What a Donald Trump presidency might actually look like

[jpak]

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-trump-presidency-20160228-story.html

<snip>

In ideological terms, Trump scrambles traditional lines — borrowing some ideas from the left, others from the right.

He shows no particular interest, for example, in the long-standing conservative Republican goal of shrinking the size of the federal government. Asked in Thursday's debate how he would balance the federal budget, he fell back on the slogan of eliminating "waste, fraud and abuse" and named only two specifics that he would cut: the Common Core education standards, which aren't a federal spending program, and Environmental Protection Agency regulatory powers that he said he would shift to the states.

Indeed, one of his most specific pledges — to reject any cuts to Social Security or Medicare — points in the other direction. Coupled with his pledge to increase military spending, Trump's refusal to cut programs for the elderly would put about 60% of the federal budget off limits.

He has also, at least in general terms, endorsed a role for the federal government in guaranteeing healthcare coverage. In Thursday's debate, he resisted taking a more conservative position when Cruz and Rubio prodded him on the issue.

<snip>

I Big Brother

[yardwork]

1. His bigoted attitude toward Mexico alone would sink our economy.

We're going to see all kinds of reassurances emanating from the Republican Party that Trump wouldn't be so bad. Don't believe them. Look at what two former presidents of Mexico and their ambassador said last week. If he's elected and attempts to build that wall, then our highly lucrative trade relationship with Mexico goes down the tubes, taking our economy with it. Jobs? We can all kiss them goodbye as we slide into a depression.

This is the man who told the pig's blood story about killing Muslims. This is not a sane or rational person. This is a potential dictator.

[Cleita]

2. He'll be another Arnold. No one on either side of the aisle will make

much of an effort to work with him on what he wants. When Congress does pass legislation they want, he'll just veto it. Nothing will get done but hopefully not too much harm will be done either.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. I (slightly) disagree

It will be worst.

And yes, I enjoyed Ahhnold the guvernator, not

[Cleita]

7. Well, he might spend his time, gold plating the White House.

That will be awful, but also funny.

[shanti]

8. who was behind arnold?

some say it was pete wilson. i'm more afraid of who will be BEHIND trump, than the man himself. that's how we got the bushes.

[Cleita]

9. It was Darryl Issa who pushed the recall of Grey Davis, but I'm suspicious it was Koch brothers

money behind it all. Through the whole recall circus Arnold walked around like the governorship had been guaranteed to him and it probably was. The problem was though that the Legislature wasn't that thrilled with him, so they pretty much ignored him. He made some really stupid budget decisions that crashed a lot of California programs and they let him do it to make him look bad and it did. Then they passed single payer universal health care in both the legislature and senate, even as difficult as it is with two-thirds vote needed, but it passed and Arnold vetoed it. He tried to push through what we know as the Affordable Care Act, but as a state instead of federal program and the law makers didn't even look at it, again to make him look bad.

I have a feeling a Trump presidency would be pretty much the same.

[Rex]

3. .

[Nuclear Unicorn]

5. I wanted to post a pic of a train wreck but the stupid smartphone is stupid.

[beac]

4. Part of me wants to believe that he really wouldn't do much at all.

He likes living the good life and gilding things. Short of throwing lavish state dinners and flying around on Air Force One, I don't think he'd really enjoy much about being President and would put little effort into the job.

That part of me thinks he is saying all he is saying b/c he wants to "WIN" and doesn't care what it takes to do that.

The other part of me is that he means what he says and the country will be a flaming, if gilded, shit pile within the first 100 days.

I think the race to curry favor for the Veep spot from some Republicans is because they, like I, think if he actually gets elected ( ) , he'll be impeached PDQ and that's their ticket to the Oval Office.

[Turbineguy]

10. Shifting the EPA to the states

may turn out to be a problem. On the Mississippi river every state had different ballast regulations that made river transits a nightmare.

Of course you'll have states attracting industry by having zero rules. Republican governors will be begging industry to turn their states into polluted shitholes.

One thing about Trump, he seems to think that killing a bunch of people as well as making people dirt poor might not be so good for the kind of business he's in. So health care might actually improve. The other repub demagogues would hate that.