Lakewood Presidential Survey

[Michael Deneen]

Interesting responses....it appears that the Trump Phenomenon is real, including here in Lakewood.

Noone has mentioned our home state candidate John Kasich....despite the fact that he beat "Hometown Boy" Ed FitzGerald in Lakewood only 15 months ago.

[Patrick Wadden]

I am surprised that the Trump has legs. But he does. It is very real. I have friends from work, family, friends from all different socioeconomic status that support Trump. If Hillary loses the nomination then Bloomberg jumps in and throws a wrench into the entire process. Seabiscuit Bloomberg could come from out of nowhere and win this whole thing. Unlikely, but possible if Hillary loses to the Bern. Bloomberg is a , just as rich, but less crazy Trump.

[jackie f taylor]

Admiditaly, I'm getting older, I thought I should change my health insurance. The plan I have now, pays everything after I spend $2000. out of pocket, and $2500. deductable, either one will suffice. It cost me about $350.00 a month.

The Obama plan, offices me the "Goverment Plans" My new Health Insurance now cost $750.00 a month. The Goverment, ie; the tax payers will pay $432.00 I pay about $318.00 a month, but now the DEDUCTABLE is $6000.00 a year. I'm staying where I am, and God help us if the Democrats win.

[jackie f taylor]

MAGA; MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN I don't know about you, but I'm barley getting by. it could be so much better, IT SHOULD be, better,
where, who are the guys & the talented gals who can take us from this misery that we have to put up with, this useless, wasteful goverment, not all, but some think,,, ( I'll take care of myself & my family, the rest of you can go to h__l). month after year after decades? I'm so sick of all the b__sh__ I can't take it any more.

NO ONE IS BETTER SUITED TO BE THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, THAN DONALD TRUMP i WANT A MANAGER, NOT A SWEET HEART, I don't care if you say the wrong thing at the wrong time, I do too.... I want SOMEONE who has the balls, to do what has to be done, for all our safety, sharing the same vision that I share, that America should be, and COULD be, the best of all the planet, we are not that anymore, Trump can fix that, we will be the best, the finest and the most secure of the whole world. That's what I want, for me & my family and yours, safety and security.....

If I woke up and heard "Hillary's voice" I would either commit m--d-r or su-c-de, just kidding, ..

[Bridget Conant]

How, exactly, can "Trump fix that?"

The fact of the matter is that our country has a rather great system of governance in place that insures a smooth and non-disruptive transfer of power between presidential terms. Our politics swings from the far left to the far right, but our government operates in a narrow band in the middle. Sure, it moves a little left- or rightward under different administrations, but it really never moves out of that safe middle of the road zone. Why? Checks and balances and our three part governmental structure. No individual president can come in and totally change the status quo; not Bernie and not Trump. It just can't happen. The executive does not make law, the Congress does.

So anyone who thinks Trump is going to get in there and shake it all up, or build a wall across the southwest, is as deluded as he is.

Just ask Obama.

[Lori Allen _]

Correct me if I am wrong, but, for the last four years congress has not been able to do anything, thanks to our authoritarian leader. He just gets out his big old pen and signs an executive order. I believe this is against the law. What has he done to keep us safe? Oh, that's right, made a deal with Iran who is the number one terrorist training country in the world. Let's not forget the free pass that Hillary will probably get for her e-mails and Benghazi. Ask any cop how he feels about Obama. It is OK with Obama if protesters exercise their rights by burning down businesses, looting , throwing rocks at cops and sometimes taking shots at them. I have family in the FBI, BCI and Homeland Security, yes, it is happening. Also, I am not enjoying my health insurance going up 35% over the past two years. We can't afford the co-pays or deductables. Well, I knew somebody would have to pay for all Obama's freebies.

[Richard Baker]

Bernie Sander is buying votes from the leaches of society the want more for no effort.

[Anne Steiner]

Correct me if I am wrong, but, for the last four years congress has not been able to do anything, thanks to our authoritarian leader. He just gets out his big old pen and signs an executive order. I believe this is against the law. What has he done to keep us safe? Oh, that's right, made a deal with Iran who is the number one terrorist training country in the world. Let's not forget the free pass that Hillary will probably get for her e-mails and Benghazi. Ask any cop how he feels about Obama. It is OK with Obama if protesters exercise their rights by burning down businesses, looting , throwing rocks at cops and sometimes taking shots at them. I have family in the FBI, BCI and Homeland Security, yes, it is happening. Also, I am not enjoying my health insurance going up 35% over the past two years. We can't afford the co-pays or deductables. Well, I knew somebody would have to pay for all Obama's freebies.

Since President Obama’s election, the GOP has abandoned its role as a national governing party. It has seized Congress not by pursuing an alternative agenda but by campaigning and staging votes against anything Obama says or does. The party’s so-called leaders have become followers, chasing the pet issues of right-wing radio audiences. Now the mob to whom these elders have surrendered—angry white voters who are determined to “take back their country” from immigrants and liberals—is ready to install its own presidential nominee. The Trump-Cruz takeover is the culmination of the Grand Old Party’s moral collapse. Republicans captured the House in 2010, but they didn’t use that power to cut favorable deals and pass legislation that might be signed into law. Instead, they reduced Congress to theater. House Republicans, unwilling to offend their base, killed immigration reform. In 2014, Republicans captured the Senate. Again, they spurned the opportunity to govern. Forty-seven Republican senators advised Iran not to sign a nuclear nonproliferation agreement with the United States. The Senate became such a farce that according to Rubio, there’s no point in attending, since nothing happens there but “show votes.”

[Lori Allen _]

This does not excuse the illegal use of the executive pen!

[Dan Alaimo]

The "illegality" of executive orders depends on where you sit. W issued 291; Obama 226 so far (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U ... ive_orders). I've got a feeling you weren't complaining about Bush's executive orders.
I'm just glad somebody is doing something positive in Washington to offset the obstructionist Congress.

It does concern me that this will be viewed as an "opportunity" for President Trump (ugh).

[Lori Allen _]

If one compares the details of executive orders signed by Bush & Obama, it should be quite apparent that many of Bush's executive orders were fairly minor.

Upon review of some of the executive orders signed by Obama, it is quite apparent to me that a voluminous amount of them are nothing to sneeze at. Furthermore, many of them also go so far as to change existing laws and create new ones. This is the duty of the legislative branch, not the executive branch.

EO 13688 appears to strip law enforcement agencies of federal military equipment and supplies. How does this benefit America or enhance the safety or national security of the nation?

Another recent executive order revokes nuclear sanctions on Iran. Again, how is the beneficial to the nation's safety or national security? See http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/poli ... /78904642/. Now, Iran is capturing our sailors and flying their planes dangerously close to our ships. What is being done about it? Quite apparently, nothing.

According to http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/, another recent executive order is an attempt to decrease gun violence through stronger background checks. However, I have yet to be convinced, nor has it really been explained how these measures will actually decrease gun violence committed by those that buy firearms on the street.

It is also difficult to forget the executive order that permitted thousands upon thousands of refugees into this country with little to no vetting process. Again, how does this benefit America or enhance the safety or national security of the nation?

Additionally, we have Americans living in cardboard boxes and on the streets in pretty much every U.S. city. A large amount of these individuals are war veterans that suffer from debilitating physical and mental illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder. Some of them have lost limbs. Where is the executive order to create and/or increase funding for homeless and mentally-ill war veterans?

According to my relative in homeland security, members of terrorist organizations are infiltrating the U.S. by posing as refugees. He also informed me that it is much easier to predict large-scale attacks than it is those committed by small groups of individuals (such as the San Bernadino shooting or the police officer who was shot in Philadelphia). My relative also informed me that homeland security and border patrol agents have been cut more than half under the Obama administration.

In summary, my question still remains. According to http://dailysignal.com/2014/12/03/since ... 0-percent/, the national debt has increased by almost seventy percent under the Obama administration. What do we have to show for this and all of the executive orders?

[ryan costa]

I will write-in Ross Perot.

This is a futile gesture.

but It makes me feel better.

[jackie f taylor]

I appreciiate all your responces, now, who will you vote for president? me Trump, or Ted Cruze, imagine, The president is "Cruising"

[Patrick Wadden]

I am more concerned about the 2 Supreme Court seats that will come in to play. Therefore I am voting Hillary/Sanders. It's that simple.

[Gary Rice]

When I was at my college graduation party, graduating with a cum laude degree in Political Science, a young neighborhood man innocently asked me, "Gary, what is Politics?" and I found myself stumbling for words.


Granted, figuring out what to tell a seven-year-old about such a topic is one thing, but quite frankly, even now, I think that I STILL might struggle with a coherent and concise response to that question.


Sure, it's about getting and keeping power, looking after one's own interests and hopefully, the interests of others, and yes, it's about special interests too. It's about beliefs, perhaps even more-so than facts. It's about issues that are very important to people involving everything from the distribution of wealth, to whether the Constitution is written in stone with a single interpretation, or is a living document that can be interpreted in different ways....The definition of Politics goes on and on...

If you're like me, you see points that the Republicans make that you agree with, but you will also see points that the Democrats make that you will agree with too. Then too, many, if not most of us, wish that there were a third or forth way for people to get elected; but even that would have a downside, as seen with so many multi-party systems that have trouble building coalitions and getting along with each other.

If you think that WE have too much negativity, just look at some of the stuff that other countries go through!

Actually, our process is pretty civilized although, to me at least, I think that presidential electability in America is about having a smile, and exuding confidence. Now I could be wrong here, but mark my words. The candidate that starts to exude confidence and start smiling will be your next president. For evidence? Look back at the face of (almost) every president we've elected recently. Sure, money's important in Politics, but a smile is a powerful persuader.

Most of our candidates today, in my opinion, have the facial expression of a constipated carp.

The first one to smile will win.

Mark my words.

Back to the banjo..