2016 Presidential Election

[NorthwestUteFan]

Thanks to health care reform, preventive office visits, screenings, and even many vaccinations are covered at 100% of eligible expenses by most health care plans.

This is true. The point I was trying to make is that 100% of the federal funds that go to PP are to be used specifically for non-abortion-related medical care (annual exams, birth control pills, community health care education, etc). The PP clinics are often the only affordable (low-cost or no-cost) option for these services in the poorer communities.

(The following might apply to 2016, but will absolutely apply forever after that. This is based on general trends in society).
The next person to win the General Election for POTUS will support marriage equality.
He/she will support ACA/Obamacare, either as-is or with mods to make it better (or else have a better and more effective plan, that covers more people and costs less money, and can be implemented immediately).
He/she will NOT be a warhawk and would push for more diplomacy and less saber rattling.
He/she will accept a smaller military and will be more likely yo support self-determination of foreign countries than in forcing any specific kind of government on them.

[NorthwestUteFan]

I don't disagree, and I am not necessarily a fan of PP. I also am not a fan of huge government handouts to private organizations.

But often they are the only low-cost option available in poorer areas, and and replacement clinic would need to be able to jump in and do essentially the same things for the same cost and that would require similar subsidies.

[Rocker Ute]

The Planned Parenthood discussion has reminded me of a story. I'm chuckling to myself at the thought of how all this went down, but a number of years ago my mom had taken a teenaged girl who had gotten pregnant under her wings. I don't remember the specific circumstances as to why she was doing this other than it is a very 'mom' thing for her to do as I was growing up. She always had someone she was helping out.

Anyway, the girl wanted to keep the baby, the father was essentially out of the picture. She needed help with the pregnancy and learning the skills to be a mom etc. So my mom decided that maybe they could use those sort of resources offered by PP. I can just imagine my very Mormon mom walking in there.

So she took her there and I guess it was a full-court press the whole time for her to get an abortion. I guess they kept saying, 'No, we just need access to women's health services and guidance for her pregnancy...' No luck.

I look back now and think, "Well Mom, it is Planned Parenthood... The 'planned' doesn't mean planning out your parenthood. It means planning WHEN to be a parent. It is the equivalent of going to the butcher and asking for vegetarian options."

But from that point forward the very mention of PP resulted in a "Pffft... Planned Parenthood..." rant.

I think I'll call her and bring it up today.


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[Rocker Ute]

A candidate I can get behind: Phillip Mamouf-Wifarts:

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

A candidate I can get behind: Phillip Mamouf-Wifarts:

Don't discount Deez Nuts.

[U-Ute]

Has the Citizens United ruling backfired on Republicans?

This article makes an interesting point that it has.

http://www.salon.com/2015/08/28/jeb_...me_but_itself/

Since all it takes is a billionaire backing you to get into the election, the Republicans get 17 people running for the nomination.

It is also highlighted in the graph in this article:

http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpo...m_term=nprnews

[mUUser]

I actually know her and she's sharp as a tack and a good person. I'm not sure she can really gain traction......

So far, she's only one of three republican candidates to ask KY County Clerk Kim Davis to either follow the law or quit her job. I like that. She's impressed me thus far.....Kasich is another that has impressed.

[mUUser]

I actually know her and she's sharp as a tack and a good person. I'm not sure she can really gain traction:

I thought she was strong again tonight. It seems she IS gaining strong traction.

Tonight, I think Fiorina, Bush, Christie & Rubio were strongest. Cruz and Huckabee scare me to death and would vote them off the island pronto. Everyone else, including 2 that I've been keeping an eye on (Carson & Kasich) fell somewhere in the middle to varying degrees.

[NorthwestUteFan]

Fiorina put a HUGE dent in TheDonald tonight. She embarrassed him and left him momentarily speechless. And then she crushed everybody with the story of losing her daughter to drug addiction. Very solid performance. She certainly came across as a serious candidate.

Ben Carson perhaps made a cardinal error by admitting that he would not have invaded Afghanistan. Big error in a Republican primary, but perhaps is a welcome change of pace.

The ambiguously gay candidate from South Carolina made me chuckle with his promise to drink a LOT more when he is president.

Cruz is still terrifying. And so is I Heart Huckabees. That only makes their kerfuffle over the Kim Davis 'Eye of the Tiger' rally all the more hilarious.

[#1 Utefan]

Fiorina put a HUGE dent in TheDonald tonight. She embarrassed him and left him momentarily speechless. And then she crushed everybody with the story of losing her daughter to drug addiction. Very solid performance. She certainly came across as a serious candidate.

Ben Carson perhaps made a cardinal error by admitting that he would not have invaded Afghanistan. Big error in a Republican primary, but perhaps is a welcome change of pace.

The ambiguously gay candidate from South Carolina made me chuckle with his promise to drink a LOT more when he is president.

Cruz is still terrifying. And so is I Heart Huckabees. That only makes their kerfuffle over the Kim Davis 'Eye of the Tiger' rally all the more hilarious.

i agree Huckabee would be bad and Cruz probably too far right to have any chance at winning a general election. On the Democrat side, the terrifying candidate is the disheveled socialist Bernie Sanders. God help the country if a left wing whacko like Sanders is elected on the heels of the Obama administration.

[Solon]

Ben Carson perhaps made a cardinal error by admitting that he would not have invaded Afghanistan. Big error in a Republican primary, but perhaps is a welcome change of pace.

Carson is a Seventh-Day Adventist, a religion with a strong tradition of pacifism & conscientious objectors.
I read his book about separating the conjoined twins. It was a compelling story, but the mix of God & ego unnerved me.

[U-Ute]

I didn't watch the debates, but I found this take about Fiorina v The Donald interesting.

http://www.vox.com/2015/9/16/9342761...fiorina-debate

[U-Ute]

Oh, and apparently the most burning question from last night's debate was finally answered: Gregory Caruso

http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-...tapper-2015179

[#1 Utefan]

Carson is a Seventh-Day Adventist, a religion with a strong tradition of pacifism & conscientious objectors.
I read his book about separating the conjoined twins. It was a compelling story, but the mix of God & ego unnerved me.

That article read like a Democrat trying to downplay every point she made. He may not have agreed with Fiorina on the points he mentioned but the examples he used to paint the picture her responses were fiction don't hold water. They were just his opinions on on why her answers wouldn't be effective or, in his opinion, pass a fact checker test.

Not sure where or what site this article came from but he lost all credibility when he inserted the blurb about AL Gore winning the 2000 election if facts mattered. I get the impression this article came from Mother Jones or similar site.

THIS WAS MEANT TO REFERENCE THE LINKED ARTICLE U-UTE POSTED.

[mUUser]

That article read like a Democrat trying to downplay every point she made. He may not have agreed with Fiorina on the points he mentioned but the examples he used to paint the picture her responses were fiction don't hold water. They were just his opinions on on why her answers wouldn't be effective or, in his opinion, pass a fact checker test.

Not sure where or what site this article came from but he lost all credibility when he inserted the blurb about AL Gore winning the 2000 election if facts mattered. I get the impression this article came from Mother Jones or similar site.

THIS WAS MEANT TO REFERENCE THE LINKED ARTICLE U-UTE POSTED.

It's Ezra Klein's rag. It's the equivalent of Michelle Malkin providing commentary on the democrats.........juuuuust a bit outside.

[LA Ute]

A thoughtful takedown of Donald Trump and his conservative fellow-travelers:

http://pjmedia.com/blog/rush-limbaug...ing/#undefined

[U-Ute]

It's Ezra Klein's rag. It's the equivalent of Michelle Malkin providing commentary on the democrats.........juuuuust a bit outside.

You think Fox News or any conservative think tank would highlight this?

Absolutely not.

Please tell me what the article got wrong? I'd like to know for my own decision making purposes.

[Utahute72]

My favorite is Kasich. Well versed and has experience at all levels of government. Has shown he can work across the aisle to get things done. I also like Rubio and even Jeb to a certain extent, but I don't think he can win just based on lineage.

[NorthwestUteFan]

Kasich has been in Congress for how long? Since the early 80s I think? He is somebody who knows how the system works and how to get the job done. He is a candidate who could have broad appeal.

It is a shame that his funding will drug up and he will be forced to drop out soon. He is a Republican that many Democrats could cross over and support.

[LA Ute]

My favorite is Kasich. Well versed and has experience at all levels of government. Has shown he can work across the aisle to get things done. I also like Rubio and even Jeb to a certain extent, but I don't think he can win just based on lineage.

He'd make a great president. He is not the best candidate in the world, but he has never lost an election and has been a very successful governor of an important state (Ohio). His biggest problem is kind of like Romney's-he does not meet the standards of the far right.


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[NorthwestUteFan]

He'd make a great president. He is not the best candidate in the world, but he has never lost an election and has been a very successful governor of an important state (Ohio). His biggest problem is kind of like Romney's-he does not meet the standards of the far right.


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It is high time you moderate Republicans stand up and take back the party from those extremists who have been stealing it from you over the last few decades.

[LA Ute]

It is high time you moderate Republicans stand up and take back the party from those extremists who have been stealing it from you over the last few decades.

We'll get right on it.


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[#1 Utefan]

We'll get right on it.


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I'll get on it as soon as you start calling out the left wing of the Democratic party starting with Barack Obama.

I find it ironic that the media and left is so vocal in incessantly calling out the Tea Party and what they perceive as "extreme" when the face of their party and current POTUS s the biggest leftist the country has ever had in office. On top of that, an admitted Socialist and borderline Communist is close to taking over the lead of the DNC primaries.

Maybe it's just me but it would seem the left needs to take a hard look in the mirror at how far from center they have strayed themselves before incessantly and hypocritically calling out the Republican party for having gone too far to the right.

REPLY TO NW UTE'S COMMENTS

[NorthwestUteFan]

I'll just leave this right here:

[#1 Utefan]

I'll just leave this right here:

I knew you couldn't bring yourself to admit the DNC has veered as far to the left as the GOP has to the right. You might have more credibility if you did.

[LA Ute]

This is from the post I linked above:

"Is Trump, together with the American left in general, right? Has the carefully constructed, politically balanced and fine-tuned system created by our founding fathers deteriorated to the point where two angry, unprincipled gangs interested only in crushing the other side and exercising naked power confront each other like schoolboys shouting taunts at each other over a line drawn in the sand?"

The left is at least as big a problem as the far right is.


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[NorthwestUteFan]

I knew you couldn't bring yourself to admit the DNC has veered as far to the left as the GOP has to the right. You might have more credibility if you did.

WTF are you talking about? All I saw was your diatribe against LA, which is funny because he is a serious mover and shaker in Republican politics in Southern California.

Obama may have far-left ideas but he has governed largely as a centrist.

A Pres Romney presidency would likely look similar in many ways, except GM and Chrysler would likely have failed and been broken up. We would still be killing brown people with drone strikes, and Romney would probably have screwed up the treaty deal with Iran in favor of attacking them as Israel (and no rational person anywhere) pushed us to do. He likely would have put troops on the ground in Syria. Who knows whether he would have allowed the strict regulations on Wall Street, and who knows if we would have a stock market approaching 16k and unemployment rate of 5.1%.

I think the real problem here is the Centrist position has shifted (and will continue to shift) to the Left and you are feeling abandoned.

[#1 Utefan]

Rather than blowing a gasket, maybe you should have finished reading my earlier post before assuming my post was directed at LA Ute. It was directed right at you my lefty friend, as noted at the bottom of that post in caps.

Your issue is that your thinking is too far bent to the left to even know where the center lies. Anyone that thinks a guy that has spent his entire presidency dividing the country along economic lines with constant class warfare rhetoric (spread the wealth, right?), trying to socialize our health care system, and utilizing executive orders to issue unconstitutional immigration policy is not a centrist by any standard. He is a European style Socialist.

As for Syria and Libya, giving weapons and support to "rebels" sure worked out well didn't it? Those rebels are basically extremists that have now morphed into ISIS. I saw the vacuum Obama created trying to oust Gaddafi and Assad a mile off. How come the brilliant foreign policy minds of the Obama administration didn't ? The precedent of Iraq wasn't obvious enough to them?

Once again, your arguments and reply to my earlier post is based on emotion and trying to somehow imply a party that wants to remove any mention or acknowledgement of God or Christ is somehow more Christian than the evil, religious right.

Just acknowledge that the current Democrat party is veering further and further to the left ala the evil right you so frequently demonize and we'll call it good.

[NorthwestUteFan]

I use Tapatalk and didn't see that edit at the bottom.

[NorthwestUteFan]

You need to define the term socialist before we can even begin the discussion.

We didn't give arms to ISIS. They took the arms when they overran military bases held by people we thought would stand up against that type of force, rather than bring their weapons and join them.

A lot of people wanted to send in troops to prop up regimes in Libya and Egypt, but we have meddled in too many countries like that. We should know better. We sometimes need to let countries choose their own governments, even if they will not be pro-western governments or even democracies. It sucks, but that is reality.

And the tax cuts for the rich, and derail common-sense climate change regulations, and double down on the war on drugs policies of the Republicans seems to cause the polar opposite of the type of humanity that Jesus seemed to stand for.

And it is funny that you call me a 'lefty'. I was a registered Republican as recently as 2011 but stopped supporting and campaigning the party after their disastrous 2000s, and am currently unafilliated.