2016 elections - because it's never too early

[DGuller]

The people who chose not buy it chose to have society foot the bill for them, should they ever have a serious medical emergency.  Because unless you're rich, you're filing for bankruptcy when that happens.  So my sympathy for these people who made a choice partially at other people's expense, and then were coerced to buy insurance and have Obama tout about them, is not limitless.

[Admiral Yi]

The people who chose not buy it chose to have society foot the bill for them, should they ever have a serious medical emergency.  Because unless you're rich, you're filing for bankruptcy when that happens.  So my sympathy for these people who made a choice partially at other people's expense, and then were coerced to buy insurance and have Obama tout about them, is not limitless.

Which still doesn't invalidate my original point.

[Fate]

Interesting article on Obama's political legacy - somewhat counter to the current media narrative: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/01/obama-biggest-achievements-213487?paginate=false

It always bothers me when supporters of Obamacare say that it "provided coverage for X million uninsured people."  It compelled X million people who previously had chosen not to buy coverage to buy coverage.  Many of those people are not happy about it.

Neither your position nor your characterization of Obamacare supporters is entirely accurate. Obamacare did indeed provide coverage for 7 million people through the expansion of Medicaid. There's still a lot of room for growth in that number as large Southern states like Texas and Florida have yet to ratify expansion.

[Admiral Yi]

Neither your position nor your characterization of Obamacare supporters is entirely accurate. Obamacare did indeed provide coverage for 7 million people through the expansion of Medicaid. There's still a lot of room for growth in that number as large Southern states like Texas and Florida have yet to ratify expansion.

Fair enough.  But this article talks about 17 million "being provided coverage."

[Valmy]

Neither your position nor your characterization of Obamacare supporters is entirely accurate. Obamacare did indeed provide coverage for 7 million people through the expansion of Medicaid. There's still a lot of room for growth in that number as large Southern states like Texas and Florida have yet to ratify expansion.

I wonder what kind of circumstances would get Texas to do that? Massive plague outbreak?

[Syt]

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/01/donald-trump-protestors-vermont/423447/?utm_source=SFFB

Last week, Donald Trump was addressing a large crowd in Burlington, Vermont, when he was interrupted by a series of protestors who raised their voices against him. Soon, he asked security to remove the disruptive audience members, asserting his power in a legitimate manner so that he could continue with his remarks.

But that wasn't enough for the billionaire.

Standing before a crowd of supporters and acting on an impulse, he piled on, ordering security personnel at the event to seize the coats of the protestors in addition to kicking them out. "Get him outta there! Don't give him his coat," he said on one occasion. "Keep his coat. Confiscate his coat. You know it's about 10 degrees below zero outside. No, you can keep his coat. Tell him we'll send it to him in a couple of weeks." In the clip below he gives those orders near the beginning and the end.

In the present campaign, voters are deciding whether various candidates can be trusted with the extraordinary power that is vested in the president of the United States.

Who will use that power with wisdom and restraint?

Trump can't help but abuse the power of presiding over a rally. His supporters believe that he will stand with little guys against elites. Yet there he was amid thousands of fans ordering hired muscle to strip powerless dissenters of their coats. There he was saying they should be turned out into the Vermont winter that way.

He was not content to restore order. He went a step further, using power vindictively, whether to satisfy his own desire or to play to the worst impulses of the crowd.

His behavior was needlessly cruel.

And it was familiar. It shared something with the football player who throws a kidney punch in the dog pile after the opposing receiver is down, and with the police officer who slams the suspect's head against the doorframe as he puts him in the back seat. It reminded me of the boss who makes the worker who beat him in the March-Madness pool stay late, just to inflict pain that reminds everyone who is in charge. Or the politician who beats a political enemy, then orders her audited.

Trump is a bully. How many of his supporters still haven't realized that? How many don't care because they think he's their bully? If they elect him, they'll find out the truth. He'd as soon tell hired muscle to take their coats if it served his purposes.

[alfred russel]

Trump is a bully and an ass, but he is also a showman. Were the coats actually confiscated? My hunch is they were not, and this was all a part of the show, and the reporter either didn't recognize that or ignored it (as that would not make as good of a story).

[Jacob]

Trump is a bully and an ass, but he is also a showman. Were the coats actually confiscated? My hunch is they were not, and this was all a part of the show, and the reporter either didn't recognize that or ignored it (as that would not make as good of a story).

I don't think it makes it any better if the petty vindictive cruelty is merely for show.

In any case, it seems there's an appetite for it.

[mongers]

Echoes of Pink in the film 'The Wall'. 

[Malthus]

Echoes of Pink in the film 'The Wall'. 

In fact, this weekend I was over at a friend of mine's for dinner, and they were bitching about the scary-ness of the US election (his wife's Muslim, so they both feel strongly about it - even though it's in another country), and we agreed that his behavior in public rallies looked like that "get him up against the wall!" scene. 

[alfred russel]

I don't think it makes it any better if the petty vindictive cruelty is merely for show.

In any case, it seems there's an appetite for it.

I think it is important whether he had someone thrown out of a warm building without a coat into a minus 10 degree night (I doubt Trump's assertion it was that cold, as with most of his statements). I don't know if that is criminal but it should be.

Pretending to do that in order to energize a nasty crowd is bad, but maybe it says something about his campaign that it doesn't really register as one of his low points.

[Valmy]

I don't think it makes it any better if the petty vindictive cruelty is merely for show.

In any case, it seems there's an appetite for it.

Yes there are lots of very angry people in this country who lash out at whomever the boogieman of the decade is. What they are angry about I have no idea.

[DGuller]

I think that at this point if Trump takes out his wiener during a rally and starts masturbating, his faithful will view it as just one more example of his authenticity.

[Valmy]

He is just taking away the coats everybody wants to take away but are afraid to in our PC world or something.

[alfred russel]

I think that at this point if Trump takes out his wiener during a rally and starts masturbating, his faithful will view it as just one more example of his authenticity.

He is really old, and rather out of shape. Do you think he is capable?