Thoughts on the 2016 Presidential election

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.