The Trump Presidency

[AWP]

"Wikileaker?" GTFO. Wikileaker sounds so much better than some of the alternatives I suppose....

 

[ThunderHorse]

Huh. I decided to do a bit of digging and try to figure out why he (Obama) did this.

Mistake.

Now I'm back to being as pissed off today as I was yesterday. I have some words to say about President Obama, but out of respect to the rule that we do not insult/degrade/or otherwise disrespect the sitting Commander-in-Chief, the rest of my rant will have to wait until sometime Friday. Til then, I'll just leave this here:

View attachment 17769

Was given a long sentence, didn't even serve 40% of it...shitty rationale.

 

[Il Duce]

Was given a long sentence, didn't even serve 40% of it...shitty rationale.

6 years of a 35 year sentence is less than 20% - maybe check out the calculator thread...

 

[ThunderHorse]

Uh, yeah, I can do math. If you look at the attachment posted by @Ooh-Rah it says part of the rational was that he already served six years of a very long sentence...well, he obviously wasn't in jail for a very long time if he was given a very long sentence.

 

[Ooh-Rah]

Color me shocked....

 

[SpitfireV]

Well there's a fucking surprise.

 

[Salt USMC]

Color me shocked....

View attachment 17771

SHOCKED

 

[CQB]

I wish JA would quite grandstanding, but I digress. Some commentary and figures in the link below are interesting.

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/anach...-whom-they-voted-against-20170111-gtpgmz.html

 

[ThunderHorse]

This guy...calling third party votes rubbish...the Electoral College has been a part of a system that has kept this great nation a Republic for 228 years under the Constitution. Within that time, the French have gone through Five separate Republics.

So because Trump won all of the small states he's going to mourn the US...what a guy!

 

[SpitfireV]

Terrible analogy.

 

[CQB]

I don't agree with his final position but the figures are interesting when compared to the British result in a first past the post system. One of my lecturers was given the task in-country of explaining democracy to the local Arab population, needless to say, he said it was difficult for them to get it. I add that if a horse wins the Melbourne Cup by a nose, it still wins.

 

[ThunderHorse]

I mean, the quick and dirty is simple. It's 50 separate popular contests. The best way to explain it is rounds of a fight or a sport where you have a seven game series. Which has probably been mentioned.

 

[CQB]

The electoral college system looks needlessly complex to me, when compared with the Brits, which is a truer reflection of the will of the people. The author made this point but not very clearly. I'm not disputing the result, it is what it is, but there are wiser heads than mine who consider the electoral college system needs some reform.

 

[Etype]

The electoral college system looks needlessly complex to me, when compared with the Brits, which is a truer reflection of the will of the people. The author made this point but not very clearly. I'm not disputing the result, it is what it is, but there are wiser heads than mine who consider the electoral college system needs some reform.

We aren't a democracy, we are a republic. Additionally, we have a federal government and not a national government.

The electoral college recognizes states' rights alongside the popular vote.

 

[Il Duce]

The electoral college system looks needlessly complex to me, when compared with the Brits, which is a truer reflection of the will of the people. The author made this point but not very clearly. I'm not disputing the result, it is what it is, but there are wiser heads than mine who consider the electoral college system needs some reform.

I think @Marauder06 talked about this in another thread in more detail but essentially the electoral college keeps large states from dominating smaller states. The same principles run through our bicameral legislature - with the Senate serving to put all states on an equal footing and until a few years ago the seniority system in both houses allowing smaller states to achieve parity of legislative power by having higher incumbent rates. I think the dynamic of urban vs rural is putting more pressure on the electoral system now than the big state vs little state dynamic - but that's just my opinion.

 

[CQB]

We aren't a democracy, we are a republic. Additionally, we have a federal government and not a national government.

The electoral college recognizes states' rights alongside the popular vote.

Interesting, but does the popular vote count? It looks like a consolation prize, as it doesn't look like it it had a direct bearing on the result.

 

[Etype]

Interesting, but does the popular vote count? It looks like a consolation prize, as it doesn't look like it it had a direct bearing on the result.

States get one vote in the electoral college for each senator and each representative they have.

Each state has two senators, regardless of size. There are 435 representatives, which are subdivided into congressional districts by population. Therefore, states have different numbers of representatives based on size. California has over 50 representatives, whereas several states have only one.

States give their electoral votes based on the popular vote within the state. Small states still have a voice because of the fixed number of senators, while states with a large population have a louder voice due to their number of representatives.

The popular vote across the whole country is irrelevant.

 

[Devildoc]

I think @Marauder06 talked about this in another thread in more detail but essentially the electoral college keeps large states from dominating smaller states. The same principles run through our bicameral legislature - with the Senate serving to put all states on an equal footing and until a few years ago the seniority system in both houses allowing smaller states to achieve parity of legislative power by having higher incumbent rates. I think the dynamic of urban vs rural is putting more pressure on the electoral system now than the big state vs little state dynamic - but that's just my opinion.

Right on. It's exactly why he won the EC, but lost the popular vote...because the difference in the popular vote came from California alone. He needed several "red" states to secure the same amount of EC votes he would lose California by, even if doing so he could not gain popular votes.

As for the Senate, remember, just 100 years ago, Senators were appointed, not elected. Think of how much messier this would all be if they were still appointed.

 

[CQB]

It seems very complex when put beside a first past the post system.

 

[Devildoc]

It seems very complex when put beside a first past the post system.

It is complex. I have a degree in political science; I had a whole semester dedicated to it, and I am sure there things about the system I don't understand. Hell, the talking heads on TV with PhDs can't agree on it.