism and nationalism. I think Mussolini would have approved.

[Vampyr]

Did everyone see Obama say "good job"? Pretty faint as far as praise goes.

[mike777]

Inauguration speech was a call to return to isolationism and nationalism. I think Mussolini would have approved.

 

 

I think you are very unfair to the fascist Mussolini, he was not for isolationism, quite the opposite. Neither the fascist Hitler or the fascist Stalin were in favor of isolationism.

 

However the very famous American Hero Lindbergh was in favor of isolationism up to Pearl.

[Winstonm]

I think you are very unfair to the fascist Mussolini, he was not for isolationism, quite the opposite. Neither the fascist Hitler or the fascist Stalin were in favor of isolationism.

 

However the very famous American Hero Lindbergh was in favor of isolationism up to Pearl.

 

I meant the tone of the speech.

 

The speech was written by Trump personally, according to spokesman Sean Spicer, but it contained echoes of nationalist and almost authoritarian ideas favored by top advisers Steve Bannon and Steven Miller.

 

“At the bedrock of our politics will be a total allegiance to the United States of America, and through our loyalty to our country, we will rediscover our loyalty to each other,” Trump said. “We must speak our minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity. When America is united, America is totally unstoppable.”

[mike777]

Just tuned on CNN and NBC news. tv screen full of massive protests in the streets of our nations capital. One news anchor used the word riot.

 

Not sure if this is a response to what Winston says is Trumps call for a fascist nation.

 

Have not heard any reports just yet if the protests or worse riots are spreading out across the country.

[Aberlour10]

Sadly this mindless violance on the streets of Washington

[Phil]

http://theslot.jezebel.com/donald-trump-plagiarized-bane-in-his-inaugural-speech-1791429625?utm_medium=sharefromsite&utm_source=The_Slot_twitter

[barmar]

This inauguration speech is a call for fascist nationalism. Sad day.

Still, it was one of the least insane speeches he's given. He at least sounded like he understood the gravity of his new position, not like a raving lunatic.

[mike777]

Still, it was one of the least insane speeches he's given. He at least sounded like he understood the gravity of his new position, not like a raving lunatic.

 

:) Did you two guys hear the same speech? :)

 

Calling for America to become a fascist nation seems to qualify for insane or raving lunatic.

 

I have not heard the speech and dont plan on listening to some fascist.