PRESIDENTIAL VETO OVERRIDE IS A BIG DEAL

Many of 2016’s political events weren’t extremely logical ones, like when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell led Congress to override a Presidential veto, then went on to agree with Obama’s original veto. Say what? As Congress prepared to override Obama’s veto of a law that would let 9/11 victims sue Saudi Arabia, McConnell acknowledged Obama’s reasoning, saying that the law may have “unintended ramifications.” And after Congress overrode the veto, McConnell took things a step further, adding the he told Obama it was a law “we should have talked about much earlier.” House Speaker Paul Ryan’s actions were similar. He supported the override, then after the vote, commented that the legislation may put the U.S. at risk of facing similar lawsuits. 2017, please be more logical.   

MSNBC Veto Override Report

http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/congress-overrides-obama-veto-blames-obama-776993859646

#TopPolitics2016 #MitchAndPaul #ToldYouSo

 

OBAMA AND HOLDER LEAD REDISTRICTING FIGHT AFTER ELECTION

2016 marked the final chapter of the Obama era, or at least the “President Obama” era. While discussing his post-White House agenda, Barack Obama confirmed he would remain politically active as a member of the new National Democratic Redistricting Committee. The group, to be chaired by former Attorney General Eric Holder, will work to prevent gerrymandering through monitored voter redistricting. Gerrymandering, which Republicans stand accused of, is the act of manipulating voter district boundaries to benefit a specific political party. While NDRC’s main priority will be to assemble legal challenges to state redistricting, it will also coordinate district campaign strategy, fundraising and ballot initiatives. See you next year Obama!

Gerrymandering in 45 Seconds

  #TopPolitics2016 #FixTheDistricts #NDRC

 

TRUMP PULLS OFF HISTORIC PRESIDENTIAL UPSET

This year saw one of history’s greatest presidential election upsets, Donald Trump’s win over Hillary Clinton. Trump’s victory revived an ongoing criticism of the way we select our presidents, because while Clinton actually received more votes, Trump won the presidency via the Electoral College system. This system affords each state a number of electoral votes equal to how many members of Congress the state has. When the majority of a state’s voters choose a particular candidate, their electors then pledge to vote for that candidate. After the election ends, electors submit their votes and an official winner is named. This year, Trump earned 279 of the 538 available electoral votes, 270 of which are required to win the presidency. The 2016 election was only the fifth instance in which the Electoral College system has resulted in the election of a candidate who did not win the popular vote.     

History of the Electoral College System

http://www.history.com/topics/electoral-college

 #TopPolitics2016 #AmericaSpeaks #PresidentElectTrump

 

TRUMP CHOOSES TOP ADVISORS

In the weeks following Donald Trump’s surprise presidential victory, all eyes were on his administrative appointment process. His two top advisory positions went to Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus (chief of staff), and Breitbart News head Steve Bannon (chief strategist/senior counselor). Priebus, who represents a traditional style of Republican governance, was no surprise choice, but Bannon certainly was. His “alt-right" conservatism is a political style that many are concerned may further white nationalist, anti-Semitic and misogynist agendas in America. Trump ignored the immediate backlash, commenting only that “Steve and Reince are highly qualified leaders…I will have them both with me in the White House as we work to make America great again.”

Concerns Arise Over Bannon Appointment

http://www.cbsnews.com/live/video/trump-picks-reince-priebus-steve-bannon-as-top-advisers/

#TopPolitics2016 #PriebusBannon #AltRightOn?

 

THE POPULAR VOTE GETS BIGGER FOR HILLARY

Though Donald Trump won the presidency, Hillary Clinton ended up winning the popular vote with the largest ever margin of victory for a candidate who did not win the election. In total, she collected over 3 million more votes than Trump, a larger margin than those John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon won their presidencies with. Her election loss marked only the second time in twenty years that the electoral college system resulted in the election of a president who didn’t win the popular vote. The other instance involved Al Gore, who won the popular vote in 2000 against George W. Bush, but lost the election due to state electoral numbers.

Donald vs. Hillary Popular Vote Summary

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-v-clinton-what-the-popular-vote-in-each-state-shows-electoral-college/

 #TopPolitics2016 #ElectoralCollegeControversy #TheyreWithHer

 

MARCHES PLANNED IN DC AND ACROSS THE US IN JANUARY

In the days following Donald Trump’s surprise presidential win, dozens of nationwide protests and unity events were announced. One of the more historic announcements was the formation of the Women’s March on Washington, to take place on January 21, the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration. The march’s timing is certainly no coincidence, but its organizers have expressed that the march is not meant to be a specifically “anti-Trump” event, rather a show of strength and unity after a draining election season. As news of the Washington march spread, advocates began to plan simultaneous marches throughout California and other major U.S. urban areas.

 Women’s March on Washington Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/events/2169332969958991/

 #TopPolitics2016 #UniversalUnity #MarchOnward

  

COMET PIZZA PLACE IS A POLITICAL PUZZLE. 

Crowning the craziness of the 2016 political season, an armed man shot up Washington, D.C, pizza parlor Comet Ping Pong, claiming the restaurant housed a Satanic child abuse sex cult run by Democrats. Though the man fired several rounds at an employee, no one was hurt and he was taken into custody without further incident. The shooter, who confirmed to police that his attack was related to online conspiracy theory #Pizzagate, is now set to face the charge of assault with a dangerous weapon. James Alefantis, the owner of Comet Ping Pong, went on to tell NPR that #Pizzagate is "an insanely complicated, made-up, fictional lie,” created by far-right web fringe users as an "insane sort of joke."

CNN #PizzaGate Report

#TopPolitics2016 #PizzaGate #YouveGotToBeKiddingMe

 

MCCONNELL BACKS RUSSIA HACKING INVESTIGATION

 After intelligence reports showed Russian hacking may have affected the 2016 presidential election, many powerful Republican senate figures came forward to support a full-scale investigation. Among them was Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who commented, "it defies belief that somehow Republicans in the Senate are reluctant to either review Russian tactics or ignore them…the Russians are not our friends.” He went on to encourage a bipartisan probe as part of a new American effort to hold Russia accountable on a number of key issues.

Obama Orders Review Of Election Season Hacking

 #TopPolitics2016 #RussianHackAttack #DisputinPutin