Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Trump: They've used you. They've stolen your votes . . . and given you nothing.

"Politicians like Hillary Clinton have failed you, and they've failed you badly. It's all talk. It's no action. They have failed. They've used you. They've stolen your votes for decades, and they've given you nothing. I will give you everything. I will give you what you've been looking for thirty, forty, fifty years. They have given you nothing, and you need something new." (emphasis added)
Donald Trump, May 2016
Donald Trump has "moderated" some of the positions popular with his voters.

1. He's not so high on torture. Yay!
"After sparking controversy during the campaign by saying he would allow waterboarding, Mr Trump suggested he had been swayed by James Mattis, a retired general being considered for defence secretary, who told the president-elect at the weekend that he “never found it to be useful”."
2. He may keep the climate treaty after saying he was going to cancel it and stop all payments of U.S. tax dollars to U.N. global warming programs.
In an interview with the New York Times, Mr Trump said he would “keep an open mind” about whether to abandon the climate treaty.
Also, probably why Sarah Palin isn't on the short list for heading up the Department of Energy. (Or apparently on any list. Kellyanne Conway said a couple of nights ago: "I haven't seen her as part of the cabinet mix." 6:25 mark)

[Update: Apparently Palin is on the list for Secretary of the Interior.Up against Jan Brewer among others.]

3. He will not prosecute Hillary Clinton. Okay with me but not with lots of the people who voted for him and believed he would appoint a special prosecutor.
The moves were capped by Kellyanne Conway, Mr Trump’s campaign manager, saying the president-elect had decided not to prosecute Mrs Clinton over her handling of secret information, arguing the move would help her “heal” from her loss. In the interview with the New York Times, Mr Trump said: “I don’t want to hurt the Clintons.” 
4.  Trump was going to "drain the swamp" of personal enrichment in Washington, D.C., but now, meh--at least regarding his own enrichment.
Speaking to the New York Times, Mr Trump pushed back against allegations he is using the presidency to advance his business interests, saying that conflict of interest rules did not apply to the president. 
For all Trump voters who believed him, my condolences.

6 comments:

OregonGuy said...

The best piece of advice I ever got from and Econ prof was, when you're buying a car, and the salesman asks, "What are you looking for?" try to respond with something like, "Maybe white?"

The more information you give, the steeper the demand curve.

Approaching negotiations with a linear approach gives too much information to the other party. You should never let anyone know that they're giving you the stuff you'd be willing to pay for.
.

T. D. said...

OG, great advice, as usual--with huge applications in other areas, including politics. Heh.

MAX Redline said...

My condolences to all of the Pantsuit voters who believed her.

On negotiations: I don't talk about color; that would be racist.

Got two messages in my car today, one saying to check tire pressure and the other saying that the keyless fob batteries needed to be replaced. So I took it back to the dealership, since I was in the area, and told them they could take their car back; I don't need this distraction.

Free battery replacements for the fobs, free tire examination and re-set, free coffee. Apparently, they didn't want their car back.

Yes, I am relentless when it comes to that stuff.

T. D. said...

Max, yes, Hillary's voters got the worst of the bargain. She didn't win. And might have "triangulated" in good Clinton tradition. But, then she wasn't campaigning on shaking up the system and burning down the establishment. That would be Bernie.

I do feel sorry for anyone with real principles who voted for either of them on the basis of principle. But, most didn't. They voted for the evil they thought was lesser. So, most of them are probably fine with whatever happens thinking the alternative would undoubtedly have been worse. Hoping for nothing more than surviving the next four years like they survived the last eight (or nine if you count Bush's disastrous 2008).

The real losers are the supposed "conservative" commentators and politicians who showed they didn't give a fig about conservative principles. They are lukewarm to be spit out of the mouth.

You naturally knew OG's advice and got them to give you free stuff instead of them getting you to pay for fixing their car/accessory deficiency. I don't remember that as often as I should.

MAX Redline said...

The real losers are the supposed "conservative" commentators and politicians who showed they didn't give a fig about conservative principles.

Well put. There was a decent conservative candidate on the Republican side, but he got "Berned". So we end up with two weevils.

OG has my kind of mind-set, except that I learned it over in Thailand; you'd better get good at haggling if you want to eat and keep your shorts.:-)

T. D. said...

I think both of you are much better negotiators than I. So, I always like to hear not only about how you do it, but what you're thinking when you do it. It's one of the pleasures and gifts that comes with friendship.