President Trump: The NEW one and only politics thread

Nah ... not really. Because in a country of 325 million people, even a properly "small" government is still gonna be large. And you know that. And you know that's not what @YankeeFan (and me and @The Big Ragu) are getting at.

Politics is inherently corrupt. It is the politician's nature, therefore, to be corrupt. The "bigger" the government, the more this nature is indulged.

 

OK.

Proportional representation, but reset staffing levels and defense spending to 1789?

 

You specify "smaller" without specifying how much smaller. That's a pretty soft argument.

And if the politician's nature is inherently corrupt, the size of the government won't matter.

He or she will still be corrupt.

 

Further proof your side has no interest in actually governing but instead wants to just continually inflict noogies on the other 70 percent.

 

Is it either/or?

 

Wrong. The "larger" (in the way I and others are talking about it) the government, the more opportunities for politicians' corruption to have practical effect.

 

I'm just giving you my prediction on how this will play out.

But, let's also not pretend that both sides don't look for "wedge issues" to run on, and to make the other side look bad. Even if you look at something like DACA, do Democrats want to resolve the problem, or have it as an issue to run on?

 

I’m not disagreeing with your parade prediction, even though your wingman QWERTY disagrees with us both.

 

Yes. All such issues MUST be binary. That is how I have come to realize I'm a Trumper. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is a hottie and I'm going to start wearing my tie longer.

 

Describe "practical effect." Is it always bad? Or do even the most corrupt politicians occasionally create benefits for their constituencies?

Even Boss Tweed kept a lot of folks fed.

Further, we don't seem very concerned about the size of private institutions on the same basis, no matter how rapacious, on the assumption that their existence creates some good for someone somewhere.

 

I find it fascinating that the same people who claim all politicians are corrupt will in the next breath tell us all corporate executives are angels who need no regulation.