When Ronald Reagan became president, he had the presence of mind to admit, “I’m smart enough to know what I don’t know.”
Similarly, I have the presence of mind to admit I voted for Donald Trump.
I did so with the hope he would turn things upside down and usher in real change. However with approval ratings rivaling Richard Nixon’s during Watergate, he’s managed to live out the concerns I had going into his term.
First and foremost, he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know.
“I’m going to build the wall and make MEXICO pay for it.”
“I’m going to repeal and replace Obama Care and it’s going to be so, so easy…”
“We will defeat ISIS in 30 days.”
Those claims already lie wasted on the floor alongside other election campaign promises embarrassing in number.
“So, so easy,” has been replaced, “Sorry, that’s not going to happen,” even though Republicans control absolutely everything.
Everything except a unifying spirit…and strategic negotiation skills.
So why are we seeing the above listed failures from a president who doesn’t fail?
Why is this happening to the king of deal making and negotiation?
Because running the government is not the same as running the Trump organization.
Congress doesn’t operate by barking orders and firing whoever doesn’t respond in the manner you wanted with the results you desired.
On top of which by choosing to come out of the gate with health care reform, Trump chose the most divisive issue possible.
Why didn’t Trump just pick an issue, say, infrastructure, that both sides could have gotten behind? Pick a topic that was universally unifying then spoon feed the more difficult issues when he had the entire team on your side?
The approval of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch – which should be a slam dunk – is even proving difficult. Of course, it will happen, but why is it the battle it is? On paper there couldn’t be an easier nomination.
The answer is needless the division by both parties.
Trump even has the conservative/libertarian Freedom Caucus turning on him.
Matthew Dowd on NPR hit the nail on the head:
“If Trump wants to know who the enemy is, all he needs to do is look in the mirror.”
Can the Donald turn things around?
Jimmy Carter stumbled for some time after coming into office and only went from bad to worse.
Bill Clinton had multiple missteps out of the gate and had to pull his nomination of Zoe Baird as AG, after claims surfaced involving her hiring an illegal as a nanny.
Those illegals – they just keep being an issue.
And Clinton didn’t do himself any favors by naming Hillary to head her soon to fail health care reform. However he gained ground in the fastest way possible way – by pandering.
After which, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” led him back into good graces.
And no one really cared about the bimbo eruptions since he never boasted about having grabbed any of them by their nether regions.
At this stage, Trump can ill afford many more setbacks.
Most of the ones so far could have been avoided, but he needs to learn one lesson too hard to swallow. Trump needs to set aside his ego and admit, even if only to himself, in the silence of his mind, he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know.
Oh, and one other lesson he’s yet to learn;
There are clearly “politics” in business. But a political behemoth isn’t run the same way a business is.
It could be that changing how the government is run (ie running it like a business) isn’t easy and takes time. While the change is happening, all of the affected bureaucrats/lobbyists/etc run to the press and complain about how the country is being ruined. The liberal press runs with the story and convinces the nation that we have to go back to the old way of running the government.
Or it could be that Trump is a big buffoon….which would be a shame because if he fails, it’s unlikely another outsider is ever elected, and it will be politics as usual.
I’m leaning towards Trump being a big buffoon.
I have NO INTEREST in you being right.
That said, you may well be…
When you own the business, you are in charge. Something Trump has always been.
He seems to be having a tough time transitioning from being in charge, to being a leader.
You can give orders when you are in charge, but as a leader you need to be convincing, a trait Trump certainly needs to enhance in order to succeed at being the prez.
I’m not yet convinced.
I’m not either, but I’ve had high hopes he’d be a game changer.
He has to learn to set the YUUUUGE ego aside and learn the ropes. I’m not sure he has the fortitude to be anything other than King. That’s not going to fly.
I proudly voted for Gary Johnson. That being said, I’m going to wait 18 months or so before I start pushing the proverbial panic button. And I wouldn’t pay too much attention to approval ratings polls, especially ones in big cities and blue states. Red states and rural America (which are the folks that put him in office) have by and large loved everything he’s done so far. That being said, the GOP really botched the healthcare reform to this point. They’ve had 7 years to come up with a plan. But that’s ground covered in previous blog entries. And you’re right..Gorsuch SHOULD be a slamdunk nomination. But the Democrats are still red-assed about Merrick Garland, so they are going to throw a tantrum and force the GOP to go nuclear. More business as usual from the Donkeys and the GOP. Gag.
Correct, Guy. A weekend talk show excerpt had a leading Dem saying, “..you want Democratic cooperation on the SCOTUS nomination? Put Garland up, we’ll vote him in!”
Egg Zachary!
Hope and change will not come from the 2-party system. Never.
As one who resides on the left side of the aisle, I guess I should be ecstatic after 2+ months of the thin-skinned, orange narcissist in office. If any of the other 15 or so candidates who squared off for the nomination had won, the GOP would have already had 2 or 3 major successes under their belt. With control of the WH and both Houses of Congress, they have a 2 year window to make hay. Trumps behavior, with his obsession for favorable press at the expense of party platform, is wasting valuable time and political capital. The odds for the Dems to get back control of the Senate, and maybe even the House in 2018 are looking better by the day. At this point, we Libs have to hope the GOP members of Congress don’t get fed up and impeach/convict him. Pence (a true conservative Republican) would be a complete nightmare for us.
For Trump and his family, this is nothing more than an opportunity to grow the family business/brand. He has been trying to get Trump properties in Russia for decades. I wonder what those who railed about Hillary allegedly lining the coffers of the Clinton Foundation feel about this? (written in rhetorical font).
On a side note, I really feel sorry for Sean Spicer. Prior to taking this job, he was pretty respected with the media covering politics. To say the things he must say with a straight face, and promote the distractions and falsehoods spewed by his boss in front of his peers daily is an impossible job description. Standing at the lectern, his stress level and blood pressure must be going through the roof.
Thanks for the piece, Paul.
You’re most welcome. Thank you for your take. There ARE areas where you and I are closer than further apart.
Don’t believe Our Manchurian President has 18 months left in him, Stomper; he’s so constitutionally unsuited for the position he’ll either find a way to step down or all the smoke that’s been blowing in from Eurasia will ignite into a flame that can not be ignored.
That would surprise me, Nick, but in this day and time, virtually anything is possible!!
‘In an insane world a sane man must appear insane’ is the quote, President Trump the man.
Am thoroughly enjoying The Donald’s residence 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue – my sides ache (if not my heart) for the losers including main stream media, their polls & anyone puts any stock in them. The left’s sense of entitlement is taking such a beating, and the palpable angst theirs on the losing side is… priceless.
Makes having survived the disaster our previous eight years almost worth it all, those darkest of black days in US history. Yes, it’s nice to see the sun shine again – it’s like a Saturday in the Park: ‘people dancing, people laughing, a man selling ice cream’. The fact President Trump is, according to those same polls suggested was no way he’d win the Presidency, affirmation that he is doing things right.
Keep it up PRESIDENT TRUMP!
2, 3, 4.
‘Happy days are here again
The skies above are clear again
So let’s sing a song of cheer again
Happy days are here again’
🙂
K, I’ll have to study and decode your comment before responding.
Lemme help… remember ‘The Graduate’, 1967, and “one word” for Dustin Hoffman? November 2016, day of the Presidential election:
One word (give or take, from): Howard Beale
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwMVMbmQBug
Making America Great Again has just begun!
🙂
I do remember The Graduate. But what stood out most was MY “one word” – Alfa Romeo. Ok, that’s actually two words, but you get it.
The “Wet By Every Rain and Blown By Every Wind” crowd is in session today.
We are 75 days in buddy! Come on! Gird yourself!
It’s time to “… imitate the action of the tiger; stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, disguise fair nature with hard-favor’d rage.”
75 days.
If I “squint” my eyes, and picture Alex Smith, I could imagine I am reading our loyal and steady scribe, describing the end of the Chiefs after week one.
Trump is nothing if not lucky. That Health Care bill, as it stood, would have made Stomper’s dreams come true in 2018. It failed and now the lodestone is right back on Democratic backs as this odious legislation crumbles as it faces the realities of a free market that bent and broke under the Socialist suzerainty of Government over reach.
Trump can afford many, many more “setbacks”. The polls are just as unreliable as ever. Americans are getting a front row seat in the sausage factory and they can take it. The truth, the legislative process, the hatred, the give and take by force or otherwise is now on stage for all to see. cable news ratings are through the roof and people are more interested in politics than sports.
So turn that frown upside down buddy!
The more the MSM hates him, the more he will accomplish. There is still, as there was in the election, serious blow back from the hinterlands when hysterical pundits and intellectual giants like Maxine Waters go crazy. It’s prima facie that Trump must be doing something right. The MSM holds a High Mass for Retards every day, 24/7 and it’s not a good look.
In some “The Dingo Really Did Eat The Fkng Baby News”, Susan Rice has her dick in her hand and the Obama Administration is just as corrupt as Trump said it was after all.
All good points, I think I’m just discouraged he’s stumbled as badly as he has. Deep inside, I think he’ll turn it around, I just wanted him to come out of the gate winning!
Thanks, Chuck….appreciate you.
First, I’ve never understood the notion of “running the government like a business.” On its face, this is nonsense. The objective of a business is to make money. Not to lose money efficiently. We might all have disagreements as to the value of government or what should be its function and how it should be involved in people’s lives, but does anyone here actually think that government exists to MAKE A PROFIT? Let me give you a hint: The answer is no. For the liberals in the house, the answer is no because the government exists to spend its money for the benefit of the citizenry. For the conservatives and libertarians, the answer is no because if the government is actively profiting, it is necessarily competing with private enterprise (or has killed off private enterprise and filled the marketplace in the void left by private enterprise) and that unacceptable. So, if the government isn’t there to make a profit, why do we want it to run like it’s trying to?
None of this is to say that the government shouldn’t be efficient or that it should pay $200 for a hammer of fifty bucks for an aspirin. Don’t be silly. But let’s just put to bed this fiction that the government is something that can be run like a private enterprise. It isn’t a private enterprise. It exists to conserve its resources and use them for the benefit of the governed.
Now, to Paul Wilson. You say you voted for Trump because you thought he would usher in “real change.” And then you laundry list all (well, no, not all, we’d run out of internet space, so let’s say “many”) his failed promises. The border wall that Mexico will pay to have built. The defeat of ISIS within thirty days. Etc. My question to you is this: Did you believe those promises? Did you believe that he was going to actually build the wall and have Mexico pay for it? Did you really believe he would defeat ISIS within 30 days of his inauguration? Did you honestly, sincerely, for real, think that a repeal and replacement of Obamacare was going to be so, so simple?
Because your answer is binary. You write like a smart person but you can only answer one of two ways. Either you believed his promises or you didn’t. If you believed him, then you were a fool because there was no reason, nothing at all in his history or in the world of civics or politics that should have led a smart person to accept that he was going to do those things. And time has borne out that, in fact, he was unable to do them. So, if you believed him, you had no idea what you were doing when you voted fr him.
And if you DIDN’T believe him? Well, then you voted for him thinking that he would usher in real change knowing full well he was already making promises that he was never going to be able to keep, so why would you have EVER thought he would usher in real change when you knew from the jump that he was lying about what he would be able to accomplish?
A profitable business rewards its shareholders by paying them dividends.
A profitable government rewards its citizens by lowering their taxes.
Running the government like a business means getting rid of all the wasteful spending. The government can’t keep running these yuuuuuge deficits. If we’re running these kind of deficits when the economy is doing well, what the hell is going to happen if the economy tanks? Nobody in the government believes in saving for a rainy day.
As an aside, I’d love to see some kind of analysis on where all the money from sales taxes is going. They used to be 5-6%, are now closing in on 10%, and the states still seem to be crying that they’re broke.
“Profitable government” is an oxymoron.
Agreed.
Exactly. The definition of “profit” is when your income exceeds your expenses. The ONLY way a government could ever profit is to RAISE taxes above what it spends. What you’re talking about, Phaedrus, is efficiency. And I already dealt with that. I’m all in for that. We should be as efficient as we possibly can.
But it is simply not possible to run a government as a business because of the profit motive.
I think you’re splitting hairs.
“Running it like a business” is simply another way of saying, “Running it more efficiently.” It might not be literally correct, but it gets the point across.
OK. Then we agree. Government should be more efficient. I suspect, though, that we might still disagree on what government should provide to the governed. Still, it’s weird, though that Trump, a great businessman and negotiator has recognized an opportunity to use the power of the federal government to save billions of dollars, has promised to use that power and then, within weeks of inauguration, walked back that promise. George W. Bush never used this power. Barack Obama kind of had to not use it because he needed the other side of the negotiation to agree to his signature legislative accomplishment. But Trump wants to kill that accomplishment. Why won’t Trump use this opportunity to be more efficient?
I’m talking about allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, which would save the US billions of dollars. Trump said he would do it and now won’t. Why is that? http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/02/07/513945538/white-house-says-medicare-should-leverage-its-buying-power-to-pull-down-drug-pri
I’m probably splitting hairs also but while liberals, like all voters want an efficient use of their taxes, they don’t necessarily want their taxes lowered. Taxes pay for government services that voters have indicated a desire for. If lowered taxes mean desired or needed government services are cut or eliminated, that’s not a reward. As a Kansas resident, I’m more than happy to pay higher taxes to adequately fund our schools or expand Medicaid. Lowering my taxes is not necessarily a reward like you wrote above. I don’t think Brownback and the State Legislature have rewarded residents by any stretch of the imagination.
Yeah, I guess if you run it like a business, you look at the cost/benefit of each service offered by the government….which I think should be, but rarely is, done.
And I’m not talking about cutting vital services just so you can lower taxes. I’m talking about being responsible with taxpayer’s money. If you don’t have something worthwhile to spend the money on, then return it to the taxpayers. Don’t spend it just because you have it.
Brownback is a clown.
Hey, Gavin, thanks for your comment. The binary answer is no, I didn’t believe the hyperbole, the run of the mill campaign fodder. Some of his claims, like defeating ISIS in 30 days, was silly talk. But why make such outlandish claims? You have to know you’re going to own those at some point…
Exactly. So, if you knew he was lying (and let’s agree to dispense with the mock shock and exaggerated pearl clutching over “WHAT? POLITICIANS LYING? NO. WAY!” and try to keep it serious for a minute), why would you have thought he was going to usher in “real change?” He’s proven himself to be another lying politician and YOU VOTED FOR HIM KNOWING THAT. What possible basis could there be for thinking he is going to do the parts of what he says he’s going to do that you want when he isn’t able to do the stuff you knew was a lie before he even won the election?
And, no, you can’t elide that by calling it mere”hyperbole” and “run of the mill campaign fodder.” The reason Trump was such a disruptive candidate was precisely because the stuff that he said was so outside run of the mill. Lots of Republicans have talked about building a border wall, no one had ever promised to send the bill to Mexico. Nixon said that he had a secret plan for peace in Vietnam, but no one ever made a campaign promise to crush our enemies within 30 days of his inauguration. No one ever, EVER, said that healthcare reform was simple and would be easily solved until Trump came along. Nothing about him was run of the mill. You voted for him because you thought he would be a disruptor and a change agent; if it wasn’t his promises, what made him so special?
I hope that was cathartic Gavin. I am sure Paul is rethinking every decision he ever made in his entire life.
Be of better, if not good cheer. There are accomplishments.
– Trump is already beginning to fulfil his promise of being the best jobs president ever.
U.S. employers added jobs beyond expectations in both January (238,000) and February (235,000), with the unemployment rate falling to 4.7% and wages growing 2.8%. According to Bloomberg, America’s labor market is getting better “by any measure.
– Trump has cut the U.S. debt burden by $68 billion dollars. Hey, it’s the right direction!
– Manufacturing is at its most robust since 1984.
The Philly Fed Index, a survey of how well manufacturers are doing, hit its highest level since 1984.
– Small and medium businesses are confident about the future.
The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index is at its highest level since 2004. Economic confidence is surging.
– The stock market keeps topping record highs.
The Dow closed above 20,000 for the first time ever days after Trump’s inauguration and hasn’t stopped rising since. The Dow has surged more than 2500 points since Trump was elected – a 12 per cent spike. Your IRA is on steroids!
– Samsung is moving jobs back to the U.S. as a result of Trump’s election.
The technology giant will invest $300 million in expanding U.S. production facilities, creating around 500 jobs. Not to mention, that the head of Samsung is going to jail for bribery. I like the idea that government and big company officials still go to jail every now and again. Maybe Susan Rice and Obama are next! 🙂
– Exxon moving jobs back to the U.S. as a result of Trump’s election.
Exxon will spend $20 billion over 10 years on 11 plants along the Gulf Coast, creating a whopping 45,000 jobs for American workers.
– Trump saved the Carrier plant in Indiana.
Trump stopped the Indianapolis air conditioning plant from relocating to Mexico, saving hundreds of jobs.
– Fiat will invest $1 billion in two U.S. factories
Fiat Chrysler is set to invest $1 billion in two factories in Toledo and Detroit, an expansion that will create 2,000 jobs.
– Trump signed an executive order ending Obama’s onerous regulations on the coal industry.
Obama tried to bankrupt the coal industry, Trump is revitalizing it.
-Keystone and rescinding the regulations of fuel efficiency that hamstring American Car Manufacturing.
Goodbye TPP
See!?!?!?
Have a great day !
By the way, Paul, you took the right chick to Prom.
JMO
Oddly enough, I never went to prom, but still got the right chic. Then…and now!
Thank you, I have to go now. A lot of time will be spent today rethinking my entire life’s decisions…
Chuck tells the truth, he tells the truth, he tells the truth! With no BS.
Your last comment was the most accurate of all. I voted for him as a disruptive change agent. Someone completely from the outside. But as I said above, I did so hoping he’d make the business to beureaucratic conversion. That’s my concern.
I’ve heard a lot of talk over the last couple of years that Trump is getting ready to pivot. I think you just need to keep you panties on and wait for him to pivot.
I’m kidding. If you ever bought that he was gonna pivot, you’re a fool.
I agree, Frank. I’m pretty sure he’s had a pivotectomy.
Chuck is a grave digger.
He knows nothing because even Obama’s last month had more new job creation than supposedly the first 2 months of trumps (which he had nothing to do with).
Chuck does not understand how the U.S. government financial system works and when the current year starts and stops.
Then what happens. Trump’s numbers go to
about one third what they were the month before to about 80,000 new jobs and we hear no cheering or loud mouth accolades about the job he’s done.
He won’t finish his term. He has tried to destroy the FBI/CIA/NSA/Defense Department plus almost every other intelligence department in the nation.
And in turn they will destroy him and his family.
Don’t despair. Mr Trump will be the reason for his own undoing. Just like the salesman, he will end up at the bottom of the heap.
As for Chuck: too bad he won’t be around to dig his own grave.
+1, Gavin.
I need my safe place and a cigar…
Paul/Chuck-
I drafted a response but the firewall prevented me from posting it. I know the site has had some hacking issues and my response was a bit long and did have a couple of links in it, so I can see why a firewall might have stopped me. Any chance I could be given permission or email one of you? I’m willing to (privately) reveal my identity to show I’m a real guy (actually, a pretty decent one) who just enjoys having a rousing political discussion every now and then.
It will come through when Hearne gets off of work and looks at it to make sure you are not Harley.
I appreciate your opinion and I am sure Paul does too.
My email is rarely used, corrupted and ruined. Like me. I don’t bother with linkedin, book of faces or any of that stuff.
Your comment will be up in short order, I am sure.
🙂
I don’t think so. I’m not calling you a liar, but this didn’t say that my comment was submitted for moderation (I’ve had that before). It said I was blocked and I got a lot of technical jargon about the firewall and that my IP address was being recorded. I mean, it’s certainly possible that it was still recorded through all of that and I didn’t take a screenshot of any of it, but am pretty sure it said “blocked” not “recorded.”
Links will kill it every time. Chuck is right, as soon as Hearne sees it he’ll release it. From Harley days as well as a couple others, a safeguard or two had to be put in place. Links, N word, F word, C word and it heads for a moderation time out.
I included ONE link in a comment last week, same thing.
Well, I just tried posting it again after disabling all the links and my access was still denied and it specifically said access denied by the Sucuri firewall, not that I’m awaiting moderation. No f-bombs or the like this time. I shall await Hearne’s blessing or damnation, as he deems appropriate.
I’ll text him, Gavin.
And, I appreciate wanting to make sure I’m not Harley. It’s a Harley length post, but actually readable and, perhaps I flatter myself, but actually intelligible. So I can see it fooling a filter into thinking it might have been ol’ Harley.
No, no one here thinks you’re Harley. Not even Hearne’s fugging, dumbazz (see what I did there?) platform filter.
Thanks for your comments, sir.
Gavin/Hearne/Paul; After the lead up, I think many of us are waiting in anticipation of Gavin’s comment/response. Don’t leave us hanging !!
Hahaha, Stomp. What do you say to lunch soon?
I stand at the ready to provide my magnum opus when the opportunity is granted. I can say this: The email address I provide when I post is my actual email address, not a fake. So if Hearne wants to reach out to me and have me email it to him and he can post on my behalf or review it prior to posting, he has the means to do so.
However, I will also say that the buildup is now way too out of hand and my response will certainly be disappointing.
Hearne, let’s get this resolved!!
Don’t sell yourself short, Gavin. We don’t get that many chances for extended civil discourse so let’s not close the door. Heck, even Chuck, as a dues paying member of the dark side 🙂 has said he appreciates your comments. Paul has done his part by putting the topic out there for us. Trading Gavin for Harley as a commenter seems like a win-win.
It’s all well and good for a politician to make claims during a campaign that they’re going to eliminate this and that, but as Trump found out with health care, so he will find out about taxes and every other large issue that constitutes the flavor of the month. As much as the public complains about taxes, people actually like their government programs. Suffice to say that everyone loves a particular program that benefits them personally. Are people willing to give up something that benefits them? No. People seem to feel they deserve the government benefits they receive. So if I were a Republican, I wouldn’t be so giddy about a Trump presidency. He won’t be able to do much … and it’s not really his fault. You want to know what’s wrong with America? Start by looking in the mirror.
It’s all well and good for politicians to run for office making all kind of suggestions about how they’d improve things. Once in office, as Trump found out about healthcare … and will soon find out about taxes and other large programs, they’re difficult to change in a substantive way. Why? As much as people complain about taxes, they generally like whatever government program that benefits them personally. Trump may not be able to fulfill much of his agenda … and that probably won’t be his fault. If people want to know what’s wrong with America, they should try looking in the mirror. We’re what’s wrong with America and government is merely a reflection of the American public.
Sure blame the only successful/self employed/fast growing/cultured/well known guy
to grace this site…..Harley the magnificent!
Stomper: booorring. This guy wants to be taken seriously but he’s late to the
party.
Glazer: his lineup is pretty rough. Midgets and naked men have taken his club over.
Who are those comedians. Now we watch about 10 comedians a month on free tv
and they are incredible…none of whom appear at the legends. Oh and watch for
one major co. from legends to leave there for joco.
Chuck: still digging
Salesman: well he’s unemployed smoking cigars at Fidels.
Hearne: still writing about the pitch (20 year old paper)/ink (another fizzler)/kc star
(zzzzzzzz)…trying to stay relevant by bitching about KU bball in larrytown.
Southy: twisted arms to keep Harley off the site…but Harley still RULES THE ROOST. I doubt he could handle Harley’s
Harley is mentioned more than any other writer/commentator on this site
and he’s not read it for months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Hang in there boys. Your numbers are dwindling. Job loss/closing down/deaths/illness/old age is taking it’s toll.
And let me make this clear since I haven’t been on here since election. Trump used
the soviet intelligence and computer operations to hack the election. The truth will
come out. I did predict hillary would win…in a fair and undiluted election. But without destroying the great american electoral process for his own personal wealth
and ego….hillary would have won. No doubt about it.
Now boys…make your statements then run to hearne to keep harley off this site…
thats the chickenshit old guys like you pull. Harley reigns!!!!!!! While the rest of
your lives are in the ditch….HARLEY STANDS ON THE MOUNTAINTOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Uh, oh!
He’s baaaaaaaaaaack