The Trump Administration: Day One

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Vonz90
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Re: The Trump Administration: Day One

Post by Vonz90 »

Netpackrat wrote:
MiddleAgedKen wrote:That can be laid at the feet of the establishment: McConnell, Graham, McCain, and their ilk. Look at what has been coming out of the pie holes of supposed conservative stalwarts and thought leaders since before the 2016 election.
At this point you can make a pretty sound argument that the above prefer to be the minority party.
McConnell could be argued, but when has anyone the the right of the NY Times called Graham or McCain a conservative?
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Weetabix
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Re: The Trump Administration: Day One

Post by Weetabix »

Vonz90 wrote:Dude, he is POTUS- head if the bloody party and all that comes with it; he is the establishment.
I'm not sure that's true. His name doesn't appear here.

Given how hard so much of the party opposed him during the primary, I kind of doubt they changed their tunes wholeheartedly after his election. Winning doesn't magically change people's minds and agenda.

I sure have enjoyed watching heads explode.
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Vonz90
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Re: The Trump Administration: Day One

Post by Vonz90 »

Weetabix wrote:
Vonz90 wrote:Dude, he is POTUS- head if the bloody party and all that comes with it; he is the establishment.
I'm not sure that's true. His name doesn't appear here.

Given how hard so much of the party opposed him during the primary, I kind of doubt they changed their tunes wholeheartedly after his election. Winning doesn't magically change people's minds and agenda.

I sure have enjoyed watching heads explode.
Um, you do know that Ronna Romney McDaniel was his pick as RNC Chairman right? The POTUS picks the GOP Chairman, it is the way that works (technically there is an election, but it has never not been the POTUS pick with a GOP POTUS.)

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/14/us/p ... google.com
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Weetabix
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Re: The Trump Administration: Day One

Post by Weetabix »

Vonz90 wrote:Um, you do know that Ronna Romney McDaniel was his pick as RNC Chairman right? The POTUS picks the GOP Chairman, it is the way that works (technically there is an election, but it has never not been the POTUS pick with a GOP POTUS.)
:lol: Whoops! Mea culpa.

I'm still not convinced that the party has been purged of Trump resisters, though.

Before we get sidetracked off of more important issues (not sure that could ever happen), I should admit that this is a minor point that's probably not worth arguing. It was just a thought.
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Vonz90
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Re: The Trump Administration: Day One

Post by Vonz90 »

Weetabix wrote:
Vonz90 wrote:Um, you do know that Ronna Romney McDaniel was his pick as RNC Chairman right? The POTUS picks the GOP Chairman, it is the way that works (technically there is an election, but it has never not been the POTUS pick with a GOP POTUS.)
:lol: Whoops! Mea culpa.

I'm still not convinced that the party has been purged of Trump resisters, though.

Before we get sidetracked off of more important issues (not sure that could ever happen), I should admit that this is a minor point that's probably not worth arguing. It was just a thought.
Well, why would you want to "purge" the Trump resistors (I do not recall it happening with either set of Bush resistors or Reagan resistors either). Certainly, he won the nomination / election so he gets a very big say in how the party moves, that is the way it is. But there are a whole lot of other elected officials who won their elections, plus other constituencies, etc. I think making the whole party conform on a personal loyalty matter is a good way to drive the party into the dirt.

I think the big issue with the non-direction of the part has to do with the Trump loyalty requirement too, just not directly. With prior Presidents, they had an agenda to one degree or another and even those who were not on their side directly in a personal way, they could lean on those who had a similar agenda to get things done. With Trump, it is about him, so he has an inner circle (and outer circle mostly) made up of very competing ideas, but as long as they are loyal to him he is okay with it. I cannot see how that would not make it more difficult to get the whole executing in one direction, which is a lot of what we see.
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Weetabix
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Re: The Trump Administration: Day One

Post by Weetabix »

Vonz90 wrote:Well, why would you want to "purge" the Trump resistors (I do not recall it happening with either set of Bush resistors or Reagan resistors either).
Oh, my bad for being too concise. I'm not saying it should happen. I like a bit of ruckus and friction in government. It slows them down. I thought you were implying above that it had happened when you called him "the establishment." I was just thinking that there's a pretty big GOP machine still rolling through momentum that POTUS probably doesn't control to the degree the guy in the street would think he did.
Certainly, he won the nomination / election so he gets a very big say in how the party moves, that is the way it is. But there are a whole lot of other elected officials who won their elections, plus other constituencies, etc. I think making the whole party conform on a personal loyalty matter is a good way to drive the party into the dirt.
I'd agree with that. But I think they've been working to drive it into the dirt before he came aboard (if he is, indeed, aboard).
I think the big issue with the non-direction of the part has to do with the Trump loyalty requirement too, just not directly. With prior Presidents, they had an agenda to one degree or another and even those who were not on their side directly in a personal way, they could lean on those who had a similar agenda to get things done. With Trump, it is about him, so he has an inner circle (and outer circle mostly) made up of very competing ideas, but as long as they are loyal to him he is okay with it. I cannot see how that would not make it more difficult to get the whole executing in one direction, which is a lot of what we see.
I'd have to think about that, but some of that may be appearances. I think he's like a magician, waving one hand to distract the press while he does the real stuff with the other. See point 8 in Trump’s First Year: First, the Good News from National Review. I'm fairly pleased with all of the list, but 8 seems to address your point. What do you think?
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First Shirt
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Re: The Trump Administration: Day One

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From a "boots on the ground" perspective, I'm pretty happy with the way Trump is going. Is it perfect? No, of course not ( I'm not running the country!)

But right now, my company is booked SOLID through the end of March, we're 90% booked for April, about 75% for May, and we're taking orders for June already (mostly steady customers who are trying to get ahead of anticipated price increases), my 401K is doing great, and I'm bringing home about an extra $50 a week because of the tax reform. Our annual profit sharing check, which comes out in March, is expected to be the best it's been in 10 years or so, and things are looking pretty good on the home front.

SILs who are in the service (one Navy, one Marine) say that things are getting better already, with money suddenly becoming available for parts, maintenance, and training. And my .mil retirement check was about $40 bucks ahead of the previous one.

It's sorta like eating an elephant. You do it one bite at a time.
But there ain't many troubles that a man caint fix, with seven hundred dollars and a thirty ought six."
Lindy Cooper Wisdom
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