Sam

I wouldn’t blame the Republicans for the EC. The EC is a political institution that has historical and practical reasons behind it. And it can be amended if the political will is there to amend it. Rather the R’s are just taking full advantage of its small wobble. But the rules were well known in advance. I believe the D’s were adapting their strategy to the effects of the EC as best they could (but their selection of candidate was the big reason for their loss).

I’m not sure Mr. Trump is a conservative. I think he showed up in the R primaries with a certain style rhetoric in hand — and somehow it resonated with conservatives. I don’t think he ever thought: “If I say things this way, enough people will vote for me to be president.”

For sure, you and I are on the same page. Conservatism does not seem to be able to defend itself using logic. I think that societies need to adapt as conditions change.

Thirty years ago, social assistance programs were a hot political topics in Canada. Nowadays, they are seldom mentioned in the press. I think we have amended our legislation for social assistance to the point where these programs are actually working well (relatively speaking). I think most Canadians are willing to help those who have a life crisis and those who cannot work (even for psychological reasons). In the USA, it seems, once legislation is struck, it takes 20 or 30 years to make changes to it. So there is a greater amount of abuse than what we see in Canada.