Readers Write: GOP candidates often miss many important facts

The Island Now

Summer has passed, fall is upon us, and in politics the silly season is here. 

We have survived the second Republican debate and a Donald Trump town meeting in New Hampshire. Here are some observations on these momentous events. 

Carly Fiorina, who the pundits agree won the debate, urged Barack and Hillary to view the anti Planned Parenthood videos. These purported to show a fully formed fetus with heart beating and legs kicking having its body parts harvested for medical research. 

The horror of this image led Fiorina to demand the defunding of Planned Parenthood. Never mind that this is an organization which services millions providing access to birth control, cancer screenings, and testing and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases. 

While most of its work takes place in the U.S., it also has over 1 million clients in ten developing nations. 

But since it is the abortion activities which most disturb the pro-lifers, we must ask the question: What percentage of Planned Parenthood’s budget goes toward performing abortions? The answer is 3 percent! 

That’s what all the hollering is about — 3 percent. 

I wonder how many of the people who attend pro-life rallies recognize this fact? I also wonder whether the young people who protest have any understanding of the history of the movement they oppose. 

Have they read about back-alley abortions? Do they know that in the years prior to Roe v. Wade, hundreds of thousands of women lost their lives thanks to botched attempts to abort? 

But back to those invidious videos. 

If what Carly says about them is true, we should all be aghast. 

But it turns out that the grotesque image of the fetus was edited in. It came from another source. Odd how that factoid went unmentioned.

Another controversial issue which arose at the debate was Trump’s claim that autism was cause by childhood immunizations. 

Trump suggested that the amount injected was more suitable for a horse than a child. 

At first, Ben Carson took issue with Trump, but under pressure from “the Donald” agreed that pediatricians should administer smaller doses and over a long period of time. (Another profile in courage.) 

Fortunately, there are fact-checkers who discovered that the American Academy of Pediatrics found no link between autism and MMR — the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. 

It would behoove Trump to confine his statements to areas where he has demonstrated expertise, such as Obama’s birth certificate and Carly Fiorina’s face

The day after the Great Debate, Trump went to New Hampshire for a town meeting. 

He spoke for a few minutes and then had the audience ask questions. The first came from a gentleman who stated that America had a problem and it was “Muslims.” 

Interestingly, John McCain had a similar situation in 2008. 

A woman said to him that Obama was an Arab. McCain shook his head “no,” gently took the microphone, and said that Obama was a “decent, family man, citizen.” 

Here was an opportunity for Trump to prove himself gracious and honest, but that would have been out of character. Instead of refuting the man’s assertion he said: “We’re going to look at a lot of different things. (Like what?) And you know a lot of people are saying that, (saying what?)  and a lot of people are saying that bad things are happening out there.” 

I always thought that George W. Bush was the most inarticulate person to run for high office, but I was wrong. Trump has that distinction. 

One can only wonder how many of the approximately 5 million Muslims living in the U.S. will be Trump supporters.  

We live in dangerous times. 

Our politicians need to be well-versed in the art of diplomacy — not the art of the deal. They should be discussing  jobs, wealth and income inequality, reforming Wall Street, reversing climate change and health care for all. Instead, we see candidates who are ideologues, narcissists and strangers to the truth. 

Every four years we elect a president believing that if the wrong person wins, our country is doomed. 

This year we have many wrong persons offering themselves up. 

Yet, somehow, we prevail. Wars, economic disasters and men of limited intellect in the White House have not destroyed us. We prevail. 

Maybe there is some omnipotent being who takes pity on our fledgling democracy. We must have faith. This too shall pass. 

Dr. Hal Sobel

Great Neck

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