# Has any President taken such a big hit to his program so early in his term? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 10, 2017, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-president-taken-such-a-big-hit-to-his-program-so-early-in-his-term/779437 "2017-02-10T03:01:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-president-taken-such-a-big-hit-to-his-program-so-early-in-his-term/779437/41 "2017-02-24T12:13:06Z")
> [@davida03801](#): > > I would ask a different question. > > Has the losing side of a Presidential Election ever been so hysterical ? Well, 1861, clearly. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-president-taken-such-a-big-hit-to-his-program-so-early-in-his-term/779437/42 "2017-02-24T14:43:54Z")
> [@davida03801](#): > > I would ask a different question. > > Has the losing side of a Presidential Election ever been so hysterical ? Well, in 2008, much of the losing side was dedicated to conspiracy theories that the President was not even an American citizen. And as CA pointed out, that’s a _very_ distant second place to 1861, when the losing side was so hysterical they started a civil war over it. 1876 was not well received, either. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-president-taken-such-a-big-hit-to-his-program-so-early-in-his-term/779437/43 "2017-02-24T15:08:44Z")
> [@davida03801](#): > > I would ask a different question. > > Has the losing side of a Presidential Election ever been so hysterical ? Has the winning candidate ever been someone so utterly evil? At least Nixon recognized the role of government and gave us the EPA. Dolt 45 has no redeeming qualities. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-president-taken-such-a-big-hit-to-his-program-so-early-in-his-term/779437/44 "2017-02-24T18:06:12Z")
> [@davida03801](#): > > I would ask a different question. > > Has the losing side of a Presidential Election ever been so hysterical ? As noted, the South went bonkers after Lincoln was elected, because they thought he might do something wacky like proclaim all the brown people free from slavery. Fun fact: Lincoln issued a proclamation that ended slavery. In the newest election, the North went bonkers after worrying that the President was a drooling idiot and con artist with suspicious ties to an enemy dictatorship. Fun fact: ? ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-president-taken-such-a-big-hit-to-his-program-so-early-in-his-term/779437/45 "2017-02-28T19:16:54Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > What in the world makes you think Gorsuch will fail confirmation? If the Democrats filibuster, the GOP goes nuclear and confirms him anyway. Then, as soon as they lose the Senate (probably in 4 years, not 2), they put it back in as lame ducks. That’s… not going to work. I mean, they can certainly get rid of the filibuster and confirm Gorsuch. That seems likely if the Democrats go that route. But putting it back in as lame ducks is not going to accomplish anything. Once the party in power removes the filibuster, there’s no putting the genie back in the bottle. The other party, once it’s in power, will do the same thing. When the filibuster goes away, it goes away for good. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-president-taken-such-a-big-hit-to-his-program-so-early-in-his-term/779437/46 "2017-02-28T19:38:24Z")
Here’s the thing: Trump can’t really be said to **have** a program. He ran on sweeping generalities, not outlines of specific programs. He’s going to build a wall and make Mexico pay for it, but he has no specifics on what parts of the border still need a wall, why there isn’t one already, and what he’s going to do about it. Let alone how he’s going to make Mexico pay for it. He’s going to bring back our industrial and manufacturing jobs, but other than the tariff bullshit which nobody else supports, he’s got no specifics about how he’s going to do that. He’s got a secret plan to defeat ISIS…no wait, he’s going to have the military come up with a plan, which will look like the Obama Administration plan that’s already working well, with some extras for looks. He’s going to replace Obamacare with something cheaper and better…and he hasn’t the faintest clue about it. He. Doesn’t. Have. A. Program. That’s why his team hasn’t been busily submitting proposed legislation to Congress, like any other President would have been doing during his first several weeks. Not that I have a problem with this. If someone’s going to be evil, incompetence is a feature, not a bug. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-president-taken-such-a-big-hit-to-his-program-so-early-in-his-term/779437.md?page=2)