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PoliGAF 2012 |OT3| If it's not a legitimate OT the mods have ways to shut it down

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pigeon

Banned
There is also "socialist policies" in the DNC platform, so I guess it's true that Obama wants to make America a socialist country. derp derp

Do you have a reference to that? I assumed it was a quote, because of the quotation marks, but it isn't. What DNC platform points are you talking about?
 
God DAMN this thread moves fast. 14 pages since I checked yesterday. What do I need to catch up on?

1bl4E.jpg
 

Gotchaye

Member
It's a mocking response to Stinkles. Thus the 'derp derp'.

Huh? So someone points out that the Republican platform has a whole lot of clear and explicit anti-abortion language, and suggests that this is a reason to think that Republicans, if elected, might work towards those ends (also he pointed out that Republicans haven't exactly been shy about talking about their position on abortion). You then invent fictional content for the Democrats' platform. I don't follow.
 

Gotchaye

Member
It's the same platform as 2004 and 2008. It's mostly the same platform that existed in 1980.

And Republican presidents since then have done a pretty good job of appointing Supreme Court justices who aren't very friendly to Roe v Wade, which is by far the most effective means available to them to do something about abortion.
 

ToxicAdam

Member
And Republican presidents since then have done a pretty good job of appointing Supreme Court justices who aren't very friendly to Roe v Wade, which is by far the most effective means available to them to do something about abortion.

Republican presidents have elected 8 Supreme Court Justices since 1980. Democrats have elected 4.

When exactly was Roe v Wade in danger?
 
The only way Romney can turn things around is with a resounding victory at all the debates. It seems unlikely but it's not over until it's over.
The thing is obama doesn't have to win the debates. He just has to not lose.

That said he'll win. Romney's a living strawman.
 

Oblivion

Fetishing muscular manly men in skintight hosery
I know this was mentioned yesterday, but I didn't see the entire quote from Mittens:

"I would repeal all of Obamacare and replace it with the kinds of reforms we really need." He added, "And I have experience in health care reform. Now and then the president says I'm the grandfather of Obamacare. I don't think he meant that as a compliment, but I'll take it. This was during my primary we thought it might not be helpful."

What. The. Fuck.

He's insulting his idiot base right there in big bold letters. How the fuck was there no backlash toward this? I haven't heard a single person mention either that line or the other thing all day.
 

Gotchaye

Member
Republican presidents have elected 8 Supreme Court Justices since 1980. Democrats have elected 4.

When exactly was Roe v Wade in danger?

Roe v Wade was a 7 to 2 decision in 1973. It was very nearly overturned in a 5 to 4 decision in 1992, and only wasn't because Kennedy changed his mind.

There have since been several 5 to 4 decisions on abortion which have tended to expand the ability of states to proscribe it in many situations.

It's pretty plausible that if Ginsburg, Breyer, or Kennedy get replaced under a Republican president, Roe v Wade is done for. Ginsburg is almost 80; Kennedy is 76, and unlike Ginsburg probably isn't going to make a special effort to leave under a Democrat.
 
1) That's why medical advertisements are banned in Canada. Drug companies are the ones telling Americans to keep getting unnecessary procedures and medications. Remove that from the equation and suddenly healthcare costs drop because patients aren't pressuring their doctors for as many unnecessary things.

2) It boggles my mind that people are scared of a government panel of doctors rationing healthcare with cost-benefit to the public in mind and would prefer a private panel of business executives rationing healthcare with more profit for shareholders in mind.
Yep. (1) is an example where 'free speech' goes overboard. They should be able to restrict drug advertisements. It is commercial speech and that can be more tightly regulated. Coke can't say that Pepsi has rat poop in it. So why shouldn't drug makers be more restricted to stop advertising drugs in a way that causes people to self-diagnose and go ask doctors for drugs that they don't need.
 
Bill O's new theory: Everyone is on the internet and is dumbed down, so that is why Obama is in the lead in polls.
Heh, I just saw this clip. Between this and Willard's secret video, it seems like we're entering the next phase of conservatives' outrage. Until now it's been framed as these horrible forces of Obama, Pelosi, The New York Times, etc. taking advantage of the mythical "the American people." But when the evil liberal forces become more and more of "the American people" that facade has to fall away. I look forward to the GOP trying their eventual message of "Look, you people are idiots; just trust us about this stuff" and seeing how well that plays.
 
Republican presidents have elected 8 Supreme Court Justices since 1980. Democrats have elected 4.

When exactly was Roe v Wade in danger?
Right now! You can't compare Republican Supreme Court nominations back from when the GOP was sane to today when they are they run candidates like Bachmann, Perry, Santorum, etc. I lived through the zenith of the Moral Majority and they were never much more than televangelist nuisances . . . but today the Christian-right has many people in positions of power.

If Romney won and Ruth Ginsberg's cancer claimed her life . . . it could be overturned within a year.
 

Drakeon

Member
419144_474188085949170_2049231283_n.jpg


SO...about Romney making a comeback in less than a month or so...

Holy shit, Obama holds a +43 advantage on the "being able to have a beer with them" stat. I know Romney is incredibly out of touch, but +43, holy shit.

BTW, can I get a source for this? Want to parade this around to some republicans.
 

ToxicAdam

Member
It's pretty plausible that if Ginsburg, Breyer, or Kennedy get replaced under a Republican president, Roe v Wade is done for.

8 of the sitting justices in 1992 were Republican appointees. With 2 of them being the most conservative that have ever taken the bench. Conventional wisdom was that Roe v Wade was 'done for' in 1992.
 
I thought the framework of the discussion was specific stated policy proposals, not what others have done by filling in the blanks of their platitudes?




http://www.sfgate.com/business/bloo...With-Assumptions-by-3853357.php#ixzz274hQAbBr


Etch a Sketch fiscal policy. Now you see it, now you don't.

Romney is simply lying. Even according to their own supposed citations, it says over the long term it will be revenue neutral. It figures in growth in the economy. Even if you accept their ridiculous claims here, it's still a tax cut in the short term and not revenue neutral in the short term. Guaranteed. You can't defy math. 2+2=4 and nothing changes this.

And any tax cut that claims to pay for itself based on economic growth in the future is a reduction in taxes paid. How can it not be?

Romney is saying if you make $100 and give $20 to gov't, that in 10 years you will make $120 and give $20 to gov't. THAT IS STILL A TAX CUT. It doesn't matter if it is revenue neutral.

besides, the assumptions in the 2 studies are like a perfect storm scenario for Mittens. Even Mankiw, who is on his team, doesn't believe in that bullshit.

edit: he also mischaracterizes his citations: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-m...ey/romney-claims-5-studies-back-his-tax-plan/ MOSTLY FALSE

8 of the sitting justices in 1992 were Republican appointees. With 2 of them being the most conservative that have ever taken the bench. Conventional wisdom was that Roe v Wade was 'done for' in 1992.

Hard to overturn when Sandra Day O'Conner controlled the Court (with Kennedy 2nd).
 

Durask

Member
Great example of the danger of the passive voice. Why is the public "brought to think that more = better"? Who is bringing them to think that, and what do they gain? The answer is that, in a fee-for-service system, providers are heavily incentivized to teach them that. A big part of why the medical industry doesn't work in the free market in the first place is because almost nobody is actually an informed consumer -- if they ask for chemotherapy or for extra antibiotics or whatever, it's because somewhere along the line some doctor convinced them or somebody they knew that it was a good idea. They don't come up with these things themselves.

Many developed countries have a fee for service system. Canada is 83% FFS reimbursement.

In the US the purest form of fee for service is offered by Medicare.
Major insurance plans, at least here in the Northeast usually have plans that are provider group level capped or network capped but fee for service on individual physian level. Heck, reimbursement of many physicians here is a mix not unlike what you will see in the UK system - a mix of FFS, capitation, salary and pay for performance metric based reimbursement (usually a withold from the network cap pool).

Why does the public think that more=better? Partially because of FFS model but partially because natural line of thinking is to assume that more test and more studies is better.
Also when people are dealing with life and death, rational thinking is often not easy.

You're simply jumping to conclusions here and attributing things to me I never suggested -- but this is a pretty dumb response in any case. As Cyan has pointed out before (along with actual pundits, I guess, but Cyan came to mind first), somebody is ALREADY doing this rationing. Tomorrow it might be a bureaucrat, sure, but today it's an actuary. The difference is that the bureaucrat is employed to produce positive outcomes (or, worst-case scenario, they're employed to be employed by the government and have no particular motivation in any direction), and the actuary is employed to spend as little money as possible on patient care. I think the difference is pretty clear.

Here is are my arguements:

1. Americans have to either accept insane costs of healthcare or accept rationing.
2. Rationing only makes sense if done the British way - namely when you use quality of life test and put an actual cost cutoff number for any major and expensive intervention.
3. Medicare cannot apply quality-of-life tests in determining the cost-effectiveness of treatment - they can only pay the bills, no matter the size - and end of life medicare expenses is where you get the most unneeded care.
4. Currently rationing is only done by private insurances and done in a haphazard way based on finding some kind of loophole in the policy. It does not save much money because of the opportunistic nature as opposed to the using the quality of life tests. Once again, Medicare does not ration, and it is Medicare expenses that need to be cut.
5. Trying to adopt the UK model of rationing will be political suicide for quite some time.

Usually when I present these arguments, I get catcalls "you bastard, you want to kill grandma" - from both sides of the aisle. :) :) :)
 
If Romney won and Ruth Ginsberg's cancer claimed her life . . . it could be overturned within a year.
It certainly could, but Romney has stated that he would not overturn Roe vs Wade even though in his heart he would like it to come to pass, because as a people America is not 'there yet' - it was as good an answer you could get from a social conservative - but then again he's said a lot of things, and turned 180s without even blinking.

My worries with Romney are manifold. Even if he says he wouldn't seek to overturn Roe vs. Wade he would act to place more conservative judges, and his party would continue to chip away at a woman's capability to get prenatal care as well as try to enact more shame policies.

If anything Romney has shown us that he'll tow whatever line is passed to him, so whatever madness the Republicans want they'll push hard. What madness? Defunding social services, removing the promise of benefits from Medicare and trying to privatize as many government services as possible.

Not to mention the kind of presence and leadership he seems incapable of showing to a domestic audience or on the world stage. The last person I want speaking for this country amidst some new unforeseen crisis is Mitt Romney. We've gotten to see him under pressure and behind closed doors. He's reactive, overly aggressive, looks down on a sizable swath of the American public and has no problem bald faced lying to any audience that will listen even though he doesn't have the mannerisms to hide his dishonesty. If you're going to lie, for god's sake at least be good at it, have some charm and persuasion, and use that lie to better things in this country.

I'd expect a Mitt Romney presidency to be ruled by committee. One that puts future Republican gains and neoconservative ideas ahead of policies that help all Americans. That seeks privatization over the general welfare. That extends the myth of the 47% freeloaders and seeks to cut benefits to provide incentives to work for lower wages with fewer benefits. That seeks to run government as a business, and while giving lip service to reducing entitlements will still heap huge subsidies on big energy, undermine regulation on the financial sector and throw gobs more of the treasury at our military to keep those industries happy.

That's my fear, in broad strokes. You need a leader who can provide a vision of long term prosperity and try to invest in that future as well as one capable of nuance in diplomacy and decisive aggression when needed, with a measured hand who is not quick to pounce on the latest developments. That person is not Mitt Romney.
 

Gotchaye

Member
8 of the sitting justices in 1992 were Republican appointees. With 2 of them being the most conservative that have ever taken the bench. Conventional wisdom was that Roe v Wade was 'done for' in 1992.

Blackmun and Stevens predate 1980. Kennedy is famously wishy-washy on the issue, and hardly a strong defender of Roe v Wade. Only Souter stands out as any kind of evidence that Republican presidents haven't gone for pro-life judges since 1980, and he was certainly expected to be conservative when confirmed. Edit: And O'Connor, who was right on the line at 1981 and who was noted for attempting to make very narrow decisions. It's worth pointing out again that abortion at the Surpreme Court did go from 7-2 to 5-4, and it was 5 to 4 even with 20 years of precedent behind it.

But also I don't really know what you're saying, or if you're just arguing in order to be contrary. Do you actually think that, if Mitt Romney gets to pick the replacement for Kennedy, the new justice will probably uphold Roe v Wade? Or is there some bizarre conservation principle at work here and Scalia will suddenly start voting with the liberal wing? What if Romney gets to appoint a replacement for Ginsburg?
 

Durask

Member
2) It boggles my mind that people are scared of a government panel of doctors rationing healthcare with cost-benefit to the public in mind and would prefer a private panel of business executives rationing healthcare with more profit for shareholders in mind.

As I said, nobody rations Medicare and this is where you get the most unnecessary care.
 

ToxicAdam

Member
But also I don't really know what you're saying, or if you're just arguing in order to be contrary. Do you actually think that, if Mitt Romney gets to pick the replacement for Kennedy, the new justice will probably uphold Roe v Wade? Or is there some bizarre conservation principle at work here and Scalia will suddenly start voting with the liberal wing? What if Romney gets to appoint a replacement for Ginsburg?

Conventional wisdom also said that Obamacare was going to get overturned and then Roberts happened.

Since we are playing the what if game, what if Breyer and Ginsburg hold on for 4 years and Scalia retires and Clarence Thomas passes away? Then Democrats in the Senate obstruct and successfully get 2 judges that are less socially conservative than those two?

What if ...
 

Jackson50

Member
8 of the sitting justices in 1992 were Republican appointees. With 2 of them being the most conservative that have ever taken the bench. Conventional wisdom was that Roe v Wade was 'done for' in 1992.
Yes. And we were fortunate Bush 41 unwittingly appointed Souter. Had he appointed another Thomas, the outcome would have been radically different. Or had Bork been confirmed instead of Kennedy. We may have been heretofore fortunate, but I am unwilling to risk another Republican appointee. They clearly prefer justices who restrict abortion rights.
 

HylianTom

Banned
We may have been heretofore fortunate, but I am unwilling to risk another Republican appointee.

This pretty much nails it.

I'm also thinking that I'd like to get married someday. Here, in Louisiana. And I don't see the rednecks, umm, voting population allowing that without a Supreme Court ruling.
 

Gotchaye

Member
Conventional wisdom also said that Obamacare was going to get overturned and then Roberts happened.

Since we are playing the what if game, what if Breyer and Ginsburg hold on for 4 years and Scalia retires and Clarence Thomas passes away? Then Democrats in the Senate obstruct and successfully get 2 judges that are less conservative than those two?

What if ...

How on earth is this relevant?

Yes, if Republicans are prevented from appointing the justices they want, the justices we get will be more likely to uphold Roe v Wade. Are you conceding that Republicans actually do try to appoint justices that oppose Roe v Wade, and that it's important for people who don't want it overturned to try to push back against their appointment preferences?
 

ToxicAdam

Member
I'm conceding that Thomas and Scalia are at the very far spectrum of how conservative a judge will be and it is most likely that anyone that passes through a divided, polarized congress is going to be far less socially conservative than those two.

Plus, Mitt Romney's governing background doesn't give any indication of someone that proudly holds the conservative banner (especially on social issues). He has begrudgingly had to hold it in an effort to get votes.
 
Conventional wisdom also said that Obamacare was going to get overturned and then Roberts happened.

Since we are playing the what if game, what if Breyer and Ginsburg hold on for 4 years and Scalia retires and Clarence Thomas passes away? Then Democrats in the Senate obstruct and successfully get 2 judges that are less socially conservative than those two?

What if ...
Consult some actuary tables.

And Scalia retires? LOL. You know little Nino better than that.

If Clarence Thomas dies? If he did, Scalia would just prop him up Weekend at Bernie's style. In fact I think he maybe doing that right now. You certainly would literally not know the difference based on the questions Thomas asks.
 
Conventional wisdom also said that Obamacare was going to get overturned and then Roberts happened.

Since we are playing the what if game, what if Breyer and Ginsburg hold on for 4 years and Scalia retires and Clarence Thomas passes away? Then Democrats in the Senate obstruct and successfully get 2 judges that are less socially conservative than those two?

What if ...

As i previously stated, Roberts is economically liberal.

That said, I am not convinced GOP brass wants RvW overturned as it's a rallying cry for 'em.
 

Durask

Member
1) That's why medical advertisements are banned in Canada. Drug companies are the ones telling Americans to keep getting unnecessary procedures and medications. Remove that from the equation and suddenly healthcare costs drop because patients aren't pressuring their doctors for as many unnecessary things.

That plays a part, but it is end of life where the real costs happen.
Do read the article, it is a good read.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/02/100802fa_fact_gawande?currentPage=1

I think of Gould and his essay every time I have a patient with a terminal illness. There is almost always a long tail of possibility, however thin. What’s wrong with looking for it? Nothing, it seems to me, unless it means we have failed to prepare for the outcome that’s vastly more probable. The trouble is that we’ve built our medical system and culture around the long tail. We’ve created a multitrillion-dollar edifice for dispensing the medical equivalent of lottery tickets—and have only the rudiments of a system to prepare patients for the near-certainty that those tickets will not win. Hope is not a plan, but hope is our plan.
 
That said, I am not convinced GOP brass wants RvW overturned as it's a rallying cry for 'em.
I'm sure many of them don't want it overturned. But you can't control the monsters you create. They created this Tea-bagger class that thinks Obama is a Kenyan Muslim, cutting taxes will always increase revenue, and Saddam had stockpiles of WMDs. The created Palin and they can't control her. They are just lucky McCain lost.
 

Gotchaye

Member
I'm conceding that Thomas and Scalia are at the very far spectrum of how conservative a judge will be and it is most likely that anyone that passes through a divided, polarized congress is going to be far less socially conservative than those two.

Plus, Mitt Romney's governing background doesn't give any indication of someone that proudly holds the conservative banner (especially on social issues). He has begrudgingly had to hold it in an effort to get votes.

But new justices don't need to be as conservative as Thomas and Scalia in order for abortion rights in the US to be substantially eroded. They need to be marginally more conservative than Kennedy. And of course there's always the nuclear option if Republicans control the Senate, which is reasonably likely in 2014 if not 2012; it's pretty clear that our politics has been moving towards /someone/ deciding to end the filibuster.

Likewise, Romney doesn't need to be very conservative. But as long as he's not a secret liberal, why not appoint an anti-abortion judge when a huge portion of his base will be howling for him to do so? If he puts up someone who isn't at least on-face pro-life, the Republican base is going to turn the situation into another Harriet Miers (to be clear, I'm not saying that the base revolting over Miers had to do primarily with abortion).
 

Cloudy

Banned
Plus, Mitt Romney's governing background doesn't give any indication of someone that proudly holds the conservative banner (especially on social issues). He has begrudgingly had to hold it in an effort to get votes.

And what happens if he wins and has to payback those people for holding their noses and supporting him?
 

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
Conventional wisdom also said that Obamacare was going to get overturned and then Roberts happened.

Since we are playing the what if game, what if Breyer and Ginsburg hold on for 4 years and Scalia retires and Clarence Thomas passes away? Then Democrats in the Senate obstruct and successfully get 2 judges that are less socially conservative than those two?

What if ...

You called me a hypocrite dude. At least acknowledge my logic even if your instinct or calculation is different. I am literally going by their platform statement, even if you ignore the disturbing momentum the party is following.
 

Jackson50

Member
This pretty much nails it.

I'm also thinking that I'd like to get married someday. Here, in Louisiana. And I don't see the rednecks, umm, voting population allowing that without a Supreme Court ruling.
Further, the illustrious Republican appointees delivered a fairly conservative decision. They may have affirmed Roe v. Wade by an uncomfortable margin. But they also permitted numerous new restrictions on reproductive rights. Again, there's a clear dichotomy between each party's respective appointees.
I'm conceding that Thomas and Scalia are at the very far spectrum of how conservative a judge will be and it is most likely that anyone that passes through a divided, polarized congress is going to be far less socially conservative than those two.

Plus, Mitt Romney's governing background doesn't give any indication of someone that proudly holds the conservative banner (especially on social issues). He has begrudgingly had to hold it in an effort to get votes.
There's much convergence between the four conservative justices. Thomas and Scalia are not radically more conservative than Roberts and especially Alito. And I expect the next Republican president to make similar appointments.

Will his impetus for feigning conservatism disappear after the election? No. Bush even capitulated to his base after the backlash against his appointee. And that was after his reelection. The strategy of dodging bullets is not salutary. Forgive us for rejecting it.
 
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