# What happens if the Republicans win? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 3, 2016, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-republicans-win/745081 "2016-02-03T19:04:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![davida03801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@davida03801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davida03801)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-republicans-win/745081/82 "2016-02-08T15:47:15Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Indeed, they must be pining for the W years, he gave them so much, much more :eek: to work with. Plenty of scandals in the last 8 years. Just been ignored. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-republicans-win/745081/83 "2016-02-08T15:51:14Z")
> [@davida03801](#): > > Plenty of scandals in the last 8 years. Just been ignored. Can you name one? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-republicans-win/745081/84 "2016-02-08T16:00:29Z")
> [@davida03801](#): > > Plenty of scandals in the last 8 years. Just been ignored. Is a scandal that has been ignored still a scandal? Nobody cares. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-republicans-win/745081/85 "2016-02-08T16:42:12Z")
There are no scandals and Obama has kept us out of war. Because bombing six countries and having special forces fighting in almost as many is not “war”. It’s not even a police action! It’s basically… nothing. Likewise, when the executive branch has huge screwups several times, it’s not scandal, it’s just government. And Republicans should remind voters that this is actually how the liberal base thinks. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-republicans-win/745081/86 "2016-02-08T16:51:44Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Likewise, when the executive branch has huge screwups several times, it’s not scandal, it’s just government. True enough. Teapot Dome – scandal. Watergate – scandal. Iran-Contra – scandal. Iranian Hostage Crisis – blunder, not scandal. Appointing James Watt to the Department of the Interior – not scandal. Clumsy rollout of ACA – not scandal. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-republicans-win/745081/87 "2016-02-08T16:59:40Z")
If scandal is liimited to lawbreaking and corruption, then true, the Obama administration has been scandal free. But the reason the media portrayed these problems as scandals was the President’s response- “I didn’t know nuthin’ why you lookin’ at me? I found out about the same way everyone else did, in the paper.” made it into one. The media thought it was the dumbest thing they’d ever heard, and if the President wants to avoid responsibility, it must be a scandal. Otherwise he’d own it. The buck does stop with him, after all. So let’s compromise and say no BIG scandals, no BIG wars. Just routine cockups and lots of bombing and special operations, more than any administration since WWII if we’re going by number of countries. ---
**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 8, 2016, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-republicans-win/745081/88 "2016-02-08T17:13:14Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > No, the envelope just shouldn’t be pushed. Our laws weren’t made to be gotten around. Consequence of electing lawyers instead of real occupations. Two things: 1) Bush wasn’t a lawyer. 2) the law is a “real occupation,” and a legitimate background for an executive or legislator. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-republicans-win/745081/89 "2016-02-08T19:22:04Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > And Republicans should remind voters that this is actually how the liberal base thinks. How’s that workin’ out for you? ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-republicans-win/745081/90 "2016-02-08T20:35:52Z")
1. Tax cuts that benefit the rich. 2. Spending cuts that hurt the poor. 3. Deluded Republicans (working class people that think the Republicans are the party that really represents their interests) will blame Obame for anything that goes wrong, and things will go wrong if my first two points come to pass. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-republicans-win/745081/91 "2016-02-09T00:31:50Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > I don’t expect that the filibuster would exist this time next year if the GOP won the White House and held onto 50+ Senate seats. So they could pretty much do whatever they wanted. > > One big difference between now and, say, 2005 is that Bush still wanted some level of Dem buy-in to privatize Social Security, so it could be blamed on them too when it all went south. (Nancy Pelosi - “how does ‘never’ work for you?” - is still one of my heroes.) This crew doesn’t care about that: if they want it, and they have enough votes in caucus, it’ll happen. > [@adaher](#): > > The filibuster won’t be undone. Two big reasons: > > 1. Republicans still like Democratic buy-in. Better to not pass a law and blame Democrats for obstruction than to pass a law with only Republican votes and have that law be unpopular. Toto, I don’t think we’re in 2005 anymore. Like I said above, this crew isn’t going to be deterred by whether the Dems buy in, if they don’t need Dem votes. Part of this, I think, is that the Republicans have realized they can say or do any damn thing they want to, without any major pushback from the media. ‘Both sides do it’ is still the MSM motto, and that’s all the cover the Republicans need. > [@](#): > > 1. Conservatism by its nature means that it’s just as good to stop bad laws from being passed as to pass good laws. So being able to stop bad law while in the minority is more important than being able to easily pass laws while in the majority. > > So that will limit what Republicans can do, but that’s okay. There are no laws worth passing that at least some Democrats won’t support. “Conservatism by its nature” ceased having more than coincidental relation to conservatism as practiced by the GOP and its fellow travelers quite some time ago. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-republicans-win/745081/92 "2016-02-09T03:25:59Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > 1. Conservatism by its nature means that it’s just as good to stop bad laws from being passed as to pass good laws. Liberalism is by its nature exactly the same, differing only on definitions of “bad” and “good.” So? ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-republicans-win/745081/93 "2016-02-09T04:38:44Z")
This thread is funny. My predictions if the Pubs win. #1. Dems/liberals will act as though the world is going to end. #2. Pubs/conservatives will act like they have a mandate. #3. The pundits will provoke as much outrage as possible. #4. The debt will keep increasing, bringing us that much closer to becoming Greece. #5. Nothing skill really change. The politicians and pundits win and we lose by becoming even more partisan and hateful. Slee ---
**Author:** ![davida03801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@davida03801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davida03801)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-republicans-win/745081/94 "2016-02-09T12:15:10Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Can you name one? Gun running to Mexico qualifies for one. For more Google can be your friend on this. I assume you understand how to use. What is outrageous to one, is a yawn to another. I acknowledge that. However if you retort the current administration is scandal free your bias and blind beyond credibility. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-republicans-win/745081/95 "2016-02-09T12:19:42Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > People will lose their health insurance. Supreme Court veers right, \*\*Roe overturned. \*\* New wars in Middle East. Relations with Cuba terminated. Iran deal reneged on, Iran starts nuclear program again. Tax breaks for billionaires. \*\* Social Security privatized. Minimum wage eliminated. \*\* Renege on carbon emission agreements. Muslims deported or incarcerated. Immigration reform dead. **Wall built and paid for by Mexico.** None of these bolded things happened the last time the Republicans had the presidency, House and Senate simultaneously. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-republicans-win/745081/96 "2016-02-09T12:46:37Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Liberalism is by its nature exactly the same, differing only on definitions of “bad” and “good.” So? No, I think liberals would take two bad laws being passed if they could pass three good laws when they had the chance. Conservatives would rather pass zero good laws if it meant they could stop a bad law. Now I recognize that conservatives don’t behave like conservatives a lot, but the filibuster isn’t going anywhere. It’s an essential tool to make sure that it’s hard to pass laws without bipartisan consensus. If the Democrats want to end it, that’s on them, and if they do, Republicans should make the pay dearly at the earliest opportunity. Just repeal every damn thing they ever did since 1920 and make them build it all again from scratch four years later. ---
**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 9, 2016, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-republicans-win/745081/97 "2016-02-09T12:54:47Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > None of these bolded things happened the last time the Republicans had the presidency, House and Senate simultaneously. All it takes is one liberal justice to die and be replaced by a Republican and Roe will be overturned. Republicans have been wanting to repeal the minimum wage for eons, they will jump at their next chance, which is why they should be never given one. Ditto Social Security, they’ll grandfather people in of a certain age but younger workers will be pushed out and the program would be history when the last recipient dies. The Trump Wall will likely never come to pass, but it is a centerpiece of his campaign. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-republicans-win/745081/98 "2016-02-09T13:11:15Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > All it takes is one liberal justice to die and be replaced by a Republican and Roe will be overturned. Republicans have been wanting to repeal the minimum wage for eons, they will jump at their next chance, which is why they should be never given one. Ditto Social Security, they’ll grandfather people in of a certain age but younger workers will be pushed out and the program would be history when the last recipient dies. The Trump Wall will likely never come to pass, but it is a centerpiece of his campaign. Roe will never be overturned. It’s a binding precedent. What will happen though is that the decisions since then which made it harder to regulate abortion after the first trimester will be weakened. THe minimum wage will not be repealed and Republicans have not actually wanted to repeal it. They just don’t want to raise it. On SS, Republicans have wanted to privatize it, but got burned so won’t be going there again anytime soon. What’s more likely is raising the retirement age and cutting benefits for wealthier retirees. Democrats might be able to get a raise in the income cap if they buy in a little. The wall, geez, I don’t know, like the biometric entry/exit systems, they’ve passed laws directing them to be implemented like six times but it never actually happens and no one demands to know why. Congress are tricky bitches, they pass all kinds of stuff into law that they don’t actually want implemented. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-republicans-win/745081/99 "2016-02-09T17:43:36Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > None of these bolded things happened the last time the Republicans had the presidency, House and Senate simultaneously. Things are more extreme now. The TP has made “crazy” fashionable in the Republican party, so now everyone wants to say something worse than the guy before. Remember that the current string of GOP Congresses has been fighting to be more extreme than the last. This won’t change in 2016 or 2018. Do you really want to take that chance? “Unprecedented” is only a temporary label ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-republicans-win/745081/100 "2016-02-09T21:39:19Z")
yeah, but Republicans also like winning and aren’t in the habit of doing things that they know are likely to cause them to lose the next election. Democrats have this weird thing where they assume their window is short so start rushing to pass legislation, which of course creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. Republicans think they can hold their gains and so try pretty hard to make sure they do in fact hold their gains. I predict(add it to my thread!) that if a Republican wins the White House and they keep the Senate, that the first 100 days will be much less productive than average. There’s really not a whole lot they want to do immediately. The Republicans have a lot of priorities(tax reform, repeal ACA, entitlement reform, immigration reform), but none of those are things they feel the need to do right the hell now. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-republicans-win/745081/101 "2016-02-09T22:21:19Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > yeah, but Republicans also like winning and aren’t in the habit of doing things that they know are likely to cause them to lose the next election. > … Maybe the RNC doesn’t have the habit, but so many of their candidates DO. Remember “legitimate rape?” Remember all the thinly coded snide racial remarks and anti-immigrant-at-all-costs rhetoric? They simply can’t help themselves from throwing red meat to their ageing white guy base, and at the national level they’re losing more than they gain. Maybe their old white guy candidates will die off enough to make room for new blood. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-republicans-win/745081.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-the-republicans-win/745081.md?page=6)