Mike Pence Removes ALL Lobbyists From Trump Administration Transition Team!

Common Sense Evaluation ^

[gaggs]

Operation Drain the Swamp has begun. Vice President-elect Mike Pence reportedly ordered the removal of all lobbyists from president-elect Donald Trump's transition team.

[Pravious]

“Levin still has some sour grapes...”

Take the “sour grapes” out of Levin, and you’d have nothing left but some guy babbling about how much he loves his dogs.

Seriously - I put him on for a few moments after the election, and he was still ranting and angry.

[central_va]

Why don’t Free Traitors™ just shut up and let Trump do his thing. It will succeed or fail on its own. In other words politely FOAD(for a while anyway).

[nathanbedford]

I would prefer the tariff, which is optional and consumption based, over the income tax which IMO a form of punishmsnt.

We no longer live in the colonial or even postcolonial America up until the time of the imposition of the federal income tax. We spend trillions of dollars annually much of it on entitlements and these bills simply cannot be paid apart from the income tax, capital gains and corporate income taxes. If you tried to pay for them out of tariffs there will be no international trade-full stop. If you want to revert to a tariff-based method of funding the federal government eliminate trillions and trillions from the federal budget and then come back and talk to us. Good luck with that.

By the way, where do you stand on the Article V movement to amend the Constitution? If you really want to do away with the income tax and revert to tariffs you ought to take a look at that but I suspect you have not or do not favor it.

[nathanbedford]

Please see my reply #43.

[agere_contra]

If the barriers to wealth production are removed, then the Rust States will flourish.

You seem to think that tariffs will help industry. I encourage you to examine the famous case of British Leyland.

British Leyland was a moribund UK car-producer that wasn’t competing well with foreign producers. The Government featherbedded it with tarrifs and subsidies.

British Leyland didn’t magically become competitive - why?

Partly because it didn’t need to (after all: the government was ensuring its market share!).

And partly because British Leyland was simply uncompetitive: unionised and pension heavy like a UK version of General Motors.

The UK removed the tariff protection and created tax incentives for foreign car producers to set up shop in the UK. The useless money pit British Leyland died. And now UK based car production is worth £26.6 billion in exports every year.

[nathanbedford]

Why don’t Free Traitors™ just shut up and let Trump do his thing.

Why don't we just repeal the First Amendment?

[nathanbedford]

thanks

[central_va]

There is absolutely no room in both the newly reconstituted Republican Party and the Trump administration for Free Traitors™ . The Republican Party is returning to it traditional roots of being THE protectionist party. Don't worry we will be fine without that teenie tiny little minority of NWO Bush loving globalist free trading jack booted thugs.

[central_va]

We never mind go and spout off about Free Trade and undermine the Trump coalition. It’s what Cruzer Bushbots do best.

[agere_contra]

Umm, not the best example you could have chosen.

There's no such thing as being a little bit pregnant. All those tarriffs mount up.

The Tariff of Abominations (1828) and a flood of other tarriffs were brought in - all of them disproportionately benefiting the North and impoverishing the South. The Morrill Tariff was the last straw that broke the camel's back and forced the South to secede.

The ensuing Civil War - Lincoln's war of unification - killed over 690,000 Americans and was the greatest debacle in your nations history.

The Civil War wasn't caused by chattel slavery. It was caused by tariff slavery.

[equaviator]

Find the Obama “czars”, line ‘em up and give them their final marching orders (cue the theme song from “Rawhide”).

[agere_contra]

On the subject of jack-booted thugs: you’re the one calling for a prior constraint on free speech.

[agere_contra]

I have to go to work now.

No doubt this discussion will recur in the years to come. Assuming we are allowed to have it.

[nathanbedford]

Lose an argument and go ad hominem.

[central_va]

So there is no correlation between zero rate import tariffs and de industrialization and the accompanying offshoring? So would the 70,000 factories have closed over the last 20 years if there had been a 100% import tariffs on everything? If you really believe that then tariffs won’t work why care? Why do you fight the concept with every fiber of your being? Who know the mind of a traitor. Your false religion of so called free trade will be shown for what it is - pure snake oil.

[RFEngineer]

“We need neither a tariff on cement or a tax on cement, much less a federal agency. We are likely to tariff ourselves into a massive trade war and depression.”

I generally agree with you, at least in concept. However, when it comes to China, to a lesser extent Mexico you have to be prepared to close entire industries in the US. The cement industry is one such area. China can likely and would likely supply all the cement we could possibly use at a cost less than manufacturing cement in the United States. How do you deal with this and maintain “free, no-tariff trade”?

The answer for this industry and many, many others is that you do not.

Those who pontificate on the altar of “Free Trade” (and I’m sometimes one of them) will have their hearts extracted on the same altar when the scope and impact of Chinese overcapacity in industries like steel, cement are considered.

“Buy American” clauses, and “quality” specifications for commodities, as well as strict inspections and testing requirements are tariffs by a different name.

Free Trade is free trade. If that is what you want, you will find specific areas where you get your heart ripped out, and deservedly so when you fully understand what China is to many commodity markets and the actual impact to US manufacturers.

[central_va]

I took it back. Free Traitors™ need to keep spouting off their NWO propaganda. I was wrong. Spew off by all means.

[LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget]

You were wrong about Cruz, you were wrong about Trump, and you are wrong here as well.

Just saying.

[central_va]

We won the argument on November 8th.

[Starboard]

The Republican controlled congress is going to be one of the biggest obstacles Trump has to deal with. We know who and what they really are. And they are still controlled by the Chamber of Commerce and other powerful lobbies.

The GOPe is putting on a happy face right now. Don’t believe it.