2020 Democratic Candidates Tracker - Part II

Status
Not open for further replies.
wasapi said:
How about her connection to Scientology?

I saw her interview with Anderson Cooper and my impression of her was that she is a nutcase. We have enough of those.
Click to expand...
Precisely - for a Republican, there's a lot to like.
 
wasapi said:
How about her connection to Scientology?
Click to expand...
What connection? Specifics please.

I saw her interview with Anderson Cooper and my impression of her was that she is a nutcase. We have enough of those.
Click to expand...
My impression too. I say this gratuitously (though truthfully) because one must be careful not to get pegged as a Williamson supporter just because one asks for evidence, present company excluded of course.
 
Skeptic Ginger said:
: rolleyes :
Click to expand...
LOL.

Is that your way of insulting the crop of Democratic candidates
Click to expand...
Nope. If I wanted to insult them as a group, I'd just point out that they're all Democrats. Williamson I sincerely like.

Like you would seriously vote for anyone but a Republican and that means Trump as much as you deny it.
Click to expand...
You are very wrong. I plan to vote for Williamson or Gabbard in the primary. If either of them happens to get the nomination, I'll happily vote for them over Trump. I'd rather either of them over any of the other Dems, and over Trump Himself (PBUH, SPQR, Esq. Etc.). I know you don't believe me, and sadly there's no practical way to prove it, but hopefully we can at least agree that you don't have to keep harping on it.

wasapi said:
How about her connection to Scientology?
Click to expand...
How about it?

Depending on the nature of the connection, it might be a dealbreaker for me. I draw the line somewhere around Mormonism.

I saw her interview with Anderson Cooper and my impression of her was that she is a nutcase. We have enough of those.
Click to expand...
I'm on the Douglas Adams end of the spectrum: Anyone with the will to seek the presidency is probably too much of a nutcase to really be trusted with it. Unfortunately, we don't have any alternatives. At least we've proven that our system of government is strong enough to survive a nutcase without any serious damage.
 
varwoche said:
What connection? Specifics please.

My impression too. I say this gratuitously (though truthfully) because one must be careful not to get pegged as a Williamson supporter just because one asks for evidence, present company excluded of course.
Click to expand...

I do't know about the Scientoogy claim, but any review of Williamson past shows she is a classic New Age Nutjob.
 
dudalb said:
I do't know about the Scientoogy claim, but any review of Williamson past shows she is a classic New Age Nutjob.
Click to expand...
And apparently Gabbard has a history of pandering to nutjob-douchebag wing of the party. But her takedown of Harris in the debates was probably the debatiest thing I've seen in recent campaigns. Both in terms of delivery and content, it really impressed me.

But Williamson is probably the closest thing to a unifying figure in American politics today, on either side of the aisle.
 
dudalb said:
I do't know about the Scientoogy claim, but any review of Williamson past shows she is a classic New Age Nutjob.
Click to expand...

Basically, she supported the groups views on psychiatry and supported no medication for those with mental health issues. Radically against anti-depressants.
 
wasapi said:
Basically, she supported the groups views on psychiatry and supported no medication for those with mental health issues. Radically against anti-depressants.
Click to expand...
Basically, did she endorse the Scientology views?

Or does she just happen to have similar views on that subject, without having any connection to them?
 
theprestige said:
You are very wrong. I plan to vote for Williamson or Gabbard in the primary. If either of them happens to get the nomination, I'll happily vote for them over Trump. I'd rather either of them over any of the other Dems, and over Trump Himself (PBUH, SPQR, Esq. Etc.). I know you don't believe me, and sadly there's no practical way to prove it, but hopefully we can at least agree that you don't have to keep harping on it.
Click to expand...

Are you still considering voting for Bernie Sanders.
 
theprestige said:
Basically, did she endorse the Scientology views?

Or does she just happen to have similar views on that subject, without having any connection to them?
Click to expand...
How is that different?
Obviously membership and supporting the organization isn't true, but yes, is the answer to your first question.

This has an in-depth discussion of the issue: Anderson Cooper interview
...Then you [Williamson] linked to this article that was clearly suggesting antidepressants played a role in his [Robin Williams] death. Do you know who wrote that article? That was by an organization funded by the Church of Scientology, which doesn’t even believe in psychiatry, doesn’t believe in psychiatric medicine for even serious mental illness. They even have a museum in Hollywood called psychiatry, an industry of death,’ Cooper said.

Williamson said she is not “some Tom Cruise about antidepressants,” alluding to the actor’s disapproval of medication, a tenet of his Church of Scientology beliefs.
Click to expand...

So Williamson has been citing a Scientology paper but otherwise has no connection to promoting Scientology. Seems clear enough including how Wasapi's mistake happened.

Instead of trying to change the subject to Wasapi's comment (which needed to be addressed mind you but now has been), perhaps we can get back to all the reasons supporting Williamson is either trolling, or impossible to honestly and intelligently support given she's a nut-case.
 
Last edited:
On Williamson and her views, that article I linked to shows that the reason she thinks depression is mostly bogus is because of her personal anecdotes. How uncritically thought out is that?
 
applecorped said:
You obviously didn't read it because there's no plan there just the usual rail against big business and the promise of medicare-for-all and hopefully that'll help rural America ..........somehow
Click to expand...

Firstly, may I congratulate you for managing more than twenty words. However, I now see why you tend to stick to emojis.

67% of Americans filing for bankruptcy cited illness and medical bills as a contributing factor. Universal healthcare would address that, as well as improving workforce mobility. As Medicare is an established system in the US, expanding it would be possible, and if everyone is covered, then you don't need the administrative costs associated with determining entitlement. Medicare is already one of the more cost-effective systems of US health funding. It could be better by allowing the government to negotiate bulk discounts, which is currently banned by law.

Look at my signature - the UK government spends a smaller proportion of its GDP on healthcare than the US government. That is due to the inherent inefficiencies of the US system.

Tackling healthcare issues would directly address a major cause of poverty, as well as improving the lives of most of the population. It would thus have a positive impact on many aspects of the economy.

But coming back to your claim that Warren has no plan beyond medicare for all:

True medicare for all is part of the plan. But she lays out other parts that are complementary to that:

  • I will create a new designation that reimburses rural hospitals at a higher rate, relieves distance requirements, and offers flexibility of services by assessing the needs of their communities.
  • As President, I will direct the FTC to block all future mergers between hospitals unless the merging companies can show that the newly-merged entity will maintain or improve access to care.
  • I’ll also put forward a set of reforms to strengthen FTC oversight over health care organizations, including establishing new federal regulations and guidance to require that all mergers involving health care centers be reported to the FTC.
  • That’s why I will increase funding for Community Health Centers by 15 percent per year over the next five years. I will also establish a $25 billion dollar capital fund to support a menu of options for improving access to care in health professional shortage areas

Then there are her non-medical aspects:

  • My plan for Universal Child Care will provide access to high-quality child care in every community that is free for millions and affordable for everyone.
  • My housing plan invests $523 million to create 380,000 affordable rental homes in rural communities and provides an additional $2 billion to help homeowners with underwater mortgages still struggling to recover from the financial crisis. It also invests $2.5 billion to build or rehabilitate 200,000 homes on tribal lands, where overcrowding, homelessness, and substandard housing have reached crisis levels.
  • My plan to cancel up to $50,000 in student loan debt will mean that recent graduates won’t need to flock to urban centers to find jobs that will help them pay down these loans. And my plan to provide universal free technical, two-year, and four-year public college will make sure that no student is ever put in this situation again.
ETA: The highlighted - this compares to an estimated $107-Million for Trump's golf trips to date.

She also lists broadband access as key, which it is for many rural businesses in the UK, and there is no reason why the US should be different. Again, these don't look particularly extreme from a European perspective.

  • And why I will spend $2 trillion in green research, manufacturing, and exporting to create more than a million new jobs, reversing the manufacturing losses that many rural communities have experienced over the last two decades.
  • I’ve also called for a $400 billion commitment in clean energy research and development — funding that will go to land grant universities, rural areas, and areas that have seen the worst job losses in recent years. I’ll dramatically scale up worker training programs, spending $20 billion on apprenticeships and instituting new sectoral training programs to boost job opportunities for people across Rural America.
  • My immigration plan will raise wages for everyone and make sure that businesses won’t be able to get away with dirty tricks that undercut pay.

  • That’s why I’ve proposed allowing the U.S. Postal Service to partner with local community banks and credit unions to provide access to low-cost, basic banking services online and at post offices.
And again, a similar model has been used in the UK, as rural access to banking facilities is vital.

  • That’s why I will establish a $7 billion fund to close the gap in startup capital for entrepreneurs of color, which will support 100,000 new minority-owned businesses, provide over a million new jobs, and further boost economic development in rural areas.
  • I’ll rein in Wall Street to hold private equity firms accountable and keep them from destroying businesses that bring economic opportunity — and jobs — to small towns and rural
This last one, there are ways that work in Germany.

  • That’s why I’ve pledged to address consolidation in the agriculture sector by reviewing — and reversing — anti-competitive mergers and breaking up big agribusinesses that have become vertically integrated.
  • And I’ll take it one step further — charting a new farm economy that replaces our government’s failed approach with one that guarantees farmers a fair price and protects our environment.

I'm not sure how these last two would work, or indeed if it would actually be a good idea, but that is indeed more than just "medicare for all".
 
Last edited:
applecorped said:
You obviously didn't read it because there's no plan there just the usual rail against big business and the promise of medicare-for-all and hopefully that'll help rural America ..........somehow
Click to expand...
I didn't follow the link -- it wants a sign-in. So I located another source. The central point of this plan involves high speed broadband. You're foisting misinformation, and perhaps you didn't read the plan.

Warren’s broadband plan would grant $85 billion in federal money to subsidize building out broadband networks in rural communities.
Click to expand...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Back
Top Bottom