Quote :

"what do you mean by "accept"? i acknowledge that it's happening, but it isn't acceptable."

I should be more specific. We need to accept that we'll see more blowhards like Trump be in prominent places in government. I'm not talking specifically about his viewpoints. We don't have to just accept that his viewpoints are what's right and what's needed for America. I'm not accepting them, that's for sure. I'm just saying that bombastic people like him will be able to ride a wave of popularity (regardless of where its coming from) into office.

11/21/2016 1:37:22 PM

Simply calling Trump and his cabinet members "hacks" does a huge disservice to the discussion, though.

They are not hacks. A hack implies political incompetence or a lack a lack of political vision. A hack implies someone who is on the fringe and not to be taken seriously. These people have vision. These people are now on power, and their rhetoric must be taken seriously. They have a terrifying view of what constitutes a "real American." It is a creeping fascism that has now become mainstream political ideology. It cannot be accepted and it has to be opposed.

These people are dangerous.

11/21/2016 1:42:55 PM

Quote :

"I think we can blame our generation (and young Gen X) for changing perceptions of the ideal president."

nah

11/21/2016 1:44:02 PM

^^ I'm speaking only of Trump, not his administration. I do find that he is a hack and that he has no real vision, which is why he's basically delegating that responsibility to people who were loyal and supported him. I mean a lot of folks still feel that he just ran because he could and it would get him some air time so he can tout some hotel or casino somewhere.

You're absolutely correct about this administration and their vision and it is worrisome.

^ I think we find a lot of leadership qualities expected in our president to be somewhat aligned with what we would expect from a CEO of a major corporation. As part of the Internet boom, there's a new class of companies and those respective CEOs and leaders that are just more laid back and casual in nature than they used to be. I feel like that culture is changing and is certainly more relatable to our generation than others. Work from home. Go to work in shorts and t-shirt. Don't have to worry about what you say on the Internet. Yadda yadda. I may be totally off-base, but I believe there's some merit to that relationship and why we don't care if our president doesn't act like a prim and proper country club rich white man.

All-in-all, I'm just saying that if we were ranking our reasons to vote for someone as president, "Do they look and act presidential?" is sliding way down the prioritization scale. It may have mattered (or felt like it mattered) before, not so much now.

[Edited on November 21, 2016 at 2:14 PM. Reason : .]

11/21/2016 1:48:55 PM

How on earth is Trump going to pass a multi-trillion dollar infrastructure spending bill with his tax cuts? And why on earth would the GOP do that after spending 8 years railing against that? (Answer is obvious I know)

From what I can tell the next four to eight years is going be a shitshow of trickle down nonsense and then blame it on the incoming Dem president.

[Edited on November 21, 2016 at 1:52 PM. Reason : Of course if Medicare and SS are gutted maybe the deficit won't go too far. Boomers would deserve it]

11/21/2016 1:52:15 PM

I'm going to make one small point of contention and then let it go, because I think we mostly agree.


But Trump rode the wave of demagoguery and white Christian nationalism to the presidency. That, in my opinion, is not hack-ish. That he rose in popularity due to economic anxiety, and put those tensions at ease by scapegoating Muslims and Mexicans while displaying a chauvinistic degree of "masculine strength" has historical precedence. Strongman leaders have emerged throughout history and duped populations to backing them during times of perceived "outside threats."

Trump is a con-man. And while he is very much politically retarded, his "strengths" are not hack-ish. He is dangerous and is a genuine threat to the republic.

11/21/2016 1:57:19 PM

MICRO-AGGRESSION TRIGGER ALERT!!!

Quote :

"They have a terrifying view of what constitutes a "real American.""

I think, given their records, their view of a "real American" involves legal citizenship.

doooooode!!! super-terrifying!!!

11/21/2016 2:00:14 PM

^^ Yeah, we mostly agree. I guess I'd have to give credit to Trump if he had a master-plan right from the beginning. I guess I'm of the belief that he threw poo on a wall and he was surprised when some of it stuck. Then his campaign just told him to keep pushing the message because it was getting attention and his polls were rising.

11/21/2016 2:19:18 PM

Quote :

"Boomers would deserve it"

Boomers would make sure that they get theirs.

11/21/2016 2:28:14 PM

Quote :

" I think, given their records, their view of a "real American" involves legal citizenship."

And White
And straight
And conservative
And Christian
And preferably male as well.

[Edited on November 21, 2016 at 2:48 PM. Reason : ]

11/21/2016 2:46:11 PM

swallow that rhetoric!!

swallow it down!

11/21/2016 4:35:11 PM

I know right?

[Edited on November 21, 2016 at 5:07 PM. Reason : ]

11/21/2016 5:07:39 PM

The Huffington Post Editorial Board appear to have even less diversity.

11/21/2016 5:40:01 PM

does not fit the narrative

must.
reject.

11/21/2016 5:52:16 PM

You're right, I definitely see a significant Apple bias there.

11/21/2016 6:50:25 PM

Glad I didn't vote for the Huffington Post (a "media" source I've never seeked out)...

11/21/2016 6:54:19 PM

I didn't vote for Breitbart, either. But somehow that made it into the white house.

11/21/2016 7:04:59 PM

that's because more people voted for the Breitbart candidate than the candidate you voted for. It's funny how democracy works that way.

11/21/2016 7:21:27 PM

well, actually...

11/21/2016 7:30:28 PM

lol democracy

[Edited on November 21, 2016 at 7:43 PM. Reason : It applies for both post above mine. It's not like the truth matters anymore ]

11/21/2016 7:42:15 PM

Quote :

"It's funny how democracy works that way."

Yes. Very funny indeed.

11/21/2016 7:56:36 PM

on breitbart.com the tshirts, hats, and hoodies are higher up on the page than the headlines?

also...dont republicans hate hoodies? or is that only if minorities wear them?

11/21/2016 8:35:35 PM

https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/800885097775955974

Trump does not know what a conflict of interest is.

11/21/2016 10:44:16 PM

Ah yes, the media, which was proven to be in bed with Clinton, is now preaching about "conflict of interest".

11/22/2016 12:16:49 AM

Quote :

"that's because more people voted for the Breitbart candidate than the candidate you voted for. It's funny how democracy works that way."

just the best post

11/22/2016 1:16:57 AM

Why are liberals so obsessed with race. Identity politics is such a stupid thing. It shouldn't matter what race or gender you are, if you are a brainwashed SJW you should be able to write for the HuffingtonPost regardless... I wish those 30-50 yo white waterhags would be more inclusive.

11/22/2016 2:33:31 AM

Quote :

" Why are liberals so obsessed with race"

Says the person defending the pick of national security advisors, attorney generals, bannon, etc., who all support race-based profiling.

Funny how the right's promotion of "color blindness" ends when it comes to actual policy.

The US was an apartheid state for whites/non-whites before the civil rights era, asking for fairness considering this very recent legacy isn't being obsessed with race.

11/22/2016 3:39:00 AM

Quote :

"Why are liberals so obsessed with race"

Because it's a huge part of the basic makeup of who a person is? Culturally and politically. And because minority groups are under-represented in government, especially on the right.

11/22/2016 9:07:42 AM

The Alt-Right in action (otherwise known as neo-nazis): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o6-bi3jlxk

11/22/2016 9:36:37 AM

I don't understand why you don't just call them by what they are, rather than using alt-right. They have nothing to do with the right. They're nazis. They're racist. They're inhuman.

11/22/2016 10:02:46 AM

If EVERYONE would refer to them as that I think that would be a great solution. The problem is not everyone knows this, so the line has to be drawn for people that don't realize.

If a lot of people just started saying Nazis instead of Alt Right, than everyone who doesn't already know they're one in the same would think it's two different groups

11/22/2016 10:41:01 AM

Not all that surprising as realistically it was always bluster - don't think some of the voters will take to kindly to it though...

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/22/us/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-investigation.html?_r=0

11/22/2016 10:45:22 AM

Very good read

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/11/21/us/politics/what-trump-wants-to-do-in-his-first-100-days-and-how-difficult-each-will-be.html

11/22/2016 10:59:37 AM

Quote :

"Trump does not know what a conflict of interest is."

This is a HUGE problem, and Republicans should not let him off the hook for this.

[Edited on November 22, 2016 at 11:05 AM. Reason : 1]

11/22/2016 11:04:54 AM

+1 for learning that he can't just instruct an AG to arrest Clinton.

[Edited on November 22, 2016 at 12:38 PM. Reason : I do worry this may trigger JCE though]

11/22/2016 12:38:21 PM

Quote :

"I don't understand why you don't just call them by what they are, rather than using alt-right. They have nothing to do with the right. They're nazis. They're racist. They're inhuman."

Quote :

"If EVERYONE would refer to them as that I think that would be a great solution. The problem is not everyone knows this, so the line has to be drawn for people that don't realize."

I had never really heard of them until recently. They're basically white nationalists in suits. They were so fringe that I didn't think they were relevant. Apparently they've found their voice in Trump, though.....soooo, yeah.


I bet a lot of these guys are also "men's rights activists," too. I say that, because historically hyper-masculinity is a common trait of fascist ideology. It's easy to mock these guys, but it's scary as shit when they get into positions of power. These tiny-peckered assholes could seriously roll back the clock on progress if they aren't controlled, man.

11/22/2016 12:40:41 PM

If they were that fringe, then there shouldn't be enough of them to be a problem.

11/22/2016 1:05:57 PM

^In a healthy, functional democratic society, that would be correct.

I think it's high time we seriously assess the state of things.

11/22/2016 1:16:08 PM

[Edited on November 22, 2016 at 1:17 PM. Reason : Messed around and got a double double]

11/22/2016 1:16:08 PM

We're all being trolled. All of us.

11/22/2016 2:01:45 PM

It'll be a few generations before the office of president has any respect or prestige tied to it.

11/22/2016 2:21:33 PM

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/11/22/503009357/trump-foundations-tax-returns-reportedly-acknowledge-violating-irs-rule

But let's all rabble rouse about the Clinton Foundation.

11/22/2016 3:11:20 PM

This was known I think... and covered.

His private business dealings are far more relevant to the presidency and likely far more potentially dangerous than anything the Clinton's highly rated charity foundation had going on.

11/22/2016 3:24:14 PM

His supporters don't care and it's becoming more and more likely Republicans don't either.

11/22/2016 3:46:01 PM

Like I said, he's a grifter. A con man. A shyster. A thief without scruples.

He will leave the office with considerable more wealth than what he entered with.

11/22/2016 3:47:01 PM

Quote :

"His private business dealings are far more relevant to the presidency and likely far more potentially dangerous than anything the Clinton's highly rated charity foundation had going on."

What's going to be really tricky is when one of his foreign properties is attacked, and he has the unilateral authority to use the US military to protect his investment. This is a scenario that could realistically happen.

11/22/2016 4:09:48 PM

I'm finally seeing some of the anti-establishment Trump supporters getting pissy about Washington insiders being vetted for high-level positions. Some even saying they will stand by the protestors if Romney gets Sec of State.

11/22/2016 4:50:54 PM

Everybody should bookmark this:

https://trumptracker.github.io/

11/22/2016 6:28:47 PM

^^^^ Yep, a bunch of gullible rural and suburban working class (or maybe we should call them formerly working class) people got hoodwinked by a New York con artist who rode into town and sold them a shiny new monorail.

11/22/2016 8:17:51 PM

^^Thats pretty good. And I forgot about this:

Quote :

" Start winning again. "We're going to win so much -- win after win after win -- that you're going to be begging me: 'Please, Mr. President, let us lose once or twice. We can't stand it any more.' And I'm going to say: 'No way. We're going to keep winning. We're never going to lose. We're never, ever going to lose.""

So I guess if we dont beg him to stop winning so much, he will be proven wrong on this.

11/22/2016 9:28:45 PM