I find it curious that Donald Trump seems more likable to me as a presidential candidate than he did as a boss on the Apprentice. I think many find his brashness, directness, and originality (a Mexican-financed wall) refreshing. At least we are not left wondering what he really feels and thinks.
I don't get expanded cable and did not see the Republican debates on Fox news channel. From what I've read, none of the candidates spoke the word "women" even once during this forum. I suspect the topics of poverty and public health did not come up either.What does this say about Fox news and/or Republicans? Continue reading below the squiggle to find out.
If the issues of poverty, unemployment, health insurance and public health had not occurred to the Fox staff preparing the questions for the candidates, that might be understandable. There are a number of issues besides these. But the fact is that Fox News solicited questions from the general public. And I responded with the following:
None of us would deny that every American citizen possesses individual inalienable rights including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Yet not every American has the opportunity to experience those rights. A few examples would be the 45 million Americans, including working people, living in poverty; the 9 million+ unemployed Americans; and the 35 million citizens without health insurance coverage. Is your position that the law of the jungle, that is, survival of the fittest, should take precedence over giving these people the opportunity to experience their inalienable rights? If not, what would your administration do to ensure that all Americans who are able and willing to work have jobs with adequate compensation?
I also submitted this:
According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (http://dx.doi.org/...), particulate matter pollution from power plants in the U.S. was responsible for 30,100 premature deaths in 2000. The incidence of black lung disease, which "caused or contributed to roughly 75,000 deaths" between 1968 and 2007, since the 1990s, has increased overall and the most severe, fast-progressing type is increasing in younger miners, according to the Center for Public Integrity (http://www.publicintegrity.org/...). These are just two of the many ways that the use of fossil fuels negatively affects the health of millions of Americans. Yet the Federal Government not only purchases millions of dollars worth of fuel and electricity derived from fossil fuels, it subsidizes Big Oil with billions in taxes, some of which is collected from the very people whose health is negatively affected. Then the government uses more taxes to help some of those people receive health care. If you become president, will anything change or will the problem just get more expensive and unfair for those sick and dying people whose right to life is being threatened by the use of fossil fuels?
You might think the questions were too long, or that Trump might not have been able to understand the questions, etc. None of those objections excuse Fox News from completely ignoring the topics. Perhaps Fox News as well as Republican candidates don't regard the poor, the unemployed, those without health insurance, those sickened by fossil fuels, even women as voters with legitimate concerns.