Why President Trump should be opposed by the left

Written By: - Date published: 8:22 am, January 20th, 2018 - 52 comments
Categories: Donald Trump, economy, Economy, employment, Free Trade, poverty, unemployment, Unions, us politics, wages, workers' rights - Tags:

Yes, his racist and sexist foul mouth is on the list.

Yes, international disrespect is on the list.

Yes, corruptly gaining wealth as a public official is on the list.

But President Trump’s big reason to be opposed by the left is how he has damaged United States workers.

Here’s the top ten, according to the Economic Policy Institute:

1. Tax cuts that overwhelmingly favour the wealthy over the average worker

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) signed into law at the end of 2017 provides a permanent cut in the corporate income tax rate that will overwhelmingly benefit capital owners and the top 1 percent. President Trump’s boast to diners at the $200,000-initiation-fee Mar-a-Lago Club during the holidays says it best: “You all just got a lot richer.”

2. Weakening or abandoning regulations that protect workers’ pay

Killed the rules on automatic overtime protection for workers.

U.S. employers can now take the tips from serving staff by right.

3. Blocking workers from access to the courts by allowing mandatory arbitration clauses in employment contracts

The Trump administration is in the Supreme Court in Murphy Oil v NLRB to continue to require employees to sign arbitration agreements with class action waivers—forcing workers to give up their right to file class action lawsuits, taking them out of the courtrooms and into individual private arbitration when their rights on the job are violated. And employers’ use of such agreements is likely to increase if the court rules in favor of the plaintiff.

American employers are increasingly requiring workers to sign arbitration agreements in order to get, or keep, their jobs. Arbitration is like a private, for-profit court system, in which the employer usually gets to pick the judge. Employees win there about 21% of the time.

Mandatory arbitration of employment disputes has fuelled the sexual abuse of women by powerful men in politics, business, and the media by barring women from seeking justice against their abusers in court. Forced arbitration prevents victims of sexual harassment from taking their employers to court or even speaking out—under arbitration, most accusations are kept confidential and companies can decide who adjudicates the case.

4. Pushing immigration policies that hurt all workers

The Trump administration has taken a number of extreme actions that will hurt all workers, including pursuing and detaining unauthorized immigrants who were victims of employer abuse and human trafficking—while they were trying to enforce their rights in court—and ending Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of immigrant workers, many of whom have resided in the United States for two decades. But perhaps the most inhumane and ill-advised example has been the administration’s termination of Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

If the Trump administration’s termination of DACA is allowed to proceed, then each of the nearly 700,000 DACA recipients who are now working with valid work permits will—once those permits expire—become vulnerable to wage theft and other forms of exploitation. That hurts not just them, but it also diminishes the earnings and bargaining power of the U.S. citizens and authorized immigrants who work alongside them.

5. Rolling back regulations that protect worker pay and safety

On April 3, 2017, Trump signed a congressional resolution blocking the Workplace Injury and Illness recordkeeping rule, which clarifies an employer’s obligation under the Occupational Safety and Health Act to maintain accurate records of workplace injuries and illnesses. If an employee is injured on the job (for example, is cut or burned, or suffers an amputation), contracts a job-related illness, or is killed in an accident on the job, then it is the employer’s duty to record the incident and work with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to investigate what happened.

On March 27, 2017, Trump signed a congressional resolution blocking the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces rule. That rule sought to ensure that government contracts are not going to companies with a record of violating workers’ rights or putting workers in danger.

6. Stacking the Federal Reserve Board with candidates friendlier to Wall Street than to working families

7. Ensuring Wall Street can pocket more of workers’ retirement savings

Since Trump took office, the Department of Labor has actively worked to weaken or rescind the “fiduciary” rule, which requires financial advisers to act in the best interests of their clients when giving retirement investment advice.

8. Stacking the Supreme Court against workers by appointing Neil Gorsuch

As seen in the nomination hearings, Gorusch was questioned about a case involved a trucker who had been fired for leaving his stranded trailer to seek shelter in subzero temperatures. An administrative law judge, the Administrative Review Board, and the Tenth Circuit majority held that the driver had been unlawfully fired. Only Gorsuch dissented. In his dissent, Gorsuch described health and safety goals as “ephemeral and generic” and a worker having to wait in subzero temperatures with no access to heat while experiencing symptoms of hypothermia as merely “unpleasant.”

Coming up before the U.S. Supreme Court this year is the right to form a union.

9. Trying to take affordable health care away from millions of working people

The Trump administration and congressional Republicans spent much of 2017 attempting to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). They finally succeeded in repealing a well-known provision of the ACA—the penalty for not buying health insurance—in the tax bill signed into law at the end of 2017. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the repeal of this provision will raise the number of uninsured Americans by 13 million in 2027.

10. Undercutting key worker protection agencies by nominating anti-worker leaders

Trump has appointed—or tried to appoint—individuals with records of exploiting workers to key posts in the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the National Labour Relations Board (NLRB). DOL is supposed to promote the welfare of job seekers, wage earners, and retirees by, among other things, protecting them from hazards on the job and ensuring they are paid for their work. The NLRB is charged with protecting the rights of most private-sector employees to join together, with or without a union, to improve their wages and working conditions.
On September 2, 2017, Trump nominated Cheryl Stanton to serve as the administrator of the U.S. Department of Labour’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD). In addition to enforcing fundamental minimum wage and overtime protections, WHD has a full host of responsibilities and enforcement authorities that include labour protections for workers in low-wage industries where workers are most vulnerable, such as agriculture. Stanton has spent much of her career representing employers, not workers, in cases alleging violations of workplace laws, including wage theft and discrimination. And Stanton was sued by a cleaning services provider who alleged that Stanton failed to pay for multiple housecleaning visits. Stanton has not been confirmed by the full Senate, but will likely be re-nominated by President Trump again this year.

The NLRB’s role is to protect workers’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act, deciding cases involving when and how workers can form a union and what types of activities employees can engage in to try to improve their working lives. On September 25, 2017, the Senate confirmed Trump nominee Rob Emanuel—an attorney at the Littler Mendelson law firm who had regularly represented large employers—to become a member of the NLRB. On November 8, 2017, the Senate confirmed Trump nominee Peter Robb as the general counsel to the NLRB. Robb has spent much of his career as a management-side labour and employment lawyer.

There is no need to apologise for being anti-Trump. He is anti-worker.

52 comments on “Why President Trump should be opposed by the left ”

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  1. shorts 1
    20 January 2018 at 8:57 am

    Its not hard to find US politicians to oppose from a left wing view – I’d like to see a post of those who champion left/pro worker causes, I’d expect it to be longer than I’d guess but still very small

    • Ad 1.1
      20 January 2018 at 9:12 am

      Go for it!

      Meantime, the President of the United States should be opposed by the left because he is anti-worker.

    • Matthew Whitehead 1.2
      20 January 2018 at 4:24 pm

      The list of senators is very short, the only unqualified supporters of workers are basically Warren and Sanders. In terms of House representatives, there are a few more progressives there but they’re still a small minority, most of them are pro-corporate liberals.

      It’s actually not a bad idea to support progressive primary challenges, and progressive candidates, in the upcoming midterm elections if you oppose Trump, because they are largely the ones willing to consider impeachment. (the pro-corporate ones want him to serve his term so they can run against him in 2020)

  2. millsy 2
    20 January 2018 at 9:29 am

    Trump is establishment through and through. He only pretended to indentify with the Peter Griffins of this world so he could get their votes. Then he is going to turn around and screw them over like never before. His agenda makes Reagan and Nixon’s agenda look like one of Brezhnev’s 5 year plans.

    All these jobs that Trump is going to save and/or bring back are all going to be for minimum wage with no benefits.

  3. Olwyn 3
    20 January 2018 at 9:30 am

    To begin with, we don’t vote in US elections, so our opposition-to/support-for Trump has more to do with shoring up our own positions than altering what happens in the US. Outside of the US Trump gets very little enthusiastic support from either left or right. Newsreaders the world over feel free to smirk whenever his name comes up – he may be a tyrant of sorts but sneering at him is not going to put your career trajectory at risk.

    But here’s the rub. You say we should oppose Trump because he is anti-worker, but that is not the opposition rallying cry. The rallying cry is that Russia must have helped him win the election and he’s clearly the type of guy that nice lefties hate. I don’t think many workers outside of the US go much on Trump, but if you want our enthusiasm, thundering “Get in behind! Even if we largely consider you too much of an electoral risk to mention and must resort to tweet parsing, we want our old roles back, and we have to be better for you than Trump is!” just doesn’t cut the mustard.

    • spikeyboy 3.1
      20 January 2018 at 9:40 am

      Well said Olwyn. Ad gives many great reasons to oppose Trump. Just wish that these were front and centre of the opposition.Sadly they are not. Who is going to stand up and lead on these great causes?

      • Ad 3.1.1
        20 January 2018 at 9:43 am

        Just as an example, the core reason the US Senate is close to a full government budget shutdown is because the Democrats oppose President Trump’s worker immigration crackdowns. Which as noted above is a core attack against workers, including those not in the United States.

    • Bill 3.2
      20 January 2018 at 9:59 am

      That is one (but sadly the dominant) rallying cry.

      And yes, those pushing everything else aside with the sheer volume of their “Russia!” narratives are not the sort of politicians to be trusted or aided and abetted.

      But this post by Ad points to the existence of more substantial and immediate reasons and ways to act against Trump, and by extension perhaps – and sure, only if a US citizen – lend support to those within the Democratic Party who tend more towards social democratic priorities and reasonable foreign relations and policies.

      As has been the case in other political parties, the Democratic Party also has fracture lines running between its centrist faction and its more social democratic faction. That centrist faction is in the driving seat. There is no reason it can’t be removed. (Sanders came close from a standing start)

      • cleangreen 3.2.1
        20 January 2018 at 8:26 pm

        100% Bill; – if the democratic party want to win over the public they need to eject all the phony democrats who are just light republicans like Clinton’s and their ilk.

    • Macro 3.3
      20 January 2018 at 11:56 am

      For the life of me I cannot understand why some on the Left are so thick that they cannot see the reason for the current concentration on the Russian involvement. (and yes there was involvement whether Trump invited it or not).
      The Left in the US recognise the serious danger that Trump represents. Not only to workers rights and safety, but also to the environment, climate change, international relations, women’s rights, freedom of the Press, Religious freedom, Ethnic and sexual identity, and a raft of other factors. The Resistance Now programme, that is gathering strength day by day, and will see a huge increase in the number of women running for office in the forthcoming mid-term elections (including Chelsea Manning) is a case in point. But the immediate problem for the Left, is just how to limit – or better still remove – Trump.
      Unfortunately the US constitution makes it very difficult for the opposition to challenge (or even sanction) a Presidency, and with the Republicans in control of both the Senate and the House, there is in reality only one way this bastard can be removed from office and that is through clear evidence that he colluded with a foreign Government in order to win office. Even the Republican senators could not look the other way if that was shown to be the case.

      • Olwyn 3.3.1
        20 January 2018 at 12:37 pm

        It is possible to see reasons for the current concentration on Russian involvement without necessarily or wholly agreeing with them. You are offering a practical reason – the only way he can be removed from office is through clear evidence that he colluded with a foreign government in order to win office. If he is unseated he will no doubt be replaced by Mike Pence, so there is a further question as to whether Pence would be better with regard to the issues that concern you. And if people are so exasperated with Trump that the bar for proving foreign collusion is set very low, a precedent is created that could be used against others, including those that would address the issues that Trump neglects. A better idea might be to strengthen the Democratic Party’s social democratic base, do as much as possible to build up mass movement support, and to win as many by-elections as you can. That way you become a real and present threat to his ability to act, without so much risk of jumping from frying pan to fire.

        • Macro 3.3.1.1
          20 January 2018 at 2:14 pm

          While I concur that Pence will in many ways be just as much a threat to Social Justice and the Left as Trump – certainly he would get the backing of the religious right which even now is starting to stray from the fold of Trump support – there is no denying that he would present a more sane response to International relations rather than the scatter brain Twitter ejaculations of the current incumbent.
          The Democrats are set to win “bigly” in the forthcoming mid terms.

          Among registered voters, 56% say they favor a Democrat in their congressional district, while 38% prefer a Republican. That 18-point edge is the widest Democrats have held in CNN polling on the 2018 contests, and the largest at this point in midterm election cycles dating back two decades. The finding follows several other public polls showing large double-digit leads for Democrats on similar questions.

          http://edition.cnn.com/2017/12/20/politics/cnn-poll-democrats-advantage-grows-2018/index.html
          with Trumps current approval rating permanently below 39% – the lowest for any first year President in polling history – the swing against the Republicans is strong and persistent – there is even the chance that not only will the Democrats win control of both the House and the Senate, but they could also gain sufficient majority in the Senate to impeach.
          The Democratic Party is in renewal, despite all the hand wringing from some observers here. The current head of the DNC is hardly a snowflake. Here he is on the recent by election results:

          When I was elected DNC Chair in February, I said that a united Democratic Party would be our best hope and Donald Trump’s worst nightmare. Last week, we proved it.

          From coast to coast, voters showed up and cast their ballots for Democrats. The results were historic. Not only did we win by huge margins in the two governors’ races, we also saw a groundswell of support for Democrats down the ballot. In Virginia, we flipped 15 seats from red to blue – the biggest Democratic pickup in the commonwealth since the late 19th century.

          But it wasn’t just Virginia and New Jersey. We picked up two state House seats in deep-red districts in Georgia and won another two seats in New Hampshire, while Manka Dhingra’s victory in the Washington state Senate flipped control of the chamber to the Democrats. And we secured critical victories in mayoral races from Charlotte to St. Petersburg.

          We also elected leaders that represent the great diversity of our nation – from the first two Latinas to serve in the Virginia House of Delegates to the first African-American lieutenant governor in New Jersey, the second African-American elected statewide in Virginia, and the first openly transgender person ever to be elected and seated as a state legislator in U.S. history. In fact, the full list of newly elected Democrats who broke down barriers and made history is far too long to print here.

          http://time.com/5022039/dnc-chair-tom-perez-virgina-gop/

          • McFlock 3.3.1.1.1
            20 January 2018 at 4:30 pm

            But would pence be so fundamentalist that he welcomes the opportunity to nuke infidels? Did the Jerusalem embassy idea come from Trump alone? Is it true Pence is afraid to be in mixed gender company without his wife?

            As far as I can see, the line of succession of the presidency is incumbent (narcissistic imbecile), vice president (American Taliban), Speakor of the House (corporate kleptocrat).

            For me, the main reason to continue probes into illegality (because they’ve already had plea deals, so yeah some illegality happened) around the election is to at least try to keep some measure of legitimacy in the electoral system. For whatever “legitimacy” means for a system that stupid.

            • Macro 3.3.1.1.1.1
              20 January 2018 at 5:12 pm

              I think the Jerusalem embassy idea came from Jarrad whose family are in big with Netanyahu. But Pence would have given it the thumbs up also. Yes you are right Pence is probably as dangerous as Trump – but would he go calling Kim Jong-un “Little Rocket man”? I think that this is where the danger of Nukes flying about and a nuclear catastrophe initially lies. Fortunately it would appear that Kim Jong-un is a little more sane than Trump if his response to the latest twitter tirade is anything to go by.
              http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-north-korea-trump-nuclear-button-20180116-story.html

              • McFlock …
                20 January 2018 at 5:27 pm

                Well, Reagan believed god was american and the Soviets were evil up to the brink of accidental nuclear war (Able Archer?), then toned it down.

                Righteous fury is as bad as a petulant tantrum. I think each of the prez/veep/spkr has their own unique opportunity to fuck up the planet to an extinction level extent.

    • Matthew Whitehead 3.4
      20 January 2018 at 4:30 pm

      Being anti-worker is the reason the left should oppose him.

      The rallying cry that he colluded with Russia is largely not coming from the American left, it’s coming from American pro-corporate liberals. You have to remember that in America, parties are largely divided along social policy lines, not economic policy lines like they are here. Like NZ Labour has conservative left-wing candidates in some areas, the US democrats have pro-corporate candidates, hell even the odd “conservative democrat,” (the same way we had centrist/right-wing Labour MPs, sadly) in their caucus, and the caucus is largely controlled by corporate interests given the influence of Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, and senior democrats like Feinstein on party votes.

      I agree that electing those pro-corporate Democrats into power isn’t really going to result in meaningful change. They are essentially just slightly nicer Republicans now, because of how corrupted they’ve become by massive, unrestricted private donations.

      • Bill 3.4.1
        20 January 2018 at 5:04 pm

        My understanding is that that is happening – people are campaigning and pushing for more progressive or social democratic Democrat nominees. I guess it all has parallels with “momentum” in the UK, but hell, all this Russian stuff is (I’d argue) starving them of the oxygen they need via some mainstream media coverage.

        Of course, that mainstream media coverage would be negative, just like it has been in the UK for Momentum (though possibly even more vicious) – but that works out fine when a population is disgruntled.

        The more negative and fearful the coverage, the more can be the traction, because people intuitively pick up the fear is the fear of those behind the reporting (the “establishment” if you will), and well, when the “establishment” is held in contempt…. 😉

        The only time it (fear and negativity) really works is when the fascist card is thrown out to keep people herded “back here” in the safe old middle.

  4. Stunned Mullet 4
    20 January 2018 at 9:35 am

    Which other countries leaders who we have no control over and don’t give a flying fuck about us should we oppose ?

    • Ad 4.1
      20 January 2018 at 9:41 am

      Those who have a strong influence over our own country, including:
      – Economically
      – Diplomatically
      – Geographic proximity
      …to start with.

      Also, those where human rights are being attacked

      There are a few more reasons I am sure.

      • Stunned Mullet 4.1.1
        20 January 2018 at 9:47 am

        Not having a go at you Ad but it seems like a whole lot of effort for no reward apart from the rather nebulous feelings of sanctimony one would get, I would hope people instead of opposing and bleating about the Trumps of this world would do something more positive with their time at a local level.

        • Ad 4.1.1.1
          20 January 2018 at 10:10 am

          That’s a natural response if one prefers to have solidarity only for what is immediately around you. Perfectly human.

          • Ed 4.1.1.1.1
            20 January 2018 at 10:14 am

            One thing climate change should have taught us is that we’re all in this together.

            • Siobhan 4.1.1.1.1.1
              20 January 2018 at 10:47 am

              Climate change…and Corporate power….our laws and our economy are regularly influenced by ‘Foreign’ companies and individuals who are increasingly beholden to no one country, but still, their power and influence is affected and potentially held in check by countries larger than us, such as America and the UK.

              What happens there affects us directly.

              And if we are to ever have real proges in our Taxation Policy we need to have a world wide commitment to nailing those international batards down.

            • Ad 4.1.1.1.1.2
              20 January 2018 at 1:11 pm

              It hasn’t.

              Neither has anything else.

              The idea of common purpose is shrinking in this world as rapidly as democracy – quite fast.

    • Frank Macskasy 4.2
      20 January 2018 at 10:25 pm

      Perhaps we better start “giving a flying fuck”, ‘Mullet. Those countries affect us whether we like it or not. The planet is too small to isolate ourselves from the inmates running the asylums in the White House and elsewhere.

  5. Ad 5
    20 January 2018 at 9:45 am

    I have to pop off for paddle boarding but I will pick this up this afternoon.

  6. Bill 6
    20 January 2018 at 9:47 am

    Yes! 🙂

  7. Stuart Munro 7
    20 January 2018 at 9:49 am

    I tend to oppose Trump because he is imo fundamentally unfit for the role. He’s not a statesman, he’s not particularly intelligent, he’s not even much of a businessman. He lies cheerfully and self-interestedly, and is blithely unconcerned with the public interest. I can’t prove he sold out to Putin, but his scruples would not have prevented him doing so, and his business skills or lack thereof likely left him vulnerable to such an approach.

    The anti-worker shift in US law presumably does not lie entirely at Trump’s door – the Republicans have drifted so far from the independent small business perspective that was once their core that they are unrecognizable. Republican values now rely increasingly on issues like religion, abortion, or guns to garner lower socio-economic support for ill-conceived Wall Street subsidies.

    • Anne 7.1
      20 January 2018 at 6:03 pm

      There’s some tremendous comments on this thread but the one that best represents my detestation of Donald Trump and the Republican Party (as it currently stands) belongs to Stuart Munro. Stuart has provided a succinct and simple over-view as to why Donald Trump has become the most dangerous world leader in many decades – so dangerous imo he risks destroying the entire planet. One way or another (and I don’t much care how they do it) the ‘sane’ leaders of that vast nation called the USA – with the support of the ‘sane’ leaders of the rest of the world – has to bring him and his henchmen and women down once and for all.

      What happens next? Well, that bridge can be crossed once it happens.

  8. Anon 8
    20 January 2018 at 10:18 am

    Would love if ACC was optional, since they’re useless anyway. The U.S. medical insurance industry has driven their cost of medical care waaay up, as well as ‘fun’ things like forcing family members to sue each other for accidents to recover medical costs. No healthcare at all isn’t the answer, but…

    • Macro 8.1
      20 January 2018 at 11:33 am

      You do understand that Health Care and Accident Insurance are different things?
      As for ACC being useless….
      Having suffered a recent serious injury and having received excellent treatment at no up front cost (yes I have paid for it over the years) I am surprised other countries don’t follow suit.

      • Ad 8.1.1
        20 January 2018 at 12:47 pm

        ACC are not perfect and make bad mistakes, but over 60 years they are a social welfare miracle.

        • Macro 8.1.1.1
          20 January 2018 at 2:36 pm

          Yes I know they are not perfect Ad – far from it. But I would far rather have a no fault insurance accident plan than having to litigate.
          I once discussed with a US citizen the concept of a fully funded Public Health system. Such a thing was an anathema to them! Socialism! UGH! And yet there they are with an extra 3 million of them now having no Health Insurance since the advent of TrumpDoesn’tCare, (and set to increase even more) and the the costs of Health Care the highest in the world.
          http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/369081-number-of-uninsured-americans-increased-by-over-3-million-in-trumps-first
          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_total_health_expenditure_per_capita

          • Ad 8.1.1.1.1
            20 January 2018 at 2:39 pm

            Fully agree with you.

          • Graeme 8.1.1.1.2
            20 January 2018 at 6:59 pm

            I have a lot of conversations with US residents over the counter about ACC and our health system too, and find the same thing. They understand ACC, and really like the no fault aspect of it. But universal health care….. does not compute.

            They can understand ACC because it’s supposedly an insurance based model. The idea of health care paid out of general taxation; that can’t work, too inefficient, nothing would happen and you’ll all die. Point out that our health care costs are just over 1/3 of US costs and they freak, we’re obviously 3rd world and everyone’s going to die.

  9. adam 9
    20 January 2018 at 10:40 am

    Well said Ad, bugger all the other stuff around trump – he is a anti worker slime ball. As such should be opposed!

  10. WILD KATIPO 10
    20 January 2018 at 12:38 pm

    John F. Kennedy Assassination – Zapruder Film (SLOW MOTION …
    Video for kennedy being assassinated▶ 1:11
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z5pjbv8pRE

    Eisenhower Farewell Address (Full) – YouTube
    Video for pres eisenhower farewell speech▶ 15:45
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWiIYW_fBfY

    Eisenhower had it right. So did Kennedy when he promised to ‘smash the CIA into a thousand pieces ‘ after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion bringing us the closest we’ve ever been to full out nuclear war.

    So , … why would we want to trust George Soros global media take on Trump ( when Soros himself hates Trumps guts … ) whereby every newspaper ( including Granny Herald ) has ludicrous pictures of Trump and ‘ trumped up ‘ charges against the man that range from the sublime to the ridiculous?

    Such as colour of ties, size of hands – and other juvenile absurdities such as that ?

    Ever considered what some would call groups like the neo cons? … and their influence since at least Kennedys assassination onward’s? – and especially with the massive profits to be made by the arms industry in continuing the war in Vietnam ? – the very war Kennedy determined to withdraw troops from ? When America has moved from being the global ‘policeman’ to the global ‘ aggressor’ and oppressor of its own people via mass surveillance attempts 50 or so years on ?

    Ever think that the whole trend is just a little bit too contrived to be purely coincidental?

    You wouldn’t be the first.

    You also wouldnt be the first to ponder the fact that there is no real ‘ Left ‘ wing or ‘ Right wing’ . IE : Communism = Fascism. Same basic thing. They are terms that are interchangeable and that rely on cosmetic surface decoration when in reality they are they same wings on the same old beast. A beast comprised and paid for by self interested Oligarchs who own the major news networks and know full well how easily the average citizen is conned and fooled – to the point of butchering each other at will when manipulated to do so.

    • Ad 10.1
      20 January 2018 at 12:44 pm

      Please show me how this relates to the post content.

      Quickly.

      Let me be clear it is not good enough for you to drop video clips into my post with no relevance.

    • One Two 10.2
      20 January 2018 at 12:48 pm

      You are correct, WK

      Those who breathe air into the life support system of ‘the mirage’, are responsible for the past, present and future outcomes…

      Belief that the system can be or will be ‘turned’ ….

      Ensures the negative outcomes will continue, and amplify…

      The belief, led to Trump…

      The system created Trump…

  11. Jackel 11
    20 January 2018 at 6:50 pm

    Generally I find Americans to be very disconnected from themselves. Thus they become enablers for men such as Mr Trump.

  12. Ad 12
    20 January 2018 at 7:09 pm

    US Democrats have rejected President Trump’s cruel reforms on the rights of young undocumented migrants, rejected on that basis his budget continuation proposals, and so for the first time in five years the government of the United States faces shutdown:

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/20/us-government-faces-shutdown-after-senate-rejects-funding-bill

    Top work Trump, and hold the line Democrats.

    • Macro 12.1
      20 January 2018 at 7:24 pm

      poll/ 57% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s job performance, the lowest mark for any modern-day president ending his first year. 51% strongly disapprove with 26% strongly approving of Trump’s performance. (NBC News)

      poll/ 56% of Americans say approving a budget in order to avoid a shutdown is more important than continuing DACA, while 34% say DACA is more important than a shutdown. (CNN)

      poll/ 48% of Americans blame Trump and congressional Republicans for the potential government shutdown. 28% fault Democrats. (Washington Post)

      https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/

  13. Ad 13
    20 January 2018 at 7:20 pm

    First time in US history that there has been a government shutdown on a vote, even though the PResident’s own party also controls the Senate and Congress. What a pathetic political later President Trump is.

    As well as being fundamentally anti-worker.

  14. Muttonbird 14
    20 January 2018 at 8:19 pm

    Is this the sort of thing Trump should be opposed for? Or is it like the Russian connection for some people – i.e, white noise, not worth bothering about, and indeed damaging to Trump’s opponents?

    I’d find it hard to accept if some commenters here thought these sorts of accusations of womanising, infidelity, and hush-money should just be dropped because ‘it’s whinging leftie stuff’ to pursue it, especially in the current environment when major gains have been made in tackling sexual harassment in the work place.

    Trump is a complete shithead for his policy. Fight him with absolutely everything available.

  15. timeforacupoftea 15
    20 January 2018 at 9:40 pm

    How come Trump has got all those policy things done in one year, it has to be just democracy USA style at work. No ?
    Dose he not listen to us in New Zealand, we hate the man so much like the rest of the world.

  16. whatisis 16
    21 January 2018 at 10:53 pm

    Yes all good reasons to oppose Trump. A complete waste of effort however.

    I am flabbergasted that you people haven’t yet cockled onto the fact that the Dems are dead dead dead. The Russia collusion narrative has backfired and as the average citizens realise how much they’ve been played by the complicit msm into this convoluted lying by the Dem structure the very obvious response (retaliation backlash) is going to be milked for every seat it’s worth.

    The Repubs it seems are happy to let this play out for as long as possible before shit hit the fan as it will be the Senate midterms when they need the Dems most soiled.

    Here’s some fun factss from a former federal prosecutor.
    http://dailycaller.com/2018/01/20/obama-administration-plot-exonerate-hillary/

  17. Kevin Reilly 17
    22 January 2018 at 9:50 am

    America is no longer the powerhouse it once was it will continue to have to have some influence in the world ,t is very much a house divided and has opened the door for the East to fill the void left by the USA.It will be an interesting century that we have entered,without the powerhouse that America was once.

  18. georgecom 18
    25 January 2018 at 10:54 pm

    My question is what makes Trump “anti worker”. My answer is to think of capital and labour as collective blocks and their respective share to the income created within an economy. Trumps politics make it easier for Capital to enlarge its share of the income whilst making it more difficult for labour to enlarge its share.

    His politics also weaken the social wage, which Labour has historically used as a means to increase its share of the collective national income. The social wage is deprived of funds through taxation, tax cuts delivering that slice of national income forgone by the tax cuts into the pockets of capital.

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