President-elect Trump

[Sheldonrs]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

But he would be replaced by a worse option.

Not if they both die at the same time. Oswald was able to shoot Connelly and Kennedy with one bullet.
They just have to line up better for better results.

[lumberjim]

Originally Posted by Sheldonrs

For many reasons. He's a proven serial liar, a traitor to this country, a sexual predator, homophobe, hate and fear-monger piece of shit.
Yes, I want him dead and I hope it hurts like hell when it happens.

Does that answer your question?

And then some

[Pamela]

I was going to post a long diatribe to sheldon, but decided against it.

You cannot reason or even converse honestly with people like this. I won't waste my bandwidth.

I *am* one of the groups the President has spoken negatively about, so I guess I can comment. I pray for his safety and hope he fulfills each and every promise that he made. I hope he makes my country even greater than it ever was before. Trump has the opportunity to become one of the greatest Presidents in history, if he can truly deliver what he promised.

Moreover, I hope every one of those violent protesters is rounded up and prosecuted fully. I am sick and tired of violence and mayhem being presented as free speech. It is not. That is felony after felony after felony. And it has been excused and pandered to more than long enough.
I have no quarrel with people holding signs, chanting and marching. That is their right. But no one.... NO ONE... has the right to damage private (or public) property, loot, burn or assault people. And if they think so, perhaps it is time they had a taste of their own medicine. I have free speech too, you know. And if violence is okay for them, it should be just ducky for me.

Woe be unto the first leftist rioter who crosses my path.

Spare me the outrage...I'm immune.

[DanaC]

The media (as diffuse as that is these days in the internet age) and the political and culture-making class have a measure of responsibility for these outbreaks, and that very much includes Mr Trump.

The tenor of political discourse in America has become more infused with violence and rebellion than it has for a very long time. Politicians have been lobbing social grenades with gay abandon and which have been received and multiplied by an enthusiastic and nihilistic propaganda industry.

Is anybody truly surprised by any of this? Other than Trump actually winning, of course. But the response to his victory? When Obama won his first election, republican politicians stood up in public and said we will oppose everything this president does. They didn't say they would watch him like a hawk and hold his feet to the fire, like a strong opposition - they said they will oppose everything he tries to do. In doing that, they weakened the electoral compact - they gave permission to the American body politic to deny the validity of the electoral mandate.

Coupled with the idiosyncrasies of the American electoral college system, in which someone can win the popular vote but lose the election, that permission is a dangerous thing.

In the meanwhile the level of civil violence has been growing in response to tensions between police and citizenry in some areas - providing a new (or old depending on your perspective) and very visible template for revolt.

Of course the republicans didn't rebel against the political system out of the clear blue - there was a journey to that point. But they certainly bear a large share of responsibility for creating the context for current tensions.

[DanaC]

I should say btw, that I do not mean that as an attack on the American political system - the political trends of Britain and much of Europe are very similar.

During the run up to the Brexit vote we had our first political assassination in generations. And attacks on certain minorities have increased massively since about the mid-point of the campaign and through the vote and aftermath.

[sexobon]

President Trump loves you Sheldon, almost as much as George XLIII did...not quite as much; but, almost...and you survived that.

[Griff]

Originally Posted by DanaC

The media (as diffuse as that is these days in the internet age) and the political and culture-making class have a measure of responsibility for these outbreaks, and that very much includes Mr Trump.

The tenor of political discourse in America has become more infused with violence and rebellion than it has for a very long time. Politicians have been lobbing social grenades with gay abandon and which have been received and multiplied by an enthusiastic and nihilistic propaganda industry.

Is anybody truly surprised by any of this? Other than Trump actually winning, of course. But the response to his victory? When Obama won his first election, republican politicians stood up in public and said we will oppose everything this president does. They didn't say they would watch him like a hawk and hold his feet to the fire, like a strong opposition - they said they will oppose everything he tries to do. In doing that, they weakened the electoral compact - they gave permission to the American body politic to deny the validity of the electoral mandate.

Coupled with the idiosyncrasies of the American electoral college system, in which someone can win the popular vote but lose the election, that permission is a dangerous thing.

In the meanwhile the level of civil violence has been growing in response to tensions between police and citizenry in some areas - providing a new (or old depending on your perspective) and very visible template for revolt.

Of course the republicans didn't rebel against the political system out of the clear blue - there was a journey to that point. But they certainly bear a large share of responsibility for creating the context for current tensions.

This.

I agree with the left Trump is a terrible person who should never be where he is. I'd feel much the same about Hillary. She would give us more of the same screwing we've had. Trump will give us worse and harder. They continue the pattern of breaking the people into little groups to keep them at each others throats. Trump will disrupt some things hopefully some of the right things but don't delude yourselves into thinking you voted for change. We tried to believe in Obama that way, but we continue the wars, we prop up the banks, we serve up our school children as profit centers, we get screwed by our healthcare system. Hillary wouldn't have changed any of that. She would have reduced expectations and ground away the way we were. This will be more blatant, a more joyful screwing of working people but they're going to cheer for it under Trump because he is super comfortable with the process and owns his useful idiots.

[Undertoad]

Whatever he does, it will be described as horrifying failure.

[Clodfobble]

By one half, as was everything Obama did by the other half. That's nothing new.

What's new is the number of people on his own side who are still reticent to be seen with him. The question is whether they will come around as time passes, or continue to shun him if not directly fight him. Honestly I expect extremely little will get done in the next four years, good or bad. We'll be in contrarian stasis until 2020.

[Undertoad]

If it is halves, I'm speaking of the one-half that convinced us with deep confidence that Trump had no chance of being elected.

[Clodfobble]

You have to admit that it was a bit of an anomaly that he did win. It's not like he swept the popular vote.

I'm a hopeless optimist, so I still harbor this unshakeable belief that he's a socially liberal person and won't let bad shit happen. I mean, yeah, he didn't dance with Caitlyn Jenner, but he acted like he might, which has got to piss some people off. He's not going to replace Obamacare with universal healthcare, but he acted like he might. If all he ever does is act like he's going to do stuff, in both directions, then whatever. That's fine.

[Undertoad]

To me, the anomaly was that nobody expected it, because that was built into the bubbles. At 8pm EST, polls closing time, I think the NYT percent-chance-o-meter started at Hillary like 85%.

We can say that the bias was confirming what the polls said, or what the polls said was wrong due to bias, but watching that meter was watching bias overtaken by reality.

Part of my optimism is that, in his state of narcissism and needing to be liked, he looks out on the hatery and figures his best bet is to actually be effective in some direction. Like, maybe a single-payer-ish plan as a christmas present from big daddy will make all the hatery people happy.

Another part of my optimism is that Trump is something we must go through in order to get to some other side, the nature of which is currently unknown to us.

The bone is broken and it sets harder. The stem is challenged by the wind and it grows firmer. You know, that kind of shit.

[Pico and ME]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

T



Part of my optimism is that, in his state of narcissism and needing to be liked, he looks out on the hatery and figures his best bet is to actually be effective in some direction. Like, maybe a single-payer-ish plan as a christmas present from big daddy will make all the hatery people happy.

'THEY' (those who got Trump in, I'm not talking voters here) better give the masses something to keep them quiet. Either that or a police state.

[DanaC]

Another part of my optimism is that Trump is something we must go through in order to get to some other side, the nature of which is currently unknown to us.

The bone is broken and it sets harder. The stem is challenged by the wind and it grows firmer. You know, that kind of shit.

I think there's a lot of truth to that.

[sexobon]

An earworm in case you ever feel abandoned by The Donald.