Well gee maybe now the blogs can move on to the next outrage of the day?
People do not get that Trump is playing the long game here for the general election. It’s quite clear what he is doing.
Regarding Planned Parenthood:
He doesn’t want to come across as anti-women in the general election. He has enough problems with women based on his past comments. His position is quite clear that he recognizes that Planned Parenthood does some good things such as cervical cancer screenings, OBGYN care for poor women, pap smears, mammograms. He says that to keep the funding Planned Parenthood has to STOP the abortions. They won’t stop the abortions, so he is clear DEFUND them. This is a very reasonable proposal aimed at independent women in a general election who are usually turned off by republican social issues. It’s all political messaging with no real effect on the policy. Planned Parenthood has no intention of stopping abortions, so he is supporting DEFUNDING them. It’s not hard to understand.
Any republican nominee that runs against Obamacare will need to do something with pre-existing conditions. Polls actually show Obamacare popular with independents. Repeal and Replace is great message but voters will not tolerate a return to the old way where if you lose your job and get sick, you can go bankrupt and never get insurance. It’s just the way it is. Trump is a realist that you have to replace Obamacare with something. Remove the state lines, tax credits for health savings accounts, and probably a high risk pool for the sickest, and some kind of medicare/medicaid plan for the poorest that is cheaper and more efficient for what we have now. Again, it will prove popular in the general election.