There are a lot of specific things that Trump might do that concern me, but I also get the feeling that as a nation we are about to start moving backwards. I consider myself a progressive, and the way I see it, the USA has been getting better since at least FDR. Sure we’ve had setbacks such as Vietnam and the turbulence of the late 60s, the 2008 recession, and the ongoing conflict with radical Islamic terrorism that started on 9/11. Overall, however, I feel that the overall course of the country has been one of greater freedoms, civil rights, and economic opportunities. Even under Reagan and W, who are probably the two least progressive presidents since FDR, the country as a whole still made progress. Now, however, I get the feeling we’re about to start going backwards as a country. Is the progressive era over? If it’s over, is this only a temporary setback until 2020? How bad might things get? Will the EPA be abolished? The Voting Rights Act? Curtailing of first amendment rights like speech, religion, and the press? Roe v Wade being overturned? Gay marriage being overturned? Am I just being paranoid for even considering these things might happen?
I’ll throw this out as well. Even though it was 16 years ago, I think I still remember my feelings when W won in 2000 pretty well. At that time I was disappointed, but not anywhere near the level of angst I’m still feeling with Trump.
We certainly have to stay villigent, but I take some comfort in the fact Trump has no core value and doesn’t give a shit about any agenda (other than his own). (His appointments, however, will attempt terrible things. Trump may actually try to moderate those, in an effort to remain as popular as possible)
Exactly how millions of others feel, I think. Certainly how I feel. This is something entirely new.
But there may be hope in the very fact that so many of Trump’s appointees so far are extremists and incompetents, and the man himself so utterly unqualified for the job, that there may be a major backlash in the mid-terms and then again in 2020 that makes progressivism popular again. Until then I would consider it a lucky break if the US can emerge from this mess without a major economic or military disaster.
Probably not, but I suspect they’ll be a bit less … EPA-ish for the next few years.
Maybe, but that was headed out the door anyways. The Democrats probably should have fixed it early in the Obama administration when they had the power to do so, but they didn’t, and so portions of it got struck down.
I don’t anticipate any changes to the First Amendment. Trump may sue some media outlets for libel, which is unusual, but I’m not sure if that counts as “curtailing” the freedom of the press. It’s just “enforcing the laws already on the books”. As for free speech, both HRC and DJT suck at it, as do many colleges and other traditional defenders of the principle of free speech. I fear the right to free speech is dying a slow death, and I don’t see Trump reversing that trend (I don’t think HRC would have either). On the freedom of religion, things will probably be a mixed bag If you’re Muslim, eh, maybe worse. If you’re a Christian cake baker, probably better.
If that’s supposed to be sarcasm, I submit that there is a big difference between the falsely cynical “nothing ever changes” and the observation that matters of great consequence tend to change incrementally, even if they are precipitated by one underlying event like an election. Which means that many may not notice the changes until one day some consequence of them hits them like a ton of bricks. The forthcoming administration is shaping up to be one for the history books whose effects will be felt for generations, just in terms of who is being appointed to major positions in government and completely aside from the Orange Peril himself.
Finished? The progressive movement will be stronger in 2020 than ever before. The Trump presidency will add more fuel to the progressive fire than many progressives ever dreamed of.
I saw the same sorts of over the top rhetoric and gloom and doom crying wolfisms when both GW and Obama became president (and Regan and even Clinton…and, at a WAG, this probably goes back to anyone other that Washington to the losing side). Why is it different this time?
I’m not saying that a Trump presidency is going to be a wonderful thing or that the country isn’t going to take a hit with this boob at the helm, but this sort of apocalyptic view just seems over the top to me. To touch on the OP, what’s really changed between before and after the election? Would the progressive era be in full bloom if Clinton had won? Trump didn’t exactly win in a landside, and the electorate today is essentially the same as the one that voted in Obama. The only real differences is that many who voted for Obama weren’t that excited by Clinton, while many who didn’t bother to vote for, say, Romney came out and voted for Trump. Perhaps seeing what Trump is like, those who didn’t vote because they couldn’t get excited about Clinton will see why it’s important next time (though you’d think folks would have learned from the Gore/Bush debackle about this).
I get that folks don’t like Trump. I get it because I don’t like him either, and feel he’s a disaster as president. But ‘disaster’ is relative, and our system is strong enough to survive a term or even two with a boob in the White House. We survived Carter AND Bush II after all, as well as several other bad presidents…we will survive The Trump as well. In fact, echoing an earlier poster, I think that this is going to help the Democrats in the long run and perhaps the progressive movement, though that doesn’t exactly fill me with joy, personally. The Republicans are going to have to produce something now instead of just dragging their feet or gumming up the works and blaming the Democrats. I don’t think they are going to be able to do anything or accomplish anything meaningful, since much of Trump et als promises are so much rhetoric and not realistic. But it’s on them to produce. If they don’t, well…Trump will be a one termer and most likely the current Republican control of the house and senate will evaporate as well. The only actual long term consequence is the SC appointment to replace Scalia…and, frankly, that was already a conservative/constitutionalist slot, so it’s unlikely to really change anything. Only if a really liberal SC justice goes during the Trumpster’s term would there even be a real change there.
The big thing you are missing XT is that the House and Senate are now filled with Republican majorities who are just as crazy as Trump–moderate Republicans have virtually disappeared. This never happened in previous Presidencies.
Naw, I get that. But I’m unsure how in lock step they are with Trump. They are SAYING they are, but consider all of the bad blood and rhetoric the flew back and forth between the Trump campaign and the Republican establishment. Maybe that’s all water under the bridge now that Trump is president, but I have my doubts, personally. I think this is more like the Carter presidency…IIRC, the Dems controlled the house and senate when Carter was president, so in theory he should have been able to do anything he wanted…but the reality was he was an outsider with very little political capital and no real idea how to connect with the establishment to do anything on his agenda, which was different than what the Dems in the house and senate wanted to do. I think Trump will be even more of an outsider, and I find it hard to believe he will get much if any of his ridiculous populist agenda through even a Republican controled house and senate, especially when the Dems will be pretty unified in opposing him. All you really need to basically stifle his presidency is if some Republicans abstain or vote against him on key issues with the way the current numbers stand…and, personally, I don’t think that’s much of a stretch to imagine that a few are going to be opposed to him. YMMV, and it’s a valid point that you brought up here.
Personally, I’m still in shock and hoping to wake up from this nightmare and find it didn’t really happen.
No. Who woulda thunk Bernie Sanders would have done so incredibly well in the last primary? I can’t think of any time that a real progressive did anywhere near as well as he did. If that marks the beginning of the end of progressivism, you progressives should be cheering for the end to come as quickly as possible.
I have a feeling this is a prescient post. Where someone like Ted Cruz has a rather firm ideological foundation, and is likely to follow that when formulating policy and/or regulating underlings’ actions, Trump has no such foundation, and seems to be mostly concerned with popularity and publicity.
I think this’ll translate into interesting things; right now, he’s basking in the adulation of his staunch supporters and the alt-right. But once his minions attempt something truly bad, I suspect the backlash will cause him to backtrack and rein them in more than say… Cruz might, as long as the truly bad thing was in line with his thoughts ideologically.
Maybe the proper anti-Trump strategy is to try and manipulate him in the court of public opinion. Not sure exactly how that’s best done, as he seems to bask in negative press and positive press; someone probably needs to study how he’s reacted in the past and what sort of thing has pushed his buttons.
Those in power can do considerable and lasting damage to the country in the two years before the mid-term elections. SCOTUS could become a dominant conservative court. Then there are all the subordinate federal court positions that need to be filled. Environmental protections and research could be wiped out (I have friends were were ordered to stop and destroy decades of environmental research when W took office.) Of course, no one can predict external factors (oil, war, natural disasters, etc.) that can be grossly mismanaged (accidental and deliberate).
I didn’t read all the comments but I think a backlash is more likely. I believe Trump supporters will end feeling betrayed, embarrassed, and let down in so many ways that the country will be willing to try the progressives as a lesser of two evils. The republican party is faced with standing up against Trump and alienating their base which I see as a most likely scenario. They may feel so much pressure that they let him go longer than they feel comfortable with as to not anger his supporters. I see big time damage to the republican party. Ideally enough conservatives will switch to the left that the left will spend more energy trying to attract them and let their far left fringes fend for themselves.
Taking Sanders to represent modern Progessivism, I think the last election was a pretty clear indicator there is an appetite for the Progressive message. Taking the people who voted for Clinton in the general election as a safe set of people that would vote for Sanders and add into it the enthusiasm young and blue collar workers evidently had for him, I think it is reasonable to believe he would have been competitive in the general election. This is the strongest support I’ve seen for such a message in my lifetime. It’s not ending, it is beginning.
I am saying this as somebody who doesn’t like everything the Progessive message seems to offer, and who campaigned for Clinton only in the primary because I felt it was most important that Sanders lost.
On another note, don’t states have all these things that Trump threatens at the Federal level and aren’t states really the driving force in advancing Progressive policies? That won’t change now will it?
OK. Try this on for apocalyptic.: Trump casts doubt on whether the US would always support NATO allies in case of an attack. He says he doesn’t want Russia to know how he might respond, but this is exactly the entire point of the treaty. Despite his dithering and walkbacks on these foolish comments, he’s already increased the risk of military miscalculation and escalation.