I am a huge Obama supporter. I voted for Hillary. Now I support Trump.
I have debated with myself for days whether or not to share my political views after the recent election. I'm pretty sure that with my post title - I have now alienated myself from 99% of people who care about US politics. Before removing me from your 'follow' list though :) - please at least hear what I have to say.
I don't align myself with a specific political party, but I would probably be described by most as "center right independent". Personally, I identify myself as a pragmatist. I like when we get things done for the good of the country. It doesn't matter which party is getting them done.
I have followed what goes on in American politics for quite a long time. I keep track of what things are getting discussed and voted on in congress. There are several issues that are very important to me, and I have spent a lot of time thinking about what we can do as a country to find resolutions to them.
One thing that I have found, is that it is extremely important to separate "election politics" from "policy politics". The two are intertwined, but they are very different. Election politics is about getting yourself re-elected. Policy politics is about getting stuff done.
I cannot stand election politics. No matter how much I like a particular politician, if I follow them through the election process I am pretty much guaranteed to dislike them in the end. It brings out the worst in people. It is filled with negativity. Much of it is untrue. I dislike what it turns us into. I generally tune it out.
Policy politics is where it gets interesting. One thing that I have discovered over the years, is that outside of getting re-elected, almost all politicians are there genuinely trying to do what they believe is best for the country. If you don't buy into that, then in my opinion you have fallen into the trap of election politics.
While for most people this is where things get ugly, for me it is what makes our political system very interesting. Believe it or not, there are actually people who have different views than me on what is best for our country! Does that make them bad? Or evil? I don't think so.
There are lots of things that Obama did which I disagreed with. I did not think Hillary would have made a perfect president. I do not expect that I will agree with everything Trump says or does.
How is it possible then for me to support all three of them?
The way I see it, they have one core thing in common - they all care deeply about our country, and want to do whatever they can to make it the best country it can possibly be.
If you can get past all the rhetoric, and all the specific policy issues that you disagree with, this fundamental believe in wanting making our country great is where you start. This is how you can look someone in the eye that you fundamentally disagree with, see past the disagreements, and find common ground.
Once you are on common ground, and share a mutual respect and understanding that you both want what is best for the country, then you can start to discuss what "best" is, and how to get there.
Despite the specific items I disagree with him on, I saw this from Trump. During his acceptance speech, he made it clear that he was willing to set aside differences and work with anyone who was willing to work with him for the good of our country. This is the reason I believe Trump will make a good president in the end.
interesting point of view @timcliff and it raises a lot of questions for me and I would like to hear more - maybe expanding more specifically in later posts as you feel inclined? I like that you are trying to find a way to move ahead hopefully, I like that you believe in the good intentions of politicians (I think that to some degree this is true but is complicated). It also seems like you believe in our system and this is heartening to me. I've read so much lately about how "the system is broken" and I wholeheartedly disagree.It's a really beautiful system but people individually and collectively locally and nationally and corporations nationally and internationally have taken advantage of the system so that it's not wholly serving its people currently. We as citizens have to stand up for our interests more actively. Hopefully things will change for the better.....they will certainly change without a doubt but I think that would have happened regardless of who was elected. I am a heartbroken Hillary supporter but would have preferred Elizabeth Warren over anyone. Anyway, thanks for your post!
Good for you, putting yourself out there. I agree that election politics is pretty terrible, the goal obviously to be elected. While the rhetoric on the campaign trails turned me off, I had to look beyond that. Having been a NY resident for the majority of my life, Trump's either been in the papers or on TV. He's got a mouth but he's also got a heart. As a former small business owner, I also took advantage of ANY loophole the government allowed me (which wasn't much) - but until things change, it would be smart to game whatever you can to keep one's business afloat. I know he has insight into that and may actually HELP business moving forward...and bring them back to the U.S. He's also worked with and supported people in both parties so I'm hopeful that he can navigate the cesspool of DC politics.
I heard on a news broadcast that the U.S. President position makes $400,000 USD a year. Apparently Trump has agreed to do the job for $1 USD/year and waive his right to the remaining $399,999 USD
Has anyone else heard this? Is it true? Can you name any other president recently that has done this?
I haven't heard this yet, but it would not surprise me. It will be one of the interesting things about Trump's presidency - he does not need to care about the money :)
Two other U.S. Presidents did this too apparently... Herbert Hoover (1929-1933) and John F Kennedy (1961-1963)
So it would have been 54 years since our last president opted out and took $1 USD salary.
BBC news, in my opinion, acts like it's not a big deal. I think it is..
I agree :)
John Kennedy was the last one. and the Herbert Hoover before that. They gave their salaries to charity (and Hoover gave some to his staff).
Hilliary's followers are violent. They have been known to attack those who say they are for Trump.
Take precautions..
There are "crazies" on both sides of this. If Hillary had won, I probably would have needed to be afraid of the violent Trump supporters. It's unfortunate that there are people who believe that violence is a solution to whatever problems they have with the people from the other party.
Perhaps...perhaps not.
What's happening now is that CryBullies are being violent...
Take care of yourself.
I'd suggest plastic surgery, change your name, move to another state..
Excellent post Mr. @timcliff, as is his custom, I share with you that there are things that can not be talked about, one is politics, religion and soccer, are points where the public is very divided and that provokes the possibility of Being well with one half of people and wrong with the other and the result is the loss of a fans, yesterday I found my principle comment some religion and I automatically lost followers in my account. Nevertheless it is a very good post and an excellent point of view. Congratulations on that
I think as you do not care who wins, nor the color, nor their beliefs in the measure is the best for a country and its people.
Congratulations on this wonderful post
Thanks @jlufer :)
All i can say is he the man a chance he may surprise everyone :)
I agree :)
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I appreciate your willingness to put yourself out there and in a way that is civil. I focus on platforms, policies, votes, and the people that a President brings to their administration. I agree that no administration is perfect or perfectly aligned with my views. I don't expect that. With Trump, we don't have votes to use - yet. So we depend on the other three.
We experienced his racism, mysogyny, and xenophobia on the campaign trail. Bringing Steven Bannon, the white nationalist Breitbart News leader that foments hate, onto his White House team as senior advisor, just continues the divisiveness and belies his acceptance speech. That is not a good sign.
As for policies, there are some basic standards that have to be met. One is putting his assets in a blind trust to avoid conflicts of interest. He hasn't laid out any plans for a real blind trust, which would require divesting assets. Instead, he has said his children will be running his businesses. And now he is asking that his children get the highest level security clearances and be his unpaid advisors. They can't do both and have a fair-dealing administration.
I'm holding off to see whether he will release his tax returns as promised - again, to meet the standard for making decisions in our interests, not his own. And I'm waiting to see what access the press has, especially for institutions that have been critical.
You raise a lot of valid points and concerns. In my mind though, most of what you are bringing up falls in the "election politics" category. Can we trust him? Is he going to do the right thing? Is he going to do "xyz". Those are obviously important questions to be asking - especially for the person running for president. I tend not to focus on them very much though, because there will always be plenty of hate and doubt. If you are looking for it, you will continue to find reasons to 'dislike' him all the way until the next president is elected. I prefer to focus more on policy and agenda. Are the specific things he is trying to accomplish moving the country forward? Even if it is not the direction I would want it to go, is there at least validity in the reasoning that the people want to go in that direction?
To me, once we move from speculation during an election to an actual administration (and I consider the transition to be administrative), then it's not election politics any more. And it's not about hating or disliking him - I'm not about the individual. Like you, I focus on policy and agenda (including platforms) -- I have read a lot of policy papers for this election, lol. But I add process in there with policy and agenda. The transition team, the people around him, how he fills out the thousands of appointed positions in his administration, and handling of the press, are all process-related. In the extreme case, a benevolent dictator may have great policies and agendas, but that process isn't acceptable. So, in our real-world case, I do look at process - and for the items I laid out, the transition process is coming up short. Time will certainly tell more about the rest.
I agree with your points. It is going to be interesting to see how it all plays out.
I appreciate a civil discussion, so thanks for that! I do hope folks stay engaged and have some objective benchmarks thought out in advance.
I appreciate it as well :) I am hopeful that it will play out well in the end.
So do I. Thankfully the steem blockchain allows these types of civil discussions to happen without someone getting beaten on the street.
Trump is indeed now in charge (or will be soon) and we have to live with it. It is both too late to protest (this should have been done before the election rather than after) and too early to do it (it is better, in my opinion, to wait and see what he will actually do).
Who knows, maybe will he do good things. Maybe not. As you said, you have the election speech on the one hand (and Trump is definitely an actor with this respect, aligning chocking statement after checking statement) and the acts on the other hand. For the latter, as I said and as you said, we have to wait.
PS: I am not a US citizen and have thus nothing to say here. This message is thus only the view of someone from the outside (who would have probably voted Hillary if he had to vote).
Yeah, it is going to be interesting to see where this leads :)
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Seems like a healthy position to take.
I personally see politics at the state level and above as inaccessible to average people and hopelessly corrupt, but do acknowledge that our corrupt leaders are people with what they imagine are good intentions.