2016 Presidential Candidates (Let's Go)

[PaulBC]

MooseMom: I think your ground rules are good, though I admit I neglected them. I think it is important to note that US President is not primarily a single-issue role, though it does make sense for presidents to come in with an agenda. It is highly unlikely that I will be an issue voter in this election. I expect the choice between Democratic and Republican candidate to be pretty stark.

One issue that matters to me is upholding the Affordable Care Act. My support is such that I once wrote an angry reply to an email from a Democratic senator (not in my state) talking about how it was good but flawed and he would "fix" it, in which I explained that he should be getting out there and telling voters that it is already working very well. Of course, it is doubtful there was anyone on the other end of this to read my reply. I am lifelong Democrat, but Democratic politicians are such wimps.

Needless to say (see last post) I would not be voting for a GOP candidate anyway, but if I had to explain why on an issues basis, it would probably be that. Nearly any GOP president will cooperate with a GOP congress to destroy the only significant advance in US healthcare since the passage of medicare. Nearly any Democratic president will use the veto if necessary. There is just not a lot to analyze here.

[PaulBC]

Or in other words (and you may apply this without agreeing with my politics):

Given a choice between apple pie and a steaming pile of you know what, I don't have to ask if it's Granny Smith or Macintosh to make a decision.

And this principle usually suffices on election day as well.

[MooseMom]

PaulBC, the specific questions I posed were not to be meant to imply that I think any candidate should be a single issue candidate.  I was just going on which specific issues I'd heard various candidates talk about.  I assume they've spoken about other things; these just happen to be the issues that I remember most clearly.  Saying that, though, I can certainly understand why any specific voter might be a single issue voter.  I tend to agree with you in that if the GOP nominee guaranteed the repeal of the ACA, I'd quickly become a single issue voter.

If there are ways to make the ACA work better, I'd be happy for a candidate to propose specific ways to accomplish this.  Most major pieces of legislation can use some streamlining.  I don't think most Americans are in favor of its repeal, and I don't think the electorate would be happy to watch a GOP controlled Congress spend yet more time pursuing this dead end.

[PrimeTimer]

Who do you think the Cuban Castro Brothers will want as President?  Or the president of Iran?  Our new friends!?  Seriously?

I'll take Israel any day ....

       

Who do you think the Cuban Castro Brothers will want as President?  Or the president of Iran?  Our new friends!?  Seriously?

I'll take Israel any day ....

 

 

[Rerun]

Instead of telling us that such and such a candidate is "smart" or "cute" or "tells it like it is", tell us one policy move/change that each candidate proposes.

OK MM I'll bite:

Hillary?? 

[MooseMom]

Instead of telling us that such and such a candidate is "smart" or "cute" or "tells it like it is", tell us one policy move/change that each candidate proposes.

OK MM I'll bite:

Hillary??

I've seen only one speech that Clinton has given that I'd define as anywhere near "substantive", and that was an economic policy speech she gave last week.  As usual, it was pretty thin on specifics, but there were a few.  One, she proposes working toward clarification of who is considered an employee (thus being granted benefits) and who is considered a "contractor" (who would not get benefits), and she was probably directly looking at Uber.

She proposed more government support of small businesses, especially those who are in R&D/medical devise/research industries.

I believe I remember her supporting an apprenticeship tax credit for business to encourage them to train new workers; I'll have to look that up to be sure.

But other than that, I don't really have much.  I will need to hear more from everyone who is running.

[rocker]

Jeb Bush - At least he is honest about his name.

"Jeb"'s real first name is John.

[Rerun]

Thank God!  I thought who the hell would name their kid Jeb.  Well, maybe the Beverly Hillbillies. 

     

[MooseMom]

What do you all make of the Ted Cruz/"natural born citizen" question?  Is he eligible to be President or not?

[Gerald Lively]

Trump is a fascist.  Cruz is a Theocrat.  Rubio is irresponsible having missed more Senate votes than any other senator.  Fiorina quit.  So did Christie.  Jeb is not the smarter brother.
GOP foreign policy:  we now have more foreign enemies than at anytime in history.  GOPers fear ISIS while North Korea develops nukes and a missile that can reach my house and China builds little islands in the China sea to expand their territorial waters toward the Phillipines, and Russia is now involved in the Syrian conflict. 
Say, who started that middle-eastern war?
My vote will be to better the lives of Americans including my neighbor and his neighbor, not the 1%.  I want peace.    I wany prosperity.  I want clean air to breath.  I don't want dialysis.  Maybe I'll croak before the elections?  Hmmmmmm!

[kickingandscreaming]

Ted Cruz is the devil incarnate.  So his "origins" defy national location.  What an utterly creepy and disgusting man he is.  He is the most frightening of all the candidates. He's smart and he's evil.  Heaven help us if he wins.

[hatedialysis2]

I would seriously move out of the country if Cruz gets elected. 

[Michael Murphy]

The main problem with out current primary system is that the wacko wing in each party, right and left sets the agenda for the debates.  Tea Party on the Republican side liberals on the democratic side.  This list of failed democratic candidates forced the democrats to change the rules and Bill Clinton and Barrack Obama resulted, far more main stream then Mike  Dukakis and the others nominated from 1980 onward.  The republicans are being force to defend positions that a majority of Americans do not support to cater the tea party.  I hope the democrats keep their eye on the prize and pick a main stream candidate.  If this goes the way it might a trump sanders debacle my only hope is Bloomberg runs as a independent.

[MooseMom]

Isn't it fascinating how what is happening in Europe is also happening here in the US?  Syriza, UKIP and the like?

[Gerald Lively]

My interpretation of what America needs:
A democracy that supports economic and social interventions to promote social justice within the framework of a capitalist economy, and a policy regime involving welfare state provisions, collective bargaining arrangements, regulation of the economy in the general interest, measures for income redistribution, and a commitment to representative democracy. (Wiki).
1.  Every adult citizen votes.
2. No gerrymandering.
3. No filibusters.
4. No Senator or Congressman may individually halt the progress of a proposal.
5. No private campaign contributions or favors.  Campaigns to be government financed.
6. Gun control.
7. R&D for artificial kidneys.
8. R&D for cancer cure.
9. Winning lotto numbers for me.

[hatedialysis2]

Sometimes I wonder if the simple solution (yet no so simple) to our challenges is to just get rid of all the lobbying practice that is allowed to run amok with our rights and writing bills that go into law.  Their are currently over 12,000 of them.   The second would be to return to goverment's role in breaking up big monopolies like Ma Bell/ ATT&T in the past.  We have too many corporate monopolies in all our sectors.  Lastly, find a way to make sure that government agencies that are supposed to be our watch dogs (EPA, FDA...) are doing their jobs, not sure of getting rid of lobbying would take care of that automatically?  Any thoughts?

[kickingandscreaming]

Lobbyists and corporate "ownership" of our agencies (and practically the whole government) distorts the functions of our watchdogs.  So the foxes are doing the guarding and the watchdogs are doing their bidding.

[PrimeTimer]

I know this; I don't want to end up living in a commune. 

[MooseMom]

I know this; I don't want to end up living in a commune. 

Why would you end up living in a commune?

[PrimeTimer]

I know this; I don't want to end up living in a commune. 

Why would you end up living in a commune?

Maybe I should say "I'm not feelin' the Bern". 

[MooseMom]

What do you all think about the what should happen now after the death of Justice Scalia?

(Weirdly enough, when it was first reported that he died in a west Texas resort not far from the Mexico border, I just knew exactly where it was.  I stayed at Cibolo Creek Ranch about 20 years ago.  It was in August, and of course it was very hot; I think because of that, we were the only guests there.  We had the run of the place, and the managers couldn't have been nicer.  Texas is a great place in which to have a vacation.)

Have the debates on either side helped you reach any decisions, or have they changed your mind?

[hatedialysis2]

I was watching a program by John Stossel yesterday and he made a remark that put it into perspective for me.  He said both republicans and democrat candidates want to spend more money.  Republicans want to increase military spending while democrat candidates want to spend money on just about everything.  I dont like either choices.   Hilary does have her trustworthiness issues, but the only consideration I have for her is that under the 2 term Clinton's presidency in the past they were able to turn the deficit into a surplus.   It would be interesting if Mike Bloomberg decides to jump into the race.   

[willowtreewren]

I know this; I don't want to end up living in a commune. 

Why would you end up living in a commune?

Maybe I should say "I'm not feelin' the Bern".

It is quite a leap to think that electing Sanders would force you into a commune. Why did you come to that conclusion?

[PrimeTimer]

Definition of Socialism found in the Merriam-Webster dictionary 

1. Any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.
2. A system of society or group living in which there is NO private property: a system or condition of society in which the means of production are OWNED AND CONTROLLED by the state.
3. A stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done.

If Bernie becomes Prez, we might very well find ourselves living in communes after he runs out of everyone else's money and bankrupting our employers to pay for all the freebies he's promising. 

 

[kickingandscreaming]

Bernie Sanders is NOT a socialist.  He is a democratic socialist.  A very different animal.  Do you think the Scandinavian countries are socialist?  No. They are democratic socialists. And they are doing very well, thank you very much. Do you think FDR was a socialist?  Bernies ideas are very New Deal and cut to core of American values.

Democratic socialists believe that both the economy and society should be run democratically—to meet public needs, not to make profits for a few.

http://www.dsausa.org/what_is_democratic_socialism