# So um, this is not going well so far **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 13, 2017, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-um-this-is-not-going-well-so-far/779754 "2017-02-13T14:43:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-um-this-is-not-going-well-so-far/779754/1 "2017-02-13T14:43:17Z")
Trump’s administration is unstable, he has no idea what makes for a proper executive order, there’s little vetting of these EOs apparent, and no one really knows what they are doing. Congress isn’t doing any better yet, with Republicans only just now seeming to realize that replacing ACA is hard. Who knew? Dudes, you’ve got several plans floating around, just draw them from a hat if you have to. There is no way to replace ACA without violating some Republican principles. Suck it up. Reagan would have. I know it’s only three weeks in, but this is bad. The only silver lining I’m seeing so far is that Trump is “obsessed” with keeping his promises, as CNN put it(as if that’s a bad thing). Paul Ryan is also manfully trying to not only keep the GOP House caucus unified, but also to keep the reforms in place that a lot of establishment Republicans are trying to undo now that the GOP has total control. If Ryan can emerge from the next four years with his reputation intact, he should be the next President. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-um-this-is-not-going-well-so-far/779754/2 "2017-02-13T14:53:32Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > **so um, this is not going well so far.** Ya Think!? You voted Party-Line-Dumbass and you got Bayonette-Fucked up your ass for your trouble. “So. What did we _LEARN_???” ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-um-this-is-not-going-well-so-far/779754/3 "2017-02-13T14:57:13Z")
If there weren’t actual human lives being fucked up right now, with a distinct possibility that it all ends in a series of mushroom clouds before too long, I might be enjoying this shit show. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-um-this-is-not-going-well-so-far/779754/4 "2017-02-13T14:57:19Z")
Look at the bright side, he has not convinced anyone to pay for that stupid wall. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-um-this-is-not-going-well-so-far/779754/5 "2017-02-13T15:04:32Z")
And even Texas is going “Well, about that whole wall idea…” ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-um-this-is-not-going-well-so-far/779754/6 "2017-02-13T15:04:45Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > Ya Think!? > > You voted Party-Line-Dumbass and you got Bayonette-Fucked up your ass for your trouble. > > “So. What did we _LEARN_???” I thought Adaher voted for Hillary. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-um-this-is-not-going-well-so-far/779754/7 "2017-02-13T15:08:09Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Look at the bright side, he has not convinced anyone to pay for that stupid wall. Has Don ever given an explanation as to _why_ he feels Mexico should pay? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-um-this-is-not-going-well-so-far/779754/8 "2017-02-13T15:11:50Z")
Really? You mean to tell me we elected a self-obsesses, reality show star, real estate huckster with no political experience as president and it’s not going so well? I’m shocked. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-um-this-is-not-going-well-so-far/779754/9 "2017-02-13T15:12:31Z")
> [@Eddie The Horrible](#): > > Has Don ever given an explanation as to _why_ he feels Mexico should pay? I assume because he knows the American taxpayers wouldn’t be so keen on spending so much money on a stupid idea. Sad! But getting Mexico to pay a lot of money for a stupid idea is almost as fun as pissing off “liberals.” ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-um-this-is-not-going-well-so-far/779754/10 "2017-02-13T15:19:23Z")
You’re wrong, he knows exactly what he’s doing. And it’s working perfectly. He’s creating chaos and dysfunction in every section of government. Probably because he wants no legal repercussions for what comes next. There will be no way to pin blame on anyone if it’s all just widely recognized chaos of the incompetents. He’s already got people spending a ton of their outrage and resistance - in just three weeks. All those protests? He will freaking wear them down. Think they’ll still be out in numbers two years from now? I doubt it. No one wants to admit it but, we’re are just growing accustomed to one outrage after another. And, in the end, like the marchs, protests, court injunctions, he already knows a way around all of it. He’ll gut the ethics committee, break up the ninth circuit, get his judge seated before the immigration ban reaches the Supremes! All of which was planned for, I think. I think he’s pushing everybody’s buttons HARD so they’ll reach outrage fatigue all the sooner and just stop caring in the face of being unable to stop him. And I suspect that’s inevitable due to human nature. (Hope I’m wrong. But it’s not looking good!) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-um-this-is-not-going-well-so-far/779754/11 "2017-02-13T15:19:47Z")
> [@Eddie The Horrible](#): > > Has Don ever given an explanation as to _why_ he feels Mexico should pay? He’s of the opinion that it is the government that is sending the illegal immigrants here. The government wants to get rid of the bad hombres, and they send them here. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-um-this-is-not-going-well-so-far/779754/12 "2017-02-13T15:20:01Z")
Anti-intellectualism has triumphed. “Ignorance Is Strength” [https://nyti.ms/2l6aLU0](https://nyti.ms/2l6aLU0) > [@](#): > > …What we’ve seen instead over the past three weeks is an awesome display of raw ignorance on every front. Worse, there’s no hint that either the White House or its allies in Congress see this as a problem. They appear to believe that expertise, or even basic familiarity with a subject, is for wimps; ignorance is strength. > … > > Competent lawyers might tell you that your Muslim ban is unconstitutional; competent scientists that climate change is real; competent economists that tax cuts don’t pay for themselves; competent voting experts that there weren’t millions of illegal ballots; competent diplomats that the Iran deal makes sense, and Putin is not your friend. So competence must be excluded. > > At this point, someone is bound to say, “If they’re so dumb, how come they won?” Part of the answer is that disdain for experts — sorry, “so-called” experts — resonates with an important part of the electorate. Bigotry wasn’t the only dark force at work in the election; so was anti-intellectualism, hostility toward “elites” who claim that opinions should be based on careful study and thought… ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-um-this-is-not-going-well-so-far/779754/13 "2017-02-13T15:20:20Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I know it’s only three weeks in, but this is bad. Let me ask you something, since I acknowledge I live in a liberal bubble. I know (I think) you didn’t vote for Trump, but I assume you interact with Trump voters more than I do. Do you think your frustrations are shared by any significant number of Trump voters? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-um-this-is-not-going-well-so-far/779754/14 "2017-02-13T15:30:10Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Anti-intellectualism has triumphed. “Ignorance Is Strength” > [https://nyti.ms/2l6aLU0](https://nyti.ms/2l6aLU0) [“These smug pilots have lost touch with regular passengers like us. Who thinks I should fly the plane?”](http://www.newyorker.com/cartoons/a20630) ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-um-this-is-not-going-well-so-far/779754/15 "2017-02-13T15:32:11Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Let me ask you something, since I acknowledge I live in a liberal bubble. I know (I think) you didn’t vote for Trump, but I assume you interact with Trump voters more than I do. Do you think your frustrations are shared by any significant number of Trump voters? No, most of his voters think he’s doing fine. One reason for that is that they are low information, but another is that Trump is trying harder than most politicians to keep his promises. Keeping faith with his base means they’ll be there for him. His own supporters won’t start to get frustrated until he starts messing with their lives. Perhaps a Katrina mishandled again, a mismanaged war, or an ACA replacement with hellish implementation, which can happen even if the plan is good on paper. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-um-this-is-not-going-well-so-far/779754/16 "2017-02-13T15:33:51Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > [“These smug pilots have lost touch with regular passengers like us. Who thinks I should fly the plane?”](http://www.newyorker.com/cartoons/a20630) Yeah, I heard some doofus Texas politician say on the radio the other day, “Someone has to stand up to the experts!” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-um-this-is-not-going-well-so-far/779754/17 "2017-02-13T15:37:24Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Really? You mean to tell me we elected a self-obsesses, reality show star, real estate huckster with no political experience as president and it’s not going so well? I’m shocked. :rolleyes: No one, of course, should be the least bit surprised. All this was on full display during the campaign. What we saw is what we’re getting. It is possibly not quite as bad as Trump reneges on some of his more ridiculous promises (while clinging to others like the Great Wall of Mexico). > [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > If there weren’t actual human lives being fucked up right now, with a distinct possibility that it all ends in a series of mushroom clouds before too long, I might be enjoying this shit show. All I can do is watch in horrified bemusement. As an expatriate, I can distance myself to some degree. But it really is like watching _Idiocracy_. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-um-this-is-not-going-well-so-far/779754/18 "2017-02-13T15:42:18Z")
This is all a terrible mess for most people, but it’s working out just fine for Donald Trump so far. Which was precisely his plan. ---
**Author:** ![orderfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orderfire/32/10908_2.png) [@orderfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orderfire)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-um-this-is-not-going-well-so-far/779754/19 "2017-02-13T15:46:29Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > If there weren’t actual human lives being fucked up right now, with a distinct possibility that it all ends in a series of mushroom clouds before too long, I might be enjoying this shit show. WORD to that.☹ ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-um-this-is-not-going-well-so-far/779754/20 "2017-02-13T15:47:45Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > …Trump is trying harder than most politicians to keep his promises. I guess it’s arguable he’s _trying_ extra-hard\*, but he’s moving slower than Obama did in Jan/Feb 2008: [Trump's Advisers Want You To Believe He's The Most Productive President Yet. He Isn't. | HuffPost Latest News](http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_58a0ccf8e4b094a129ec274d)? - Insert participation trophy joke here. Or metaphor involving constipation. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-um-this-is-not-going-well-so-far/779754.md?page=2)