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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#166826: Jan 15th 2017 at 7:44:44 AM

[up] I continue to maintain that it's important to consider both xenophobia/nationalism and economic factors in regards to Trump's rise, both in terms of why people voted for him and why large blocks of people simply didn't turn out to vote against him. Democrat turnout in key states was down substantially, and despite the popular vote victory, the odds of abolishing the electoral college in the near future is about as good as implementing single payer healthcare. That is to say very low barring a mass movement on the left that successfully unifies the center and left in a way that hasn't been seen since the new deal era.

IFwanderer use political terms to describe, not insult from Earth Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
use political terms to describe, not insult
#166827: Jan 15th 2017 at 7:48:08 AM

[up][up][up]Second option is easier.

edited 15th Jan '17 7:48:18 AM by IFwanderer

1 2 We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. -KV
RBluefish Since: Nov, 2013
#166828: Jan 15th 2017 at 7:52:56 AM

Or reduce American wages and labor safety standards and rights.

That's almost certainly going to happen either way.

The low-income workers who voted for him have no idea how hard they screwed themselves. Though I think the Awful Truth is starting to dawn on at least some of them.

"We'll take the next chance, and the next, until we win, or the chances are spent."
carbon-mantis Collector Of Fine Oddities from Trumpland Since: Mar, 2010 Relationship Status: Married to my murderer
Collector Of Fine Oddities
#166829: Jan 15th 2017 at 7:57:25 AM

I wish it'd dawn on more sooner. I swear my family are so deep in the kool-aid that Trump himself could appear and drag them to a gas chamber and all along the way they'd insist he's doing it for their own good. I mean, close family on chemo that would have been dead today without ACA insisting that its death would be beneficial. Or others refusing to believe that "Obamacare" IS the goddamn ACA. "Oh, he's just getting rid of Obamacare, I'll still have my insurance afterwards but it'll cost less!"

Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#166830: Jan 15th 2017 at 7:59:15 AM

At the very least a ton of Trump people are freaking out about the prospect of losing their healthcare. Why this shocks them is a mystery to me. The GOP has made it clear that this has been their mission for six years. I guess you could argue that they thought the GOP would do the whole Repeal and Replace thing but that's only marginally better.

[up]Where did this idea that the ACA and Obamacare aren't the same thing come from? I know people called it Obamacare to discredit him but it's not like the ACA just mysteriously appeared overnight. Even if they were separate it must have been something that Obama passed.

edited 15th Jan '17 8:01:21 AM by Kostya

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#166831: Jan 15th 2017 at 8:01:45 AM

[up] Right wing media like FOX News and Breitbart. They just used "Obamacare" while conveniently leaving out the official name ACA. Then they let knee-jerk hostility towards Obama and confirmation bias do the rest.

edited 15th Jan '17 8:03:28 AM by M84

Disgusted, but not surprised
ironballs16 Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Owner of a lonely heart
#166832: Jan 15th 2017 at 8:03:08 AM

So in other worrying news, 3 senior officials claim that there's been talk of giving the media the boot from the White House itself and instead hold press conferences in another building. According to Shaun Spicer, Trump's Press Secretary, it's because of how much interest there is in covering Trump - but seeing as they made room for Trump's own staffers in the audience during the last press conference (so they could applaud at the right moments)...

"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"
RBluefish Since: Nov, 2013
#166833: Jan 15th 2017 at 8:04:03 AM

When the Orange One triumphantly tweeted the other day that "the Unaffordable Care Act will soon be a thing of the past!" I could only imagine his nineteen million ignorant followers seeing that and going "...wait, what?"

This kind of ignorance is pretty widespread, though. Check out this video. It's frightening the number of people who seem to have no idea that Obamacare and the ACA are the same exact thing.

Oh, and people who buy the GOP's promise to "repeal and replace!" are suckers of historic proportions.

[up] Yet another classic authoritarian move. I wouldn't be surprised if Bannon has a hand in this - this is exactly his MO.

edited 15th Jan '17 8:05:10 AM by RBluefish

"We'll take the next chance, and the next, until we win, or the chances are spent."
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#166834: Jan 15th 2017 at 8:04:58 AM

[up][up][up]See I get that at first but did these people never wonder where the ACA came from? Again, even if they were different it would have been something Obama passed.

edited 15th Jan '17 8:05:16 AM by Kostya

carbon-mantis Collector Of Fine Oddities from Trumpland Since: Mar, 2010 Relationship Status: Married to my murderer
Collector Of Fine Oddities
#166835: Jan 15th 2017 at 8:05:17 AM

@Kostya,The nutters have somehow cultivated the idea that "Obamacare" is simply the penalty for not having insurance and that the ACA is a separate entity. Any attempt of mine to explain otherwise is a liberal lie apparently.

To use a nameless relative for example, they believe that the ACA (and the preexisting condition clause) was the work of republicans in congress to make something good of Obama's imposed penalties.

edited 15th Jan '17 8:08:06 AM by carbon-mantis

RBluefish Since: Nov, 2013
#166836: Jan 15th 2017 at 8:08:01 AM

No offense to those who have to put up with them - you have my sympathies - but I am so glad I don't have any Trumplings in my immediate family. Not even my midwestern white grandparents can stand the guy.

I mean, I'm sure my extended family is packed with them. But thankfully I'm not close with my extended family.

"We'll take the next chance, and the next, until we win, or the chances are spent."
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#166837: Jan 15th 2017 at 8:12:13 AM

[up][up]Obama would still have to sign off on that.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#166838: Jan 15th 2017 at 8:19:33 AM

Regrettably, my dad has drunk a bit of the Flavor Aid. He now thinks that Trump might not be so bad. I suspect it's actually a defense mechanism, since prior to the election he agreed that Trump was an idiot.

Fortunately, he didn't actually vote for Trump. And we're registered in California anyway.

He also thought that one article about the person who revealed on Facebook that they didn't know the ACA and Obamacare were the same thing pretty funny.

edited 15th Jan '17 8:22:50 AM by M84

Disgusted, but not surprised
RBluefish Since: Nov, 2013
#166839: Jan 15th 2017 at 8:22:20 AM

I can't imagine thinking better of Trump since the election. I thought he was a dangerous monster even before, and my opinion of him has only plummeted even further since then.

"We'll take the next chance, and the next, until we win, or the chances are spent."
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#166840: Jan 15th 2017 at 8:23:42 AM

[up] Like I said, it's probably a defense mechanism. That, and my dad doesn't follow the news in the USA that much (we live and work overseas).

I, on the other hand, do keep up with the USA's shenanigans, so I'm appropriately horrified and disgusted.

BTW, national single-payer healthcare is awesome.

edited 15th Jan '17 8:25:29 AM by M84

Disgusted, but not surprised
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#166841: Jan 15th 2017 at 8:24:45 AM

I really don't want to be overly optimistic but I think something big is coming. This Russia stuff isn't going away. Obama also gave the NSA more authority to share information with the other agencies. If they can provide concrete evidence that Trump is being blackmailed I think the Republicans would be forced to dump him and his administration to save face.

edit: I also saw that Russia is facing significantly more cyber attacks now. How much you wanna bet it's half the world trying to find those tapes?

edited 15th Jan '17 8:26:42 AM by Kostya

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#166842: Jan 15th 2017 at 8:26:07 AM

[up] It would have to be something damning enough to turn away a good chunk of Trump supporters too.

Disgusted, but not surprised
carbon-mantis Collector Of Fine Oddities from Trumpland Since: Mar, 2010 Relationship Status: Married to my murderer
Collector Of Fine Oddities
#166843: Jan 15th 2017 at 8:32:49 AM

I think the only thing that'll sway diehards is something revealing that Trump himself is actually a black gay muslim. And even then they might just praise him for bringing diversity to the party.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#166844: Jan 15th 2017 at 8:33:42 AM

[up] Either that or he tweets Happy Yom Kippur or something.

Disgusted, but not surprised
RBluefish Since: Nov, 2013
#166845: Jan 15th 2017 at 8:35:48 AM

They actually did get pissed off at him after he tweeted Happy Hanukkah last year. A rare case where both his supporters and his critics were pissed over the same thing, although for polar opposite reasons. They were mad because they hate Jews. We were mad because of the blatant hypocrisy inherent to hiring a vicious anti-Semite like Bannon, then telling everyone to have a happy Hanukkah.

"We'll take the next chance, and the next, until we win, or the chances are spent."
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#166846: Jan 15th 2017 at 8:38:46 AM

The thing is we don't need to sway diehards. They make up a very small portion of the electorate. The older portion of the GOP still very much sees Russia as our enemy. If there's proof he worked with them I think that should be enough to make the general Republican base turn on him.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#166847: Jan 15th 2017 at 8:39:59 AM

[up][up] Yep, that's why I brought it up.

Disgusted, but not surprised
RBluefish Since: Nov, 2013
#166848: Jan 15th 2017 at 8:42:13 AM

[up][up] Would it, though? Remember, one of the most chilling polls of recent months was the one that showed that most Republicans prefer Putin to Obama.

"We'll take the next chance, and the next, until we win, or the chances are spent."
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#166849: Jan 15th 2017 at 8:43:16 AM

[up] Pft, that's only because Putin isn't a Democrat.

RBluefish Since: Nov, 2013
#166850: Jan 15th 2017 at 8:45:05 AM

You joke, but that pretty much is the reason.

"We'll take the next chance, and the next, until we win, or the chances are spent."

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