So Trump's going to be President

jtmh2012

labro said:

That's true and it's not. We've seen a massive expansion in executive power over the course of Obama's, Bush's, and Clinton's presidencies. The President and the cabinet have a ton of influence on policy. And you can't blame each president for progressively taking advantage of and further expanding the increased powers given to them by their predecessor. So I expect Trump to take full advantage of the strides Obama made in executive power during his own presidency.

There's a saying about not giving yourself powers that you wouldn't want your opponent to have as they just might end up in the chair after you leave.  Not sure who said it.

MommyLiberty5013

jtmh2012 said:

labro said:

That's true and it's not. We've seen a massive expansion in executive power over the course of Obama's, Bush's, and Clinton's presidencies. The President and the cabinet have a ton of influence on policy. And you can't blame each president for progressively taking advantage of and further expanding the increased powers given to them by their predecessor. So I expect Trump to take full advantage of the strides Obama made in executive power during his own presidency.

There's a saying about not giving yourself powers that you wouldn't want your opponent to have as they just might end up in the chair after you leave.  Not sure who said it.

I would really like to see the Executive powers be back in check and used primarily what they are meant to do, which is basically to only make a decision in the event the Legislative branch is unable to meet and maybe a few other reasons.

In our judicial branch, too, we have a lot of "legislating from the bench," which should go away as well.

Our government is just way too big and has too much power and we see that in all the branches stretching the boundaries of their governmental limits.

MommyLiberty5013

short+sassy said:

labro said:

jtmh2012 said:

short+sassy said:

Thanks, that is food for thought.  Because I am admittedly having trouble understanding how people could have voted for him.

I realize I don't chime in over here much, but I thought I'd add my two cents.

For me, it really came down to one thing.  I'm a contractor in the DoD space and I hold a security clearance.  Each year, we get briefings that we have to acknowledge saying we understand how to handle information and the penalties for mishandling it.  The press made it out to sound like an "e-mail issue", but it wasn't.  It was a mishandling of sensitive information issue.  I could get fired and go to jail for what Clinton had done and yet she was running for president.  I just could not in good conscience vote for that.

And yes, before anybody says something.  There were claims of others doing the same thing before her, but at the end of the day, they weren't on the election ballot.

If I thought a third party candidate had a real chance, I would have voted for them.  Heck, I honestly would have voted for Bernie had he won the democratic nomination.

I know the lot of people voted for Trump as an anti-establishment move, but honestly, he's as establishment as the rest of them.  He's just never held office before and up until a few years ago, he was actually a Democrat, but I don't think most people realize that.

My dad is retired military and he had the same feelings as you. He said he would've gone to jail for a long long time. I still didn't like his decision in choosing to vote for Trump...but as far as his vote goes, and mine, well, we live in Georgia. So honestly, we could've both voted for Mickey Mouse and Trump still would have taken our state.

So true!  I'm right there with you.  My vote matters for state issues, governors, and Congress positions.  I try to take comfort in that.  But it does not matter for President.  Louisiana's electoral votes have only gone to the Democratic candidate 3x in the last 50 years.

While I understand it is pretty much impossible to get rid of the electoral college, I wish more states would at least break up their electoral votes by district.  I just find the current system disgusting.  Unless a person is in a swing state, their POTUS vote pretty much doesn't count because of the "all or nothing" electoral vote system that (I think) 48 states have.

Haha, I seem to always live in the "different" part of the state.  CA ALWAYS goes Dem., but I grew up in Orange County which is super conservative Republican.  Very extreme, I always joke they make Newt Gingrich look liberal.  Now I live in NOLA, which is strongly Dem., but the rest of the state is very, very Rep.

So, I've seen the frustration from both sides.  There are millions of people who live in OC, mostly Republican, and their votes don't count.  Over 40% of Louisiana's population lives in NOLA, mostly Dem.  And their votes don't count.  I might lean more liberal, but it is equally infuriating because everyone's vote should count.

Sorry for the tangent!

Today is the sad day.  I'm praying for minimal damage over the next 4 years that aren't going to take many years to undue.  Aside from my personal dislike of Trump's character, he has no experience in politics.  I just don't see his term being anything but a total disaster.  But the magic of our government is he is not a dictator and he is not the only piece.  Hopefully Congress will remember their duties to the American people and make wise decisions.

I was fed up with the EC too. But then I took a look at the EC map going all the way back to the 1970s. "Swing states" are always changing.

So while I thought my vote as a Republican in MN (always Blue) doesn't matter, I see now that it does in fact matter. Well, MN is Blue as far back as I could see, but in looking at other states' results, I see a mixture of red to blue, or vice versa. So I'm still voting Republican with gusto in MN despite its consistent blue status...because maybe ONE DAY it will change.

That's the big upset this election cycle for POTUS - RE: Pennsylvania. No one saw that coming! But PA was red back in the 80s, if I recall correctly. WI was too.

Anyway, the point is, right now, Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia are considered "swing," but that's only for like the last two decades. Most of us are younger voters and likely paid no attention to elections in high school or even earlier, therefore we have no knowledge of the status of "swing states" prior to becoming a part of the process when we each turned 18. Our perspectives are limited, which is why, I think, we usually hear the younger voters being the most vocal people saying "down with the EC." When you only have two presidents (maybe 12-16 years) in your frame of reference, it can be blinding to the past...at least that's the way it was for me until I realized my error.

I do not any longer say a POTUS vote in a usually "red" or usually "blue" state doesn't matter. It clearly does. Just think of all those Dem voters in PA who said, "My POTUS vote doesn't matter, we're always Blue, we will be blue in this election - therefore I'm not taking the time for voting!" Oops.