“He’s not hurting the people he needs to be�: a Trump voter says the quiet part out loud

[sickwithsin]

A Trump voter hurt by the shutdown reveals the real reason the president attracts hardcore supporters.

 

 

On Monday, the New York Times’s Patricia Mazzei published a dispatch from Marianna, Florida — a small, politically conservative town that depends on jobs from a federal prison and thus has been deeply hurt by the government shutdown. In the piece, Marianna residents grapple with the fact that President Donald Trump, who most residents support, is playing a role in the pain created by lost wages.

 

Most Marianna residents support Trump’s border wall, his key demand in the shutdown fight, and don’t blame him for the fight. But Crystal Minton, a secretary at the prison who is also a single mother caring for disabled parents, had a somewhat different reaction — one that reveals an essential truth about the core Trump’s political appeal.

 

“I voted for him, and he’s the one who’s doing this,†Minton told Mazzei. “I thought he was going to do good things. He’s not hurting the people he needs to be hurting.â€

 

He’s not hurting the people he needs to be hurting.

 

Think about that line for a second. Roll it over in your head. In essence, Minton is declaring that one aim of the Trump administration is to hurt people — the right people. Making America great again, in her mind, involves inflicting pain.

 

This is not an accident. Trump’s political victory and continuing appeal depend on a brand of politics that marginalizes and targets groups disliked by his supporters. Trump supporters don’t so much love the Republican party as they hate Democrats, a phenomenon political scientists call “negative partisanship.†They like Trump not because he sells them on the GOP, but because they believe he’ll stick it to the Democrats harder than anyone else.

The president’s particular brand of identity politics — the racist attacks on blacks and Latinos, the Muslim ban, his cruel treatment of women — similarly depends on negative rather than positive appeals. Antoine Banks, a political psychologist at the University of Maryland, wrote a book on the connection between anger as an emotion and racial politics. When politicians gin up anger, an emotion that necessarily has a negative target, voters tend to think about the world in more racial (and racist) terms. Trump makes his voters angry, he centers that anger on hated targets, and that makes them want to take his side.

 

This is what makes Trumpism work. This is the dark heart of our political moment. Even people who are tremendously vulnerable themselves, like Crystal Minton, support Trump because of his capacity to inflict pain on others they detest. The cruelty, as the Atlantic’s Adam Serwer says, is the point.

 

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/1/8/18173678/trump-shutdown-voter-florida

 

Ms. Minton is exactly the kind of person the Democratic Party is trying to help, but she's too blinded by manufactured fear and hatred to see it. I kind of wish the journalist had asked her to clarify who the president should be hurting and why ... Except we already have a good idea of what her response would have been: a regurgitation of Fox News talking points.

[YuMing]

that secretary is messed up yikes

[Riserise]

That's what happens when you think it's more important to hurt people than to help yourself.

[BeTaS]

i voted to have my tax dollars spent on people like this. I want them to not go bankrupt because of healthcare and they want to hurt me for it. Demented.

[MasterOfCider]

I'm unsurprised, though I'm glad she admits the truth. It's okay to hurt people if you're not the one being affected. Republicans have no empathy. I also enjoy this article stating the one thing I've suspected for years. Many people who vote right don't have any opinions at all. They just wanna try to trigger the left for the hell of it. They're sad individuals.

[PeachyKeys!]

The truth always come out lol.

[TheBigMermaid]

You've made your bed. Now lie on it.

[capital]

Well if they want the people who took away the jobs to be hurt, for those to feel the pain the lower-middle to lower class Americans felt - is that wrong? People did vote Trump in to drain the swamp.

[Yggdrasil]

Well if they want the people who took away the jobs to be hurt, for those to feel the pain the lower-middle to lower class Americans felt - is that wrong? People did vote Trump in to drain the swamp.

 

Trump has never worked a day in his life for anyone in the middle class, let alone lower class. So yes, it is pretty stupid to think he would ever care about them. All he cares about is his ego getting stroked. And how many more Trump associates need to go to jail before people realize he just might not be draining the swamp?

[MasterOfCider]

Well if they want the people who took away the jobs to be hurt, for those to feel the pain the lower-middle to lower class Americans felt - is that wrong? People did vote Trump in to drain the swamp.

Those jobs are archaic and will either never come back or never come back the way the used to. Those people are living on hopes and dreams and not reality if they thought anything different. Never mind trusting a rich man to put the needs of anyone other than those of his same economic status first.

[sickwithsin]

Well if they want the people who took away the jobs to be hurt, for those to feel the pain the lower-middle to lower class Americans felt - is that wrong? People did vote Trump in to drain the swamp.

 

 

People voted for Donald because they thought he hated all the people they hate. But it turns out his malignant narcissism and overwhelming need to shield himself from and blame others for his crimes and mistakes are far more important than the manufactured vendettas Republican voters have against the left, or immigrants, or minorities, or whoever the current bogeyman is.

[DocumentaLy]

Just let them die. Me and my state pay too much money to support people who hate us.

[TheBigMermaid]

Well if they want the people who took away the jobs to be hurt, for those to feel the pain the lower-middle to lower class Americans felt - is that wrong? People did vote Trump in to drain the swamp.

Those people did not take away those jobs. They didn't have the power to. 

It's the people who chose to employ illegal people instead of Americans who are the problem. If you want to hurt those people who took away those jobs, then stop buying their products and spread information about what they do.

 

They are the same people who want to lower the minimum wage. 

The same people who were the first who started profiting from the crisis, while lots were unemployed. 

The same people who don't want the lady from the the first post to have health care. 

 

And don't vote for them. Because Trump's companies have hired illegal immigrants as well. So much for draining the swamp. 

You didn't really expect he would drain a swamp that he profits from, did you?

[BeTaS]

Well if they want the people who took away the jobs to be hurt, for those to feel the pain the lower-middle to lower class Americans felt - is that wrong? People did vote Trump in to drain the swamp.

i think she meant the brown people, the immigrants, democrats, and basically anyone who didn’t vote for Trump.

[Riserise]

i voted to have my tax dollars spent on people like this. I want them to not go bankrupt because of healthcare and they want to hurt me for it. Demented.

It's sad.

[sickwithsin]

 

You didn't really expect he would drain a swamp that he profits from, did you?

 

+1

 

 

I love this line. It's very succinct.

[capital]

Trump has never worked a day in his life for anyone in the middle class, let alone lower class. So yes, it is pretty stupid to think he would ever care about them. All he cares about is his ego getting stroked. And how many more Trump associates need to go to jail before people realize he just might not be draining the swamp?

Well people have for years voted in people other than Trump or even Republicans - Clinton and then Obama have had years. Did these people find structural and progressive innovations which didn't gut their communities? The answer is no, right?

The topic isn't just Trump. It is the hope for a way out of misery - both Obama and Trump were voted in on that issue.

 

Those jobs are archaic and will either never come back or never come back the way the used to. Those people are living on hopes and dreams and not reality if they thought anything different. Never mind trusting a rich man to put the needs of anyone other than those of his same economic status first.

Those jobs gave them a purpose and a life of dignity. Where is the solution for them? Should they just accept the humiliation and wither away silently?

Who among the politicians now aren't rich? There was Bernie as an option but...

 

Those people did not take away those jobs. They didn't have the power to. 

It's the people who chose to employ illegal people instead of Americans who are the problem. If you want to hurt those people who took away those jobs, then stop buying their products and spread information about what they do.

 

They are the same people who want to lower the minimum wage. 

The same people who were the first who started profiting from the crisis, while lots were unemployed. 

The same people who don't want the lady from the the first post to have health care. 

 

And don't vote for them. Because Trump's companies have hired illegal immigrants as well. So much for draining the swamp. 

You didn't really expect he would drain a swamp that he profits from, did you?

I'm not American and wouldn't vote for either the venal Repubs or the corrupt Dems. This is not about party-line voting, not "either you're with us or against us". Of course there are segments of the lesser educated, agricultural rural population who are not up-to-date with everything in politics. Is it not the job of those who castigate them to make easy-to-understand solutions for them and help run principled candidates?

As for Trump - isn't he just a symbol of the corruption of the whole system? Aren't politicians from across the aisle complicit. Post-recession did the Dems fully prosecute Wall Street cats?

 

i think she meant the brown people, the immigrants, democrats, and basically anyone who didn’t vote for Trump.

Did she say so? No. That is your presumption. There are many who voted for Obama who voted for Trump this time. I'm not saying that there aren't racists, misogynists among Trump voters. But there are Dem voters among Black and Latino populations who are anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage. Things aren't black and white.

 

Just let them die. Me and my state pay too much money to support people who hate us.

Maybe reconsider your statement. "Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster".

[TheBigMermaid]

Well people have for years voted in people other than Trump or even Republicans - Clinton and then Obama have had years. Did these people find structural and progressive innovations which didn't gut their communities? The answer is no, right?

The topic isn't just Trump. It is the hope for a way out of misery - both Obama and Trump were voted in on that issue.

 

 

Obama tried very hard to give people better health care. In fact, the 2013 government shutdown was caused because Republicans tried to block the Affordable Care Act. During his presidency they tried to block him at every turn

 

Also, Obama did in fact sign the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Unfortunately, this was partly repealed under Trump.

[DocumentaLy]

Well people have for years voted in people other than Trump or even Republicans - Clinton and then Obama have had years. Did these people find structural and progressive innovations which didn't gut their communities? The answer is no, right?

The topic isn't just Trump. It is the hope for a way out of misery - both Obama and Trump were voted in on that issue.

 

Those jobs gave them a purpose and a life of dignity. Where is the solution for them? Should they just accept the humiliation and wither away silently?

Who among the politicians now aren't rich? There was Bernie as an option but...

 

I'm not American and wouldn't vote for either the venal Repubs or the corrupt Dems. This is not about party-line voting, not "either you're with us or against us". Of course there are segments of the lesser educated, agricultural rural population who are not up-to-date with everything in politics. Is it not the job of those who castigate them to make easy-to-understand solutions for them and help run principled candidates?

As for Trump - isn't he just a symbol of the corruption of the whole system? Aren't politicians from across the aisle complicit. Post-recession did the Dems fully prosecute Wall Street cats?

 

Did she say so? No. That is your presumption. There are many who voted for Obama who voted for Trump this time. I'm not saying that there aren't racists, misogynists among Trump voters. But there are Dem voters among Black and Latino populations who are anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage. Things aren't black and white.

 

Maybe reconsider your statement. "Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster".

 

No, I'm fine with my statement. I see no similarity with these people. They are completely foreign to me. Hell, there are actual foreigners that I have more similarity to than them.

[capital]

Obama tried very hard to give people better health care. In fact, the 2013 government shutdown was caused because Republicans tried to block the Affordable Care Act. During his presidency they tried to block him at every turn

 

Also, Obama did in fact sign the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Unfortunately, this was partly repealed under Trump.

The article speaks of a town which depends on 'jobs' from a federal prison to survive - I was writing about how the jobs are important, and the salary from those sustains the community. The marked anguish is obviously centred on that - the lack of dignifying work to do.

Of course Republicans tried to block him from any landmark acts - it is a fight to stop him from doing anything to keep Dems in power long term. And the people expected him to fight the Repubs down, to fight the fat-cat corporates, to bring jobs back, to make their lives more safe and secure than before. And Obama failed his humonguous mandate.

 

I don't deny that Obamacare had good intentions, but in simplest terms a) too complicated to fill by common rural people, b) state-to-state lack of insurance continuity c) premium and subsidy system not properly integrated. It is not Universal Healthcare.

 

As for Dodd-Frank, people present the Volcker Rule as the Glass-Steagall Act in spirit. But, DF suffers opacity and complexity like ACA - it has some 398 rules, lets the biggest companies amass larger amounts of deposit (remember JP Morgan London case happened post it), does not terrify with jailing...Actually just read this http://wallstreetonparade.com/2014/08/dodd-frank-versus-glass-steagall-how-do-they-compare/

Also, the masses want the bankers, the regulators who let the recession happen to be punished - not be given bailouts out of which the main architects pay themselves handsomely. Obama's govt. didn't prosecute Wall Street biggies, and post presidency he earns millions giving them talks - you see how it looks? https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jan/23/untouchables-wall-street-prosecutions-obama

 

Please let us not pretend that both parties haven't cut out the legs out from beneath vulnerable people. For the same reasons these people voted for Trump, they voted for Obama - hope for justice, to 'drain the swamp'.

[MasterOfCider]

Those jobs gave them a purpose and a life of dignity. Where is the solution for them? Should they just accept the humiliation and wither away silently?

Who among the politicians now aren't rich? There was Bernie as an option but...

Those jobs did give them purpose and dignity, but they're older than the sun. They're not coming back regardless of how much they want them. What's the solution? I don't have one. Though trying to do what we've always done in these times won't work either. Also you're not mentioning how a lot of these people are okay with hurting others for the sake of nothing more than political differences. They'd want the dems to wither away for the sake of their archaic jobs and that's not right either.

In terms of who's not rich, well good point. Though honestly I don't trust most of the people in office. They're all in someone's pocket. The problem I have with Trump in this regard is that he put the 1% of the 1% in office, has had several failed businesses, supports an old economic system that doesn't work, and now believes people can just ask their parents for help during the government shut down in the way his daddy helped him. The dems are working for Wall Street, but at least they have some basic understanding that the middle class and poor can't do what the rich can.

[capital]

Those jobs did give them purpose and dignity, but they're older than the sun. They're not coming back regardless of how much they want them. What's the solution? I don't have one. Though trying to do what we've always done in these times won't work either. Also you're not mentioning how a lot of these people are okay with hurting others for the sake of nothing more than political differences. They'd want the dems to wither away for the sake of their archaic jobs and that's not right either.

In terms of who's not rich, well good point. Though honestly I don't trust most of the people in office. They're all in someone's pocket. The problem I have with Trump in this regard is that he put the 1% of the 1% in office, has had several failed businesses, supports an old economic system that doesn't work, and now believes people can just ask their parents for help during the government shut down in the way his daddy helped him. The dems are working for Wall Street, but at least they have some basic understanding that the middle class and poor can't do what the rich can.

Well they vote in politicians to give them a solution, don't they?

How about the people in charge rather than just name-calling actually find out a solution? It doesn't have to be the same factory job but a job which a common man could do - maybe in services? To just say 'there's no solution' is callous and cruel.

 

People aren't born with Dem or Repub written on their forehead, and doing the Hillary thing of not working to win over these people's votes means Dems will never win a substantial victory.

If you think these people should just die (which a few Dems up above show no qualms in wanting) well then, they consider the poor illegal immigrant, the Brown outsider in China, Bangladesh their enemy who is instrumental in making lower-range jobs so cheap that they cannot compete. Isn't their hate justified then? Is that the path Dems want to go on - import more and more people who would work for peanut-shells? What if then these menial jobs get taken by robots? Won't these new helpless 'deplorables' not find another scapegoat to resent? Is civil unrest in the near future what Dems want?

Also, USA is already a huge borrower of money (via bonds) to pay for their consumer wants. If the market shrinks (and as a Millenial we keep hearing of how industries are shutting down because we don't waste on niceties like paper napkins) because barely any of the US-Euro countries can pay for more products, who'll deal with the non-reversible Recession? There will be no jobs and no welfare.

 

If Dems are the party which advocates for the vulnerable (I agree that Repubs are socially troglodytes and fiscally profligate) - why is what they are doing nothing more than window-dressing? Where's the courageous New Deal?

As for Trump's little Wall Street coterie, you'll find these are the same people Obama declined to jail.

[MasterOfCider]

Well they vote in politicians to give them a solution, don't they?

How about the people in charge rather than just name-calling actually find out a solution? It doesn't have to be the same factory job but a job which a common man could do - maybe in services? To just say 'there's no solution' is callous and cruel.

 

People aren't born with Dem or Repub written on their forehead, and doing the Hillary thing of not working to win over these people's votes means Dems will never win a substantial victory.

If you think these people should just die (which a few Dems up above show no qualms in wanting) well then, they consider the poor illegal immigrant, the Brown outsider in China, Bangladesh their enemy who is instrumental in making lower-range jobs so cheap that they cannot compete. Isn't their hate justified then? Is that the path Dems want to go on - import more and more people who would work for peanut-shells? What if then these menial jobs get taken by robots? Won't these new helpless 'deplorables' not find another scapegoat to resent? Is civil unrest in the near future what Dems want?

Also, USA is already a huge borrower of money (via bonds) to pay for their consumer wants. If the market shrinks (and as a Millenial we keep hearing of how industries are shutting down because we don't waste on niceties like paper napkins) because barely any of the US-Euro countries can pay for more products, who'll deal with the non-reversible Recession? There will be no jobs and no welfare.

 

If Dems are the party which advocates for the vulnerable (I agree that Repubs are socially troglodytes and fiscally profligate) - why is what they are doing nothing more than window-dressing? Where's the courageous New Deal?

As for Trump's little Wall Street coterie, you'll find these are the same people Obama declined to jail.

In this case, I suppose they are looking to their elected officials for help. As I've stated before the problem is that the help they're hoping the politicians will give them is unfortunately outdated. Giving them false hope that the way of life they've grown accustomed to has even a shred of a chance at returning en masse to get votes is unjust as well. Bear in mind I never said there wasn't a solution, I simply said I didn't have one. I do think jobs in services would be a great idea or even trying to teach these people more modern skills such as coding or robotics. The problem is would they want these jobs and would the rest of the country be willing to tolerate the change in tax laws to help them? I wouldn't mind as in the end we all benefit, but not everyone else will see it that way.

 

I'm aware people aren't born labeled one political affiliation or the other. They're taken on through life experiences, education, and emotion. Please don't take this the wrong way, but I'm not sure what the purpose was in stating that. You'll also have to define what you mean by "substantial victory." Hillary won the popular vote without the need of the people we're discussing, did she not? It's the electoral college that got her. In an election year where she was painted as public enemy number one coupled with low turnout the people still wanted her. Now if we're talking anything other than the presidential election then perhaps I would be able to agree with you a bit more.

 

There are very few people I wish to just wither away and die, and these people who just want to live aren't in that category. It's understandable they're angry their jobs aren't there, but once again, immigrants or not a lot of the jobs they want are archaic. They wouldn't be around much longer anyhow. Also while we look for someone to blame as humans it's not quite right to hate a whole group of people due to some of them taking a job you wanted. If this wall situation shows you anything it's that the democrats do in fact support border security. They just don't want that obnoxious, overly expensive wall there to do it. If we're talking about me personally, I'm not bothered by immigrants coming over here illegal or otherwise. Most of them just want to survive like to aforementioned people. Who are you to weigh lives and say they have to die when they generally just want to work and feed their families as well? Also if we're going to talk about the democrats allowing them to be here, why are we not talking about the people hiring them to do the work? In my experience it's largely moderates and republicans who employ illegal immigrants. If you don't mind me asking, have you ever worked in an industry with immigrants? Seen their employers? Seen how many of them make up the backbone of certain lines of work? If so please tell me what career path you have. I worked in the horse industry, and I saw this. Some people have visas, some don't. Guess which political affiliation was in charge in that line of work? It wasn't democrats I assure you. Centrists and right wingers are perfectly fine blaming immigrants for their problems except when they can hire them and make them work more than fourteen hour days for seven days a week.

 

Your mention of robotics is a valid one, and something I think about considering my current profession. I work retail. It's no secret that it's dying, and that traditional stores will likely no longer exist in a few decades. Those that do will likely be mostly automated. This means I am becoming obsolete. I know this, but I'm not going to hate all technology or the people who made it and run out into the woods in or to reject the change I see happening around me. I know shady politicians aren't helping the people who we're talking about, but they're once again hoping against reality. Like them, I will have to adapt and find another way to make money. It's unfortunate, but nothing stays the same, and we have to keep moving forward. I'm already well prepared for programs like social security and welfare to not exist in the future. I've come to terms with how life is probably going to be.

 

Is civil unrest the future? I certainly hope not, but it's a possibility. I think it can be avoided if we start planning ahead now and stop filling people with false promises of glory days returning. Ironically change is the only constant in life. What are the specifics? I don't know, but we can't stay stagnant.

 

You're misunderstanding some of my words. I've said already no one is to be trusted in politics, and I'm not hailing the leftist politicians as saints. They're far from it. I even said democrats were friendly with Wall Street, of course Obama wasn't going to jail his buddies. I simply stated that they're more aware of differences of life of social classes than republicans are, and it's true.

[capital]

In this case, I suppose they are looking to their elected officials for help. As I've stated before the problem is that the help they're hoping the politicians will give them is unfortunately outdated. Giving them false hope that the way of life they've grown accustomed to has even a shred of a chance at returning en masse to get votes is unjust as well. Bear in mind I never said there wasn't a solution, I simply said I didn't have one. I do think jobs in services would be a great idea or even trying to teach these people more modern skills such as coding or robotics. The problem is would they want these jobs and would the rest of the country be willing to tolerate the change in tax laws to help them? I wouldn't mind as in the end we all benefit, but not everyone else will see it that way.

 

I'm aware people aren't born labeled one political affiliation or the other. They're taken on through life experiences, education, and emotion. Please don't take this the wrong way, but I'm not sure what the purpose was in stating that. You'll also have to define what you mean by "substantial victory." Hillary won the popular vote without the need of the people we're discussing, did she not? It's the electoral college that got her. In an election year where she was painted as public enemy number one coupled with low turnout the people still wanted her. Now if we're talking anything other than the presidential election then perhaps I would be able to agree with you a bit more.

 

There are very few people I wish to just wither away and die, and these people who just want to live aren't in that category. It's understandable they're angry their jobs aren't there, but once again, immigrants or not a lot of the jobs they want are archaic. They wouldn't be around much longer anyhow. Also while we look for someone to blame as humans it's not quite right to hate a whole group of people due to some of them taking a job you wanted. If this wall situation shows you anything it's that the democrats do in fact support border security. They just don't want that obnoxious, overly expensive wall there to do it. If we're talking about me personally, I'm not bothered by immigrants coming over here illegal or otherwise. Most of them just want to survive like to aforementioned people. Who are you to weigh lives and say they have to die when they generally just want to work and feed their families as well? Also if we're going to talk about the democrats allowing them to be here, why are we not talking about the people hiring them to do the work? In my experience it's largely moderates and republicans who employ illegal immigrants. If you don't mind me asking, have you ever worked in an industry with immigrants? Seen their employers? Seen how many of them make up the backbone of certain lines of work? If so please tell me what career path you have. I worked in the horse industry, and I saw this. Some people have visas, some don't. Guess which political affiliation was in charge in that line of work? It wasn't democrats I assure you. Centrists and right wingers are perfectly fine blaming immigrants for their problems except when they can hire them and make them work more than fourteen hour days for seven days a week.

 

Your mention of robotics is a valid one, and something I think about considering my current profession. I work retail. It's no secret that it's dying, and that traditional stores will likely no longer exist in a few decades. Those that do will likely be mostly automated. This means I am becoming obsolete. I know this, but I'm not going to hate all technology or the people who made it and run out into the woods in or to reject the change I see happening around me. I know shady politicians aren't helping the people who we're talking about, but they're once again hoping against reality. Like them, I will have to adapt and find another way to make money. It's unfortunate, but nothing stays the same, and we have to keep moving forward. I'm already well prepared for programs like social security and welfare to not exist in the future. I've come to terms with how life is probably going to be.

 

Is civil unrest the future? I certainly hope not, but it's a possibility. I think it can be avoided if we start planning ahead now and stop filling people with false promises of glory days returning. Ironically change is the only constant in life. What are the specifics? I don't know, but we can't stay stagnant.

 

You're misunderstanding some of my words. I've said already no one is to be trusted in politics, and I'm not hailing the leftist politicians as saints. They're far from it. I even said democrats were friendly with Wall Street, of course Obama wasn't going to jail his buddies. I simply stated that they're more aware of differences of life of social classes than republicans are, and it's true.

I didn't say "you" I said the politicians have to find a solution, and fast. As for convincing the people to let go and become internationally competitive - farm and other subsidies which leads to over-production have to be stopped, dollar has to be devalued (which means consumption would plummet to pre-war years), tax for middle-classes and above has to rise by quite a few percentages - and during training these left-behinds would need the welfare system, which would need a generous injection of money. No easy solution, right?

 

HC winning popular vote means jackshit. She lost the EC which is what mattered. Even then, I know many progressive friends who held their nose to vote for her because the alternative was Trump. She isn't wanted. Gods, Dems chose Obama, a newcomer, over her! Also many countries have systems where population-to-seats are not exactly proportionally correlated. My country has a state which has population larger than Europe, but another state which has population near to SKorea has about 1/5th the seats of the former. You must win the first state to gain PM-ship, but it is created so that small states also hold significance for the ruling coalition.

Substantial means control over both houses - something Obama started with. That is when you can push through necessary reform, rather than sink in quagmire of partisanship and filibusters.

 

If Dems did support border security, there wouldn't be 'sanctuary cities', or plans for all immigrants (illegal or not) to be able to partake governmental healthcare. Even DACA could have had much clearer guidelines, with a one-time exemption limit. Dems are creating vacuous laws with smokescreen proclamations.

Immigrants need to be legal entrants - it is sad that US doesn't process fast and tbh doesn't have personnel to process fast either. And if there is no to 'refugee' status, and right to say no to immigrants who cannot assimilate or are criminal. As for working i.e. economic migrants, they must be taken only via work-permits applied for by employers. A system, which would mean the end to willy-nilly abuse and slavery of illegal labour.

In any country with a welfare structure in place - which requires citizens to pay into, the existence of illegals matter - if they take help and don't pay in taxes they defraud the system; if they are scared and go take help from the black-market and pay in peripherals they aid the parallel, unregulated economy. With influx of illegal, non-documented persons, social markers like policing (crimes go unfound), schooling (many migrant children don't or can't get full education), accomodation (rents rise, communities drift) all suffer.

You are wrong if you think only non-Dems take on illegals - all restaurants, schools, warehouses, construction companies aren't run only by Repubs. Like you, who cares for people's right to work, many Dems too take on illegals for both altruistic and personal gain/convenience.

 

I don't want to disclose my line of work, but I am of refugee stock and volunteer with related organisation. 

 

You are a person, and I must tell, you that are not and must not ever think of yourself as a thing, as obsolete. It is the job of politicians, academics, thinktanks, govt. officials to find out a way in which your set of skills may be updated so you too can live a life of dignity.

As for ss and welfare, yes they'll probably get downsized but there must be some safety-net left for the most wretched and needy of the citizens. Saving that is what politicians should look at.