Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I would venture to say that the bad policies of Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush II, and Obama led to the election of Trump. Not saying he's the solution. Just saying the blame, and issues/policies, have been accumulative.
I truly cannot believe some of the things Trump supporters say and it is coming to the point where I cannot stand them. Obama walks into a massive recession that was in full swing before the man ever took office. The economy was in free fall when Bush handed Obama the reins and walked away. At the same time, Republicans determined not to pass anything Obama wanted. They cheered at the demise of American automobile manufacturers and called GM "government motors". Eight years later, Trump walks into office with 4% unemployment and Trump supporters credit him on the first day. Trump supporters are so obsessed with trying to "undo the black man" that even the most obvious of lies are acceptable for them and Trump the narcissist loves it because no man hated the black man like Trump the birther does.
And with the things Trump is doing, should we go into a full on trade war, who will Trump supporters blame, because they will never ever ever admit their deity Trump was wrong. Exiting TPP which controls 40% of the global economic output is on Trump. Now dairy farmers are pouring millions of gallons of milk away while taxpayers subsidize the farmers. We never hear about these stories because Trump administration consists of his own mob family and Fox News employees. That's not even a joke, that's who Trump hires. What a complete joke this country is becoming.
If any one thing about Obama led to Trump, it was Obama's frequent need to scold some rather large chunk of the American people, which happened about 2-3x per week for his entire presidency. People got sick of their government, as embodied by the POTUS, scolding them like children.
The 2016 election offered the 20% in the middle (since 40% always vote D no matter what, and 40% do same for R) a choice between someone even more of a scold than Obama (Hillary) and someone who scolded the scolds, like the entire government AND the media (Trump).
Bottom line, after 8 years of scolding America, the Dems should have nominated anyone other than Hillary Clinton, and had they done so, that person would be President right now. She's the most unlikable politician of the last 100 years, and her campaign comes down to a combo of "my turn" and cranking up the scolding to 11?
That's all you can pin on Obama really. Americans like flipping the levers every 8 years, and that has more to do with Trump than anything else, especially considering Dems offered up worst candidate since Mondale.
If any one thing about Obama led to Trump, it was Obama's frequent need to scold some rather large chunk of the American people, which happened about 2-3x per week for his entire presidency. People got sick of their government, as embodied by the POTUS, scolding them like children.
The 2016 election offered the 20% in the middle (since 40% always vote D no matter what, and 40% do same for R) a choice between someone even more of a scold than Obama (Hillary) and someone who scolded the scolds, like the entire government AND the media (Trump).
Bottom line, after 8 years of scolding America, the Dems should have nominated anyone other than Hillary Clinton, and had they done so, that person would be President right now. She's the most unlikable politician of the last 100 years, and her campaign comes down to a combo of "my turn" and cranking up the scolding to 11?
That's all you can pin on Obama really. Americans like flipping the levers every 8 years, and that has more to do with Trump than anything else, especially considering Dems offered up worst candidate since Mondale.
Sorry, Obama never ever ever talked to Republicans the way Trump insults over half the country at every one of his rallies. Trump lies lies lies and lies some more. After Trump, I don't ever want to hear Republicans say one word of civil discourse, family values or any other virtue they claim to have supported but prove were lies all along. Obama walks into a red hot recession and a Republican party that wants to blame the recession on the black guy handed the mess. And it worked because Trump supporters loved Trump's birtherism.
Trump is the result of decades of cultural and societal drift in America, and in the Western World overall. He was the opportune man for the moment, deftly sensing what a significant portion of the voting-public was wiling to hear. A stronger Democratic opponent might indeed have defeated him... this time. A more rational Republican party might indeed have coalesced around an alternative candidate... this time. But the culture has become such, and the times have become such, that a Trump-like figure - even if not Trump himself - was going to be a likely outcome in the eventual near-future.
Trump's election is a poignant commentary on the present state of Western Culture.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cruzincat
The Republican elites wanted another elite, Jeb Bush to be the next nominee.
Pray tell: in what sense is it bad to have our leaders come from "the elite". If we're going to be led by person who aren't from the "elite", what sort of leadership would these worthies provide?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Oldhag1
Angela Merkle is the modern day equivalent of Eve with her apple. I think she may have accomplished what many a male rouge leader in past tried and failed at, the destruction of Europe.
Merkel and Macron are the two last responsible big-nation leaders, holding together the post-WW2 international order.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FatBob96
Why do you think that the Electoral College is unnecessary?
Do you think that a simple majority should decide the fate of everyone in the country regardless of circumstances?
What if the majority endorsed policies that aren't good for you and your state?
Why should the populations of New York and California decide the Presidency for the entire country?
If the minority "endorsed policies that aren't good" for me - how would that be any better, more prudent or more just, than if this endorsement had been by the majority? Along similar lines, why should the populations of New York or California find their choices overwhelmed by the people of Kansas or Alabama?
The problem isn't with the electoral college per se, but with the curious notion, that a simple-majority popular win in nearly any state (48 out of 50) results in a 100% awarding of electors to the winning candidate in said states. It's the ultimate gerrymandering... win ever so slightly in a bare majority of states, get resoundingly trounced in the remainder, and win the election.
I believe the media actually wanted Trump to get the nomination, because they felt they could ridicule him mercilessly to help give the Democrats the win. That meant HRC. They didn't count on Trump using Twitter to do an end run around their efforts to paint him the way they wanted. They made their second mistake by reporting on his tweets.
I think the liberal media outlets certainly felt that Trump's style was sure to give HRC the election win. They probably felt Trump inadvertently sold the American public on a more polished candidate -- Hillary Clinton -- through his crude mannerisms and complete lack of political experience. They thought "Who in their right mind thinks this clown is actually presidential material? I mean come on..." Easy win, right?
As a result, the media became increasingly passive aggressive, snarky, and bitter towards Trump, and I think that rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, including, obviously, the electors. At this point, the election became more about the mainstream media (which was mostly in collusion with Hillary) vs. Trump.
Ironically, I think if the media had treated Trump more fairly pre-election day, Hillary would probably be our president. I think democrats underestimate the extent to which people are looking for a media that is fair and balanced, and when most of the media are clearly favoring one candidate, it makes people skeptical. Democrats love to bash Fox News for being biased, but really, Fox is the only major media outlet offering an alternative perspective on issues.
Pray tell: in what sense is it bad to have our leaders come from "the elite". If we're going to be led by person who aren't from the "elite", what sort of leadership would these worthies provide?
The problem arose, because the elitists failed to recognize that the electorate was ready for something different. They wanted someone who at least would promise to do the things that they felt needed done for many years, which the former elites failed to do. Like stopping the influx of illegal aliens. That was numero uno and Trump knew it. The bonus to many is that he hasn't stopped trying to achieve that goal 18 months in, while every other elite politician, by that time had bailed out.
Obama, Hillary, and the media are responsible for Trump’s election. Trump drives me nuts but at least he doesn’t act like being American of something to be ashamed of or that we owe apologies to other nations. As much as everyone claims he has no forgein policy doctrine, he has a very clear one - “America First”. Yeah, yeah, yeah.... he is all about himself being the greatest, but he’s all about us being the greatest too, if for no other reason than he sees us as an extension of him.
I never felt like any president acted like being American was something to be ashamed over.
That's an interesting perception you just shared.
I am not really even opposed to putting the US first... I mean, I am a citizen and I do think we should take care of our citizens.
But, I do not see putting our country and its citizens first runs counter to helping others, either.
I think that's something politicians toss around when they are against any sort of altruism.
Have you ever heard a politician say we should curb excess military spending to provide more for our veterans and actually go through with that comment in the way of policy? Nope?
Me, either.
__________________
When in doubt, check it out: FAQ
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
