Thomas Friedman and Richard Painter
suggested in their columns today that Trump may not believe much of what he
said while campaigning. That seems plausible, and may give some people hope.
Even so, the 60 million people who
voted for Trump yesterday said a big “fuck you” to women and minority
communities including Latinos, African-Americans, LGBT folks, recent
non-European immigrants, Jews, and Muslims. They also rejected the consensus of
informed (“elite”) opinion (Republicans and Democrats) that Trump was unfit for
the office of President.
What is likely to happen when all
three branches of government are controlled by the Republican Party?
Congress
·
Tax cuts unlikely to help the middle class very
much;
·
Repeal of Affordable Care Act and a return to
laissez-faire health insurance provided primarily by employers;
·
Reintroduction of bills to privatize Medicare
(and perhaps Social Security);
·
No progress on legislation to inhibit climate
change;
·
Continued friction between Tea Party and
traditional Republicans resulting in inaction on infrastructure spending, trade agreements, and meaningful tax reform.
Supreme Court
·
Nomination and confirmation of a justice likely
to vote to overrule Planned Parenthood v.
Casey and Roe v. Wade;
·
More decisions friendly to corporate interests
and campaign spending;
·
More decisions creating exceptions to
anti-discrimination legislation based on religious beliefs.
Executive Branch
·
Repeal of executive orders affecting the energy
industries;
·
Repeal of executive orders affecting
pharmaceutical companies;
·
Reduced enforcement of civil rights laws;
·
Reduced enforcement of securities laws;
·
Continued inaction on proliferation of firearms
with high-capacity magazines.
