+1

One thing I didn't think about, but the senate committees look to be 10-9 GOP. That makes every GOP member the king of the world. That could really come in to play for nominations.

See? I told you it was going to be a fun four years if nothing else.

Watching left-wing heads explode is just about as good as it gets. His calling out of the "seven sisters schools up in New England" is great stuff.

The Gallup tracking poll went from -65 before the election to +5 this week among GOP respondents on the question of is the economy getting better.

I guess America is great again.

I love it for the easy spin: "Even Republicans agree that Obama has made the economy better."

Addition by subtraction basically. There isn't the expectation / fear of seeing even more imbalanced taxation, less likelihood that success will be penalized or discouraged.

Yeah.

Or the number is solely a representative figure for is the president elect on your team.

Not sure those two things aren't considerably linked.

Ascribing exactly that reasoning to the answer, they're answering the question they want to hear ("will the economy get better?") instead of the one they were actually asked.

Being as generous as possible towards their deductive reasoning skills, that becomes entirely a WOO TEAM answer. "The Trump Recovery that's been going on the last six years is going just swell!"

The economy was in the toilet, but all of a sudden, it's not anymore! Magic at the ballot box!

Serious question. In the age of 24-hour coverage and social media, why would the physical appearance of any candidate or even worse, the appearance of a celebrity with a candidate make any difference?

I get what they were going for there - 'if we give him the prize, he'll spend the next 4-8 years working to try and live up to it' - but...the Nobel Peace Prize really shouldn't be aspirational. That was goofy.


You're kinda proving my point, though, Bucc. Right now, there IS no reason for a Republican candidate to spend much time in the GOP's "firewall" states. Aside from Georgia and Arizona, and the ever-present prospect of a purple Texas (which may never happen), most of those "firewall" states are pretty reliably double-digit states for a Republican. That includes, as I said, most of the Midwest, much of the Mountain West, and most of the South.

As far as the lament that three states get somebody almost 40% of the way to 270...population centers matter, and they'd matter either in the system we've got, or a popular vote system.

If you want to blunt the impact of population centers on Presidential elections (and I'm not sure why you would other than to grant rural areas much more disproportionate influence than they currently enjoy), what you do is keep the Electoral College but distribute Electoral Votes one per Congressional district.

And then you'd probably see the Democrats spend a half-century or more in the political wilderness as they tried to broaden their reach beyond urban populations; whether that's a bug or a feature is probably up to one's personal politics.

I have a client that has not spent one single dime on television advertising in a year. He released funds to do so on Wednesday, the day after the election.

Also, the question as asked (per gallup.com) is
Gallup tracks daily the percentage of Americans who think that economic conditions in the country as a whole are "getting better" or "getting worse."

Not "the economy" but "economic conditions". So the rationale I mentioned is perfectly valid. Attitudes & expectations are an aspect of "economic conditions".

Conservatives understand protecting slavery.

We can all play this game.

Exactly right.

Rand Paul says he will oppose Giuliani and Bolton for SOS. The GOP doesn't have big margins, so the cabinet battles could get interesting.

I think I much prefer Newt as SOS. Wonder what happened there as the was an early candidate for it.

This is one thing I can support Trump on. I'm willing to pay more at the pumps and go into a recession if we achieve the goal of breaking our dependence from the oil cartels. They are building a Disney world from our oil money, our foreign policy is tied to it, and nothing would make me feel better than watching them crater.

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/16/saudi...l-imports.html

Oil is a global commodity. Unless you're talking about reinstating the ban on exporting oil, there's no way for the U.S. to be free of OPEC.

Why do you say that? Oil shale and fracking will go a long way in independence.

Best way towards independence would be supporting green alternatives obviously - but hey ho, Trump has already indicated he's against any support for such things ..

All of that will go to the highest bidder. Even if we're technically getting all our fossil fuels from the U.S., the price is still set globally and subject to global pressures.

Have we ever had a President openly root for a business to fail? I'm thinking of the war on the NY Times here. I'm sure there are industry wide examples (Big Tobacco maybe? Telecom break-up?), but I can't remember a single company target like the tweet storm from DJT.

Moved a bunch of posts about the Election. Let's try to keep the post-mortem stuff in the election thread and keep this to the Trump transition/Presidency. (Or, even better, CREATE A NEW THREAD FOR POST-MORTEM!!!!)

So now it seems the odds on favorite for Attorney General is Ted Cruz? I guess selling your soul netted you something, Ted.

Amazing that Trump would consider a serial liar like Lyin' Ted for such a high position, too!

They will just cost more when compared to what it costs to produce over there.

Ah yes, those solar cars are such a reliable option.

Well someone has to prosecute the women getting abortions. Ted's a good fit there.

Lindsey Graham has proposed an alternative for Cruz: SCOTUS. I read this as: Instead of AG, please put him somewhere so I don't have to look at his fucking face ever again.

What green alternative gives us energy independence?

Many green alternatives could eventually lead to a fully renewable energy society. I don't know that there is a single magic bullet, but a mix of many different sources can lead there.

Not researching it at all or remaining as climate change deniers will continue to lead to fossil fuel dependence.

Not only that, but green energy is an industry that can lead to vastly more quality jobs which aren't easily outsourced.

But it is something that takes time and money for research, not something that most governments have the stomach for.

Which green alternatives? I just hear this a lot about energy independence and vague platitudes but no one seems to really go into detail on what they are talking about.

Like I'm all for ditching and cutting back on fossil fuels. But this idea that it'll make us independent is silly.

Pretty much any I would have thought - the reliance is on Oil, so electric cars for instance is a move away from that dependence.

Hydrogen vehicles would similarly decrease that dependence there are loads of different approaches which don't require fossil fuels.

On a domestic energy front I'd like to see more investment in solar and wind rather than potentially going back to coal as Trump seems to be interested in doing.

FWIW, Cruz was at his best as Texas SG. If I had to put him in one place in the government to maximize his talents and minimize his flaws, it would be as SG.

This debate about energy independence is strange. As pointed out, oil is a global commodity subject to global supply and demand. Are we talking price mandates?

The batteries for electric cars are primarily made in China, Japan, and South Korea. And then you shift from battling over oil to battling over rare earth minerals.

I'm all for changing things because so we aren't pumping a bunch of garbage into the atmosphere, but these changes won't make us independent of other countries. And while I think there are people standing in the way of solar and wind, a big reason why they aren't catching on is they are expensive and just suck.

I mean lets say we all switched to electric cars. What happens if China decides to slow down mining for neodymium?

Being "economically independent" really doesn't work if you want to be a capitalist country. Just about every since economist on Earth will tell you this. This stuff has been known for centuries, since David Ricardo came up with his theory on comparative advantage.

Yeah, countries tried autarky (economic independence) before... recently most notably in the 1930s... right before they were planning on going to war.

Personally, I don't believe that the point of energy independence should be 100% US sourcing for everything. It should be about finding alternatives to lessen our carbon footprint and free us from a non-renewable resource that will run out in the next century.

Huh. So apparently when Chris Christie was AG he prosecuted the father of Jared Kushner (Ivanka's husband & the one Donald is trying to get top secret clearance for) and put him in jail for two years. So that adds a little backstory to the purge of Christie & his aides from the transition team once Trump actually started taking it seriously, and makes me think Christie's chances at a cabinet post are lower than thought.

Crooked Christie shouldn't be near the white house anyways.

If Trump had picked Crooked Christie as VP back in July would he have still won? All that Bridgegate stuff came out right before the election.

And now I present to you the Japanese internment camps argument...



For my next trick, I will down an entire bottle of whiskey.

Oh, sure, but they said the whole "forced camps" thing was bad when it was supposedly Obama and the UN behind it.

Yea I saw that segment while on the treadmill at the gym. All I could do was shake my head at any argument that uses internment camps as precedent. Glad Kelly called him out, too.

So now word comes that he's looking at Nikki Haley as Secretary Of State. Put Cruz in as Attorney General to go along with that, and if the President-Elect is to be believed, we'd have a Secretary Of State who is "an embarrassment" and an Attorney General who is a serial liar.

Although at the end she said she was glad to talk to him again. Maybe instead enabling these people, when you call them out on their bullshit, don't then make with the niceties. Tell them to go to hell and they're not welcome back on your show.

^^^This please^^^

SMH how folks can sit there straight faced and use the internment camp as a precedent.

Come on, that was last episode. If he picks them they'll turn and no longer be heels.

A lot of this transition makes more sense if seen as a wrestling story line.

Wait, Nikki Haley?! I thought he couldn't stand her. Especially after the SC primary.

I don't know, I appreciate some rationale discord that doesn't dissolve into Crossfire screaming matches. I thought she called him out on it pretty fiercly without turning a real discussion into a sideshow.

Granted, it seems most American's aren't bright enough to believe anything that isn't coated in hyperbole, high volume and red(or orange) faces.

Sigh.

I guess the argument is, are there things that are so abhorrent that allowing "equal time" or trying to respond to them with rational arguments just ends up adding legitimacy to what they're saying.

I think her response in the discussion itself was correct and measured, but there's no reason to exchange pleasantries at the end when what they said 10 seconds ago appeared to sicken you.

I thought she dismissed him out right and he didn't challenge her response. Don't believe more screaming was needed.

Then again, I look at who we elected and I'm conflicted.

He got so irritated with her that she had to drop a "bless your heart" on him.

Nikki Haley response to Trump attack: 'Bless your heart' - CNNPolitics.com

God in Heaven above, I just nearly threw up.

I knew you'd love that. ;)

Hey, Ann Coulter approves at least!

If Trump wants an Indian Sec of State, how about Tonto?

— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) November 17, 2016

I feel like there's needs to an Elizabeth Warren joke somewhere.

Nice to see Trump make your head explode.

Now it's Mitt Romney being considered for Secy of State. Better than the alternatives I suppose.

That can't be right. Both loath each other.

How on earth does anyone claim to know how Trump feels about anyone???

It really feels like the press is getting played by people in the Trump camp just throwing out names for attention.

Pretty much any of the politicians out there will swallow their pride, waffle and take any job Trump feeds them.

Trump forgets everything he says and his feelings for people/things once 5 minutes have elapsed.

So I won't be surprised by anything.

And yeah, I think the press coverage of Trump now is even worse than the election. I hate Trump as much as the next guy, but I still want to trust what I hear from the media, even if I don't like it. Right now I have to take everything they say with a grain of salt.

Lamar Alexander, who chairs the Health Committee, says it will take years to repeal and replace Obamacare.

That should go over well.

If it's any more than 4 years, it won't happen... because Trump will be losing re-election bigly in that case.

Now THAT news makes me think they're just fuckin' with people

Said the person who said Clinton would win

It makes me think that Trump might try to spend the whole 4 years in campaign mode.

Michael Flynn is reportedly being offered the National Security Adviser job.

Trump killing it with foreign leaders. This is from his call with the British PM.

His wanting to sleep at Trump Tower and continue to hold big rallies hadn't already made you think that?

Trump doesn't want to be President. He wants to run for President. Forever.

Let other people do the actual work.

She could vacation here? Maybe at one of his hotels even.

Gonna start calling him President Rapunzel if he stays holed up in that tower.

So about that swamp...

Trump adviser linked to Turkish lobbying - POLITICO

Reports are coming in that Sessions has been offered the Attorney General job.

And Flynn for Security Advisor, Mike Pompeo for CIA.

NSA gets paid by Turkey and Russia.

That should be a big deal.

At least the new CIA head has only said this about Muslims and terrorist attacks

I lack confidence in our collective ability to correctly assess what is and is not a big deal. Seems like we are much more likely to focus on something Jeff Sessions may or may not have said, perhaps in jest perhaps not, thirty years ago.

Crap like this is uber annoying. Somebody is just throwing around taxpayer dollars and thinks that will somehow improve things. The lack of oversight here is appalling. This isn't a president thing. This is a total lack of accountability.

U.S. taxpayers footing the bill for security at unused 'Ghost Hotel' in Kabul | Fox News

What a shock that a 3rd world investment opportunity resulted in a 0% return. Wow.

I hear Africa is the new hotbed of global investment. I think I can get you in.

Pretty clear at this point that we are not getting pre-2008 Trump.

Yep, gonna get our Tea Party utopia.

I don't understand why Trump would be loyal to establishment Republicans, but there's a great many things I don't understand about Trump.

I guess it could be worse. My order of preference for a Trump presidency:

1. Independent maverick who makes rational decisions that annoy both parties.
2. Tool of the Republican party
3. Independent maverick who does irrational and crazy shit.

Looking like #2 so far.

I'd say looking like 2.5 so far with equal chance of going to 2 and 3.

I don't know that it's 2 at all -- would any of these folks have been offered these positions under a traditional Republican?

Glad somebody else was scratching their head about that.

Preibus. And I hedged with my 2.5 comment based on who else we might get.

That doesn't mean that the people he's picked aren't associated with the traditional Republican leadership. It's the same team, just a different group of leaders. It's not like he's going out there and completely upsetting the apple cart to find people that don't fit the traditional mold.

Pompeo and Priebus are pretty normal picks, but Sessions, Bannon and Flynn would have no chance in any other GOP admin.

We need an Apprentice: Capital Hill, with the winner getting to be Secretary of State! And then a follow up for the Supreme Court next season!

Couldn't really turn out any worse than what we've been getting the past few years.

Sessions is bad news for marijuana legalization in a lot of states.

It's also clear that Trump isn't at all concerned about distancing himself from ties to Putin.

But Republicans love letting the States decide things!

From what I can tell judging by my Facebook feed, the most immediate impact of the election has been to make the nutball[*] Republicans on my friends list even more stupid than they were in the months leading up to the election. They seem to have entered some mental zone of hysteria where winning an election means that everyone else has to shut the hell up and do what they say.


[*] I mean this in the sense of the chest-pounding idiots, not the rank-and-file Republicans who are, you know, normal people who believe in things like states' rights, small federal government, and the free-market economy. You know the guys I mean. They likely believe that automotive innovation peaked with 1970's pick up trucks, may or may not have a Confederate flag hanging up somewhere in their house (but they've definitely considered it, either way), and their most pressing ethical conundrum is whether or not they can finally wear their .45 pistol on their belt holster to church on Sunday morning instead of the mini-.38 ACP pea-shooter they've traditionally carried strapped to their ankle so as not to offend the old biddies.