@no1marauder saidHere in Michigan Biden is running a campaign ad where he gives his word he will protect medicare and SS. Essentially, he is saying he promised not to do what he has tried to do in the past.
From the Democratic Platform Biden is running on:
"Social Security is the most enduring thread in our nation’s social safety net. We will enact policies to make Social Security more progressive, including increasing benefits for all
beneficiaries, meaningfully increasing minimum benefit payments, increasing benefits for long-duration beneficiaries, and protecting surv ...[text shortened]... n.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2020-07-31-Democratic-Party-Platform-For-Distribution.pdf p. 26
Why should anyone believe him? He betrayed his own political party, not that he ever has shown any loyalty before.
@no1marauder saidLOL!
The House passed legislation to lower prescription drug prices last December but Moscow Mitch called it "socialist" and refused to allow a Senate vote.
As for Trump: "Pelosi had tried for months to win Trump’s support for the bill, given that he broke from Republican orthodoxy and supported government negotiation on drug prices during his 2016 campaign.
After month ...[text shortened]...
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/474294-house-passes-sweeping-pelosi-bill-to-lower-drug-prices
That was Mitch McConnell, not Trump. Trump accomplished that with an executive order. Easy.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-drugprices-idUSKCN24P2JA
Think about it. Obama and Biden didn't do that for us. They could have, but chose not to.
You are making this too easy for me. Is that the best you can do?
@metal-brain saidMaybe you should read my materials; Trump is proposing to end FICA payroll taxes altogether, not merely to temporarily suspend them as was done during the Great Recession.
Biden supported the same.
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/bronsonstocking/2020/08/09/biden-loved-payroll-tax-cuts-until-trump-did-them-n2573989
That is not "the same" even if right wing propaganda outlets like Townhall tell you they are.
@metal-brain saidOf course, it accomplishes little, probably nothing and is a last minute publicity stunt in the middle of his re-election campaign meant to fool the gullible:
LOL!
That was Mitch McConnell, not Trump. Trump accomplished that with an executive order. Easy.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-drugprices-idUSKCN24P2JA
Think about it. Obama and Biden didn't do that for us. They could have, but chose not to.
You are making this too easy for me. Is that the best you can do?
"It’s worth mentioning that executive orders are not immediately enforceable. In fact, they are first steps in a regulatory process that will likely be protracted. This implies that the Trump Administration would need to finalize regulations and go through follow-up procedural steps that could take many months. Moreover, in the meantime, all four executive orders could be challenged in court.
Finally, all the Trump Administration’s talk about fundamentally shaking up the U.S. drug pricing system may turn out to be mere bluster. As of August 22nd, the Administration hasn’t carried out formal preparation to actually implement any of the four executive orders."
https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshuacohen/2020/07/25/trumps-executive-orders-on-drug-pricing-contain-caveats-and-limitations/#52767e985001
On the other hand:
"President Barack Obama’s law reduced what seniors had to pay back then by gradually closing the “doughnut hole,” a notorious coverage gap in Medicare’s popular “Part D” prescription drug plan.
A 50% discount that Obamacare secured from drug makers on brand name medicines yielded an average savings of $581 in 2011 for seniors with high drug costs, according to an analysis at the time by Medicare’s nonpartisan Office of the Actuary, for The Associated Press.
On top of that, the ACA directed Medicare to pick up more of the cost of generic drugs, saving an additional $22.
By tackling the coverage gap, Obama’s law helped Medicare recipients with high drug costs generally, not only those patients who must take insulin to manage their diabetes."
https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2020-05-27/ap-fact-check-trump-falsely-blames-obama-for-pricey-drugs
You probably don't know what "left" and "right" mean in politics, so I'll help. The original term comes from the French Revolution:
"Today the terms “left wing” and “right wing” are used as symbolic labels for liberals and conservatives, but they were originally coined in reference to the physical seating arrangements of politicians during the French Revolution.
The split dates to the summer of 1789, when members of the French National Assembly met to begin drafting a constitution. The delegates were deeply divided over the issue of how much authority King Louis XVI should have, and as the debate raged, the two main factions each staked out territory in the assembly hall. The anti-royalist revolutionaries seated themselves to the presiding officer’s left, while the more conservative, aristocratic supporters of the monarchy gathered to the right. "
https://www.history.com/news/how-did-the-political-labels-left-wing-and-right-wing-originate
Left-wing politics supports social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy.[1][2][3][4] It typically involves a concern for those in society whom its adherents perceive as disadvantaged relative to others as well as a belief that there are unjustified inequalities that need to be reduced or abolished.[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-wing_politics#:~:text=Left%2Dwing%20politics%20supports%20social,to%20be%20reduced%20or%20abolished.
Tell me again what policies on the "Left" Donald Trump supports? While I have no doubt he has few actual principles, his entire public persona is devoted to anti-democratic, anti-equalitarian and anti-progressive positions.
@metal-brain saidThe author of the piece you cited, written in May, obviously doesn't think Trump is more "left" of Biden:
Trump is to the left of Biden. Democrats were duped into voting for a DINO republican.
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/joe-biden-might-as-well-be-a-republican/
This explains why some republicans have openly endorsed Biden. They have another republican to choose from.
"Like it or not, the imperative of defeating Trump is directly in front of us. To make a progressive future possible, beating Trump is absolutely necessary while very far from sufficient. To organize against a government headed by Trump is to push against a thick stone wall. To organize against a government headed by Biden holds out the real potential of progressive breakthroughs."
https://www.normansolomon.com/norman_solomon/2020/08/why-the-left-must-reject-and-elect-biden-at-the-same-time.html
And:
"But this presidential election isn’t really about Biden, who’s a garden-variety corporate Democrat. It’s about a clear and present threat to democratic capacities in the United States."
"“And crucially, Biden is moveable. We’ve already shown that with mass pressure, we can push him to support more progressive policies. Trump, on the other hand, is immune to public persuasion or protest. With a Biden presidency, a disciplined and mobilized left could extract significant victories. With another Trump presidency, the left would have few options and could face new levels of government repression. Our democracy, our planet, and our human rights would continue to sustain enormous -- and potentially irreparable -- damage.”
https://www.normansolomon.com/norman_solomon/2020/08/time-to-defeat-trump-without-make-believe-about-biden-by-norman-solomon-one-result-of-the-republican-convention-will-be.html
Some eloquent words from the website Not Him US(a play on words of Bernie Sanders' slogan "Not Me, US":
"Let’s be real. Biden wasn’t our first choice. Or our second or third choice. He’s nowhere close to being “100% in our corner.” And that’s why it’s even more important to remember the slogan that Bernie gave us. We can say, “Not him, us” with reference to the 2020 Democratic nominee and to our movements. Because this election is not about Joe Biden. It’s not about how much we like or dislike him as a person or politician.
This election is about us. It’s about our future. It’s about stemming the dangerous tide of authoritarianism while we set ourselves up for more people’s victories in the fights to come.
November 3rd is not our end zone. It’s our entry onto a more favorable terrain where we’ll wage the next phase of our struggle. As we work actively to defeat Trump, we can build the independent organizations and movements that will pressure a Biden Administration—and continue building the insurgency we need to win a world that works for the many, not the few."
https://www.nothimus.org/strategic-maxims/nothimus
@no1marauder saidWhy didn't Obama do that before his re-election? He was perfectly capable of doing the same thing. At least we got it with Trump. This is an example of Trump being to the left of Obama and Biden. Obama/Biden could have fought for the democrat health care plan. They preferred the republican plan and pretended it was their own. Democrats controlled congress at the time. Apparently the democrats didn't want their own plan. They were too busy acting like republicans.
Of course, it accomplishes little, probably nothing and is a last minute publicity stunt in the middle of his re-election campaign meant to fool the gullible:
"It’s worth mentioning that executive orders are not immediately enforceable. In fact, they are first steps in a regulatory process that will likely be protracted. This implies that the Trump Administration would ...[text shortened]... hen/2020/07/25/trumps-executive-orders-on-drug-pricing-contain-caveats-and-limitations/#52767e985001
@no1marauder saidNot enough. Obama didn't sign an executive order when he could. He could have done more without congress as Trump proved. Saying the executive order is not perfect is no different than me pointing out the ACA is far from perfect. Once again, democrats controlled congress and rejected their own plan for the republican plan. They had the votes and decided to give you republican policy instead.
On the other hand:
"President Barack Obama’s law reduced what seniors had to pay back then by gradually closing the “doughnut hole,” a notorious coverage gap in Medicare’s popular “Part D” prescription drug plan.
A 50% discount that Obamacare secured from drug makers on brand name medicines yielded an average savings of $581 in 2011 for seniors with high drug costs, ...[text shortened]... news.com/news/politics/articles/2020-05-27/ap-fact-check-trump-falsely-blames-obama-for-pricey-drugs
Obama was more like Reagan than Carter. You voted for a DINO republican.
@no1marauder saidDemocrats are anti-democratic.
You probably don't know what "left" and "right" mean in politics, so I'll help. The original term comes from the French Revolution:
"Today the terms “left wing” and “right wing” are used as symbolic labels for liberals and conservatives, but they were originally coined in reference to the physical seating arrangements of politicians during the French Revolution.
Th ...[text shortened]... tire public persona is devoted to anti-democratic, anti-equalitarian and anti-progressive positions.
@no1marauder saidI have no intention of defending Trump. This is about Biden and how he is too far to the right. I will be voting for (Hungry) Howie Hawkins this November. Are you with me?
Some eloquent words from the website Not Him US(a play on words of Bernie Sanders' slogan "Not Me, US":
"Let’s be real. Biden wasn’t our first choice. Or our second or third choice. He’s nowhere close to being “100% in our corner.” And that’s why it’s even more important to remember the slogan that Bernie gave us. We can say, “Not him, us” with reference to the ...[text shortened]... a world that works for the many, not the few."
https://www.nothimus.org/strategic-maxims/nothimus
@metal-brain saidOf course that's ridiculous, but as a matter of fact, I didn't vote for Obama in either 2008 or 2012.
Not enough. Obama didn't sign an executive order when he could. He could have done more without congress as Trump proved. Saying the executive order is not perfect is no different than me pointing out the ACA is far from perfect. Once again, democrats controlled congress and rejected their own plan for the republican plan. They had the votes and decided to give you republican policy instead.
Obama was more like Reagan than Carter. You voted for a DINO republican.
The ACA has its flaws, but it has provided health care coverage to tens of millions of Americans who couldn't afford it beforehand. That's a bit more important than an executive order that means absolutely nothing promulgated by a con artist in the middle of an election campaign.
@metal-brain saidI've already stated my position; if I was in a swing state I'd vote for Biden for the reasons explained on the "Not Him - US" website.
I have no intention of defending Trump. This is about Biden and how he is too far to the right. I will be voting for (Hungry) Howie Hawkins this November. Are you with me?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_Pahmlugec
I'm in a solidly blue State, have voted for Hawkins for Governor several times and will cast my vote for him for President this year.