Originally Posted by RoadWarriorFromLP

It pays to look at the exit polls in depth. Judging from the numbers from the CNN exit poll, what put Trump over the top was that a lot of Republicans who didn't like him voted for him anyway.

They're probably among those who have the higher incomes. It can be presumed that a lot of them switched at the last minute, including those who had told pollsters before the election that they were undecided or were voting for Gary Johnson.

7% of registered Republicans voted for Clinton, which is a typical defection rate; in other words, having Trump as the nominee did not encourage an above-average amount of party switching.

A majority of voters who claimed to "strongly support" a particular candidate voted for Clinton. A majority of voters who claimed to be motivated to vote against an opposing candidate opted for Trump.

The voters who made up their minds earlier preferred Clinton. Those who decided at the last minute broke toward Trump.

63% of voters said that Trump "does not have the temperament to be president". Oddly enough, 20% of those who responded in the negative voted for him.

In contrast, 43% of voters said that Clinton "does not have the temperament to be president" and only 5% of those who responded in the negative voted for her.

We don't know from these numbers how many voters on each side simply didn't bother to vote because they didn't like either choice. However, reviewing the data about those who did vote would suggest that unhappy Republicans were more likely to vote for Trump as a lesser of two evils.*

Exit Polls 2016

*Obviously, our views on lesser evils differ.

Originally Posted by Steerpike

I also think Pelosi has to go. She's a terrible 'visual' for the party; she represents old entrenched power politics. If they can't get rid of her, they can't save themselves.

Originally Posted by dc koop

Obama was promising millions of jobs fixing the infrastructure 8 years ago and millions more in green technology. What happened to them?

Originally Posted by Leslie

Back to this.

I hate to see her punished for the failed Clinton campaign. But there is something to be said for knowing when to leave. John Boehner is having the time of his life. Harry Reid is looking particularly prescient at the moment as well.

Originally Posted by dakota44

Republicans happened to them.

Originally Posted by dc koop

Obama was promising millions of jobs fixing the infrastructure 8 years ago and millions more in green technology. What happened to them?

Originally Posted by dc koop

You're probably right. Obstructionism has been the game plan of Congress for the last 8 years

Originally Posted by dakota44

A serious infrastructure program would create millions of jobs. There are thousands of dams and bridges in desperate need of repair or replacement. Tens of thousands of miles of half century old water mains that leak and also contaminate the water. Thousands of miles of natural gas mains equally as old and dangerous. An electricity grid that is a cluster f...k. Outdated sewage and water treatment plants. Thousands of miles of degraded roads. The list goes on. The jobs would not just be for the workers on such projects...but every item in the supply chain for all of that work..including equipment manufacturing (still done in the U.S.), trucks and vans..dump trucks..pavers..cranes. Not to mention engineers, draftsmen, technicians etc. Structural steel fabricators..cement manufacturers..gravel and sand etc. Then of course all of the other jobs created by that purchasing power and needs of that massive workforce. Let's not forget mass transit needs.

Infrastructure has been so neglected for decades that it has created an endless supply of job creating projects.

In 2013 it was estimated that there was 3.6 trillion in infrastructure need.

American Infrastructure Report Card | Society of Civil Engineers

Originally Posted by Steerpike

I'd love to see a LOT more infrastructure spending (especially at the expense of military spending). However, will that spending direct jobs to the people who voted for Trump (or Bernie)? I have a hunch the people out of work who voted for Trump are old-style 'union job' folks who probably accelerated the demise of their industries by pricing themselves out of a job in the first place.

I'm all for people getting decent wages, but I do recall the auto-workers unions demanding some pretty aggressive deals relating to overtime, benefits, etc. When you can ship that work off to China or Mexico, you have to face the reality of being competitive. I believe all the Japanese auto makers setup their US factories in 'non-traditional' locations so they could tap into a different workforce.

Anyway - my thought was - will these former assembly-line workers who were treated rather well while it lasted be willing to engage in road building, pipeline-laying, bridge-building, etc ... with probably less attractive overall packages. Ironically, the people most likely to line up for the work are going to be the undocumented Mexicans ...

Originally Posted by RoadWarriorFromLP

Opponents of the Keystone pipeline noted (accurately) that the employment claims were overblown because the jobs were temporary -- once the thing is built, the need for labor shrinks dramatically. The same thing is true of other infrastructure.

Many of these infrastructure needs are outside of the Rust Belt. (If anything, we should be diverting funds away from most of the worst corners of the Rust Belt to places where the money would be better spent.)

The unemployment rate is already below 5%. These people will have to move in order to get these jobs. DC Koop has devoted a great deal of energy telling you that white people should not be inconvenienced by such things.

So are we supposed to build bridges to Nowhere, Ohio in order to give them jobs within commuting distance? Since these guys apparently want to earn $30 per hour without going anywhere, that's the only option for serving that group.

Originally Posted by Asg123

Heard on TV tonight that Mitt Romney is being considered for the Secretary of State position. After what he said about Trump, and he wasn't even fighting him. Strange. it seems words people say don't mean much anymore..