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The Trump presidency

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There seems to be an actual split between Ryanism and Bannonism

Opinion | A split has emerged among Trump’s top advisers. It could have major repercussions.

As your humble blogger has argued, there is a risk that President Trump may sell out his working-class, white base by going along with congressional Republicans who want to cut deeply into safety net programs that benefit those voters — including the Affordable Care Act. This, even though Trump repeatedly signaled to those voters that he is not an ideological conservative on economic issues that matter to them.

But now The Post has some important new reporting that suggests a split has opened up among top Trump advisers around this very topic. Some of them appear to be balking at such a course of action — and it’s telling that one of them is Stephen K. Bannon, because he is the keeper of the eternal flame of Trump “populism.”

The Post piece, from reporters Juliet Eilperin and Amy Goldstein, notes that top White House advisers are divided on how far Republicans should go in repealing and replacing the ACA. One key point of disagreement centers on the Medicaid expansion, which would be repealed under the GOP measure, doing away with it as an entitlement and instead restricting funding via a per capita or block grant arrangement.

Conservatives inside the administration want to forge ahead with aggressive repeal-and-replace, but others are wary of the political dangers of doing so, particularly when it comes to Medicaid:

Several people in Trump’s orbit are eager to make bold changes to reduce the government’s role in the health-care system. That camp includes Vice President Pence, who told conservative activists last week that “America’s Obamacare nightmare is about to end” …

Other White House advisers, according to multiple individuals who asked for anonymity to describe private discussions, have emphasized the potential political costs to moving aggressively. That group includes [Jared] Kushner, NEC Director Gary Cohn, senior policy adviser Stephen Miller and chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon.

If Bannon is really arguing that overly aggressive repeal-and-replace, including major cuts to the Medicaid expansion, carry political peril, that’s potentially significant. There are good grounds for concluding this: It appears that the ACA, and particularly the Medicaid expansion, helped produce large drops in the ranks of the uninsured among non-college whites, who voted overwhelmingly for Trump.
 
On Farsnews Iran's Ahmadinejad Throws Weight Behind Trump's Tough Stance against Washington's Political Elites, Media
...
Mr. President,

With the good people of US, you currently have a landmark opportunity to kick off fundamental reforms and strive on the path, to be the initiator of huge change and leave a good reputation behind.

I hope the lengthy letter, which was proportionate to the nature of a fundamental and constructive talk, hasn’t tired you.

I pray to God The Merciful for all nations and also for the people of US glory, prosperity, peace, freedom, justice and welfare and for Your Excellency, success in performing the heavy duty of reforming the structure of the US system and in responding to people’s demand.

And peace on the righteous servants of God
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
In service of the Iranian nation
Well it's good to know Trump has at least one fan in Teheran. Former President Ahmadinejad is really impressed with Trumpski's honesty about the miserable condition of the American people and abject state of America's place in world.

Your Excellency Donald Trump: Making The Great Satan Great Again!
 

So some in the administration are concerned about the impact that getting rid of Obamacare would have on the 'low income whites who populate Trump's base'. But he was loud and clear all through the campaign that obamacare was SAD, a disaster, and must be repealed, it was one of his key pledges. Tricky situation for sure.

I don't think Steve Bannon has shown any previous indication that he's interested in avoiding civil unrest and / or further disenchantment with the State though, do you?
 
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Bannon said he want to bring a "New Political Order". Why does that sound so much like a "New World Order"?
As for Chump, he's running this country like a mob boss!
 
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So some in the administration are concerned about the impact that getting rid of Obamacare would have on the 'low income whites who populate Trump's base'. But he was loud and clear all through the campaign that obamacare was SAD, a disaster, and must be repealed, it was one of his key pledges. Tricky situation for sure.

I don't think Steve Bannon has shown any previous indication that he's interested in avoiding civil unrest and / or further disenchantment with the State though, do you?
Trump was always ambiguous about such things saying he'd preserve parts of ACA but that it was a terrible piece of legislation. He was never clear about how what would replace it only that it would be wonderful and really, really cheap, trust me I'm a glorified Real Estate agent. Trump's package was having your cake, eating it and having more cake. Tea Party folk who hate Obamacare often on the basis that it's reparations for slavery could read it as abolition while folks dependant on it just got plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

Bannon's simply worrying about reelection; his main job. If Trump so blatantly stiffs poor folk in such a personnel way they may turn on him. Some of them voted for him crucially in swing states. But and a mass of GOP candidates were also elected to do just that by far more committed GOP voters. Trump ran on vindictive downward class warfare just directed mainly at out groups. Part of the problem is a lot of voters don't realise they are benefiting from these programs until they are taken away. The People's Pundit is not exactly screaming about Trump's very swampy financial cabinet who will also almost certainly screw over the lower deciles on an even grander scale but then his backers stand to do very well out of that.
 
Bannon said he want to bring a "New Political Order". Why does that sound so much like a "New World Order"?
As for Chump, he's running this country like a mob boss!
That's a disservice to mob bosses who mostly don't let vanity get in the way of doing business. Trump's running the country like something far worse: a jumped up Real Estate agent which is what he is.
 
America's healthcare is safe in the hands of a fascistic violent sexual predator with paedophilic tendencies and a bunch of parasitic crooks who answer to shareholders not to patients.

vermin.png
 
On Politico The Generals Guarding American Democracy

"If the president and his close civilian advisers continue to argue that historic norms and constitutional constraints do not apply to executive power, they should remember that those who protect this country swear an oath not to a person but to the Constitution and will be some of the most faithful guardians of American democracy"
Wonder if the Buffoon realises this?
 
So some in the administration are concerned about the impact that getting rid of Obamacare would have on the 'low income whites who populate Trump's base'. But he was loud and clear all through the campaign that obamacare was SAD, a disaster, and must be repealed, it was one of his key pledges. Tricky situation for sure.

I don't think Steve Bannon has shown any previous indication that he's interested in avoiding civil unrest and / or further disenchantment with the State though, do you?

My guess would be that, Bannon being an intelligent man who unlike other men in his political orbit is not in thrall to neoliberalism, in fact he explicitly opposes it and says that he favours Distributism. Whether this difference is simply rhetorical or not, I think it probably puts him in a position where he is able to see the electoral disadvantage of gutting the ACA a bit more clearly than most Republicans and that Republican opposition to the ACA had become about far more than just that particular healthcare reform, as bad as it is in parts.
 
All that being said, I don't actually know. I doubt that anyone does, including Bannon and Trump.
 
America's healthcare is safe in the hands of a fascistic violent sexual predator with paedophilic tendencies and a bunch of parasitic crooks who answer to shareholders not to patients.

View attachment 101236
How stupid is this man. Health insurance providers provide health insurance to pay for healthcare. They don't provide healthcare themselves.

Folk who depended on ACA better start writing their wills soon.
 
So some in the administration are concerned about the impact that getting rid of Obamacare would have on the 'low income whites who populate Trump's base'. But he was loud and clear all through the campaign that obamacare was SAD, a disaster, and must be repealed, it was one of his key pledges. Tricky situation for sure.

I don't think Steve Bannon has shown any previous indication that he's interested in avoiding civil unrest and / or further disenchantment with the State though, do you?
I'd say some GOP congressmen and women and those senators who are up for election in 2018 might be getting a touch anxious if withdrawal of the ACA could lose them their seats. It's been a big feature in the recent "town hall" meetings - you know, the ones were legislators either run screaming or slink discreetly from their constituents because they seem half terrified of them.

Bannon has said many a time, including at the recent CPAC that he's a "deconstructionist." He doesn't give a hoot for reforming structures, but wants to break them apart and rebuild them to reflect his ideology. He doesn't really care about the low income white people - their plight or whether they suffer if the ACA or other measures are stopped. To be honest, I don't think he really needs to care because going by the example of the low income whites of the community I grew up in, they'll still vote republican, even if they know the grim reaper is waiting for them outside the polling station. They will always blame someone or something else.
 
I'd say some GOP congressmen and women and those senators who are up for election in 2018 might be getting a touch anxious if withdrawal of the ACA could lose them their seats. It's been a big feature in the recent "town hall" meetings - you know, the ones were legislators either run screaming or slink discreetly from their constituents because they seem half terrified of them.

Bannon has said many a time, including at the recent CPAC that he's a "deconstructionist." He doesn't give a hoot for reforming structures, but wants to break them apart and rebuild them to reflect his ideology. He doesn't really care about the low income white people - their plight or whether they suffer if the ACA or other measures are stopped. To be honest, I don't think he really needs to care because going by the example of the low income whites of the community I grew up in, they'll still vote republican, even if they know the grim reaper is waiting for them outside the polling station. They will always blame someone or something else.
Reminds me of this Woman who keeps voting Tory can’t work out why public services are shit
 
Spent a week every summer there at youth camp, and my dentist was in West Frankfort. All the little towns dotted around the Midwest are pretty much like this where people really do live in little bubbles, often rarely leaving. They faithfully vote republican, but backed Trump by an even larger margin this time partly because they believed his guff about bringing mining jobs back and his policies probably reflect their views more than any GOP candidates before.

Now someone very popular in the community who managed to gain exceptional "one of us" status is about to be deported to Mexico and they're all scratching their heads. They never thought the awful things they were willing on other people outside their bubble would affect them. The church will probably do some fundaiser for his wife and three kids, but I suspect they'll just accept it as "one a them there things," and carry on with their bigoted views in their tiny bubble, until something else from "away from there" impacts on them.
 
Pardon the source.

A network of 450 houses of worship across the country are stepping up to act as a kind of “underground railroad” for undocumented immigrants under the nascent Donald Trump administration.

The New York Times said that these churches, synagogues and mosques are all part of the Sanctuary Movement — an interfaith movement that began in the 1960s, but which has undergone a revival in recent years as the U.S. has stepped up deportation of undocumented immigrants.

The Sanctuary Movement has gained even more momentum since the election of Republican Donald Trump, who has pledged to deport 2 to 3 million unauthorized immigrants who he says are guilty of crimes. While not every church has the space and resources necessary to physically shelter immigrants, all 450 organizations have pledged to provide “money, legal aid, food, child care or transportation,” said the Times‘ Laurie Goodstein.

“Jesus said we are to provide hospitality to the stranger,” said the Rev. Robin Hynicka of New York City’s Arch Street United Methodist Church. The Times noted that Hynicka cited “Matthew 25, in which Jesus instructs his followers to feed, house and clothe ‘the least of these,’ the poor and vulnerable.”

http://www.rawstory.com/2016/12/450...rground-railroad-for-undocumented-immigrants/

I have seen a number of churches preparing to be sanctuary churches by voting to decide if they want to join this movement or by stockpiling bedding and other essentials.
 
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Spent a week every summer there at youth camp, and my dentist was in West Frankfort. All the little towns dotted around the Midwest are pretty much like this where people really do live in little bubbles, often rarely leaving. They faithfully vote republican, but backed Trump by an even larger margin this time partly because they believed his guff about bringing mining jobs back and his policies probably reflect their views more than any GOP candidates before.

Now someone very popular in the community who managed to gain exceptional "one of us" status is about to be deported to Mexico and they're all scratching their heads. They never thought the awful things they were willing on other people outside their bubble would affect them. The church will probably do some fundaiser for his wife and three kids, but I suspect they'll just accept it as "one a them there things," and carry on with their bigoted views in their tiny bubble, until something else from "away from there" impacts on them.

This article illustrates exactly why I think it's a waste of time for the Democratic party to spend a lot of time and effort "reaching out" to disaffected white blue collar folks who backed Trump. They're good at distancing themselves from their choices and the people who suffer as a result of them (hence their shock at someone they like facing deportation.) And, although they care enough to write letters and lobby on behalf of a man they know who's suffering due to Trump's policy (i.e. exception to the rule about immigrants being "bad eggs."), they don't care enough to let go their bigotry or drop support for Trump.

This bit at the end really sums it up:

Tim Grigsby, who owns a local printing shop and considers Mr. Hernandez one of his closest friends, has been helping to lead the efforts to bring Mr. Hernandez back to West Frankfort. He said he had always known that Mr. Hernandez did a lot around town. But he said that even he did not grasp the scope of it all until the letters started flowing in.

There was the pastor who described Mr. Hernandez helping at a funeral, the family that remembered him raising hundreds of dollars for its son’s hearing aid, the businessman who said that he was mostly a private person but that Mr. Hernandez was one of the few people he invites over for dinner.

Mr. Grigsby said he still would vote for Mr. Trump. One never agrees with everything a politician does, “but maybe this should all be more on a per-case basis,” he said. “It’s hard to be black and white on this because there may be people like Carlos.”
 
Pardon the source.



http://www.rawstory.com/2016/12/450...rground-railroad-for-undocumented-immigrants/

I have seen a number of churches preparing to be sanctuary churches by voting to decide if they want to join this movement or by stockpiling bedding and other essentials.
This is encouraging - although so far, ICE haven't shown much respect for places of worship - having lifted people going in and out. I wouldn't be surprised if they'd go into churches and take people if it came to that. The government would just spin those churches as "bad churches" full of "bad dudes" or some such. If they're synagogues, Catholic churches, or liberal Protestant churches, the Fundamentalist Christians don't regard them as Christian or their places of worship as genuine churches anyhow.

Can only hope if they try it, there will be enough full made to make a difference.
 
Wow. Fuck the working class. What a strategy.
Generally when the liberal press in the US say Democrats need to "reach out" and "understand" they don't mean that at all though. It's just a message to the left wing of the party and left-wing activists to stop it and get back with the programme as usual, the same as it is when people tell Corbyn to "reconnect with the Labour base".
 
This is encouraging - although so far, ICE haven't shown much respect for places of worship - having lifted people going in and out. I wouldn't be surprised if they'd go into churches and take people if it came to that. The government would just spin those churches as "bad churches" full of "bad dudes" or some such. If they're synagogues, Catholic churches, or liberal Protestant churches, the Fundamentalist Christians don't regard them as Christian or their places of worship as genuine churches anyhow.

Can only hope if they try it, there will be enough full made to make a difference.

If you look at the left in the US, it has often made progress through liberal churches. It gives me hope that they're pushing back against this notion that Republicans somehow own Christianity. That there are a large group of Christians ready to vote their liberal faith. Like it or not, religion is relevant in the US.
 
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