Yes. So many of the failings of ACA are due to the realities of getting it passed in the 1st place: a public option inside ACA was desired but scrapped for that. The ability for states to decide to opt out of Medicaid expansion was included to get the votes. All kinds of bones were thrown to the insurance co lobby. …

I really like how you & CogentComment up there just handled that disagreement & continued it with respect. Wish it wasn’t such an usual occcasion online that I felt the need to comment a thanks!!

I agree that the surge in nationalism & anti-immigrant anti-Muslim candidates in Europe is a serious problem. And that Le Pen got 30% is depressing to say the least.

One of the tactics Tepublicans have used at the state level is to eliminate Sunday early voting (it was shown effective at lowering black voter numbers).

Agreed! And I heard on NPR today (Sunday) the “low voter turnout” expected in France was 75-78% or so, not 65%, though perhaps the estimates were optimistic? My phone has a tiny screen so if those charts showed actual voter turn out at 65% forgive me ;)

While I wholeheartedly agree that we SHOULD have universal single payer healthcare, I just cannot get on any ACA repeal bandwagon.

Or just scrap your coffee/booze/pot money for a few days (I’m not kidding, it’s not that much dough!) & buy a damn online subscription! WaPo & NYT really are doing the lofty journalism work our democracy relies on—- if we want a free press, we need to support it.... it ain’t “free”!

You’re likely spot on there, but a fat lot of good their internal miseries does for the rest of us.

Yes.... my dad never jumped on the hard Christian Right wagon or the haters/gingrich one.... he was always conservative but fairly NICE about it! Not a fox-news guy, thankfully, just kinda conservative.

And everything trump & co are now saying & doing only makes your theory more plausible in my mind.

Yes, worrying. 🤢

Because he declared candidacy for 2020 on inauguration.

Yes........ “sabotage the results” = fill it out if we aren’t extremely republicans?

Because it’s a terrible poll.... get to the end where they ask you for donations & it makes sense.

Yes that’s true! But I wonder if there is a poll showing folks who were voting “anti-establishment”?

No, and the crazy thing is that he lives (part time) in our county (the wealthy vacation-home part, of course!)

Yes, that and “paid protesters”....

Thank you, that’s EXACTLY what i’d say here in NC if Meadows, Tillis or Burr had the balls to show up (we are holding them in their absence)....

It comes down to folks who got off on Trump’s speeches against elites... they loved that & if they believed (like Jenner) they weren’t Personally vulnerable to the risks his proposed policies entailed they were happy to jump on the anti-establishment bandwagon.

That’s a good idea & I’ll do it too. McCain was on Meet the Press (?) saying “ya know I hate y’all but we NEED a free press”. I don’t exactly trust him but it’s nice to see some Rep’s saying that these days!