He gained seats relative to 2012. He pushed Rutte to the right (his party is the VVD a fiscally Conservative party) so that is why Wilders did not win as many extra seats. The big liberal party was anihilated and a more leftist party also gained a lot of seats. Rutte needs 3 other parties to form a government and that will be very hard.

I would say Holland has gone more left and more right. A wide spectrum. Way wider than when I lived there. Harder to govern. The population realizes the need to curb immigration if it wants to keep its culture.

Europe realizes it is in trouble with this and the people at large are not happy with the EU so that is a major issue.

Did you see Sweden reinstated mandatory military service? They are afraid of the Russians...

Europe will be forced to spend more on military. This has not happened for decades. This will change social welfare over there. I think it may cause the EU to crumble...

Trump seems under the control of the Ryanites- this shitty healthcare bill will undo him as will the cutting of domestic services at the expense of military spending with little reason to do so. He's deep in the swamp now, the same old one

Goobear;842821654 said:

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He gained seats relative to 2012. He pushed Rutte to the right (his party is the VVD a fiscally Conservative party) so that is why Wilders did not win as many extra seats. The big liberal party was anihilated and a more leftist party also gained a lot of seats. Rutte needs 3 other parties to form a government and that will be very hard.

I would say Holland has gone more left and more right. A wide spectrum. Way wider than when I lived there. Harder to govern. The population realizes the need to curb immigration if it wants to keep its culture.

Europe realizes it is in trouble with this and the people at large are not happy with the EU so that is a major issue.

Did you see Sweden reinstated mandatory military service? They are afraid of the Russians...

Europe will be forced to spend more on military. This has not happened for decades. This will change social welfare over there. I think it may cause the EU to crumble...

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Great recap. Thanks. Rutte rejecting the Turkish emissary was huge, IMO. It pushed many who were on the fence, over to him.

The Russian issue is a huge one. That changes everything. Where once there was hope for Russia to possibly join the EU and even NATO, there is great uncertainty. Let's not forget Turkey.

The disenchantment of many for the Euro is also a major issue. With the exception of Germany, whose strong export economy is helped by it, most countries hate it. The Dutch have never embraced it.

My tolerant Dutch in laws are like most there in thinking "what do we do about the large Islamic immigrant population?"

GB54;842821660 said:

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Trump seems under the control of the Ryanites- this shitty healthcare bill will undo him as will the cutting of domestic services at the expense of military spending with little reason to do so. He's deep in the swamp now, the same old one

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It'll also kill Ryan's reputation as the preeminent GOP budget policy wonk. Many of these recent Town Hall meetings on the healthcare revamp are filled with Trump voters wanting to know why they should suffer for a tax cut for the rich.

NYCGOBEARS;842821665 said:

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Great recap. Thanks. Rutte rejecting the Turkish emissary was huge, IMO. It pushed many who were on the fence, over to him.

The Russian issue is a huge one. That changes everything. Where once there was hope for Russia to possibly join the EU and even NATO, there is great uncertainty. Let's not forget Turkey.

The disenchantment of many for the Euro is also a major issue. With the exception of Germany, whose strong export economy is helped by it, most countries hate it. The Dutch have never embraced it.

My tolerant Dutch in laws are like most there in thinking "what do we do about the large Islamic immigrant population?"

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Yes Turkey. Ergodan called Holland a banana republic..They will be a problem. Yes Europe is in turmoil no matter what happens. It is sad to see that the cultures are being threatened by immigration. However they were way too lax on pushing for smart integration. Throwing money at the problem did nothing...

How's the snow NYC? Or did you only get rain?

Goobear;842821678 said:

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Yes Turkey. Ergodan called Holland a banana republic..They will be a problem. Yes Europe is in turmoil no matter what happens. It is sad to see that the cultures are being threatened by immigration. However they were way too lax on pushing for smart integration. Throwing money at the problem did nothing...

How's the snow NYC? Or did you only get rain?

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Plenty of snow and it's cold. What was a very mild winter has turned into a very cold spring. Ugh....

GB54;842821660 said:

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Trump seems under the control of the Ryanites- this shitty healthcare bill will undo him

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It's just stunningly bad, isn't it? Using up so much political capital on something that will (1) most likely fail to pass and (2) completely destroy Republican reelection chances if it ever does (not to mention actually killing people in the process). I'd put down even money that Trump himself doesn't even know what's in the bill, but for the Republican Congress it's such a bizarre play with so little potential payoff.

Obama took a lot of flack in passing the ACA, but he also boxed the GOP into a corner -- the law was already about as right-leaning as you could get for a universal health care approach that is still workable, so the current "conservative" party literally has nowhere to go, unless they want to actively strip their own constituents' health coverage away from them.

sycasey;842821746 said:

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It's just stunningly bad, isn't it? Using up so much political capital on something that will (1) most likely fail to pass and (2) completely destroy Republican reelection chances if it ever does (not to mention actually killing people in the process). I'd put down even money that Trump himself doesn't even know what's in the bill, but for the Republican Congress it's such a bizarre play with so little potential payoff.

Obama took a lot of flack in passing the ACA, but he also boxed the GOP into a corner -- the law was already about as right-leaning as you could get for a universal health care approach that is still workable, so the current "conservative" party literally has nowhere to go, unless they want to actively strip their own constituents' health coverage away from them.

---

+1

It almost looks like a suicide mission heading into the midterm Election.

No tort reform. No cost controls. And still allowing "illegals" health care....which are all non-starters for the House Freedom caucus.

Meanwhile, much of West Virginia has no idea why they got health care coverage via Medicaid expansion under the ACA, even though they voted for Trump last November. - - - However, I have a funny feeling that they will figure out who took it away.

sycasey;842821746 said:

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It's just stunningly bad, isn't it? Using up so much political capital on something that will (1) most likely fail to pass and (2) completely destroy Republican reelection chances if it ever does (not to mention actually killing people in the process). I'd put down even money that Trump himself doesn't even know what's in the bill, but for the Republican Congress it's such a bizarre play with so little potential payoff.

Obama took a lot of flack in passing the ACA, but he also boxed the GOP into a corner -- the law was already about as right-leaning as you could get for a universal health care approach that is still workable, so the current "conservative" party literally has nowhere to go, unless they want to actively strip their own constituents' health coverage away from them.

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One of IMO biggest problems with Obamacare is that it didn't create a constituency. There's no use passing legislation like this unless there is a legacy that thanks you at the voting booth. Ironically, Ryan and his pals have now created this constituency.

GB54;842821833 said:

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One of IMO biggest problems with Obamacare is that it didn't create a constituency. There's no use passing legislation like this unless there is a legacy that thanks you at the voting booth. Ironically, Ryan and his pals have now created this constituency.

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Obama tackled it his second term. Obviously, he was a little busy first term. He cemented a legacy and laid a booby trap for the GOP. When Obamacare first rolled out, I felt that there was no way that it would be repealed as it would quickly become an entitlement. Looks like that's happened.

GB54;842821833 said:

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One of IMO biggest problems with Obamacare is that it didn't create a constituency. There's no use passing legislation like this unless there is a legacy that thanks you at the voting booth. Ironically, Ryan and his pals have now created this constituency.

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I'll give Obama some credit and assume he knew the Republicans might do this, and also what the result would be.

I'm retiring this year after 46 years in the investment advisory and financial planning business. My current asset allocation mix on St Patrick's Day is 45% equities, 25% bonds, 20% alternatives* & 10% cash.
*my alts are split 10% in hard assets (gold &, silver ETFs) and 10% in traditional alternative investments.


I began in the business in 1972 part-time and went fulltime in 1973 at age 23. President Nixon removed the US Dollar from the gold standard in my graduation year, 1971. I'm a bit of a gold bug.

Since this month is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and CRC is the #2 cancer killer for the over 50 crowd, I will shamelessly plug Exact Sciences (EXAS) out of Madison, Wisconsin....and their FDA approved non-invasive stool DNA screening test called Cologuard for colon cancer.

Schroeder71;842821855 said:

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I'm retiring this year after 46 years in the investment advisory and financial planning business. My current asset allocation mix on St Patrick's Day is 45% equities, 25% bonds, 20% alternatives* & 10% cash.
*my alts are split 10% in hard assets (gold &, silver ETFs) and 10% in traditional alternative investments.


I began in the business in 1972 part-time and went fulltime in 1973 at age 23. President Nixon removed the US Dollar from the gold standard in my graduation year, 1971. I'm a bit of a gold bug.

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Congrats Schroeder!

In the business myself, though you have me beat by about 15 years. A great industry and a tremendous amount of change over the years. You're probably getting out at a good time.

NYCGOBEARS;842821668 said:

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It'll also kill Ryan's reputation as the preeminent GOP budget policy wonk. Many of these recent Town Hall meetings on the healthcare revamp are filled with Trump voters wanting to know why they should suffer for a tax cut for the rich.

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Because Trump is doing exactly as he promised. Screw buyer's remorse. I really hope Trump and cumpany run this bad boy for 8 years.

sycasey;842821746 said:

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It's just stunningly bad, isn't it? Using up so much political capital on something that will (1) most likely fail to pass and (2) completely destroy Republican reelection chances if it ever does (not to mention actually killing people in the process). I'd put down even money that Trump himself doesn't even know what's in the bill, but for the Republican Congress it's such a bizarre play with so little potential payoff.

Obama took a lot of flack in passing the ACA, but he also boxed the GOP into a corner -- the law was already about as right-leaning as you could get for a universal health care approach that is still workable, so the current "conservative" party literally has nowhere to go, unless they want to actively strip their own constituents' health coverage away from them.

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You forgot to add one little point.
(3) add millions of people to the list of people without health care coverage.

GivemTheAxe;842822567 said:

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You forgot to add one little point.
(3) add millions of people to the list of people without health care coverage.

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Well, I did mention "actually killing people," so there's that.

burritos;842822408 said:

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Because Trump is doing exactly as he promised. Screw buyer's remorse. I really hope Trump and cumpany run this bad boy for 8 years.

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Trump is not doing as he promised. He promised to insure everybody at lower cost with better care. He promised jobs in the rust belt. He promised to lock up Hillary and make Mexico pay for the wall. He's a massive liar.

dajo9;842822691 said:

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Trump is not doing as he promised. He promised to insure everybody at lower cost with better care. He promised jobs in the rust belt. He promised to lock up Hillary and make Mexico pay for the wall. He's a massive liar.

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He promised to repeal obamacare and replace it with "something terrific." The definition of "Something terrific" is open to interpretation. If he kicks the hicks off of medicaid, and then puts the trump stamp of approval on this action and declares it "Something better" then it is. People who supported him or didn't feel the need to vote for Hilary in the swing states do not deserve the right to be surprised.

burritos;842822732 said:

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He promised to repeal obamacare and replace it with "something terrific." The definition of "Something terrific" is open to interpretation. If he kicks the hicks off of medicaid, and then puts the trump stamp of approval on this action and declares it "Something better" then it is. People who supported him or didn't feel the need to vote for Hilary in the swing states do not deserve the right to be surprised.

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I don't know, it seems like a pretty widely-held opinion on both sides that this Paul Ryan bill is not "terrific."

sycasey;842822744 said:

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I don't know, it seems like a pretty widely-held opinion on both sides that this Paul Ryan bill is not "terrific."

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Terrific and "terrific" can have absolutely no consequential connection in reality. Trump was knowlingly elected to serve up "terrific" which we ought to know is independent of reality based terrific or popular consensus terrific.

If people warn you that you are about to elect a con man and you elect him and then get conned by the con man, who's fault is that?

burritos;842822761 said:

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Terrific and "terrific" can have absolutely no consequential connection in reality. Trump was knowlingly elected to serve up "terrific" which we ought to know is independent of reality based terrific or popular consensus terrific.

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I think once your health insurance is gone the "reality-based terrific" will become pretty clear.

burritos;842822732 said:

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He promised to repeal obamacare and replace it with "something terrific." The definition of "Something terrific" is open to interpretation. If he kicks the hicks off of medicaid, and then puts the trump stamp of approval on this action and declares it "Something better" then it is. People who supported him or didn't feel the need to vote for Hilary in the swing states do not deserve the right to be surprised.

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Look burritos, I generally agree with you. People who voted for Trump deserve what comes to them from a Trump administration. I just can't abide by the idea, mostly pushed by his allies, that he is doing what he said he would do. He is not. He specifically said everybody would get better, cheaper, health care, among the other things I listed. His campaign was a lie. Every day of his Presidency that he speaks he lies.

dajo9;842822816 said:

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Look burritos, I generally agree with you. People who voted for Trump deserve what comes to them from a Trump administration. I just can't abide by the idea, mostly pushed by his allies, that he is doing what he said he would do. He is not. He specifically said everybody would get better, cheaper, health care, among the other things I listed. His campaign was a lie. Every day of his Presidency that he speaks he lies.

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Ok. You're right. Do you not agree that America deserves trump? That we deserve better?

dajo9;842822816 said:

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Look burritos, I generally agree with you. People who voted for Trump deserve what comes to them from a Trump administration. I just can't abide by the idea, mostly pushed by his allies, that he is doing what he said he would do. He is not. He specifically said everybody would get better, cheaper, health care, among the other things I listed. His campaign was a lie. Every day of his Presidency that he speaks he lies.

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Well Trump had a great mentor when it comes to health care promises - I'm still waiting on that $2K reduction for my families healthcare bill.

burritos;842822837 said:

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Ok. You're right. Do you not agree that America deserves trump? That we deserve better?

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America doesn't deserve Trump as most of us were smart enough to vote against him. But some key demographics definitely deserve Trump.

clipman;842822845 said:

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Well Trump had a great mentor when it comes to health care promises - I'm still waiting on that $2K reduction for my families healthcare bill.

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The rate of growth of costs decreased just as Obama said it would. Obama was right, you just don't understand what he was saying.

But really, aren't you embarrassed comparing Obama to Trump who's Presidency is going down in flames of Russian collusion, lies, and incompetence in just months?

dajo9;842822848 said:

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The rate of growth of costs decreased just as Obama said it would. Obama was right, you just don't understand what he was saying.

But really, aren't you embarrassed comparing Obama to Trump who's Presidency is going down in flames of Russian collusion, lies, and incompetence in just months?

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STFU with your politics on a football board you insufferable idiots.

sycasey;842822591 said:

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Well, I did mention "actually killing people," so there's that.

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OK you get extra credit for that.

Chapman_is_Gone;842822880 said:

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STFU with your politics on a football board you insufferable idiots.

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Off Topic posts on Bear Insider. Horrors! Who let that happen.

Chapman_is_Gone;842822880 said:

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STFU with your politics on a football board you insufferable idiots.

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Lol, do you think your periodic tantrums impact us in any way?

dajo9;842823065 said:

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Lol, do you think your periodic tantrums impact us in any way?

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nm

The threads in which you heavily participate usually end up on the OT boards. That says a lot about you.

Chapman_is_Gone;842823118 said:

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The threads in which you heavily participate usually end up on the OT boards. That says a lot about you.

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He likes OT discussions?

NYCGOBEARS;842823120 said:

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He likes OT discussions?

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That we're not one dimensional?