President Trump: The NEW one and only politics thread

Did you bother to read the article?

It wasn't about disagreement with his views, but rather the way Trump lives in this land of self-delusion detached from actual truth. It's not just that he constantly lies, but also the bizarre way he actually seems to genuinely believe his lies are true, and steadfastly stands by them regardless of what the objective evidence proves. It's like, to him, the world is whatever he says it is ...period.

I thought that column gave a fairly spot on analysis of the Trump personality I've been observing in recent years. And I'd like to think all of us--regardless of political leanings--could agree that it's a damn dangerous personality type to have in the White House.

 

It is noteworthy how the people nearest to the border on the US side think the wall is a stupid idea. It's nothing more than a display of cowardice and hatred in concrete form. It'll also be an opportunity, as was the Iraq occupation, for well-connected grifters to steal a bundle. After that, it'll be an opportunity for the kind of people who like the idea of being an armed border guard to get rich through bribes.

 

The article you linked to is not unique.

I understand the issue. No one step will secure the border. This doesn't mean a wall can't be a useful part of a border security plan.

 

Maybe we could build like a 10-foot section of wall and just photoshop the rest in.

 

Sounds a lot like Russia. Enjoy, Comrade!

 

So we should send $10-20B we don't have just for the symbolic value? I'm sure you don't believe that Mexico is gonna pay for it. And while we're at it, may as well dismantle that other symbol regarding our border in the NYC Harbor. It will have lost all meaning by the time the Great Wall of Trump is built, if ever.

 

Symbolic value? Hmmm. Wonder if there are any Democratic-supported projects that qualify, especially when applying the "we don't have the money" criteria?

 

Cite to any of this?

 

You're such a kneejerk thinker that you don't even pause to consider why Republicans might be staunchly against a wall irrespective of what Democrats might think of it.

They oughta have the fucking guts for the sake of their own principles. Ya dig?

 

It's frankly beside the point.

Old school Democrats, hell, they might very well be for such a wall and trade protectionism.

I have no clue why most Republicans would be. Zero. Unless they're so craven and scared to lose their job that they can't bear to turn to, oh, page 2 of the GOP philosophy playbook.

 

Good point. There really is no coherent Democratic or Republican party philosophy any more, at least in the public's understanding. The public's understanding of the two parties is pretty much as follows:

Republicans: "Party for white people."

Democrats: "Party for colored people."

And that's it. Whatever comes out of elected officials' mouths, they just presume it's to further those two simple ends.

 

Bill goes on about border security in his 1995 State of the Union address. While he doesn't specifically mention a wall, large portions of it sound like a speech Trump could give today:

All Americans, not only in the states most heavily affected but in every place in this country, are rightly disturbed by the large numbers of illegal aliens entering our country. The jobs they hold might otherwise be held by citizens or legal immigrants. The public service they use impose burdens on our taxpayers. That's why our administration has moved aggressively to secure our borders more by hiring a record number of new border guards, by deporting twice as many criminal aliens as ever before, by cracking down on illegal hiring, by barring welfare benefits to illegal aliens. In the budget I will present to you, we will try to do more to speed the deportation of illegal aliens who are arrested for crimes, to better identify illegal aliens in the workplace as recommended by the commission headed by former Congresswoman Barbara Jordan. We are a nation of immigrants. But we are also a nation of laws. It is wrong and ultimately self-defeating for a nation of immigrants to permit the kind of abuse of our immigration laws we have seen in recent years, and we must do more to stop it.

State of the Union Address (January 24, 1995)—Miller Center


As a senator, Barack Obama once offered measured praise for the border control legislation that would become the basis for one of Donald Trump’s first acts as president.

“The bill before us will certainly do some good,” Obama said on the Senate floor in October 2006. He praised the legislation, saying it would provide “better fences and better security along our borders” and would “help stem some of the tide of illegal immigration in this country.”

Obama was talking about the Secure Fence Act of 2006, legislation authorizing a barrier along the southern border passed into law with the support of 26 Democratic senators including party leaders like Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Chuck Schumer.

In 2006, Democrats supported legislation to build border fence - The Boston Globe


President Donald Trump will be able to order the construction of a wall on the Mexico border Wednesday with the stroke of a pen, because of a 2006 law passed with the help of Democrats including Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton.

The 2006 law authorized the construction of 700 miles of fencing along the southern border, as well as additional lights, cameras and sensors to enhance security. Although former President George W. Bush signed the measure into law, the Democrat-controlled Congress that took over a few months later ensured it would never be completed by means of an amendment to a 2008 spending bill.

The amendment removed an explicit requirement the wall be made of double-layer fencing, and gave the Department of Homeland Security authority to put in place less effective barriers, such as simple vehicle barriers that do not keep pedestrians out. As a result, Democrats were able to avoid a politically unpopular vote against the wall, and then turn around and quietly gut its construction. But Trump and Republicans in the new Congress now plan to use that law to ensure a proper wall is constructed.

Top Democrats Voted For The Border Wall Trump Is Building


“I have been for border security for years. I voted for border security in the United States senate.” — Hillary Clinton

Did Clinton once want to build 'a wall' too?