Can't believe I'm over here, and there are so many things said in this thread I want to respond to...but I'll just throw out a few thoughts that may help the original poster decide.
1. Trump's "travel ban" didn't really do anything.... 30,000+ people still entered the US from China during that period. So if you take that away.... what exactly did he do to reduce the spread of covid? Hospitalizations and deaths are creeping back up rapidly too.
https://apnews.com/article/d227b34b168e576bf5068b92a03c003d
2. Joe Biden is as centrist as it gets. I won't say who I supported during the dem primary, but let me say he/she was wayyyyyy further left than Joe. Kamala isn't even that liberal either! The reason Joe is polling ahead by historical numbers is because, outside of Trump acting like a buffoon, their campaign plan almost seems like it was made for Bernie!..
He was, he isn't anymore. And if Harris isn't considered extremely left, it's because she flip-flops on issues when pinned down on them. It's why her campaign tanked. Joe prior to being Veep and prior to whatever is going on with his mental state, he'd get my vote in a second. Now, I'm worried my vote for him goes to the left agenda quickly. Just as I hate how a vote for Trump supports the right. At least with a vote for Trump, I think he's the president four years after winning. There's no way that's the case with Biden. And that’s the problem with a vote for Biden. You get Harris’s complete unknowns, or the influence of the left.
3. Republicans ARE actively trying to get rid of the ACA. They've put it in front of the court 70 times. Republicans do not support the expansive coverage of pre-existing conditions because it prevents insurance companies from making more money. Of course they can't come out and say "we're taking away coverage from pre-existing conditions" because it would RUIN their chance at any election. So instead they just blatantly lie because they have no other response. I find our healthcare absurd. Republicans act like the ACA (don't dare call it Obamacare) is some liberal creation. Dude, the ACA is ultra-conservative compared to what most countries have and enjoy...
I wish they would do away with it, to an extent. I should be able to choose my insurance, or choose not to have any, without the worry of a fine at year end (yes, I know Trump changed that). When I go to my one year olds wellness exam, there shouldn’t be a cash price and a insured price. The problem isn’t insurance for the consumer, it’s the health-care magnates and insurance companies. The largest problem with ACA is it isn't affordable at all. Legitimizing programs like medicare and medicaid would be much more valuable. I'm a teacher. My wife and I considered her staying at home (she's a bank manager) with our daughter when she was born. Because I'm a teacher, we had these options for insurance...1. $800ish/month for ACA plan that had about a $12,000 deductible. 2. $800ish/month through my school plan (pretty typical for public schools to be that high for dependents). 3. Paying roughly a $2000 fine for not having insurance. 4. $400/month health sharing plan that meets ACA. If it weren't for ACA, we just would've paid cash for everything needed. And we would've carried some sort of catastrophic health insurance for both. And would've spent far less. ACA absolutely kills people like me, a middle-class worker that strives to make more. Health-care needs some serious reform. Mandating health insurance isn't part of that. The models you speak of in other countries aren't applicable here. We're the third largest country in the world. You can't build a model for 350M people like you can with 20M people. It's not feasible.
4. It just comes down to your beliefs. I hate how partisan/polarized everything has become. Most people are well-meaning. At the end of the day, how comfortable do you feel having Trump be our leader? Our nation is as separated as ever and it is directly because of his buffoonery. He doesn't care about any of us. Outside of that, if you are strictly pro-life and pleased with how many conservative judges Trump has appointed, then I fully understand a vote for him. I do. Outside of that.... I just don't know. I promise you that Joe will not take away your guns, Cory Booker won't rip up your suburbs, a mob won't knock on your door November 4th, and no churches will be closed (all accusations Trump is making every day). Let's get back to decency, please...
Couldn't agree more. The herd mentality and divide is just nuts, with both parties. I don't get it, at all.
PS - Joe will 100% be a one-term president. He'll step aside and Kamala will run in 2024. I would not be surprised if she faces a more progressive challenger in the primary, though, like AOC, Warren, or Katie Porter...
I wish I could get behind believing he'd make it even half of a term. Btw, you misspelled Pete Buttigieg there at the end. Come on...Why can't the party get behind him? The people in this country that give a crap that he's gay aren't voting for a Dem anyway. So dumb. Dude would be great.
