Sunday, October 21, 2018

Election Thoughts 2018: Where Democrats Stand (Part 8)

This election is too important to ignore. So, I am writing a series of posts on topics to consider as you think about who to vote for in November. I am specifically staying away from Trump and social topics. This series is about serious issues and the congress members involved with them. That is the focus, congress. Topics include:

1. Religious Education
2. Capitalism
3. The Tax Bill (the part congress played in it)
4. Healthcare
5. SNAP
6. Government Assistance (Other)

7. Veteran Wave
8. Where Democrats Stand
9. Candidates
10. GOTV and Nancy
 

 
I have been collecting these articles throughout the year. The part in green is a direct quote from the article in the link before or after it. I also very specifically stuck to reliable news sources. Actual fact based news sources like Politico, CBS News, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The LA Times and others.

 
 Where Democrats Stand:
Democrats haven’t been able to get much through over the last two years. But, they have been fighting hard for those who need a voice in congress. Those who can’t afford to donate thousands of dollars or more a month to their campaigns. They are fighting for the overall health and safety of everyone.
I really liked what Joe Kennedy said in his state of the union rebuttal speech. Personally, I think he is a strong candidate to replace Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the house. It's an important message that democrats have held true to this year.
 
“We choose a better deal for all who call our country home,” Kennedy said. “We choose the living wage, paid leave and the affordable child care your family needs to survive. We choose pensions that are solvent, trade pacts that are fair, roads and bridges that won’t rust away, a good education you can afford. We choose a health care system that offers you mercy, whether you suffer from cancer or depression or addiction. We choose an economy strong enough to boast record stock prices and brave enough to admit that top CEOs making 300 times the average worker is not right.” – Joe Kennedy (State of the Union Rebuttal)
 
Democratic demands are ambitious, topped by a legislative shield for the young undocumented immigrants whose Obama-era protection from deportation was ended by Mr. Trump. They are also pushing for broader intervention in the opioid epidemic, a boost for veterans’ care, disaster relief to hurricane-stricken areas, and financing for the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
 “Nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to,” Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the Democratic leader, said in an interview on Tuesday.
“People should not be intimidated by the F.C.C. simply saying it has pre-emptive authority, and we need to dig into the sources of that claim, which are a lot weaker than the F.C.C. makes it out to be,” said State Representative Drew Hansen, a Democrat who has introduced one of two net neutrality bills in Washington in recent weeks.
 
Democrats want to restore Net Neutrality. It’s a customer protection that forbids providers from slowing down or not opening certain websites, charging websites for faster speeds, and limits pricing. I have noticed Verizon slowing down some pages consistently. You might remember my February blog post “Confronting Verizon”. They falsely advertise their fast speeds. Once they add fine print, it’s time to pressure congress to restore net neutrality!
As of February 27th, All Senate Democrats, both Independents, and Susan Collins (R) had all signed on to the bill. In the politico link below, it talks about how they fought for that last vote!
In May, the Senate took a vote on a bill to restore net neutrality to save us from unchecked high bills, website lock outs, and “slow and fast lanes”. 52-47 it passed. But, the republican-led house refused to pick it up. If democrats can control the house again, the internet gets easier for all of us! It makes doing business easier and it makes it easier for small businesses to access customers without being priced out of the higher speed abilities.
I have done blog posts on this in January and February.  I don’t know about you, but, I have noticed changes in some webpage internet speeds. Some pages never open on the first try anymore.
 
In November of 2017, Senator Feinstein (D. CA) introduced a bill. “The Assault Rifle Ban of 2017”. Only Democrats signed on to it. It exempted handguns and hunting guns. But, not assault rifles. That was after the October 2017 shooting at Sutherland Baptist Church in Texas. Come mid-February, there was the Parkland High School Shooting. A 19 year old used one of the rifles that would have been banned under this law. He legally obtained it.
After the Parkland shooting there was more pressure than ever on representatives to write gun laws. But, financed by the NRA, Republicans did little to nothing. In the meantime, democrats renewed pressure for something common sense. It’s not about no guns. It’s about common sense gun safety laws.
In December, house republicans passed the “Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017”. Meaning, if you can legally carry a concealed gun in your state, you can do it in any state. It was paired with a light background check bill. As of February the Senate hadn’t even looked at it. They considered a stricter background bill separate from the concealed carry reciprocity act. Because they never would have the votes to pass anything with the concealed carry part in there. Too many states have too weak gun laws for this to be supported by most voters.
https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=8B3E8400-766E-4B5E-B59B-C800BB52A973

What about government assistance? Democrats are doing the best they can do stop the decimation of these programs. While republicans are saying they want to pay for their tax cuts to the rich with cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP, and Social Security, democrats are refusing to let them steal from the poor to give to the rich.
Democrats, however, are refusing to consider “extreme, partisan policies” that they say would slash spending on food stamps — a bulwark of the social safety net for more than 50 years. The program currently helps more than 40 million low-income Americans buy groceries each month. Support for the status quo also comes from the country’s biggest retailers and food companies, who see the program as a substantial chunk of their business. Farm groups, too, are unlikely to support big changes with the understanding they would threaten the whole bill.
 
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/28/food-stamp-fight-kill-farm-bill-446477
Democrats don’t want immigrant families separated. They want common sense gun safety laws. Not to ban guns but, to regulate guns for societies’ protection just like cars are regulated. They want everyone to be able to afford health care, food, and housing. They want everyone to make a living wage. A big thing they want to do is preserve affordable coverage for those with pre-existing conditions. Below is one example of many in the link below.
In 2010, Mr. Manchin’s pro-West Virginia iconoclasm meant standing up to his party’s leadership. Now, it means protecting a core provision of the Affordable Care Act. The words “Affordable Care Act” don’t appear in the ad — neither does Obamacare. But the Manchin campaign has bet big that health care politics in the state have changed. Instead of vowing to repeal part of Obamacare, he’s promising to protect its most popular provision. In fact, West Virginia has benefited more than nearly every other state from the health care law, and it’s the state with the largest share of residents with pre-existing health conditions, according to estimates from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Next week, I will take stances on issues strait from five candidate websites. Bob Menendez (NJ Senate), Beto O'Rourke (TX Senate), Mikie Sherrill (NJ11 Congress), Phil Bredesen (TN Senate), and Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ2 Congress). I recommend checking out the websites for the democrats running to represent you.  

 

 
 

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