K-9

Can someone explain how a president-elect has a mandate when he garners nearly 6 million less votes than the other candidates? I get that his upset was historical in terms of how bad the pollsters had it, but lets keep some perspective here. Nobody has a mandate in such divided electorate.

I think that had to do with Molson being the "official" beer sponsor of the Vancouver games.

I agree all those issues would be the real issues if the one overriding issue, the fact that it wouldn't do anything to curb illegal immigration, wasn't the show stopper that prevents any of those issues from ever having to be discussed in the first place. It's a moot point and always has been. You are spot on about those enormous jobs programs, though. And it will be a good thing if we can get some meaningful infrastructure programs moving in the right direction and I think we can because the GOP congress will now support them since they no longer have a tactical reason not to.

It's not impossible from an engineering and technology standpoint. It's impossible from a political standpoint, though. I doubt a sizable portion of Trump voters actually believed the rhetoric about the wall. That was just part of a broader appeal to xenophobes, a time-honored political campaigning tactic.

Nobody is going to build a wall because people that study these things fully understand it won't have any bearing on illegal immigration since the majority of illegal immigrants in this country entered this country legally. Spending billions on a wall, after the fact, is beyond wasteful.

I can't agree. As long as states like Kansas have two senatorial seats with out-sized influence in Congress, then they need to be as well educated as possible. Ignorance usually breeds ignorance. Willful ignorance is an entirely different matter, though.

MODO!!

I appreciate the clarification. The repeal of Glass/Steagall did not create the evil that concocted get rich formulas by betting on the failure of millions of Americans; that was done by those in the banks themselves. That said, it sure made it easier for them. This thread might also be a vehicle for the healing you describe.

^This. Absolutely maddening. I can accept being less talented than the other team; that's part of sports. But I can't accept coming out lethargic, scared, feeling sorry or whatever the case may be and that's just how they come out at home much of the time. I put that on DD more than anything.

I've heard a few people in my circles suggest today that America finally elected a third party candidate. What say the political scientists?

Let's hope not.

That's true. But no amount of applied theoretical psychology is gonna fix anything, anyway. The psychological "reasons" we do things are a "nice" to know. The insights Haidt and others provide are indeed valuable in that regard. Knowing the why of behaviors is the first step in the required cognition to change them. But it's all about changing behaviors.

Kind of?

This is a fantastic concept. We should have done this years ago. I don't think I can agree with this. Trump's appeal to the rust belt, which absolutely won him this election, wasn't based on identity politics. He captured a TON of Obama democrats on the basis of his populist "jobs returning" appeal.

If he does this his first term, he would most likely get my vote for a second term. I don't understand why it's so hard to understand that far right and far left on EVERY policy is not healthy. We need to be far right on some, far left on others, and moderate for the rest. A look at our history bears that out.

I appreciate the concern, but never a need to worry. As far as passion is concerned, if I see Trump being railroaded by those calling him a criminal before they have a crime to charge him with, I'll be just as steadfast in my defense of his rights as I was about Clinton's. We are a land of laws, after all, and that's what separates us from the other primates.

Right here. Congratulations on getting your man elected. What more can I say? Trump hammered home a populist message that resonated. None of that will bring back the jobs he promised, cause him to make his ties in America, or buy American steel for his buildings. He won't be allowed to undue any trade deals or build his wall. America voted for the "change" they wanted. Elections have consequences and I respect that. It will be interesting to see how the first elected president without any public service record or military experience handles the reigns. I hope his campaign rhetoric was an appeal to the far right faction he needed to secure the election and that he will rediscover his moderate tendencies. It's one thing to run for the office, quite another to manage it. In the meantime, I'll say a prayer.

The word "trajectory" comes to mind. Damned impressive considering the relative level of competition in the OHL.

Right. Perhaps "touting" would have been a better word. Black American voters in NC were targeted for suppression. Period. It cannot be defended as "good political strategy" or on any other grounds by anyone. A quote from the linked article below:

That place is a cesspool and an abject lesson in groupthink.

I assumed they were patriots given how much lip service they pay to traditional American patriotic values. But I'm also not confining my criticism to the elected GOP apparatus that enacts this voter suppression policy; it's equally focused against regular, rank and file republican party members across the country. Where is their outcry against this blatant un-American practice? I've asked the question for years and it's really rhetorical at this point. The reason they don't stand up against it, is because they are hypocrites to the American ideals they profess to espouse.

Trump campaign in Nevada just filed suit charging that early voters were allowed to vote after the polls closed. Nevada law states anyone in line when the polls close can still vote. Good luck with that one. I've seen some articles quoting NC election officials actually GLOATING about their successful efforts to stymie the African-American vote in that state; they are actually proud of it. Disgusting. Where are all the GOPers demanding this practice be stopped? We demand that American Muslims speak out against radical clerics and denounce ISIS and other terrorism, where is the same level of outcry demanding that all voter suppression efforts be stopped? I assume they are good patriots, why do they let this travesty against our Constitution stand?

I think that's fair. He is using time-honored techniques used by fascists since time began to make those base appeals. I'm not sure how much he legitimizes them given how much I don't think Trump himself is legitimate, but I get your point. He has certainly emboldened them with his rhetoric, that's for sure. I'm just saying he didn't create them.

I'm gonna post this and I apologize to anyone offended in advance. It's been my own experience over the course of my 57 year journey on this rock, starting with observances of my own rather large and extended family and progressing throughout various and countless other venues of discussion that leads me to believe the following and I hope we can all appreciate the VAST difference in these two observations. The VAST majority of republicans I've known and loved over the years are NOT racist or malevolent towards other racial or ethnic groups. The VAST majority of racists I've known over the years ARE republican. And ALL of them were what they are long before Trump came along and I don't understand how anyone can blame him for that.

What was that conclusion again? Oh yeah, no criminal activity. Partisan agents need to be reminded of their place in the process. For instance, you can't demand prosecutors bring charges because you brought tape recordings used as material in an alt right book published by Trump's campaign manager and thought that would suffice as enough evidence to proceed. And you can't get all butt hurt when experienced prosecutors tell you that since those recording weren't of anyone within the Clinton Foundation, that they are nothing more than hearsay that would get laughed out of court. Your job is to bring the evidence and let others analyze its merits and decide what it amounts to. And most of all, you need to be reminded that you are forbidden from leaking information to Trump surrogates to be used as political grist.