The Alt-Right Isn't Even Pretending Anymore

[TheSithChicken]

“Hail Trump, hail our people, hail victory!” is how Richard B. Spencer greeted an audience of more than 200 attendees of an alt-right conference Washington D.C. He was met with enthusiastic cheers and Nazi salutes.

https://www.facebook.com/TheAtlantic/videos/10154823525748487/

I am not a man of many morals. I do not have some need to care for the world or blink over the misfortune of a stranger. I do not shed tears watching a disaster on tv that has shattered lives in another place. But even as jaded, as cynical, and as generally emotionally stunted as I am I find myself disgusted by these worms crawling up out of the dirt. Foul venomous little creatures gnawing at the sickened flesh of our society in the name of some ideal of a white nation. Of some manifest destiny as conquerors and creators. Giving themselves pompous titles like children of the sun.

I have only thing to say to them. That if they get the white nation they want I will burn it to the ground.

[NicciKotor]

It is going to be oh so much fun watching these people scream bloody murder as all the gibberish Trump promised them doesn't come to pass. At all. Instead, getting to see their lives destroyed as republicans rush us into yet another recession. Their jobs taken from them, families destroyed, and their sick ideology broken as well. It's going to be a fun year, which is about as far as I'd expect establishment republicans will tolerate Trump before impeaching him.

[Lilias]

[Anteros]

Really, they're nazis. They're proud of it and anounce it openly.
Alt-right is a tired euphemism that can't dissimulate their true nature anymore.

[HannibalBarca]

I have only thing to say to them. That if they get the white nation they want I will burn it to the ground.

They won't get it.  Not as long as there are people who will stand against them.  There are less of them than people think.  As always, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.  Trump won this election because too many people sat and watched instead of doing their due diligence and voting to stop him.  Now things may well get harder.  It may take more than votes to defeat him and his ilk now.  It has been necessary before.

But don't believe everyone is evil.  When the fearful cower, the Good have to do the work.  I want to leave this nation to my son, and want there be something to leave to him.  We don't have to destroy.  It's easy to destroy.  It's much harder to create.  We can create a fellowship of citizens, united in support, and show the majority of the cowed populace that the alt-right proto-nazis may be exuberant, but they're outnumbered.

This country didn't elect a black man by mistake.  That was by choice.  That was also eight years ago.  The number of people who are on our side hasn't shrunk.  Gotten complacent, yes.  Now we have to wake them the fuck up.

[Lustful Bride]

Have to remember too that not everyone who voted for Trump was a full on racist. some of them voted just to fuck up the status quo.

And like HB mentioned, if this was really the nation full of racists and the future 3rd reich, we wouldn't have elected a black man for president. Twice


Its a very complicated issue that isn't simply one side is good, one side is bad. Its a big fucked up, cloudy mess. Pretty much politics in general.

I think a problem too is now Alt Right is pretty much like SJW. Its a nebulous term that is thrown around far too much losing its meaning and is thrown at anyone who the left doesn't like.

The best way I can keep track of them now is.

SJW= Left Leaning Extremists.

while Alt Right= Right Leaning Extremists.

I feel like a quote from Rick Sanchez would work here.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7gsKA-1T6A

(Wow...I think I might be overusing that clip :/)

[Idej]

To be honest I thought I could admit I was a Conservative thinking person here and I feel that I can't anymore.

I'm not racist, nor am I sexist, a misogynist or even a deplorable person.

Thank you LB for pointing that out because I do fear for myself when I admit that I am.  I don't feel that is right just in the same way as those who were persecuted based upon skin color, sexual preferences, and religious beliefs (and not just Christianity, but ALL religious beliefs).

Where I work there is a woman who is a Buddhist and is pretty much the only one who is a Buddhist where I work at.  I took the liberty of taking a few classes concerning Buddhism and the different customs so that I could attempt to understand her beliefs.  Now a bit of a disclaimer:  Just because I took those classes am I in no means an expert or even a pro when it comes to Buddhism, I am a novice still in that area mainly because it isn't the religious practice that I want to follow.

I listened to her talk and reached out to her and listened to what she had say, rather than shutting her down or even acting like I was a know it all to her for taking these classes.  She greatly appreciated the fact I took the time to try to understand her religious beliefs and learn to even remember a few special days for her like Vesak, and did not judge her for it at all.  Heck I'm practically the only person there who takes the time to even celebrate that with her because I know that is special to her.  It may not be special to me, but the fact I put a smile on her face is all that mattered to me.

The point of where I am getting at is that yes, I do have a Conservative mindset, but does that make me a bad person?  No, it does not.

And while I did make a mistake in regards E's policies with a game that I ran before, I haven't made any other mistakes and there is no other besmirching marks on me here as I have tried to be a good member here.  I still want to be a good member here and as soon as PayPal cooperates with me I will be getting a $5 subscription set up to start donating to E.  I know it isn't much, but it is the best I can give and I want to give because I like this place alot and everything about it along with the people.

Please don't slump everyone who is a Conservative thinker in line with the extreme Right, and the same goes to those who place everyone who is a Liberal thinker with the extreme Left too.

I'm sorry that you are mad that Trump and I agree that the Electoral Colleges need to go as by technicality Clinton should have won by popular vote.  On that same token if we did go by the popular vote it would boil down towards the East and West Coast dictating what everyone in the middle should do which isn't entirely fair either.

Sorry for going on a tangent, but while I do have my misgivings of expressing my thoughts here, I still feel that E is still the best place I can even do so.  Don't take that away from me please.

[Blythe]

Personally, Idej, I don't feel you should be afraid of expressing you are a conservative here. It is possible to be a conservative and not be affiliated with something vile like the Alt-Right.

For me, while I might be pretty darn liberal, I welcome polite conservatives willing to engage in reasonable discourse. Discussion leads to good things; listening to people and engaging in ideas, even if they are ideas I might disagree with, is something I feel betters me as a person. Talking to people of differing political views, so long as the discussion can remain calm and civil (and you have struck me as a very civil calm sort of fellow), helps reduce the chances of extremism and helps combat isolationist-type thought that can lead to dangerous viewpoints on all sides.

[Idej]

Thank you, I just have been seeing all the rage lately and I have been hesitant to speak up most of the time.

I'm willing to listen as well and be polite as well.  There is a saying that I believe is Asian based, "You have two eyes, two ears, and one mouth"

While yes I do use my mouth alot more than I should, I do it because I have limited time to speak here due to work so I go on tangents to get my thoughts out before I forget.

I lean towards Conservative thinking because the viewpoints and thoughts mesh with my own personal thought patterns.  I would say I sit in between a Libertarian and a Republican way of thinking, but going off-topic kind of.

If we're willing to listen to each other and remain calm and civil we can start to understand each other.  Instead of rioting and looting and trying to be civil with each other we can weed out the extreme elements of both sides and rise stronger.  What we saw in the election was a fight between heavy extremes, whether it was represented by the candidates or not, it could be felt that the extreme left and extreme right were using heavy hands during the election.

[Skynet]

Please don't slump everyone who is a Conservative thinker in line with the extreme Right, and the same goes to those who place everyone who is a Liberal thinker with the extreme Left too.

I'm sorry that you are mad that Trump and I agree that the Electoral Colleges need to go as by technicality Clinton should have won by popular vote.  On that same token if we did go by the popular vote it would boil down towards the East and West Coast dictating what everyone in the middle should do which isn't entirely fair either.

Sorry for going on a tangent, but while I do have my misgivings of expressing my thoughts here, I still feel that E is still the best place I can even do so.  Don't take that away from me please.

As a liberal/leftist who doesn't like the democrats, it can be frustrating for folk to immediately jump to "ideology=party," especially when the party saying that they're championing your cause has more or less left you.

I think that the popularity of Trump is causing a serious identity crisis among not just the GOP, but also US conservatives in general. There was a Republican on Twitter, Evan McMullin who said that in order to avoid the tainting of association, for conservatives to more openly condemn the fascist elements now determined to hijack their identity and not just leave it to the Left.

All the same, this was a long time coming. Richard Nixon's Southern Strategy sought to court segregationists who felt betrayed by the Democrats after the signing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and ever since it planted a seed of rot in the Republican Party by opening their doors to intolerance and hate. Today this seed blossomed into a weed, a weed that people like Glenn Beck only now realize is strangling them.

The schadenfreude in me wants to see the GOP fracture and crumble for giving a blank check to its worst elements. The compassionate part of me would rather see them expel the poison from their wound and become the Party of Lincoln once again, even if it means letting the Alt-Right factions form their own little barbaric third party (which right now will be more popular than the GOP).

[HannibalBarca]

I don't blame you for being conservative, Idej.  My own parents are conservative.  I love them.  We don't agree on many things, but the stuff we do agree on we should get done.  There's SJWs I can't stand myself.

The rotten apples may not spoil the whole bunch, but they sure give all the good ones a bad rap.  I'm an atheist too, but I don't want to ban religion.  As long as people don't push it in my face or try to legislate it so everyone is forced to be like them, I don't care what people do in their own home or church.  But Skynet is right.  The Republican party made a deal with the devil with the Southern Strategy, and has owned white racists for decades.  Fox news has pandered to their ilk, and now the Frankenstein's monster they created has arisen, and it is Trump.  Those fifty conservative military experts and former Secretaries of Defense who said Trump cannot become President weren't liberals.  John McCain isn't a liberal.  Lindsay Graham isn't a liberal.  They all can't stand Trump, either.  Shit, in the open primary in California in 2000, I voted for McCain, hoping Bush wouldn't win.  That didn't work out so well, either.

This is the time for people with integrity to stand up together, regardless of affiliation.  Trump has no integrity.  Hillary didn't have much herself, but that's done and over with.  This guy has chosen a white supremacist to serve him in the White House.  If he makes bad choices as President, we have to do what is right and oppose them.  It's a matter of decency, not politics.

I mean, you can tell people on both sides want a lot of the same things.  The populist messages of Trump and Sanders struck a chord in a lot of people.  We're angry about the establishment in both parties selling out to the elites.  The thing is, Trump said he was against the elites while being an elite...and now he's filling his cabinet with a fair number of establishment Republicans.  Where is the promised populism in that?

[TheGlyphstone]

I'm both amused and scared watching Trump's campaign promises topple like dominoes. First he says he's going to 'revise and amend' Obamacare instead of burning it to the ground. Next he starts appointing establishment Republicans to key posts. Now he's saying he won't be pushing any further investigation into the Clinton email controversy, instead of appointing a special prosecutor to send her to prison. How long until one of his own 'supporters' from the well-armed wacko fringes takes a shot at him for his 'betrayal'?

[Devilyn Sydhe]

Honestly, Trump's somewhat softening stances should be a positive sign to the left rather than a subject of ridicule.  I didn't choose Trump though I lean toward Republican/Libertarian but it should be a good thing that he doesn't seem to be handing everything to the alt-right, which is a relatively small group to begin with.  No he's not going to follow through with every promise he made, but I doubt any President ever has.  If he chooses not to persue prosecution of Clinton, that will be a wise political maneuver as those who believe her could never be persuaded and the left would simply martyr her. 

As for his appointments so far, he seems to have a fairly good mix but again that shows moderation which even I wasn't sure Trump had in him.  In fact, I am hopeful he might name Romney as his Secretary of State as it would show an ability to make peace with those whom were recently enemies.  Though it is still early, Trump has made a much better showing than the left or even many on the right give him credit for.  That said, I do still expect him to abolish all of Obama's executive orders, place a well respected conservative justice on the Supreme Court, and work toward replacing Obamacare with something that works for all Americans.  I don't expect one man to overhaul decades of corruption by himself, only that he is seriously putting forth the effort to try.

[TheSithChicken]

As for his appointments so far, he seems to have a fairly good mix but again that shows moderation which even I wasn't sure Trump had in him.  In fact, I am hopeful he might name Romney as his Secretary of State as it would show an ability to make peace with those whom were recently enemies.  Though it is still early, Trump has made a much better showing than the left or even many on the right give him credit for.  That said, I do still expect him to abolish all of Obama's executive orders, place a well respected conservative justice on the Supreme Court, and work toward replacing Obamacare with something that works for all Americans.  I don't expect one man to overhaul decades of corruption by himself, only that he is seriously putting forth the effort to try.

Let's look at this list of appointments that shows moderation and is a fairly good mix:

Reince Priebus - Head of the RNC

Stephen Bannon - Alt-Right, former head of Breitbart, racist and misogynist, mentor to Richard B. Spencer who openly spouts Nazi propaganda in it's original German for authenticity

Sen. Jeff Sessions - A man who was not allowed to become a Federal judge because of racial remarks

Gen. Mike Flynn - A public Islamaphobe who was fired from the Pentagon for being a raging asshole

Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo - Someone who has almost no notable record of any kind

So 3 of 5 are complete pieces of shit who have been denied federal service, fired from it, or never would have been within sniffing distance of it without a President who courts racist groups. Lot of moderation there. A good mix of bullshit. Oh and Trump's primary candidate for Supreme Court has made public statements about wanting to outlaw any sex outside of heterosexual marriages.

Trump - who just settled a 25 million dollar case for mass amounts of fraud - is not going to combat any corruption at all. He's not even making the effort to look like he's going to try. The most noteworthy thing he has done is say that he wasn't going to try to do some of the asinine things he said he would during the campaign. Other than that he has thrown temper tantrums at a Broadway musical and SNL while hate crime rates are spiking since the election and all he's said about that is "Stop that".

To say he has made a much better showing than people are giving him credit for is disingenous at best. He has made a mockery of everything he claimed to stand for in just a few weeks and he hasn't even been sworn in yet.

[Blythe]

As for his appointments so far, he seems to have a fairly good mix but again that shows moderation which even I wasn't sure Trump had in him. 

While Trump's potentially softening stances are something I hope for, I do want to say that I'm exceedingly skeptical of who Trump's been appointing. I don't think highly of several of the choices so far, but one in particular looks pretty bad.

Bannon's a pretty dreadful appointment--not a good sign of moderation. A founding member of the board of Breitbart News....and the outright alt-right rhetoric pushed by them at times, which Bannon cannot possibly divorce himself from with any real degree of sincerity in my opinion, doesn't exactly do a lot to make me remotely hopeful about Trump. Bannon should never have been appointed if Trump wanted to truly distance or disavow himself from the alt-right.

[Devilyn Sydhe]

I can completely agree on Bannon as I wasn't happy about his appointment but I do see Priebus as a counter measure to balance opinions.  Trump will make up his own mind, but I'm hopeful the two will clash and Trump will take the middle ground.  I'm also curious just how much of Bannon's advice the President will listen to or if the appointment was more just a symbolic measure and Bannon will find himself out in a short time like Van Jones in the Obama admin.

As for Sen. Sessions and Gen. Flynn, both men are highly respected individuals whose lifetime bodies of work far outweigh anything the Mainstream Media can uncover.  While Sessions may have made controversial comments years ago he also gained the death penalty for a Klan leader's son as US Attorney and has been a leader in the Senate for years.  Gen Flynn was very highly thought of by his men, has a great deal of experience and was fired basically for disagreeing with the Iran deal which has become an international joke with them already breaking the deal on more than one occasion.  I also like the recent appointment of Nikki Haley and likely Ben Carson as not only highly capable individuals but also a good early sign of diversity.

Now, do I personally think Trump will make a great President?  No, not really, but spreading hatred on the streets before the man even takes office and labelling anyone who dared not to vote for the almighty Clinton dynasty with all the worn out -isms doesn't work to anyone's best interest.  Trump won, and only won, because enough of the country became fed up with the microaggressions at every turn, the outright disrespect shown to the law and those sworn to uphold it, and a media who beat down anyone who voiced a concern over their rights being taken and their moral values mocked and ridiculed.  Basically the same fears the Left now deals with.  No one may believe this, but if Trump does become that monster, not just a man for once representing conservative views, but a real fascist destroying the Constitution and taking away rights, a large portion of the conservative movement will rise up as well.  It just does no good to box the man in with hateful rhetoric and unwarranted violence before anything has even happened.  The right was just as justified when Obama took office as the left feels they are now, they had the same fears of a 'fundamentally transformed America' as exists now with Trump.  Those fears were met only with labels which led to anger and further labels.  The right's anger got nothing done except to further marginalize their concerns until boiling over this year with possibly the worst Republican candidate in modern times.

I do worry where this country is headed if neither side is willing to give the other a chance.  There are already secession movements on both sides and neither seems willing to see the other's point of view.  If Clinton had been elected, there would still be the fear of the loss of liberty and I'm sure the extreme left wouldn't care anymore than the alt-right seems to now.  It really is a simple choice, either both sides start trying to get over their emotions and strive for common ground or stay in your trenches and rip the country everyone claims to care about apart in a modern day civil war.

[Lustful Bride]

No one may believe this, but if Trump does become that monster, not just a man for once representing conservative views, but a real fascist destroying the Constitution and taking away rights, a large portion of the conservative movement will rise up as well.  It just does no good to box the man in with hateful rhetoric and unwarranted violence before anything has even happened.  The right was just as justified when Obama took office as the left feels they are now, they had the same fears of a 'fundamentally transformed America' as exists now with Trump.  Those fears were met only with labels which led to anger and further labels.  The right's anger got nothing done except to further marginalize their concerns until boiling over this year with possibly the worst Republican candidate in modern times.

I sure as hell would rise up. Because as soon as they can drag one of us off to the camps, they can drag any of us off.



Hehehehe I have actually seen a few tumblr posts of people lessening their hate of guns. The Schadenfraude makes me giggle. But of course as soon as Trump is out of office they will naturally make a full 180 on their opinions again :/

I do worry where this country is headed if neither side is willing to give the other a chance.  There are already secession movements on both sides and neither seems willing to see the other's point of view.  If Clinton had been elected, there would still be the fear of the loss of liberty and I'm sure the extreme left wouldn't care anymore than the alt-right seems to now.  It really is a simple choice, either both sides start trying to get over their emotions and strive for common ground or stay in your trenches and rip the country everyone claims to care about apart in a modern day civil war.

This right here. This got to the heart of the matter *applauds* You got it right there man.

[TheSithChicken]

I can completely agree on Bannon as I wasn't happy about his appointment but I do see Priebus as a counter measure to balance opinions.  Trump will make up his own mind, but I'm hopeful the two will clash and Trump will take the middle ground.  I'm also curious just how much of Bannon's advice the President will listen to or if the appointment was more just a symbolic measure and Bannon will find himself out in a short time like Van Jones in the Obama admin.

Considering Bannon is one fo Trump's closest friends and yes men I sincerely doubt he is just going to ignore him. If either of those two gets ignored it will be Priebus considering the two of them don't really get along. Priebus was chosen specifically to mollify the GOP.

As for Sen. Sessions and Gen. Flynn, both men are highly respected individuals whose lifetime bodies of work far outweigh anything the Mainstream Media can uncover.  While Sessions may have made controversial comments years ago he also gained the death penalty for a Klan leader's son as US Attorney and has been a leader in the Senate for years.  Gen Flynn was very highly thought of by his men, has a great deal of experience and was fired basically for disagreeing with the Iran deal which has become an international joke with them already breaking the deal on more than one occasion.  I also like the recent appointment of Nikki Haley and likely Ben Carson as not only highly capable individuals but also a good early sign of diversity

.

No their lifetime of work does not outweigh the body of that work. Stretch before you reach that far. Sessions is a well known racists with a hideous voting record on anything important.. Gen. Flynn is a raging Islamaphobe who has said in public that Islam is a cancer that needs to be cured. The man wants to exterminate a religion. I don't give a fuck how much his men love him. I don't care about military service. It does not give you a free pass to be a raging fucktard.

Nikki Haley is purely a pick so that people will stop harping on him about being a misogynist. It won't work. Ben Carson has outright refused to be in his cabinet and he is a fucking idiot on top of it. The man whole heartedly believes that the pyramids are not tombs but grian silos built by Joseph from the Bible. Let's not put him in a position of authority.

His pick for Secretary of Education is just as bad as any of these. She is a lifelong part of the establishment, is a billionaire, has donated mass amounts of money to anti-LGBTQ movements, and is a main proponent of privatizing schools - while also removing all over sight of charter schools. Fantastic choice.

Now, do I personally think Trump will make a great President?  No, not really, but spreading hatred on the streets before the man even takes office and labelling anyone who dared not to vote for the almighty Clinton dynasty with all the worn out -isms doesn't work to anyone's best interest.  Trump won, and only won, because enough of the country became fed up with the microaggressions at every turn, the outright disrespect shown to the law and those sworn to uphold it, and a media who beat down anyone who voiced a concern over their rights being taken and their moral values mocked and ridiculed.  Basically the same fears the Left now deals with.  No one may believe this, but if Trump does become that monster, not just a man for once representing conservative views, but a real fascist destroying the Constitution and taking away rights, a large portion of the conservative movement will rise up as well.  It just does no good to box the man in with hateful rhetoric and unwarranted violence before anything has even happened.  The right was just as justified when Obama took office as the left feels they are now, they had the same fears of a 'fundamentally transformed America' as exists now with Trump.  Those fears were met only with labels which led to anger and further labels.  The right's anger got nothing done except to further marginalize their concerns until boiling over this year with possibly the worst Republican candidate in modern times.

He only won because most of the country didn't vote and even then he lost the popular vote. The electoral college - operating against it's reason for existing - is what has given him the Presidency. Your whole argument here is fallacious. It is one false equivalency after another. None of it shows any understanding of the election that just occurred nor any of the fears inherent in it.

I do worry where this country is headed if neither side is willing to give the other a chance.  There are already secession movements on both sides and neither seems willing to see the other's point of view.  If Clinton had been elected, there would still be the fear of the loss of liberty and I'm sure the extreme left wouldn't care anymore than the alt-right seems to now.  It really is a simple choice, either both sides start trying to get over their emotions and strive for common ground or stay in your trenches and rip the country everyone claims to care about apart in a modern day civil war.

You don't give facist, racist rapists a chance. This is not the same as Obama. This is a known criminal fuck who is appointing racists and bigots and special interest groups to power. This is a man who denies science and is already planning on defunding climate change studies. This is a man who has outright called for the removal of civil rights from the people. This is a man who has been waging war against Free Speech since his campaign began. This is a man who will not stand against the bigots who commit hate crimes in his name.

You equate this to the left not giving him a chance and say that the conservatives will just rise up against him if he turns out to be a dictator but that is fucking stupid. Your argument holds no water. There is not an ounce of logic to it. You want people to come together and find common ground with this? That is insane. I would rather this country tear itself apart than watch it become whatever you are suggesting it becomes. The Republicans were on the wrong side of history this election. They elected a known racist, bigoted rapist. You can't ask us to come together after that. It's asinine. This is not just a party thing or a political views thing. The Republicans elected a man who ran on a platform of violating the Constitution and shitting all over everything they claim to care about.

And this my last response to you. I am putting you on ignore.

This right here. This got to the heart of the matter *applauds* You got it right there man.

No he really didn't.

[Skynet]

I'm both amused and scared watching Trump's campaign promises topple like dominoes. First he says he's going to 'revise and amend' Obamacare instead of burning it to the ground. Next he starts appointing establishment Republicans to key posts. Now he's saying he won't be pushing any further investigation into the Clinton email controversy, instead of appointing a special prosecutor to send her to prison. How long until one of his own 'supporters' from the well-armed wacko fringes takes a shot at him for his 'betrayal'?

Breitbart's already angry at him for refusing to jail his political opponent Hillary Clinton. Apparently they earlier titled their article "Broken Promise" but have since changed it.

I do worry where this country is headed if neither side is willing to give the other a chance.  There are already secession movements on both sides and neither seems willing to see the other's point of view.  If Clinton had been elected, there would still be the fear of the loss of liberty and I'm sure the extreme left wouldn't care anymore than the alt-right seems to now.  It really is a simple choice, either both sides start trying to get over their emotions and strive for common ground or stay in your trenches and rip the country everyone claims to care about apart in a modern day civil war.

The extreme Left are not Hillary supporters; the woman herself and the Democratic Party is rather centrist and right-wing on a lot of things. For example...contempt for Black Lives Matter (check out all her eye-rolling in an interview with one of their leaders), not condemning Israeli settlements in the Palestinian Territories (which Sanders did in voting against increased aid money unless said settlements were put to a stop), still being in favor of capitalism as an economic model, having talks with Wall Street billionaires, the list goes on.

The extreme Left in the US isn't in mainstream power, and won't be until the 18-24 age bracket (who's most sympathetic to such ideals) decides to generate a higher voter turnout and not give up in the system entirely. I don't see a lot of social justice advocates in Capitol Hill possibly aside from singular issues like minority rights, which don't always translate automatically to supporting the rest of the ideological package. Sanders is the only openly socialist member of Congress. Doesn't paint a very far-left picture.

[HannibalBarca]

The extreme Left are not Hillary supporters; the woman herself and the Democratic Party is rather centrist and right-wing on a lot of things.

This.  The extreme left rarely votes, like the extreme right, both often seeing the system and status quo as common enemies.  This election, though, the extreme right (as in the alt-right) got a candidate who espoused many of their own beliefs.  Some in the extreme left saw Jill Stein or Bernie Sanders as a possibility, but even they don't match exactly what they want.  Think of the extreme left as eco-terrorists or their ilk.  Bernie Sanders stood up for gun rights, for god's sake.  He's a leftie, but not an extreme leftie.  Hillary isn't even close, and that's why so many on the plain left didn't vote for her.  I had to go through a lot of soul-searching before I finally voted for her.  My final reason?  Trump couldn't be President.

The extreme Left in the US isn't in mainstream power, and won't be until the 18-24 age bracket (who's most sympathetic to such ideals) decides to generate a higher voter turnout and not give up in the system entirely.

We can only hope.  People tend to become more conservative as they age.  Still, socialism is actually preferred to capitalism in that age bracket.  It would be a good thing to have more of the socialist/capitalist hybrid economy like in Europe.

[Trigon]

While Trump's potentially softening stances are something I hope for, I do want to say that I'm exceedingly skeptical of who Trump's been appointing. I don't think highly of several of the choices so far, but one in particular looks pretty bad.

"Flip-flopping" is a common tactic used by a dictatorial ruler, often to either sow the seeds of distrust among the populace, or to perhaps create a pretext for later persecution. His "softening" is mostly just a ruse...

And yes, his picks are utterly atrocious; in case anyone hasn't noticed yet, his pick for the Secretary of Education is openly advocating a return of child labor: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/betsy-devos-child-labor-acton_us_5836eb7fe4b000af95edf12e

There really is no silver lining in any of this folks, except for the fact that maybe most of the populace will be so pissed off that the GOP will probably cease to exist 4-8 years down the line. What will finally do them in is now the question of the next decade or so. I don't expect the liberals to lead the charge however: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/09/donald-trump-white-house-hillary-clinton-liberals

The extreme Left in the US isn't in mainstream power, and won't be until the 18-24 age bracket (who's most sympathetic to such ideals) decides to generate a higher voter turnout and not give up in the system entirely. I don't see a lot of social justice advocates in Capitol Hill possibly aside from singular issues like minority rights, which don't always translate automatically to supporting the rest of the ideological package. Sanders is the only openly socialist member of Congress. Doesn't paint a very far-left picture.

It is true that the younger generations are more socialist than the older ones (myself included). However, when they finally come of age I don't think the far-right are going to just give up power 4 years down the road now that they have it. Its difficult to imagine Trump conceding the election if he loses his bid for re-election, given that he's already hinted at not doing so previously in the event that he lost this one.

That being said, I still don't think that the Trump regime will last, since he and his ilk are complete idiots. But I personally believe that it is now difficult to imagine a scenario where his removal from power will be at all peaceful.

[Tamhansen]

That being said, I still don't think that the Trump regime will last, since he and his ilk are complete idiots. But I personally believe that it is now difficult to imagine a scenario where his removal from power will be at all peaceful.

I imagine he's up for reelection in 4 years.

[Trigon]

I imagine he's up for reelection in 4 years.

And what if he decides not to concede the election in the event of a loss?

[TheGlyphstone]

 He will not legally be the President anymore, so he can't exactly rely on uniformed personnel or the Secret Service to keep him there. What's he going to do, call for militias to storm D.C. and occupy the White House in his defense?

[TheSithChicken]

He will not legally be the President anymore, so he can't exactly rely on uniformed personnel or the Secret Service to keep him there. What's he going to do, call for militias to storm D.C. and occupy the White House in his defense?

It's pretty much what he was calling for if he lost this election. So is it really that far fetched?