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Trump’s Second Term
The Atlantic ^ | The May 2019 Issue | Paul Starr

Posted on 04/20/2019 10:11:24 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

Of all the questions that will be answered by the 2020 election, one matters above the others: Is Trumpism a temporary aberration or a long-term phenomenon? Put another way: Will the changes brought about by Donald Trump and today’s Republican Party fade away, or will they become entrenched?

Trump’s reelection seems implausible to many people, as implausible as his election did before November 2016. But despite the scandals and chaos of his presidency, and despite his party’s midterm losses, he approaches 2020 with two factors in his favor. One is incumbency: Since 1980, voters have only once denied an incumbent a second term. The other is a relatively strong economy (at least as of now). Alan Abramowitz, a political scientist at Emory University who weights both of those factors heavily in his election-forecasting model, gives Trump close to an even chance of reelection, based on a projected 2 percent GDP growth rate for the first half of 2020.

So far, much of the concern about the long-term effects of Trump’s presidency has centered on his antidemocratic tendencies. But even if we take those off the table—even if we assume that Trump continues to be hemmed in by other parts of the government and by outside institutions, and that he governs no more effectively than he has until now—the impact of a second term would be more lasting than that of the first.

In normal politics, the policies adopted by a president and Congress may zig one way, and those of the next president and Congress may zag the other. The contending parties take our system’s rules as a given, and fight over what they understand to be reversible policies and power arrangements. But some situations are not like that; a zig one way makes it hard to zag back.

(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...


TOPICS: Campaign News; Issues; Parties; State and Local
KEYWORDS: dnctalkingpoint; dnctalkingpoints; mediawingofthednc; partisanmediashills; paulstarr; presstitutes; smearmachine; theatlantic

1 posted on 04/20/2019 10:11:24 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

What scandals is the author talking about?


2 posted on 04/20/2019 10:14:48 AM PDT by Fai Mao (There is no rule of law in the US until The PIAPS is executed.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
" No one knows, moreover, when the world might hit irreversible tipping points such as the collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which would likely doom us to a catastrophic sea-level rise."

Or Guam could tip over.

3 posted on 04/20/2019 10:16:26 AM PDT by billorites (freepo ergo sum)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

I’m wondering what his third and fourth term will be like


4 posted on 04/20/2019 10:18:32 AM PDT by Bob434
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Ah yes. We are 4% of the world’s population, but we are expected to fix all the world’s problems. If the author is worried about climate change, I suggest he tell India, China, and Brazil to stop breeding like rabbits.


5 posted on 04/20/2019 10:41:07 AM PDT by A_perfect_lady ( Political correctness forbids discussing any negative outcomes of Left-wing ideology. -PMcL)
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To: Fai Mao
What scandals is the author talking about?

The only scandal I've seen in the President's first term so far is the absence of support from the RNC and Congressional and Senatorial Republicans.

6 posted on 04/20/2019 11:14:36 AM PDT by Roccus (When you talk to a politician...ANY politician...always say, "Remember Ceausescu")
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To: Fai Mao

He Beat Hillary.


7 posted on 04/20/2019 11:29:09 AM PDT by Joe Boucher ( Molon Labe' baby, Molon Labe)
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To: Bob434

Absolutely third term going be great


8 posted on 04/20/2019 11:42:59 AM PDT by genghis
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

The big question is not whether President Trump will be elected, but how much control is he going to assert over the NRCC and the NRSC.

Since the Democrat primary field is so worthless, his future agenda is entirely based on replacing his opponents in the Republican National Committee and congress and 1/3rd of the senate with conservative loyalists.

He has a huge amount of money in his campaign chest.

After he has cleaned house among the Republicans, he needs a major program to insure clean elections, challenging Democrat cheating *everywhere*. And this may even be harder.

So there is no time to delay. He needs to be in a much better position for his second term.


9 posted on 04/20/2019 11:43:25 AM PDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy ("Desperate swarm sewage drains for water..." Venezuelans or D.C. Swamp denizens?)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Steaming pile.


10 posted on 04/20/2019 12:04:20 PM PDT by gogeo (Liberal politics and mental instability; coincidence, correlation, or causation?)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

The Atlantic? Pifft. It might be interesting to see what a serious and credible source has to say.


11 posted on 04/20/2019 12:06:52 PM PDT by Sequoyah101 (It feels like we have exchanged our dreams for survival. We just hava few days that don't suck.)
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To: A_perfect_lady

Ah yes. We are 4% of the world’s population, but we are expected to fix all the world’s problems. If the author is worried about climate change, I suggest he tell India, China, and Brazil to stop breeding like rabbits.

The real climate change deniers are those ignore what China and India have done, are doing, and will do.

They HAVE signed agreements that commit them to NO ACTION before 2030.

They ARE pumping out “green house gasses” at a rate that swamps anything anyone else can make up for.

They WILL contribute BY THEMSELVES a level of warming (assuming for the moment that the warming argument holds truth) that is beyond the ability of the United States or anyone else to compensate for by their own local restrictions.

That’s GW DENIAL in a nutshell.


12 posted on 04/20/2019 12:17:35 PM PDT by samtheman (To steal an election, who do you collude with? Russians in Russia or Mexicans in California?)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet; All

Must listen...

https://soundcloud.com/dan-bongino/ep-863-its-about-to-hit-the

Not 1 person in prison?

Banana not free republic?

“WANTED” posters not out?

America, America...


13 posted on 04/20/2019 12:35:37 PM PDT by PGalt
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To: yefragetuwrabrumuy

My fear is the NRCC AND NRSC will get more Republicans to run against President in order to split votes off thus letting a Dem President win. There are many RINO’s who would rather vote for a Dem (like when Hillary ran) then to vote for our President.

Look at our party when a Dem President is in power, they are toothless, spineless and run on the excuse, we can’t do much, etc.

How many Republicans are out there standing up against the sham investigation and Mueller? How many are defending Barr?

Crickets


14 posted on 04/20/2019 2:59:02 PM PDT by Engedi
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
"his antidemocratic tendencies"

These leftists are delusional.

Anti-Democratic tendencies, maybe, such as upholding the rule of law.

15 posted on 04/20/2019 2:59:38 PM PDT by T Ruth (Mohammedanism shall be destroyed.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
The other is a relatively strong economy (at least as of now).

Underlines mine. I love the way these people try to downgrade good news.

16 posted on 04/20/2019 6:44:11 PM PDT by Oatka
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