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Trump is a usual big government warrior, just like Obama or W Bush. If you actually look at the entire spectrum of his policies, as opposed to the selected few policies that align with your proclaimed vision of the government, then you have to admit that he is not the savior you think he is. He is not a person draining the swamp; he is a part of the swamp. And the total number of federal regulations under him has not decreased in any noticeable way.
Relevant figure:
I am someone who actually wants the government to be small, independent on who is in charge - and we have not had a president with a similar philosophy since Bill Clinton, and Bill Clinton, in turn, was a very moderate government cutter, afraid to go far enough, who broke under the pressure of the Congress by the end of his term. There has been no president that shrunk the size of the government in any noticeable way in either the 21st or 20th century, and all presidents have played the same game in this regard. Perhaps one day people will wake up and realise that everyone claiming to be their savior is the same as those they claim to want to save people from - that is the only way reduction of the size of the government actually becomes possible one day. It will not happen if people keep getting scammed by one politician after another.
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  Spelling & Grammar: 98%  
  Sentiment: Positive  
  Avg. Grade Level: 12.98  
  Sources: 2  
  Entity Sentiment Detection: total number of federal regulations    reduction of the size of the government   day people   Democrat policies  
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
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ROFL, authoritarian agenda?!? Expanded the power of the president??? The last president used the US military to assassinate US citizens abroad without even a trial. Your partisan blinders are tied a bit too tight.
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  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level: 8.76  
  Sources: 0  
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Trump is obviously less authoritarian than Obama was. That is not a very high standard, however, and he is still quite authoritarian on the overall historical scale.
Ayn Rand said it best about the American conservatives, almost 60 years ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTGETLGuTcE
They are much better at talking about the limited government, than at actually doing something to limit it.
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  Sentiment: Positive  
  Avg. Grade Level: 10.1  
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  Relevant (Beta): 93%  
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So I have been leading you down this path for a reason through questions, but now that MayCeasar has laid it all out for you, why not just read what he said. There is no denying that Trump has an authoritarian agenda, and the numbers prove it. Again, Obama's agenda (which was also authoritarian) is irrelevant to Trump's guilt.
Why do you think that pushing the blame is going to magically make him innocent?
Stars formed, planets coalesced, and on at least one of them life took root.
Through a long process of evolution this life developed into the human race.
Humans conquered fire, built complex societies and advanced technology .
All of that so we can argue about nothing.
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  Spelling & Grammar: 96%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level: 8.56  
  Sources: 0  
  Entity Sentiment Detection: quote anyways    authoritarian agenda   self defense   Obama's agenda  
  Relevant (Beta): 99%  
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  Considerate: 81%  
  Substantial: 83%  
  Spelling & Grammar: 96%  
  Sentiment: Positive  
  Avg. Grade Level: 10.8  
  Sources: 8  
  Entity Sentiment Detection: Trump supporters    first president   Trump's efforts   reduction of the size of the government  
  Relevant (Beta): 24%  
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Actually, Pres. Trump being less authoritarian than 0bama IS an achievement. The partisanship which has been growing since at least the Clinton administration has stifled Congress to the point that they get nothing done. At this point, the only way for the federal government to get anything done is for the executive branch to order it done through rules, regulations, EOs, etc. That's why every president since Clinton has seemed more authoritarian than the last, except for Pres. Trump.
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This thread is about the impeachment trial, and as you have already admitted, Pres. Trump has been impeached for trying to uncover information that should be imparted in the elections (primary and possibly general). I guess there's really nothing more that needs to be said.
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  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level: 9.66  
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  Entity Sentiment Detection: quote anyways    authoritarian agenda   impeachment trial   Obama's agenda  
  Relevant (Beta): 91%  
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Tariffs are not free trade, in fact they are the literal opposite of free trade, they are protectionist policies.
The graph shows that he reduced regulations only after raising them, and they are still very high in relation to other presidents throughout history.
The low number of major rules, published pages, and final rules could be interpreted as having a hands off approach, but it is also inductive of failure to push laws through normal legal outlets, something that Trump prefers not to do, instead choosing other less legal outlets and preferring his own personal approach to handling presidential matters (i.e. Sending Rudy Giuliani to discuss official business with Ukraine instead of using resources specifically designated for this purpose )
I think it is ironic that you describe Bill Clinton: "fraud, a huckster, and a , but he was charismatic" and then fall for Trump in much the same fashion, since we could describe Trump the exact same way. The assumption that "government accountability" is somehow a virtue when you support Trump is very puzzling to me, since he seems to go way out of his way to be unaccountable, even to the point where he goads his opponents into attacking his supporters, then claims he will pay the legal fees. Or when he personally attacks whistle blowers or anyone who disagrees with him, firing people left and right just for speaking their opinion. This can only result in a reduction in talent and an increase in loyal supporters, who will do his bidding because he asked, even if it breaks the law. How's that for unaccountably?
No, the true thing that makes Trump a dirty authoritarian monster is the way he censors the media by constantly attacking anything he disagrees with as "fake news" and pushes the agenda that we should not pay attention to news sources that disagree with our world view. That is authoritarianism 101, and it is a dangerous misrepresentation of the values on which the US was built. Seems like everyone from both sides of the political aisles are too willing to throw out these values just for a win. The end result is a gradual pull towards authoritarian ideals, which will one day collapse our nation.
This is a problem from within, before we even consider outside threats, like Russia or China, who did interfere with the election, much to Trump's benefit, do not forget this. The investigation did not reveal any collusion, which implies that Trump is a puppet of Russia, rather than a mutual benefactor, and he might not even be aware of it. Trump is more useful to Russia than to the US is the only conclusion we can draw from this.
Stars formed, planets coalesced, and on at least one of them life took root.
Through a long process of evolution this life developed into the human race.
Humans conquered fire, built complex societies and advanced technology .
All of that so we can argue about nothing.
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  Substantial: 84%  
  Spelling & Grammar: 97%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level: 12.92  
  Sources: 0  
  Relevant (Beta): 47%  
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obviously not because that would be a gross misuse of power.
If you don't think this is acceptable, then what about order them to arrest a political rival?
Again, a gross misuse of power.
If you don't think that is acceptable, then what about ask a private company or individual to investigate a political opponent?
This is borderline acceptable, but if it is done with government resources it is too far.
If you don't think any of these is okay, then why should it be allowed for any president to ask a foreign official to investigate an opponent in exchange for illegally withheld foreign aid?
I don't know why people defend this, unless they care more about Trump than they do about the nation. When Trump is out of office, things will carry on. Even the things people elected him for are temporary at best. Draining the swamp was not about getting rid of career bureaucrats until more recently, In the book by Ken Buck “drain the swamp” is about term limits for congress and a balanced budget act, not about removing career government workers in non-elected positions. He was not opposed to lobbyists however. At some point the term got twisted, probably by someone who "is very smart because I have a very very big brain" who has never picked up a book in his life and yells at professionals that ask him to read any legal document, prefers slideshows with pictures, leaves meetings with foreign leaders because he is bored, and is constantly texting and watching TV.
Stars formed, planets coalesced, and on at least one of them life took root.
Through a long process of evolution this life developed into the human race.
Humans conquered fire, built complex societies and advanced technology .
All of that so we can argue about nothing.
  Considerate: 76%  
  Substantial: 96%  
  Spelling & Grammar: 96%  
  Sentiment: Positive  
  Avg. Grade Level: 11.18  
  Sources: 1  
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U.S. military decimated under Obama, only 'marginally able' to defend nation
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  Substantial: 81%  
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  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level: 11.14  
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  Considerate: 77%  
  Substantial: 92%  
  Spelling & Grammar: 95%  
  Sentiment: Positive  
  Avg. Grade Level: 11.18  
  Sources: 2  
  Relevant (Beta): 68%  
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Tariffs aren't fair trade either, and they are authoritarian.
It is possible, and that is what the graph shows, 2017 is up from 2016, only to go down in 2018.
He still uses unofficial means to enact his desires, which is not something you have contested, so we must assume it is true.
Sending Rudy Giuliani to discuss official business with Ukraine instead of using resources specifically designated for this purpose demonstrates unaccountably to the American public, and indicates he puts himself before America.
I couldn't care less what the NYT says, they are irrelevant. What I do care about is what Trump says, and given how he flip flops on issues, openly lies, and attacks people almost daily on twitter none the less (It is my opinion that only idiots and people with ADHD use twitter) The vast majority of Trump's own words would be considered rude and disrespectful if they came from someone you knew personally, but for some reason people get a hard-on when the read them from the POTUS.
First off, Trump took action to disarm a nation Russia is in conflict with when he withheld congressional approved aid to Ukraine, for which he has been impeached for. Congress armed Ukraine, not Trump.
The way Trump talks about Putin makes it sound like he is his ultimate fan boy... Not exactly the words of a mortal enemy of democracy now is it?
https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2017/03/politics/trump-putin-russia-timeline/
As I have alluded to before, I am not a democrat or a republican.
You know what, I agree with you when you say: "who are doing nothing in Congress other than undermining the president and hamstringing the administration"
but probably not for the same reasons. Putin is a f***ing master politician, I think it is reasonable that his plan (as he has been doing for decades) was to do specifically this, by installing a president who would divide the nation and be a distraction to everything important, and for this reason he needs removed from office, lest we go through 4 more years of this Horse S***. You can't really expect the DNC or the GOP to just give up and let Trump have his way, do you?
Stars formed, planets coalesced, and on at least one of them life took root.
Through a long process of evolution this life developed into the human race.
Humans conquered fire, built complex societies and advanced technology .
All of that so we can argue about nothing.
  Considerate: 53%  
  Substantial: 74%  
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  Sentiment: Neutral  
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Stars formed, planets coalesced, and on at least one of them life took root.
Through a long process of evolution this life developed into the human race.
Humans conquered fire, built complex societies and advanced technology .
All of that so we can argue about nothing.
  Considerate: 81%  
  Substantial: 57%  
  Spelling & Grammar: 94%  
  Sentiment: Neutral  
  Avg. Grade Level: 11.88  
  Sources: 0  
  Entity Sentiment Detection: Investigation    corruption   president    
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I do not know what "fair trade" is; I know what free trade is, and tariffs affect the trade freedoms of all parties partaking in an international transaction.
Regardless of anything, this is an example of Trump introducing new regulations, rather than de-regulating something.
If you zoom in on the plot, you will see that the net number of federal regulations increased under Trump. He first introduced a few regulations, then cut down a few regulations, but he introduced more than he cut down. Granted, the graph ignores the last ~8 months of his presidency, but these 8 months are not going to overwrite the previous 2.5 years.
1994 was the peak of the number of federal regulations existing in the US, and it was not as big as then ever until Bush'es presidency. Clinton actually has something to show for his promises to deregulate the economy, however minor it is. Trump does not.
They are all frauds and liars; this is what you do not appreciate. Trump is not an exception either. He is just more obvious in his lies, as he lacks the filter most other politicians have, causing them to think before every sentence they utter.
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  Substantial: 93%  
  Spelling & Grammar: 94%  
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It shouldn't, but it does when the heads of the agencies that are supposed to investigate corruption are, themselves, corrupt.
  Considerate: 80%  
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  Sentiment: Neutral  
  Avg. Grade Level: 12.38  
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  Entity Sentiment Detection: heads of the agencies    Investigation   corruption   president  
  Relevant (Beta): 94%  
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  Considerate: 69%  
  Substantial: 89%  
  Spelling & Grammar: 95%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level: 11.2  
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Do the ends justify the means? I don't think so, and even if they do this hardly refutes the point that tariffs are an anti-free trade and authoritarian policy.
Take another close look at that graph: The graph ends in 2018, so the last year is 2018, therefore the second to last bar is 2017, the last two bars are years Trump was in office. We can realize this by noticing that the graph is labeling the area between the spacers (it is not very clear which probably lends to your confusion) and is further suggested by the fact that all the other graphs similarly end at the end of 2018.
The second to last bar is higher than the third to last bar (2016), indicating an increase in 2017 from 2016. Therefore, total pages published in the code of federal regulations is only lower in 2018 than in 2017, meaning that the decrease is relative to a previous increase from 2016 when Obama was in office.
Furthermore, even if there was a slight decrease (or as you have suggested, the increase is due to carryover from the Obama administration) It would still only be a small decrease in the total number of pages relative to the final years of the Obama administration, but is much more than the average over that administration, by about 10,000 pages.
Stars formed, planets coalesced, and on at least one of them life took root.
Through a long process of evolution this life developed into the human race.
Humans conquered fire, built complex societies and advanced technology .
All of that so we can argue about nothing.
  Considerate: 89%  
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  Spelling & Grammar: 97%  
  Sentiment: Neutral  
  Avg. Grade Level: 12.22  
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They went up in the pre-last bar, and went down in the last bar by a lesser amount, resulting in the net increase of the number of regulations.
Trump may be increasing the number of regulations slower than the previous two presidents did, but he is still increasing, rather than decreasing, them. He is a big government guy, unlike someone like Reagan or Clinton, who actually take some tangible steps (minor, but still) to reduce the size of the government.
Also, that you say that Trump being less authoritarian than Obama is an achievement, considering that Obama is one of the most authoritarian presidents in the history of the US, speaks a lot about your standards. Why not go even lower and say that Trump is a great president, because he is less authoritarian than Kim Jong-Un?
Trump is an improvement over Obama and, probably, Bush, but on the overall scale he is a typical guy who makes a lot of promises, but delivers the same old good governmental expansion.
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  Sentiment: Positive  
  Avg. Grade Level: 12.88  
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  Entity Sentiment Detection: last bar    big government guy   authoritarian presidents   net increase of the number of regulations.Trump  
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Obama pushing thousands of new regulations in Year 8
Obama to Push Nearly 100 New Regulations Before Leaving Office
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  Avg. Grade Level: 12.76  
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  Entity Sentiment Detection: last bar    number of regulations   new regulations   big government guy  
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Obama was out of the office by the end of January-2017. Are you going to attribute all the federal regulations issued in 2017 to him? Come on.
My chart shows an overall increase in regulations. The dynamic has not changed; it is true that under Trump the new regulations are issued at an uncharacteristically lower rate, but the net increase is still there. The government under Trump is growing, not shrinking, both in terms of the overall number of regulations, and in terms of the size of the budget. There is virtually no reasonable metric one can use to claim that the government is shrinking right now.
This is really a disappointment. I have never been a fan of Trump, but one of the hopes I had with regards to him is that he would actually do something to decrease the size of the budget and cut down regulations dramatically, as he promised. Yet, just like with almost every other politician, his promises were nothing more than words.
I also want to separately mention the sheer insanity that the federal code is. Think about it... Nearly 200,000 pages. 200,000 pages of federal regulations. Sounds like a number from a dystopian novel, yet here we are, living it.
No legal system should need 200,000 pages of regulations. Even 200 pages is too many, but 200,000 is just out of this world.
Until someone comes and actually reduces this number to something less unreasonable, say, from 200,000 to 20,000, this is all just sandbox games.
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  Avg. Grade Level: 9.18  
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  Entity Sentiment Detection: terms of the overall number of regulations    fan of Trump   dystopian novel   legal system  
  Relevant (Beta): 85%  
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  Considerate: 84%  
  Substantial: 97%  
  Spelling & Grammar: 94%  
  Sentiment: Positive  
  Avg. Grade Level: 7.88  
  Sources: 0  
  Entity Sentiment Detection: Pres Trump    Trump's early picks   federal regulations   Trump administration  
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  Considerate: 90%  
  Substantial: 11%  
  Spelling & Grammar: 75%  
  Sentiment: Neutral  
  Avg. Grade Level: 2.52  
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Sure, but by the same token I can say that the subsequent mass repeal of regulations was also a continuation of Obama's work. You cannot just attribute all regulations to Obama and all deregulations to Trump; this is a logical fallacy called "cherry picking". You have to start counting somewhere, and the moment Trump became president seems most logical. Trump had every opportunity to start working towards repealing Obama's regulations passed shortly before his term began right away, and by 2018 should have gotten rid of most of them - and he apparently did not.
Who would have done more is an irrelevant question. What is relevant is that the government under Trump has not done enough to lead to an overall reduction of the number of federal regulations; data clearly shows that. You can debate the reasons behind it, and you can claim that Trump still did more than the most - and yes, he probably did - but the facts are what they are.
  Considerate: 78%  
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  Considerate: 77%  
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  Spelling & Grammar: 94%  
  Sentiment: Positive  
  Avg. Grade Level: 10.5  
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Even if we just look at the regulations for 2018 when there was a reduction, it is still much more than the average for all the years Obama was in office.
The number of pages of regulations went up about 20,000 pages the entire time Obama was in Office, but it only decreased slightly when Trump was in office.
In order for us to say that he has had this effect, he would have to have countered the increase compared to Obama. Now you might say this is unfair, because Obama had more time in office, however if we look at the average Delta for each year Obama was is charge, it is more than the reduction by Trump in his first year, indicating no significant reduction has taken place.
Stars formed, planets coalesced, and on at least one of them life took root.
Through a long process of evolution this life developed into the human race.
Humans conquered fire, built complex societies and advanced technology .
All of that so we can argue about nothing.
  Considerate: 98%  
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You're low-balling 0bama, it looks more like 25,000 pages, and you're ignoring the other measurements I posted. The fact that there was ANY decrease in total pages in Pres. Trump's first year in office is very rare and quite significant.
  Considerate: 76%  
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  Spelling & Grammar: 95%  
  Sentiment: Neutral  
  Avg. Grade Level: 10.7  
  Sources: 0  
  Entity Sentiment Detection: years Obama    number of pages of regulations   entire time Obama   average Delta  
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The chart shows a decrease in 2018, but an increase in 2017 - and the overall result of these two years is an increase. Like I suggested, you can zoom in on the graph to see the relative size of the bars more clearly.
I am saying that Trump is a big government guy who has not reduced the number of regulations, just like the previous presidents, and the data supports my conclusion. I have not made any claims around here about how others would have done compared to him. I do not reasonably expect any presidents actually taking reducing regulations seriously to appear any time soon, and it is quite possible that Trump is the least regulation-heavy president we will know for quite a while - nonetheless, the number of regulations under him has not decreased, according to the data.
Trump is the same kind of a political manipulator as all other candidates; you pretty much have to be in order to compete with other runners. I do not understand the cult around him, just like I did not understand the cult around Obama.
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  Sentiment: Positive  
  Avg. Grade Level: 12.36  
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  Entity Sentiment Detection: number of regulations    previous presidents   relative size of the bars   least regulation-heavy president  
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You know, we are spending a lot of time comparing Trump to Obama.
If we look at the other reductions, we will see they are much larger than Trump's.
We might therefore hypothesize, that another candidate who was not elected may have done better, couldn't we?
Stars formed, planets coalesced, and on at least one of them life took root.
Through a long process of evolution this life developed into the human race.
Humans conquered fire, built complex societies and advanced technology .
All of that so we can argue about nothing.
  Considerate: 87%  
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  Spelling & Grammar: 93%  
  Sentiment: Neutral  
  Avg. Grade Level: 10.54  
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  Entity Sentiment Detection: Obama's policy changes.You    lot of time   Trump   reductions  
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  Considerate: 86%  
  Substantial: 82%  
  Spelling & Grammar: 93%  
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  Avg. Grade Level: 12.26  
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See my reply to May above for your error. No one even comes close to the Trump administration in Significant Final Rules Published by Presidential Year.
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  Sentiment: Neutral  
  Avg. Grade Level: 10.32  
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  Entity Sentiment Detection: Significant Final Rules    Obama's policy changes.You   Trump administration   lot of time  
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