[POLL] Political stance?

[RangerMIke]

Look, buddy...before it was Obamacare, it was called Romneycare...the mandatory, insurance-industry-drafted legislation Romney forced on Massachusetts, when he was the liberal governor there.

Yep... It was a Republican creation.

Now, who was speaker of the house, when President Trump took office? That's right: Romneycare's running mate, back when he got his a ss kicked by Obamacare.

And who voted him in as Speaker.... Republicans.

Trump actually came in with his own freemarket healthcare plan, which would have eliminated health insurance state monopolies, and the need to continually buy a new plan when moving to a new state, but when that plan received so much resistance from the insurance industry funded Ryan, President Trump extended an olive branch to Ryan, and told him to pass his own plan, and that he'd sign it, if were simply an improvement over Obamacare. How did Ryan respond? By blocking Obamacare's repeal, and then resigning.

This totally did not happen. The President NEVER articulated a healthcare plan. He floated out the idea of medical cost transparency and eliminating State insurance regulation.... But neither of those things will have done anything to lower healthcare costs. It's right wing talk radio talking points. Insurance is built on a actuary, insurance rates you pay is based on the cost of healthcare. It is treating a symptom of the problem, and not the problem itself. All this would do is spread out the overall cost of insurance... in markets where healthcare is high, insurance cost MIGHT come down, in markets where insurance is low... cost of insurance WILL go up. Anyway... it won't work. Large insurance companies will not go into markets where they LOSE MONEY, and just because a large insurance company can go where ever they want, does not mean they will. Another problem is who will regulate insurance companies if States can't do this? For this to work we would need to have a new Federal Department to regulate insurers... if anyone believe the Federal Government can regulate insurance companies more efficiently than States... well.... all I'm going to say is this in NOT a conservative position. In addition, it would violate the Constitution's equal protection clause, and Commerce clause... the same argument that conservatives used to argue against Obamacare. It is conservative hypocrisy. Price transparency is not a bad idea... but how is this going to be enforced? Again, you would need a new department of the Federal government to make sure this happens. Insurance is very complicated... you get what you pay for... it's never a hard and fast apples to apples comparison. You would have to define federal standards for everything. A pure free-market solution for healthcare will not work, unless you make it illegal to treat anyone that does not have a means to pay. If you drive without car insurance, and you get in a wreak, you have broken the LAW, and you face legal consequences. If you do not have health insurance and you show in in an emergency room, you are NOT punished... the healthcare providers MUST treat you... there are no consequences for your lack of compliance.

far as John McCainary goes, you're telling me that war-zero lersaCain didn't have the thick skin of Ted Cruz, but that he was somehow worthy of the respect he didn't get from the President?

You miss my point. This isn't about McCain... I don't have a problem with people being critical of McCain's political positions... This is fair game. It's about the President's childish behavior. Sometimes in life we have to work with others to get what we want. And when you go around and launch personal attacks having NOTHING to to with someone's political positions this is not how you win people over... especially someone that have nothing to lose (since he was dying) to spit in your face. It's about prudence. Ted Cruz has always been a weak kneed little worm... Who still has dreams of greatness... his response to Trump is not thick skinned, it is weakness.... Cruz doesn't have a problem kissing the @ss of anyone he thinks will help him... So it's not a shock that he bent over to the President after he insulted his wife and accused his father of murder. If the President ever falls out of favor with his supporters, Cruz will be back on the bash Trump bandwagon... All the President had to do is NOT insult McCain... Jesus... it isn't rocket science. But the stupid attacks on McCain's service... resurrecting an old story that had been set aside DECADES ago about an incident on the USS Forrestal, and suggesting that someone that had been captured by the enemy is not a hero.... None of that is helpful to your overall purpose.

Give the Never-Trumper Bill Kristol talking points a break, and come up for oxygen. The fact is, if you were paying ANY attention to the 2008 election, that John McCainary had his own nationalized healthcare plan, that he was always in favor of socialized medicine, and he was never going to vote to repeal Obamacare, even if he weren't acting like a butthurt little b itch. John McCain's corpse can kiss my a ss. (McCain was actually the one who leak the Steel Smear to Buzzfeed, and he was as much in bed with the Clintons as is the Bush clan...and every other neocon scumbag, witting or otherwise)

McCain voted 40 times to repeal Obamacare. So you assumptions are incorrect. Again... even if what you said is true... which it is not, then only a fool believes that the way you change the mind of someone that has NOTHING to lose from spitting in your face, is to insult him. If the President had treated McCain the same way he treated the North Korean dictator Obamacare would be gone. Think about that for a minute.

Like I said in my previous posts... I do not have a problem with what the President SAYS he wants to do. My criticism is that his behavior makes what he wants to do impossible. I judge people on their ability to achieve their goals, we live in a Democratic-Republic, you get things done by building consensus and compromise when it helps you, the President has a real problem with this... Trump has done nothing but add a $trillion in debt every year... that's it. we still do not have a wall, Hillary Clinton is still a free women... North Korea is still a problem... Obamacare has not been repealed and replaced with something better.... We are losing our trade war with China, farm bankruptcies are at an all time high, and for the first time in our Nation's history we have FARMERS on food stamps.... Manufacturing jobs still haven't returned... in fact we are losing manufacturing jobs. We renamed NAFTA to USMCA, and changed very little about that trade deal. In case you haven't noticed.... over the last couple of months he's actually not tweeting out non-sense, and the net result is that his approval ratings have gone up.

I think the best President that we have had in the last 50 years was Nixon, not because of his ethical behavior, but because when Nixon set his mind to do something... he did it, he got us out of Vietnam, he balanced the budget, he normalized relations with China and the USSR... landed on the moon... all of his budgets he presented to a Democratic congress passed... didn't shut down the government... if it had not been for Watergate, we would be talking about how great he was.

 

[corrector]

My feeling is that if America was a monolithic white country that Bernie Sanders or left-politics would win hands down. Most monolithic white countries are like that. When it came to a vote FDR won and was popular in THAT type of circumstance. Can you imagine Donald Trump winning against Franklin D Rosevelt during THAT time if he was running together? If you take racism and hate out of the picture then Trump wouldn't have a leg to stand on.

 

[corrector]

Yep... It was a Republican creation.

And who voted him in as Speaker.... Republicans.

This totally did not happen. The President NEVER articulated a healthcare plan. He floated out the idea of medical cost transparency and eliminating State insurance regulation.... But neither of those things will have done anything to lower healthcare costs. It's right wing talk radio talking points. Insurance is built on a actuary, insurance rates you pay is based on the cost of healthcare. It is treating a symptom of the problem, and not the problem itself. All this would do is spread out the overall cost of insurance... in markets where healthcare is high, insurance cost MIGHT come down, in markets where insurance is low... cost of insurance WILL go up. Anyway... it won't work. Large insurance companies will not go into markets where they LOSE MONEY, and just because a large insurance company can go where ever they want, does not mean they will. Another problem is who will regulate insurance companies if States can't do this? For this to work we would need to have a new Federal Department to regulate insurers... if anyone believe the Federal Government can regulate insurance companies more efficiently than States... well.... all I'm going to say is this in NOT a conservative position. In addition, it would violate the Constitution's equal protection clause, and Commerce clause... the same argument that conservatives used to argue against Obamacare. It is conservative hypocrisy. Price transparency is not a bad idea... but how is this going to be enforced? Again, you would need a new department of the Federal government to make sure this happens. Insurance is very complicated... you get what you pay for... it's never a hard and fast apples to apples comparison. You would have to define federal standards for everything. A pure free-market solution for healthcare will not work, unless you make it illegal to treat anyone that does not have a means to pay. If you drive without car insurance, and you get in a wreak, you have broken the LAW, and you face legal consequences. If you do not have health insurance and you show in in an emergency room, you are NOT punished... the healthcare providers MUST treat you... there are no consequences for your lack of compliance.

You miss my point. This isn't about McCain... I don't have a problem with people being critical of McCain's political positions... This is fair game. It's about the President's childish behavior. Sometimes in life we have to work with others to get what we want. And when you go around and launch personal attacks having NOTHING to to with someone's political positions this is not how you win people over... especially someone that have nothing to lose (since he was dying) to spit in your face. It's about prudence. Ted Cruz has always been a weak kneed little worm... Who still has dreams of greatness... his response to Trump is not thick skinned, it is weakness.... Cruz doesn't have a problem kissing the @ss of anyone he thinks will help him... So it's not a shock that he bent over to the President after he insulted his wife and accused his father of murder. If the President ever falls out of favor with his supporters, Cruz will be back on the bash Trump bandwagon... All the President had to do is NOT insult McCain... Jesus... it isn't rocket science. But the stupid attacks on McCain's service... resurrecting an old story that had been set aside DECADES ago about an incident on the USS Forrestal, and suggesting that someone that had been captured by the enemy is not a hero.... None of that is helpful to your overall purpose.


McCain voted 40 times to repeal Obamacare. So you assumptions are incorrect. Again... even if what you said is true... which it is not, then only a fool believes that the way you change the mind of someone that has NOTHING to lose from spitting in your face, is to insult him. If the President had treated McCain the same way he treated the North Korean dictator Obamacare would be gone. Think about that for a minute.

Like I said in my previous posts... I do not have a problem with what the President SAYS he wants to do. My criticism is that his behavior makes what he wants to do impossible. I judge people on their ability to achieve their goals, we live in a Democratic-Republic, you get things done by building consensus and compromise when it helps you, the President has a real problem with this... Trump has done nothing but add a $trillion in debt every year... that's it. we still do not have a wall, Hillary Clinton is still a free women... North Korea is still a problem... Obamacare has not been repealed and replaced with something better.... We are losing our trade war with China, farm bankruptcies are at an all time high, and for the first time in our Nation's history we have FARMERS on food stamps.... Manufacturing jobs still haven't returned... in fact we are losing manufacturing jobs. We renamed NAFTA to USMCA, and changed very little about that trade deal. In case you haven't noticed.... over the last couple of months he's actually not tweeting out non-sense, and the net result is that his approval ratings have gone up.

I think the best President that we have had in the last 50 years was Nixon, not because of his ethical behavior, but because when Nixon set his mind to do something... he did it, he got us out of Vietnam, he balanced the budget, he normalized relations with China and the USSR... landed on the moon... all of his budgets he presented to a Democratic congress passed... didn't shut down the government... if it had not been for Watergate, we would be talking about how great he was.

Nixon didn't like half-breeds and mouthed off against the mixed race and he masterminded the war on drugs which led to a whole generations of Black people ending up in jail over nothing.

 

[EyeBRollin]

I’m a modern day liberal, though I favor practicality over ideology. I fall more in the Biden lane than the Bernie lane (though I agree with Medicare for All).

US capitalism is a joke. It’s more like corporate socialism. We steal from the working class and give to the rich.

Modern day Republicans are so bat**** crazy racist they’re indistinguishable from klansmen.

 

[Hal9000]

Definitely a conservative. Don't believe in open borders, free health care for anyone who is able bodied (especially illegal immigrants), identity politics or that the govt exists, or is even able, to solve every problem. I don't envy people who make more than me and I don't think voting for people who talk constantly about sticking it to them (class warfare in other words) is productive, as when you rob Peter to pay Paul you'll always have Paul's vote. I don't hate police and think the modem left's solution to high minority crime/incarceration rates, of no longer enforcing laws or apprehending criminals if they are disproportionately nonwhite, is laughable. Don't believe me just look it up. Good luck with that. Look at NYs cash bail reform, and how crime has skyrocketed since, and you'll see an example of their plan for the rest of us. They are more concerned with keeping criminals out of prison than they are protecting the people in those communites, all while preaching about how woke they are. Morons. Oh and socialism sucks and at least a third of the left would have us living in Castro's Cuban paradise if they could.

 

[corrector]

I will throw a wrench into the argument of my previous post because I refuse to let myself off easy to take any position. I get the logic of having conservative judges in the Supreme Court as a response to the direction that country has been going on as it pertains to abortion, gay marriage, and gender confusion, and also remembering at some point that people could get into trouble for wishing someone a "Merry Christmas" rather than "Happy Holidays" because it offended people of other faiths and atheists. Choosing Trump in that perspective would be making the best choice out of two rotten choices. There is a Netflix documentary called "The Family" 2019 which should be an interesting watch that deals with such issues. If there were an ideal society where there were no abortions, no gay marriage, and the ONLY issue was racism then the previous post I made would make sense.

That being said, this would create some confusion, and I feel the black church would still betray the abortion issue and vote Democrats mostly because the modern Republicans are too kkk(ish). However, as other books I have read on the topics, abortions disproportionately affect the Black community. Simply allot of Black mothers use abortion clinics which means the Democrats or any party that is not against abortion is actually harming the Black community's unborn babies.

 

[corrector]

I don't hate police and think the modem left's solution to high minority crime/incarceration rates, of no longer enforcing laws or apprehending criminals if they are disproportionately nonwhite, is laughable.

That is because you are not targeted by the police and they are your own personal goon squad. The police do not currently enforce laws or apprehend criminals if they are white in the same way they do against Blacks. A white person has to do something egregious to get treated seriously in the criminal justice system. A black person just has to be at the wrong place at the wrong time with a racist cop. The problem is they only enforce laws and apprehend criminals if they are non-white or black. Would you agree that if police treated whites THE SAME EXACT WAY they treat blacks that this would be a better solution and see white population start to skyrocket in the prison population as well? Would you vote for a politician that advocated to put more white people behind bars? Would you vote for a politician that would encourage police to plant drugs on whites as long as it brings up the prison population and give cops promotions who do this? No. Of course not! But you would if it's against Blacks? So your position is laughable because you would never take your own medicine.

 

[RangerMIke]

Nixon didn't like half-breeds and mouthed off against the mixed race and he masterminded the war on drugs which led to a whole generations of Black people ending up in jail over nothing.

Nixon had 35% support of Black voters. No Republican President since FDR has done that well. Yea... he was a product of his time and had problems with race, religion, and gender. But he never allowed his person prejudice get in the way of doing his job. He supported affirmative action, his national security advisor was Jewish, in fact he had more Jewish people working in his administration than any other President other than Clinton. Everyone was SHOCKED when he released his private White House tapes to hear him vocalize his personal prejudice in anti Semitic and racist rants, because there was nothing in his public life that indicated his prejudice. Nixon really did not start the 'war on drugs', although he did create the DEA to better coordinate with law-enforcement in the States with drug traffic across State lines. When Nixon left office, there were only 600 special agents, and no NEW jobs or positions were created, rather the BNDD, ODALE, Bureau of Customs, and Customs Agency Service were merged. This was done for efficiency. The war on drugs did not start until Reagan... when this agency ballooned and now has 10,000 employees with almost 4,000 special agents, with a 3 plus billion dollar budget.

Much has been discussed about Nixon's "Southern Strategy" and this is a fair critique, but this ignores the fact that before Nixon did this in his 1968 election, the Democrats had their own Southern Strategy for over 35 years since FDR, as they balanced Northern progressives with Southern Racists.

 

[RangerMIke]

Anyone that does not believe the judicial system and law enforcement is not racially biased is kidding themselves. I grew up in a black neighborhood (Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans with my Grandfather), most of my friends were black... and when we were out an about doing sh!t that normal inner city kids do, my black friends were treated VERY different from me. I would get warning like "Hey boy... you need to stay away from these n*****s!" and they would get taken in. Once, when I was 12... a bunch of us were picked up for playing in a construction site, I sat by the arresting officers desk waiting for my Grandfather to come and get me, my black friends were locked up in cages. Granted this was the late 70s, and might not necessarily reflect what is happening now, but there has ALWAYS been a disparity of treatment.

But I think the biggest problem with our judicial system is that it is VERY biased against people would do not have the means to defend themselves. People with money to hire decent lawyers, never end up serving long prison sentences. If you rely on a public defender, who is over-worked with a big case load, you are already starting in a hole. If OJ Simpson had not been wealthy, he would be sitting on death row.

 

[corrector]

Granted this was the late 70s, and might not necessarily reflect what is happening now, but there has ALWAYS been a disparity of treatment.

It feels worst today than the late 70s because you still did not have the crack cocaine planted by the C.I.A. in the Black communities to fund the Contras in Panama as a pretext for mass incarceration. You didn't have cops getting off with video-taped murders of Black citizens. There was still an innocence about that time that is not going to be there today. When certain lines get crossed things just get more ugly.

Back with Rodney King, a grainy VHS tape there was hope that justice would be served and there were race riots in LA when it was not. Fast forward to today. You have white cops getting away with murder on smartphone camera. When black people protest they are portrayed like thugs by the media and army tanks are sent in and guns are drawn and BLM is treated like a terrorist organization, and people like Colin Kaepernick are out of a job. To me the modern republican and those who support their policies are way more culpable and complicit now of racialized oppression by the criminal justice system then the one at the 70s.

But I think the biggest problem with our judicial system is that it is VERY biased against people would do not have the means to defend themselves. People with money to hire decent lawyers, never end up serving long prison sentences. If you rely on a public defender, who is over-worked with a big case load, you are already starting in a hole. If OJ Simpson had not been wealthy, he would be sitting on death row.

OJ Simpson is an anomaly. What about Bill Cosby, he's wealthy isn't he? He ended up in jail over accusations from a white woman. Trump would also be in jail if the same standards were applied to him.

 

[Hal9000]

That is because you are not targeted by the police and they are your own personal goon squad. The police do not currently enforce laws or apprehend criminals if they are white in the same way they do against Blacks. A white person has to do something egregious to get treated seriously in the criminal justice system. A black person just has to be at the wrong place at the wrong time with a racist cop. The problem is they only enforce laws and apprehend criminals if they are non-white or black. Would you agree that if police treated whites THE SAME EXACT WAY they treat blacks that this would be a better solution and see white population start to skyrocket in the prison population as well? Would you vote for a politician that advocated to put more white people behind bars? Would you vote for a politician that would encourage police to plant drugs on whites as long as it brings up the prison population and give cops promotions who do this? No. Of course not! But you would if it's against Blacks? So your position is laughable because you would never take your own medicine.

If its your assertion that prisons are full of murderers, rapists and others who are prone to violence because the charges against them were made up and the victims of those crimes conspired with police to frame "blacks" when white people were guilty then you're the one with the laughable position. Your assertion requires a lot of murdered, raped or assaulted victims of white perpetrated violence to exist that simply do not. If you are asserting that all races commit crimes at the same rate and the only explanation for the disparity in incarceration rates is racist cops then you are similarly delusional or misinformed. I do agree that the drug war is misguided and needs to be refocused elsewhere and I also agree there are racist cops but to blame the current reality, with regards to crime, on a vast conspiracy of both victims and cops just making up black crimes and ignoring white crimes is the very definition of laughable.

 

[corrector]

If its your assertion that prisons are full of murderers, rapists and others who are prone to violence because the charges against them were made up and the victims of those crimes conspired with police to frame "blacks" when white people were guilty then you're the one with the laughable position. Your assertion requires a lot of murdered, raped or assaulted victims of white perpetrated violence to exist that simply do not.

I'm not asserting that position, but of course, there are many cases where Blacks on death-row or had long sentences were later exonerated by DNA evidence. However, it's not my assertion that this is the premise of mass incarceration. Low-level non-violent drug or victimless crimes are more the issue with those and malicious enforcement of those type of offences against Blacks. The majority of the issues are really issues that you, as a white person, would never see jail time or get arrested for in the first place. These other crimes are too serious and would never be at issue with stop & frisk or broken windows type of policies.

If you are asserting that all races commit crimes at the same rate and the only explanation for the disparity in incarceration rates is racist cops then you are similarly delusional or misinformed.

This is exactly my assertion. I think you are misinformed and delusional if you think otherwise.

I do agree that the drug war is misguided and needs to be refocused elsewhere and I also agree there are racist cops but to blame the current reality, with regards to crime, on a vast conspiracy of both victims and cops just making up black crimes and ignoring white crimes is the very definition of laughable.

With regards to non-violent victimless crime...come on, you are kidding yourself if you think otherwise. Do you just listen to Fox news? Black people do not feel free in America and feel like they are under seize with law enforcement. You can be going around your own business and just out of the blue get confronted by a bunch of cops and potentially end up in jail or in a casket for nothing you did at all, and these type of things happen very fast. If you flinch or misunderstand the cops instructions you could be shot by the cops who could claim they feared for their lives. You could be charged with resisting arrest and causing a public disturbance for asking the cops why they are arresting you in the first place or trying to explain your side of the story. I'm sure you don't feel that way, that if you aren't doing anything wrong, and just going about your business, probably nothing will happen to you.

What's sad is that you don't have a black experience and can not get these other arguments. Any white poster who has black friends can get what I'm saying. You dont have many black friends I take it to have such a distorted view?

 

[logicallefty]

I said moderately conservative for myself.

- I don't like open borders at all but welcome anyone who comes in legally and is willing to take the right steps to be citizens.
- I believe everyone should be able to conceal carry a gun so long as they don't have a history of serious mental health issues. On the other hand I think these guys who carry AR15s on their backs in public to "make a point" are idiots
- As a cop myself I think body cameras on police should be mandatory so corrupt cops have to be more accountable
- I think Government assistance should have a time limit. It's supposed to be temporary not permanent.
- I have no problem with gay marriage between men and men and women and women. But it firmly stops there for me. I only believe in two genders, not all of this alternate transgender BS. It makes me sick.

 

[corrector]

- As a cop myself I think body cameras on police should be mandatory so corrupt cops have to be more accountable

As a cop, do you agree with what I have asserted concerning police culture in America? Do you believe that most of the Black people that you see in jail arrested by other corrupt cops in your department are innocent and they are just trying to make arrest quotas?

People like you should be able to shed truth in some of these thread-debates.

 

[logicallefty]

As a cop, do you agree with what I have asserted concerning police culture in America? Do you believe that most of the Black people that you see in jail arrested by other corrupt cops in your department are innocent and they are just trying to make arrest quotas?

People like you should be able to shed truth in some of these thread-debates.

Being completely honest in my department in a City of about 15,000 people South of Chicago we treat blacks 100% fairly. And the blacks in our town treat us fairly. We have have great relations with them. But the department I worked for before this did not and yes I saw some blacks get arrested with a racial bias to it. There was one officer who I told the Chief I would not work with and said if I get put on a shift with him on duty I would call in sick. He eventually resigned over some stuff he was accused of but then it got cleared and they later rehired him.

 

[corrector]

He eventually resigned over some stuff he was accused of but then it got cleared and they later rehired him.

That officer got hired to another department? That's the issue, the higher ups in the echelon of power gives these types of officer a pass. That makes for a two tiered police experience when cops like that patrol the streets and harass black people and this in turn creates a divisive society.

If it was a fair system, that officer would never have been rehired.

 

[RangerMIke]

I'm losing my patience with your nonsense.

Why? You don't actually believe my opinion actually means anything. You really should not let people get to you who are only expressing an opinion.

You show up to a hospital emergency room, receive treatment, and cannot pay for treatment... Who pays? The money doesn't just fall from trees. The cost is passed on to those of us who can. So an individual that is not responsible enough to have insurance, DOES harm others. And let's say your medical bills are so much that you go into bankruptcy... what happens to everyone you owe money with unsecured dept? Well, they are out of luck... and lose money. So an individual that fails to have a means to pay for healthcare, DOES harm others.... And what about if you have kids? The kids are not responsible, they can’t get their own insurance.

And if you wreak your car, and only have collision insurance, I agree... that is only to protect others... But you can not just walk onto a car lot and have them give you a new car, like you can show up at a hospital emergency room and receive treatment.

I am not suggesting that we should turn people away needing medical treatment. What I am suggesting is that you can not apply a completely free-market solution to medical problems when you remove moral hazard. There are a lot of other reasons why a completely free market solution will not work for health care, but that would require a long explanation I'm sure you will not read. But if you are interested... please send me a PM and we can take this off line without boring the cr@p out of everyone.

The President was the leader of the silly 'Birther Movement" and where Obama was accused of not being American. Did Obama tweet out stupidity like a prepubescent teenager? The opposition party is going to investigate you... Clinton was impeached, the Obama administration was investigated repeatedly. The amount of time and money spent on Russia investigations pales in comparison to the time/money spent on Clinton investigations. Nobody is suggesting that Trump has to be 'sweet and nice'... but he doesn't have to be childish and counterproductive. You see the biggest problem the President has is that he makes enemies he does not have to.

The President needs to STAY FOCUSED on his agenda and stop doing stuff like trolling an autistic teenage girl who isn't even a US citizen.

Trump's comments about McCain's war service happened 20 years ago, when he was an Independent, and just before he became a Democrat, 15 years before the President made his comment about Mexicans. And what exactly did McCain say about the President's comment about Mexicans: "I just disagree with his comments about the, quote, Mexicans," THAT'S it!!! The President responded by launching a nonsensical rant via tweet.

Several GOP Senators went to the Senate Majority leader wanting assurances the that the bill would protect pre-existing conditions, and extended coverage for children to age 24. But the repeal bill lacked this specific language. Do you blame them for not believing Mitch?

Trump should not bend over to anyone. But he should do as promised, and if being cordial gets you what, that’s politics. Senators support their electorate, when they do not, they get voted out.

Raphael Cruz did not murder President Kennedy. Raphael Cruz was a revolutionary, and he did want to overthrow Batista. In fact, he was a revolutionary when Castro was still in Mexico, but there were several revolutionary groups in Cuba, many who worked together for common cause, but when Castro emerged the victor, and steered the nation to communist dictatorship, he left.

I never said Trump should watch his language... I said it wasn't helpful. Kim is STILL FIRING ROCKETS, he restarted his weapons grade Plutonium program. And the President hasn't said a word. All the condemnation is coming from the UK and EU.

I AGREE with the President on China trade, my problem is his method and execution. It took us 20 years to get where we are with China. This isn't the President's fault, but his approach needs to be long term because he is not going to fix this overnight. I support his abandonment of the TPPTA, which would have been a mess. I do not like unilateral trade agreements... including NAFTA... but all we did was rename it. We should separate agreements with Canada and Mexico.... and if Mexico and Canada want to have a trade agreement that's between them. NAFTA and USMCA only gives the ability of Canada and Mexico to use our infrastructure to trade with each other... both agreements allow us to be used.

Trump won PN, MI, OH, and WN in 2016, promising working-class voters he would revive US manufacturing. But all four states have lost more than 16K job last year alone. In 2019, production workers earned 20% below the national average, A third of manufacturing employees rely on food stamps or other federal assistance programs to make ends meet. After a big surge in manufacturing jobs under Trump in his first two years, the numbers are dropping, and jobs created are not earning as much as expected.

The Economic Stabilization Act of 1970, was passed by Democrats, Nixon just signed it, but yea the wage and price controls were a bad idea, but it did create a market boom because it controlled inflation. It was a short-term fix that created long term problems. It did control inflation and launched a market boom Much like our current deficits and the market boom created by the tax cut. I'm not defending everything Nixon did, he made mistakes, but he knew how to get things done. It’ okay to support a President and at the same time voice disapproval when he does something wrong. But no one should ever blindly march lock step behind anyone.

 

[RangerMIke]

He did, and it consisted of a combination of deregulation, reversing fiefdoms, lowering consumer prescription costs, portability, price transparency, right to try, VA reforms, and putting people with preexisting conditions on Medicare...all of which he articulated during his 2016 campaign. You are free to disagree about whether it would/will work, but it's a plan...a plan sabotaged by neocon scumbags like Ryan and McCain.

I guess we could go back and forth with yes he did, no he didn’t… But let’s say he did. Well where is it? Why hasn’t he done this? He failed…. Sorry I know this hurts but he does not have the ability to convince others to his position. Bottom line the President failed to deliver.

You don't seem to understand that removing feifdoms literally means that an insurance customer can buy a policy ANYWHERE and use it ANYWHERE. The insurance company doesn't have to "GO" anywhere.

Feifdom… you mean States? The Federal Government does not have the right to regulate interstate trade, which includes insurance. You are suggesting we establish national regulation of the insurance industry. Let’s have that debate, but insurers can already move across State lines and sell insurance, they just have to comply with State laws when they do this, many choose not to do this. Now if you are suggesting the we FORCE insurance companies to do this… well… okay, let’s have that debate…. But why stop there… why not have national voting standards, national car insurance standards, a national ID card…. Heck let’s just do away with States all together.

Who regulates the abortion industry? Is there a US Department of Abortions? No. It would be regulated under threat of RICO, like any other potentially fraudulent interstate enterprise.

You are changing the subject, but okay…. States regulate abortion…. This is what Roe v Wade says, and it’s pretty much been this way for 50 years. Moral objections notwithstanding, abortion is a legal medical procedure. Now personally I find abortion abhorrent and if it was made illegal I wouldn’t have a problem with that…. The unborn do not have civil rights protection, they have no standing in the courts. If social conservatives were really serious about getting rid of abortion they would press for a Constitutional Amendment granting protect to the unborn… I’m still waiting for this to happen.

 

[RangerMIke]

Unfortunately, you can't make America great again, by plugging your ears and closing your eyes, and pretending that it hasn't been royally f ucked over by bad actors. Like anything else, you deal with the reality of where things are, and then gently steer them where they're supposed to be. Idealists never accomplish anything...aside from selling tickets to suckers, for their Alaskan cruise lecture packages.

Funny… I could say the same to you. I believe that what is happening today is that many on the right have lost faith in the political process and democracy. It certainly isn’t perfect, but it’s better than civil war.

where you draw the line??? LOL! Man, have you been snoozing, Rip Van Winkle! That ship sailed....where do you wanna start? The Fed is Unconstitutional! The Department of Education is Unconstitutional! The IRS is Unconstitutional! Take your pick, Grandpa. S hit, and I thought I was old and out of touch.

You can make the argument that the Fed is unconstitutional along 4 lines of thought, but these arguments have failed in the courts, so it isn’t… that is how our government works. Now I happen to agree that we should do something about the FED because it has gone way past its original mandate which was to control inflation. This is a VERY complicated process, and something worthy of a serious discussion. But going back on the Gold Standard now, would have its own set of problems that would have to be addressed. The Department of Education, and a NUMBER of Federal departments are unnecessary and counterproductive. But their formations have also been upheld by the courts. Carter created the Department of Education, and it was a bad idea then and still is. The President could have gotten rid of it during the 1st two years of his administration, but he didn’t. The IRS was created by the 16th amendment, so it is constitutional. I would totally support repealing the 16th amendment. Something I would love to see the President take on.

Contract law is pretty straight forward. Nothing unique about health insurance. The company either honors its contracts or is held in violation. Nothing new or complicated.

It is complicated because medical treatment is not in a vacuum. Medical advances are made every day… everyday new drugs and treatments are made available. MDs keeping up with medical advances is almost a full-time job, that is why we have a vast array of specialties. Many of these new treatments are more expensive, with no track record of effectiveness, because they are new. And what you are paying for insurance is built on an actuary based on treatment available at the time the policy was signed. So anything developed AFTER the ‘contract’ isn’t covered. It’s not like fixing a car, if you get your car wreaked, your insurance company evaluates the cost of the damage, and if the repair coast more than the value of the car, it’s ‘totaled” and they cut you a check for the value of the car. You can not do this with human beings, you can not get a new body… when the body dies, your done. So any small amount of percentage chance something expensive MIGHT work, you want to do it… Insurance companies, naturally don’t want to pay out something they will never recover since you are dead. If we had car insurance that that required insurers to continue to repair 70 year old cars, the cost of accident insurance would also be very high. So health insurance is not a simple ‘contract’.

And, THAT'S "free market" on your home planet???

I honestly do not know why you continue with this little digs and insults. I have not personally attacked you , only your positions. Ideas should be challenged, that is how we learn. I like my ideas challenged, my ideas are not me, I can evolve. You are free to try and change my mind… but you are not going to change my mind with insult… only rational argument. Having said that. Healthcare does not fit a ‘free-market’ model. Free markets work when what you pay for gives you a return on investment. There has to be a consideration for the exchange of goods and service…. And this exchange has to be equitable, or the model fails. So if we consider healthcare…. We will spend whatever amount of money we have to in an attempt to save a loved one. We do not do this with pets… we put them down. No one is going to spend several thousand dollars or go into massive debt to save a 17 year old dog. We are also not going to spend thousands of dollars a year, keeping an old car road worthy when you have to pay butt loads of money having custom parts fabricated. The simple true, in a Machiavellian sense is that the more we spend on healthcare, the less we have an opportunity to return economic value. I AM NOT suggesting we should adopt this model, so please do not accuse me of suggesting we should just ‘put down’ the sick and old… what I am saying is that since we WILL NOT do this because we are human being that value life above all else, the pure free-market is not going to work. Since economically it will not work, mostly because advances in medical science has made saving people and prolonging life possible, then we have to adjust or thinking to come to grips with the new reality.

 

[Vantagepoint34]

Why? You don't actually believe my opinion actually means anything. You really should not let people get to you who are only expressing an opinion.

You show up to a hospital emergency room, receive treatment, and cannot pay for treatment... Who pays? The money doesn't just fall from trees. The cost is passed on to those of us who can. So an individual that is not responsible enough to have insurance, DOES harm others. And let's say your medical bills are so much that you go into bankruptcy... what happens to everyone you owe money with unsecured dept? Well, they are out of luck... and lose money. So an individual that fails to have a means to pay for healthcare, DOES harm others.... And what about if you have kids? The kids are not responsible, they can’t get their own insurance.

And if you wreak your car, and only have collision insurance, I agree... that is only to protect others... But you can not just walk onto a car lot and have them give you a new car, like you can show up at a hospital emergency room and receive treatment.

I am not suggesting that we should turn people away needing medical treatment. What I am suggesting is that you can not apply a completely free-market solution to medical problems when you remove moral hazard. There are a lot of other reasons why a completely free market solution will not work for health care, but that would require a long explanation I'm sure you will not read. But if you are interested... please send me a PM and we can take this off line without boring the cr@p out of everyone.

The President was the leader of the silly 'Birther Movement" and where Obama was accused of not being American. Did Obama tweet out stupidity like a prepubescent teenager? The opposition party is going to investigate you... Clinton was impeached, the Obama administration was investigated repeatedly. The amount of time and money spent on Russia investigations pales in comparison to the time/money spent on Clinton investigations. Nobody is suggesting that Trump has to be 'sweet and nice'... but he doesn't have to be childish and counterproductive. You see the biggest problem the President has is that he makes enemies he does not have to.

The President needs to STAY FOCUSED on his agenda and stop doing stuff like trolling an autistic teenage girl who isn't even a US citizen.

Trump's comments about McCain's war service happened 20 years ago, when he was an Independent, and just before he became a Democrat, 15 years before the President made his comment about Mexicans. And what exactly did McCain say about the President's comment about Mexicans: "I just disagree with his comments about the, quote, Mexicans," THAT'S it!!! The President responded by launching a nonsensical rant via tweet.

Several GOP Senators went to the Senate Majority leader wanting assurances the that the bill would protect pre-existing conditions, and extended coverage for children to age 24. But the repeal bill lacked this specific language. Do you blame them for not believing Mitch?

Trump should not bend over to anyone. But he should do as promised, and if being cordial gets you what, that’s politics. Senators support their electorate, when they do not, they get voted out.

Raphael Cruz did not murder President Kennedy. Raphael Cruz was a revolutionary, and he did want to overthrow Batista. In fact, he was a revolutionary when Castro was still in Mexico, but there were several revolutionary groups in Cuba, many who worked together for common cause, but when Castro emerged the victor, and steered the nation to communist dictatorship, he left.

I never said Trump should watch his language... I said it wasn't helpful. Kim is STILL FIRING ROCKETS, he restarted his weapons grade Plutonium program. And the President hasn't said a word. All the condemnation is coming from the UK and EU.

I AGREE with the President on China trade, my problem is his method and execution. It took us 20 years to get where we are with China. This isn't the President's fault, but his approach needs to be long term because he is not going to fix this overnight. I support his abandonment of the TPPTA, which would have been a mess. I do not like unilateral trade agreements... including NAFTA... but all we did was rename it. We should separate agreements with Canada and Mexico.... and if Mexico and Canada want to have a trade agreement that's between them. NAFTA and USMCA only gives the ability of Canada and Mexico to use our infrastructure to trade with each other... both agreements allow us to be used.

Trump won PN, MI, OH, and WN in 2016, promising working-class voters he would revive US manufacturing. But all four states have lost more than 16K job last year alone. In 2019, production workers earned 20% below the national average, A third of manufacturing employees rely on food stamps or other federal assistance programs to make ends meet. After a big surge in manufacturing jobs under Trump in his first two years, the numbers are dropping, and jobs created are not earning as much as expected.

The Economic Stabilization Act of 1970, was passed by Democrats, Nixon just signed it, but yea the wage and price controls were a bad idea, but it did create a market boom because it controlled inflation. It was a short-term fix that created long term problems. It did control inflation and launched a market boom Much like our current deficits and the market boom created by the tax cut. I'm not defending everything Nixon did, he made mistakes, but he knew how to get things done. It’ okay to support a President and at the same time voice disapproval when he does something wrong. But no one should ever blindly march lock step behind anyone.

Hospital emergency room. I think that was sanders' speech a couple of weeks ago. btw kim's health is failing him... Soon he'll end up like his ol' dad. Btw this president I would read about his "lifestyle" in the 90's he would freely get drunk and walk the streets of NY at night. The fact he acted and got all the way to president. This guy is far away from Ulysses s. grant. Which bush idolized. I was wondering mike what you thought of bush after he went out before obama. See some similarities in lame duck president similar to trump? Trump might just go out in one term. TBH I'm leaning conservative still even after everything with bush.