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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
There are always voters to swing, even if he spends the entire hour getting democrats more engaged it’s a boon, because midterm turnout is so low normally that there isn’t a real ceiling you can hit when it comes to pushing turnout amongst people who favour you.
That’s before we get into the fact that many Texas voters are undecided on him due to his low name recognition until now, this gives him a good chance to make a good first impression.
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ CyranAlso, just the fact that O'Rourke managed to make the Republican party take him seriously as a threat to Cruz is already very significant given that Texas has been considered a GOP bastion for like 2 decades or more. If O'Rourke loses I don't think it will be by too much, Cruz is really unpopular.
Edited by Draghinazzo on Oct 9th 2018 at 11:53:30 AM
Also it’s a giant help to Dems in other states, every dollar the RNC spends trying to keep Cruz in his seat is a dollar they can’t spend trying to unseat a red state Dem.
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ CyranWhy do I have to keep explaining to people that how Trump and the GOP came into power is exactly the same as how Daniel François Malan and the Herenigde Nasionale Party did in South Africa, not Hitler/Weimar Germany? South Africa's voting system was disproportionately weighted in favour of rural constituencies, just like how the US's is with the Electoral College.
Edited by CookingCat on Oct 9th 2018 at 10:31:46 AM
This is the first time I've seen you mention it here, so I don't know why you're sounding so frustrated with us. And in any case, Americans are going to be FAR more familiar with Hitler's rise to power than they are anything about South Africa barring Trevor Noah. So yeah, that's going to need some explaining, (because God forbid people not know everything about the history of foreign countries) and if you're getting tired of it you clearly don't have to.
Edited by AceofSpades on Oct 9th 2018 at 1:12:15 PM
The frustration wasn't aimed at any of you, it was at Game FA Qs. I really need to stop visiting that place.
By the way, you guys OK with the new image for The Several States?
So, in a bit of a surprise move Donald Trump “wrote” an op-ed in USA Today saying that if the Democrats win in the mid-terms we will be one step closer to socialism while decrying decrying Medicare for All, and “open borders”.
Dishonestly called “Medicare for All,” the Democratic proposal would establish a government-run, single-payer health care system that eliminates all private and employer-based health care plans and would cost an astonishing $32.6 trillion during its first 10 years.
As a candidate, I promised that we would protect coverage for patients with pre-existing conditions and create new health care insurance options that would lower premiums. I have kept that promise, and we are now seeing health insurance premiums coming down.
I also made a solemn promise to our great seniors to protect Medicare. That is why I am fighting so hard against the Democrats' plan that would eviscerate Medicare. Democrats have already harmed seniors by slashing Medicare by more than $800 billion over 10 years to pay for Obamacare. Likewise, Democrats would gut Medicare with their planned government takeover of American health care.
The Democrats' plan threatens America's seniors The Democrats' plan means that after a life of hard work and sacrifice, seniors would no longer be able to depend on the benefits they were promised. By eliminating Medicare as a program for seniors, and outlawing the ability of Americans to enroll in private and employer-based plans, the Democratic plan would inevitably lead to the massive rationing of health care. Doctors and hospitals would be put out of business. Seniors would lose access to their favorite doctors. There would be long wait lines for appointments and procedures. Previously covered care would effectively be denied.
In practice, the Democratic Party’s so-called Medicare for All would really be Medicare for None. Under the Democrats' plan, today’s Medicare would be forced to die.
The Democrats' plan also would mean the end of choice for seniors over their own health care decisions. Instead, Democrats would give total power and control over seniors’ health care decisions to the bureaucrats in Washington, D.C.
More: My family escaped socialism, now my fellow Democrats think we should move the party in its direction
Cuts in Social Security and Medicare are inevitable. Delaying reform will make it worse.
Half of America skimps to pay for health care. The only fix is to cut waste.
The first thing the Democratic plan will do to end choice for seniors is eliminate Medicare Advantage plans for about 20 million seniors as well as eliminate other private health plans that seniors currently use to supplement their Medicare coverage.
Next, the Democrats would eliminate every American’s private and employer-based health plan. It is right there in their proposed legislation: Democrats outlaw private health plans that offer the same benefits as the government plan.
Americans might think that such an extreme, anti-senior, anti-choice and anti-consumer proposal for government-run health care would find little support among Democrats in Congress.
Unfortunately, they would be wrong: 123 Democrats in the House of Representatives — 64 percent of House Democrats — as well as 15 Democrats in the Senate have already formally co-sponsored this legislation. Democratic nominees for governor in Florida, California and Maryland are all campaigning in support of it, as are many Democratic congressional candidates.
Democrats want open-borders socialism The truth is that the centrist Democratic Party is dead. The new Democrats are radical socialists who want to model America’s economy after Venezuela.
If Democrats win control of Congress this November, we will come dangerously closer to socialism in America. Government-run health care is just the beginning. Democrats are also pushing massive government control of education, private-sector businesses and other major sectors of the U.S. economy.
Every single citizen will be harmed by such a radical shift in American culture and life. Virtually everywhere it has been tried, socialism has brought suffering, misery and decay.
Indeed, the Democrats' commitment to government-run health care is all the more menacing to our seniors and our economy when paired with some Democrats' absolute commitment to end enforcement of our immigration laws by abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That means millions more would cross our borders illegally and take advantage of health care paid for by American taxpayers.
Today’s Democratic Party is for open-borders socialism. This radical agenda would destroy American prosperity. Under its vision, costs will spiral out of control. Taxes will skyrocket. And Democrats will seek to slash budgets for seniors’ Medicare, Social Security and defense.
Republicans believe that a Medicare program that was created for seniors and paid for by seniors their entire lives should always be protected and preserved. I am committed to resolutely defending Medicare and Social Security from the radical socialist plans of the Democrats. For the sake of our country, our prosperity, our seniors and all Americans — this is a fight we must win.
The arguments are primarily aimed at trying to convince seniors that Medicare for All would result in the gutting of their healthcare coverage because of costs, rationing and other classic red scare kind of stuff.
I doubt it will convince anyone who wasn’t already convinced but it is still a strange move that shows how big this midterm is.
Edited by Mio on Oct 10th 2018 at 10:00:26 AM
Usual republican's terribleness and insane troll logic in that op-ed aside, is that op-ed really written by the Donald Trump, though? I mean it got typo and stuff, but it's much too coherent.
@Swan: If you ask me, that is probably because in Republican magical America, no Obamacare means better Medicare. Somehow. Logic works differently in that realm.
You think the same thing, too, huh?
Edited by SteamKnight on Oct 10th 2018 at 9:17:03 PM
I'm not as witty as I think I am. It's a scientifically-proven fact.On the subject of Trump and consistency, from today's developing WTF Just Happened Today feed:
The Trump administration is planning to take down healthcare.gov for maintenance during the sign-up period for the Affordable Care Act. The administration did the same thing last year and drew criticism for it, but officials say the maintenance periods happen every year and are designed to occur during the slowest periods. (The Hill)
Former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg has re-registered as a Democrat (he's gone from Democrat, to Republican, to Independent), ahead of a very likely 2020 White House run.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/10/politics/michael-bloomberg-2020-democrat/index.html

And just as a heads up, we have another Hurricane heading to the US. Hurricane Micheal is undergoing rapid intensification and is expected to make landfall on the central Florida panhandle as a Cat 4 by midday tomorrow.
From the National Hurricane Center's 10 pm CDT discussion:
Edited by tclittle on Oct 9th 2018 at 10:42:14 AM
"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."