Who is going to be the next United States President?

[ginmqi]

The right has moved so far off the cliff that it's insane.  Today's so called "socialists" are probably moderate GOP back in the day....lol

Rand Paul actually makes some sensible arguments but the so called "libertarian" policies are way way too much into private tyranny/power and essentially to me makes no sense when you talk about actual classical libertarianism with respect to invidivual rights/freedoms. And free from state AND private power tyranny.

With that said Bernie is the only viable candidate on either side. I do like Jill Stein as well though.

 

Out of curiosity I did find a survey done on physician's political leanings:

Table 3. Physicians' Political Leaning

Specialty	Fiscally Conservative	Socially Liberal
Anesthesiology	80.29%	51.17%
Cardiology	75.33%	54.20%
Critical Care	64.58%	67.71%
Dermatology	73.82%	59.45%
Diabetes & Endocrinology	63.33%	62.22%
Emergency Medicine	76.10%	57.57%
Family Medicine	69.22%	52.53%
Gastroenterology	71.88%	56.46%
General Surgery	76.54%	52.19%
HIV/ID	51.05%	74.48%
Internal Medicine	63.19%	58.39%
Nephrology	64.04%	62.15%
Neurology	61.78%	64.15%
Ob/Gyn & Women's Health	71.80%	58.73%
Oncology	66.31%	63.52%
Ophthalmology	77.62%	56.03%
Orthopaedics	82.01%	47.83%
Other (please specify)	70.48%	57.98%
Pathology	69.22%	58.24%
Pediatrics	60.97%	62.28%
Plastic Surgery	82.21%	53.74%
Psychiatry & Mental Health	55.37%	72.16%
Pulmonary Medicine	66.16%	57.93%
Radiology	76.12%	57.84%
Rheumatology	68.69%	57.48%
Urology	79.47%	54.18%

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/760127_5

[Zaphod]

Trump values your faith? Are you serious? He could not care less other than the extent that religious folks tend to vote republican, he obviously has very little knowledge on religion nor does he care much about it himself. What will his views on religion ultimately have an effect on anyway? This is another topic that people tend to vote for that has very little outcome in reality. What do you think a president could do that would be an impingement on faith/religion in general? That would be a supreme court issue as its a constitutional right, so I guess maybe the appointing of judges there, but even the most left leaning person would not be able to appoint someone who was openly against religion.

Trump is a blowhard that knows exactly what buttons to push to fire up the complacent and angry folks and possibly enough so to drive them to vote. In no way does he see it as anything other than a game, and the ultimate prize is simply his ego and if he can get the spot.

Now, I dont really think any candidate truly cares for your personal values to any great degree, they are trying to get elected, pandering is the name of the game to a sickening extent. Just look at some of their views prior to being presidential candidates and what they talk about now.

[chrisCD]

Almost every politician knows what buttons to push.  And almost every politician is already bought and paid for. There are only 3 "major" candidates that have not already been paid for: Trump, Carson, and Fiorina.  Of those 3, only Trump seems to have the momentum needed to win the nomination.

As to Trump's support for people of faith here are a couple of links on that topic:

There are two parts -- 1)  http://lancewallnau.com/2015/10/meeting-donald-trump-an-insiders-report/

2) http://lancewallnau.com/2015/10/trump-tells-us-more/

 

Other problems not withstanding, the two current Dem hopefuls are two fiscally liberal for my taste.

cd :O)

[SimpleDoc]

White Coat Investor wrote:

I think Hillary will win. One look at the electoral map and the democratic polls ought to convince anyone of that. Who I want to win is a different matter. I’m mostly an “any republican but trump” guy. Speaking your mind might be refreshing and entertaining, but there is a reason for the art of diplomacy, an important skill for a president. Very underwhelmed with the entire field this time around. I think we blew it 4 years ago. I think a Romney/Ryan presidency would have been really good. I’m more and more impressed with those two each year.

Speaking of presidential politics, I think people attribute way too much to the presidency. They just don’t have that much power in our system of government for all the doom and gloom that people have when their candidate doesn’t win.

As far as moderation policies, this is the lounge…wear a thick skin and pretend you’re in the same room as the people you’re talking to and we’ll let threads like this go as long as people find them interesting.

Click to expand...

+1

[Zaphod]

Trump and bernie are probably your least bought politicians, and while thats better than the alternative it doesnt follow that their views are necessarily good. I dont really see HRC as liberal fiscally, shes very old school politics, sure in this extremist rules day she is left but only relatively. Carson who knows, and fiorina as well, but doesnt matter neither have a chance at all.

Do you really think ANY candidate would be so dumb as to dismiss people of faith? The great majority of americans consider themselves so, it would be suicide, even a forthright atheist would be welcoming and supportive.

Maybe im just super cynical, but I really dont buy it as anything other than campaigning in general. Not necessarily a bad thing as I dont think any president would last if they attacked religion so none really will, its a non issue. Trump does not seem to be the most upstanding moral type, not that many politicians are but...hes pretty much the definition of several deadly sins.

[SimpleDoc]

ktehc wrote:

I find it interesting that, from what I can discern, there is a primarily conservative member base among participants here, who are (mostly) residents, attendings, or other career professionals. In my experience, most of the students at my school and other med schools where I have friends are more left-leaning and primarily basing their support on candidates’ social policy ideals and personal integrity over fiscal/military/foreign policy; Bernie Sanders is far and away the most popular candidate among my classmates and most other young people I know. I wonder if my generation is truly different from the established, current generation of physicians, or if people will change their political priorities once we’re at those later stages of training/life.

I won’t pretend to know enough about each candidate’s individual platform (aside from the latest media headlines) to make an informed decision yet… But I find myself a fan of Sanders due to his personal character.

Click to expand...

Wait until you and your classmates graduate and start making Attending salaries....then come back and let us know if y'all will still be leaning towards social liberal policies, especially as regards tax issues. PS: Your candidate Bernie Sanders does not mind a 90% tax on the wealthiest Americans...is that ok with you?

[ktehc]

SimpleDoc wrote:

ktehc wrote:

I find it interesting that, from what I can discern, there is a primarily conservative member base among participants here, who are (mostly) residents, attendings, or other career professionals. In my experience, most of the students at my school and other med schools where I have friends are more left-leaning and primarily basing their support on candidates’ social policy ideals and personal integrity over fiscal/military/foreign policy; Bernie Sanders is far and away the most popular candidate among my classmates and most other young people I know. I wonder if my generation is truly different from the established, current generation of physicians, or if people will change their political priorities once we’re at those later stages of training/life.

I won’t pretend to know enough about each candidate’s individual platform (aside from the latest media headlines) to make an informed decision yet… But I find myself a fan of Sanders due to his personal character.

Click to expand…

Wait until you and your classmates graduate and start making Attending salaries….then come back and let us know if y’all will still be leaning towards social liberal policies, especially as regards tax issues. PS: Your candidate Bernie Sanders does not mind a 90% tax on the wealthiest Americans…is that ok with you?

Click to expand...

Well, that was my point... I didn't know if prior generations of med students (now attendings, such as on this forum) had experienced the same kind of shift in priorities (from primarily social to primarily fiscal policy) when going from student to resident to attending. A couple have chimed in that this was the case in their experience, and I want to keep that in mind as I move forward in my training.

With regard to Mr. Sanders, I'd just like to clarify that he is not my candidate, as I don't feel I have learned enough about any candidate to really make an educated decision; I was just opining that, of the current candidates, Sanders seems to have a lot of political integrity. Whether or not I agree with his specific policies for the upcoming presidency is a matter I cannot really speak to yet. I haven't seen that assertion regarding the 90% tax, but it gives me something to look into, so thank you.

[ACN]

SimpleDoc wrote:

ktehc wrote:

I find it interesting that, from what I can discern, there is a primarily conservative member base among participants here, who are (mostly) residents, attendings, or other career professionals. In my experience, most of the students at my school and other med schools where I have friends are more left-leaning and primarily basing their support on candidates’ social policy ideals and personal integrity over fiscal/military/foreign policy; Bernie Sanders is far and away the most popular candidate among my classmates and most other young people I know. I wonder if my generation is truly different from the established, current generation of physicians, or if people will change their political priorities once we’re at those later stages of training/life.

I won’t pretend to know enough about each candidate’s individual platform (aside from the latest media headlines) to make an informed decision yet… But I find myself a fan of Sanders due to his personal character.

Click to expand…

Wait until you and your classmates graduate and start making Attending salaries….then come back and let us know if y’all will still be leaning towards social liberal policies, especially as regards tax issues. PS: Your candidate Bernie Sanders does not mind a 90% tax on the wealthiest Americans…is that ok with you?

Click to expand...

It's shocking on how quickly those classmates in college and medical school who leaned hard left have changed to either moderate or far right conservatives in a matter of 8-12 years.  Once you start the "real world," people change their tunes when the government is taking 30%+ of your paycheck, yet you want to live in the "nice" apartments downtown and go out on weekends with friends and go to sporting events.

I've been a conservative all my life and was basically chastised by my fellow liberal classmates during Bush/Obama days.

[Kennyt7]

TRUMP/PALIN  no brainer  best looking couple

[ginmqi]

Zaphod wrote:

Trump and bernie are probably your least bought politicians, and while thats better than the alternative it doesnt follow that their views are necessarily good. I dont really see HRC as liberal fiscally, shes very old school politics, sure in this extremist rules day she is left but only relatively. Carson who knows, and fiorina as well, but doesnt matter neither have a chance at all.

Do you really think ANY candidate would be so dumb as to dismiss people of faith? The great majority of americans consider themselves so, it would be suicide, even a forthright atheist would be welcoming and supportive.

Maybe im just super cynical, but I really dont buy it as anything other than campaigning in general. Not necessarily a bad thing as I dont think any president would last if they attacked religion so none really will, its a non issue. Trump does not seem to be the most upstanding moral type, not that many politicians are but…hes pretty much the definition of several deadly sins.

Click to expand...

Agreed.

 

It's quite amazing how Liberty University essentially endorsed Trump when he was invited to speak there last week.

It's very hard to see much of any Christian values that Trump exudes....sounds like they are more into politics than faith.

Carson or Huckabee seemed to be much more religious candidate to me.

Not to mention Trump's gaff of "TWO CORINTHIANS" lol....

[chrisCD]

Zaphod wrote:

...I dont really see HRC as liberal fiscally, shes very old school politics, sure in this extremist rules day she is left but only relatively.

Do you really think ANY candidate would be so dumb as to dismiss people of faith? The great majority of americans consider themselves so, it would be suicide, even a forthright atheist would be welcoming and supportive.

Click to expand...

I define making or extending laws for more social program spending as fiscally liberal.  Not sure how you define it.  But HRC seems to want to continue and extend Obama's efforts in this arena.  Let Big Gov't take care of you.  You want a higher minimum wage, Big G can get it for you.  You want free college, Big G can get it for you.  And where will that $ come from?  :O)

And I guess you and I have a different opinion on what it takes to dismiss people of faith.  In general, the push for and Supreme Court ruling for SSM is dismissing people of faith.  In general, that was an agenda pushed by Democrats.  And of course, abortion has been a hot button issue for decades.  The main ruling of course in 1973 and again an agenda really pushed by Democrats.  Now, since people of faith have basically lost on those two accounts, I'm not making that part of my litmus test this round.

However, there have already been cases that pit people's religious views against SSM, and people of faith have been losing.  So the Gov't has not only been dismissing people of faith, but become antagonistic to it.

And just to be clear, I am not happy with most of the conservatives at this point that do hold office.  It has become a situation where the differences between the parties are almost indistinguishable and I think putting an outsider in, really can't be much worse and would put people on notice that we are tired of their games and things need to change.  Stop pandering to Wall St. and start caring about main street.  Not in word, but in action.

Gun Control, Gov't Spying, illegal immigration, health care, and now even legal immigration are other issues of concern.  Those are issues that overall I think Trump will be better for the country than HRC.

cd :O)

[The White Coat Investor]

I got a kick out of this quote I saw on CNN today from Lindsey Graham. Can't say I disagree:

Graham, for instance, said that Trump was "crazy" with an "insane" foreign policy and Cruz was a "rigid ideologue," both of which would be problematic against Hillary Clinton, even if voters view her as a "dishonest" candidate, he said.

"Dishonest beats crazy," said Graham, who dropped his bid for the GOP nomination last month. "Dishonest loses to normal. Just pick somebody normal. Pick somebody out of the phone book and we win."

[childay]

Just want to ask not to let this forum turn into Sermo in terms of "enlightened" political discussion

[Jim]

Sermo is a cesspool and it embarrasses me as a physician to be a part of that group.  The only posts I read on there anymore are enbastet's medicolegal treatises.

So far, this discussion has been "lively" but I haven't seen it turn ad hominem yet.

 

[Raj]

IMO Hillary Clinton would be a worse president than any of the republican candidates, even Trump. She is weak on every front, specially security. I agree with Trump's principles on illegal immigration and security issues. However, his ideas about executing those plans are impractical at this point. Hillary neither has principles nor plans to tackle these/any issues. Bernie is like a grumpy Santa promising free gifts to college students.

The parties (Dems vs repubs) currently have very different takes on all major issues. I do think it "really matters" who the next POTUS is and what party he/she comes from.