US Presidential Race 3
January 28, 2012 - 3:10pm
continued from here:
http://rabble.ca/babble/international-news-and-politics/us-presidential-...
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Syndicate
At least Newt's moon gaff has left us with something memorable.
the major reason Obama will be re-elected:
steady improvement in US economy and jobs market in 2012:
http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-cohn/100098/obama-visit-michigan-gm-bailout-detroit-jobs-skills
General Motors, Ford and Chrysler all plan to add jobs in Michigan, which stands to benefit more than any other state. Nissan, BMW, Honda, Toyota, Kia and Mercedes-Benz also are hiring. Suppliers are looking to add engineers and technical people, but at a more gradual pace. About 15,000 auto-related Michigan jobs could be created this year, said Sean McAlinden, economist at Ann Arbor's Center for Automotive Research. That would double the jobs added from 2009 to 2011.The Odd Couple: Romney Vs Gingrich - by Matt Taibbi
http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/9729-the-odd-couple-romne...
"Has the GOP race become a showdown between a walking OCD diagnosis and a flatulent serial adulterer?"
Mitt Romney, Florida's Psycho-Killer Superhero of Cash - by Charles Pierce
http://www.readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/9737-focus-mitt-romne...
"Romney won because he had more money.."
US economy jumps ahead, nearly half a million net new jobs in last 2 months;
conclusion, Obama '12 in a landslide if things continue to improve: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/04/us/politics/improved-job-picture-poses-risks-to-obama-and-romney.html?ref=global-homeEconomists were surprised by the strength of the new numbers, which showed a gain of 243,000 jobs last month and larger gains in earlier months than previously reported. Over the last year, the economy has added almost two million jobs for the best 12 months in five years. Stocks surged, with the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index closing only slightly below its high since Mr. Obama took office.
The economy has now been gaining strength for almost six months, according to a broad array of data, offering some reason for hope that the effects of the deep financial crisis are finally starting to fade.
Numbers are spun, people also dropped out of the labour market completely
http://blog.american.com/2012/02/why-the-official-8-3-percent-unemployme...
that's an old argument, in fact the US national statistics on unemployment take that into account (that people drop out of, then rejoin the jobs market as it improves), which makes it progressively harder for the unemplyment stats to drop below, say, 4-5 per cent ...
the ILO formula allows stats agencies to normalize these fluctuations and compare between countries/regions better; they track "discouraged workers" and the ""participation rate" and try to even out the variations, these are calculated as U-3, U-4 and U-5 figures, for example:
http://www.ilo.org/washington/ilo-and-the-united-states/spot-light-on-the-us-labor-market/recent-us-labor-market-data/lang--en/index.htm
Total employment in the U.S. has continued increasing with the strengthening U.S. economy, creating a total of 200,000 net new jobs in December 2011. The private sector added 212,000 jobs while the public sector shed 12,000 jobs. During 2011, the private sector added 1.9 million jobs while government decreased by 280,000. All sectors (except construction, professional, and business services) had increases in December, led by transportation and warehousing. Overall, the employment to population ratio (E/P) stands at 58.5%, unchanged from previous months.
and for youth unemployment:
http://www.ilo.org/washington/ilo-and-the-united-states/spot-light-on-the-us-labor-market/spot-light-on-us-youth/lang--en/index.htm
If the unemployment rate is falling quickly -- as it is in the U.S. now -- the above facts are integrated into the employment stats; but the U-3 rate gets the headlines, no question.
It is dropping fast, the others historically follow in lockstep, so cheers
You sound just like Jim Flaherty. 600,000 new jobs, not including all the ones that were lost since 2008
Meanwhile, Back in the U.S., Republican billionaires...
Koch Brothers Convene Super-Secret Billionaires' Meeting for 2012 Elections
Some of America's wealthiest Republicans flew into Palm Springs last weekend to update their stealthy political strategy for 2012.
From Robert Reich's Recent Posts
"The Republican Myth of Obama’s “Entitlement Society”
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
One of the few things Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich agree on is that President Obama is turning America into “European-style welfare culture.”
In his standard stump speech Romney charges Obama with creating a nation of dependents. “Over the past three years Barack Obama has been replacing our merit-based society with an entitlement society.”
Gingrich calls Obama “the best food-stamp president in American history.”
What’s their evidence? Both rely on federal budget data showing direct payments to individuals shot up by almost $600 billion, a 32 percent increase, since the start of 2009.
They also point to Census data showing that 49 percent of Americans now live in homes where at least one person is collecting a federal benefit – Social Security, food stamps, unemployment insurance, worker’s compensation, or subsidized housing. That’s up from 44 percent in 2008.
Finally, they trumpet Social Security Administration figures showing that the number of people on Social Security disability jumped 10 percent in Obama’s first two years in office.
They argue our economic problems stem from this sharp rise in “dependency.” Get rid of these benefits and people will work harder.
But they have cause and effect backwards. The reason for the rise in food stamps, unemployment insurance, and other safety-net programs is Americans got clobbered in 2008 with the worst economic catastrophe since the Great Depression. They and their families have needed whatever helping hands they could get.
If anything, America’s safety nets have been too small and shot through with holes. That’s why the number and percentage of Americans in poverty has increased dramatically over the past three years. According to a study by Northeastern University, a third of families with young children are now in poverty.
This is the real scandal. For example, only 40 percent of the unemployed qualify for unemployment benefits because they weren’t working full time or long enough on a single job before they were canned. The unemployment system doesn’t take account of the fact that a large portion of the workforce typically works part time on several jobs, and moves from job to job.
Republicans also object to Obama’s health care law, which covers 30 million more Americans than were covered before. That law still leaves over 20 million without health insurance. They’ll get emergency care when they’re in dire straights — hospitals won’t refuse them — but we all end up paying indirectly.
Regressive Republicans pretend they’re about opportunity. In reality they’re back at what they’ve been doing for years — promoting Social Darwinism."
It would be one thing if Republicans used the argument that Obama is creating something (that actually has existed in greater scope in the past) "foreign" as a cynical political ploy. But a lot these folks really believe it. And I'm not just talking about the nutjob teabaggers and talk radio blowhards. But office holders as well.
Well they have to stick to a line,and never challenge its source, just as folks hereabouts can read posts by Robert Reich but never get to read his books. Superficiality rules.
There's always that thread with the tumbleweeds blowing through, where you were asked to outline your indepth solutions.
Why don't you just do some reading, Sj. You've been here long enough to have read my notes in the book lounge about Reich. Get off your ass and do some work yourself...bugger the tumbleweed crap. That's just more of your irrelavancy leading nowhere.
Well, I have been around here for awhile its true, but not long enough to have seen you propose anything with a snowball's chance.
How to waste your vote in 2012
by Bruce A. Dixon
It's true enough. Your vote really is your voice, and in the modern era, every government on earth claims to rule with the consent of the people. This bestows upon the vote a unique kind of legal and symbolic power. The gap, however, between this legal, this symbolic power of the vote and any real ability to change things for the better is a vast one. The authorities rightly fear the people's voice, and so have contrived law and custom to ensure that we are seldom heard and almost never heeded.
They would never dream of allowing us to vote on the price of gas, food, housing, credit or college tuition. But they don't mind at all letting us choose between corporate-funded Republicans and corporate-funded Democrats. The powers that rule our economy, our media and our politics won't let us vote on whether to bring the troops home from 140 countries and the seven seas, or whether to continue spending more on weapons of death and destruction than the other 95% of humanity combined. But they will let us choose between an ignorant, crazy or racist Republican who promises to give banksters, polluters and corporate criminals a free pass, and a sane, smart, level-headed free market liberal Democrat who does exactly the same thing, no matter what he promised.
The authorities won't let us vote on whether the broadcast spectrum should be privatized, whether we should have the right to start and join unions, whether to create millions of good-paying green jobs. They won't allow voters to decide whether corporations deserve more rights than flesh and blood people, or whether the president should be able to kidnap, torture, imprison and murder people without trials or even charges. But they will let us choose between a white guy and a black guy. As long as it's their white guy, and their black one as well.
Ha!
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/08/us-usa-campaign-idUSTRE80Q2AQ2...
Wow! If the NDP race could contain these sorts of twists and turns it might be interesting--- exciting even.
Just a side show. Romney will win the next two big races in 3 weeks, Michigan and Arizona, which are not caucuses or beauty contests. He will be the nominee.
Not that I give a shit about the Republicans but I'd like to see whom Romney picks as his VP...
He'll need someone especially whacky, in the spirit of reaching around to the various base ideologies and such. Displaying a knack for having people come together in other words. It didn't work out so well for John McCain though, but they really can't help themselves from exercising the same type of judgments.
Romney/Bachman 2012. Theme song: Takin' Care of Business.
Not that I give a shit about the Republicans but I'd like to see whom Romney picks as his VP...
Probably one of 4: Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, Bob McDonnell or Susana Martinez. Romney seems to making a play for the Catholic vote. All four are Catholic, and two are Latino.
Well, that should be interesting. Hardcore evangelicals already think he's not a real Christian - I'm sure they would just love it if he teamed up with a Catholic, which many of them also consider to be not quite Christian.
Anyhoo, my non-existent vote is with Roseanne.
Obama: 'The Devil' Made Me Take The Super-Pac Money - by Glen Ford
http://blackagendareport.com/content/obama-%E2%80%9C-devil%E2%80%9D-made...
"...There is no evidence that Obama wants to clean up campaign financing, only that he finds all kinds of excuses to take the money. This election year, just like last time, the top influence seller is Barack Obama.."
Anyone post this yet?
Diebold accidentally leaks 2012 election results
Good one jas!
Ha, jas, I love that one. I think they might have recycled it from a few years ago, though, updated with new names. I seem to remember seeing that one last time around.
Edited to add: I knew it. Here's the 2008 version - exactly the same, with the names changed.
Rick Santorum won the caucus vote in my state (Minnesota) last night. But, if there is any evidence that Santorum is unfit to be president, then this is it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js3BYcHmBhE&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Rick Santorum is bad news for everybody.
Jay Smooth on Romney vs Gingrich.
Instead of a season dominated by this one totally unconvincing, untrustworthy, unelectable candidate, now we've got a *battle* between *two* totally unconvincing, untrustworthy, unelectable candidates.
Well, that should be interesting. Hardcore evangelicals already think he's not a real Christian - I'm sure they would just love it if he teamed up with a Catholic, which many of them also consider to be not quite Christian.
Anyhoo, my non-existent vote is with Roseanne.
Nah. She can't sing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls1YVhcLD2c
At least he can.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6uHR90Sq6k
Obama: 'The Devil' Made Me Take The Super-Pac Money - by Glen Ford
http://blackagendareport.com/content/obama-%E2%80%9C-devil%E2%80%9D-made...
"...There is no evidence that Obama wants to clean up campaign financing, only that he finds all kinds of excuses to take the money. This election year, just like last time, the top influence seller is Barack Obama.."
There is absolutely no evidence that Obama supported the Supreme Court decision that threw financing of elections wide open to corporate support of super-pacs, quite the contrary. And of course, positing the idea that he should go Christlike to political death in a climate teetering on institutional collapse challenges the rational reader.
exactly,
the Citizens United judgement by the Supreme Court ruled that money was an element of free speech, hence not liable to regulation... Obama has no control over that, but he has to make the best of the consequences and act for re-election
there is a very strong contingent at Babble that seem to think a US President has pretty much a free hand to do what he wants, leaving out the opposition Congress, lobbies, public opinion, court rulings, legislative mandates, etc etc., each of which constrain his room for manoeuvre,
hence in example No. 1 no public mandate universal health care plan, because huge swathes of US opinion and Congress, maybe 60 per cent, would never stand for it ... but campaign finance laws fall in a similar category
As any reader of the news knows, a Canadian PM has far more swat than a president - relatively speaking, eh? :)
Elections Are For Suckers - by Robert Scheer
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/elections_are_for_suckers_20120209/
"Let's just dip our fingers in purple ink and pose for photos now that voting has the same significance for us as it had for those Iraqis that got conned into thinking they were participating in some grand democratic experiment. Our own elections, the ones are government has modeled for the world, are a hoax. What other word should we use to describe this year's presidential elections, where the outcome will turn on which party's super PACs get the most generous bribes from billionaires?"
An interesting look into some of the thinking of American voters at a local level - I have a hard time summing it up in any other way than to say that Americans are weird.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/us/even-critics-of-safety-net-increasingly-depend-on-it.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp
An interesting look into some of the thinking of American voters at a local level - I have a hard time summing it up in any other way than to say that Americans are weird.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/us/even-critics-of-safety-net-increasingly-depend-on-it.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp
Paul Krugman explains the GOP quandry this way:
"How did American conservatism end up so detached from, indeed at odds with, facts and rationality? For it was not always thus. After all, that health reform Mr. Romney wants us to forget followed a blueprint originally laid out at the Heritage Foundation!
My short answer is that the long-running con game of economic conservatives and the wealthy supporters they serve finally went bad. For decades the G.O.P. has won elections by appealing to social and racial divisions, only to turn after each victory to deregulation and tax cuts for the wealthy — a process that reached its epitome when George W. Bush won re-election by posing as America’s defender against gay married terrorists, then announced that he had a mandate to privatize Social Security.
Over time, however, this strategy created a base that really believed in all the hokum — and now the party elite has lost control."
And then there are those who say the American citizen should just walk away from the political fray and let it all melt down to a condition requiring military takeover. How mad is that?
It's pretty mad. Just who exactly are those people you refer to?
Obama laid out his budget proposals today, taxing the wealthy at 30 per cent, and closing the tax loopholes that some escape through now. He intends to spend more on education and to defend medicare and medicaid from GOP savaging, among other progressive measures.
In answer to your question, MS, I suppose the folks who would wash their hands of any attempt to further/defend those elements of that budget, ignoring the racism and inequality at the GOP's core, and the "bat crazy" nature of its followers, just might fit the category "mad." Realizing, of course, the fundamental democratic flaws and the imperialist nature of the structure that he leads, its murderous use of military weaponry, etc. etc. etc.
I still have no clue what "folks" you are talking about who want American citizens to "walk away from the fray". It seems to me there is no escape from the "fray": that it will follow everyone whether they like it or not.
Unless of course you consider the sum total of the "fray" to be participation in a sham of a democratic electoral system by putting a ballot in a box every two years for a candidate who you know in advance is the enemy of social justice and freedom, and is in the pay of the oligarchs who are making your life miserable.
On the contrary, the "fray" is something that happens 365 days a year. There is no walking away from it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls1YVhcLD2c
At least he can.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6uHR90Sq6k
Ha! I know, she'll never live that down. And I'll give it to Obama, he's a great singer (loved that clip), and dancer too (you forgot the clip of him dancing with Ellen). He's great at those impromptu things that would be risky for anyone else, but easy for him since he oozes charisma from every pore.
Good thing he used that charisma to convince Americans and his Democratic majority to bring in an effective health care plan, huh? Single payer sure is a lot more cost-effective, efficient, and less hassle for patients than all those private insurance companies, isn't it?
...oh yeah...I forgot...Obama didn't even come close to proposing that, did he?
But even if there's no single-payer health care, at least there's always the public option for those who don't want to be ripped off by private insurance companies, right?
...oh yeah...I forgot...
;)
Roseanne, on the other hand, supports a real public health care system.
I get that the Repugnicans are certifiable, and even the status quo is less terrifying than those teabagger creeps. And of course the Greens have absolutely no chance of winning, and Roseanne will never live down her sacrilege on the baseball diamond.
But the Democrats won't learn until their left-wing base starts moving to Greener pastures. You can bet they'd start paying attention to you and other people like you on the left of the Democratic party if the Green vote went up as much as their vote goes down - especially if you tell them why. And how much worse could it get, really? Obama gave a crapload of bailout money to banks and corporations, who gave it away to their CEOs in bonuses, your economy has tanked, he utterly failed to bring in the health care system he promised, and he's shown that he would rather suck up than stand up to Repugnicans.
It would be so satisfying to see left-wing Democrats change their tune from "Hit me, baby, one more time," to "Hit the road, Jack." I'm all for protest voting when faced with futility on all sides.
I just don't think that we can afford such lonely, isolated displays of virtue, people.
Voter Fraud in Maine to match every other state so far
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JXnbDFkQnM&feature=share
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jEB3-gnq5I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccxqYlUUWeoPerhaps the virtuous are not as lonely and isolated as you imagine.
But if not for the occasional displays of virtue they would be even more isolated and lonely. And that's something we definitely can't afford.
Will Netanyahu Use US Election to Push Obama Into Iran War? (and vid)
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=767&...
Ben Swann is the man
http://www.fox19.com/story/16937227/reality-check-was-there-voter-fraud-in-maine?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=6743581
And Rachel is pretty good too
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPD-w-wDPVw&feature=youtu.be
Will Netanyahu Use US Election to Push Obama Into Iran War? (and vid)
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=767&...
This is a big concern. Likud and its allies clearly want to defeat Obama (why, I have no idea since settlements have expanded without consequence and he hasn't pressured Israel to negotiate seriously). With Obama's re-election appearing to be more likely, Israel has a limited window in which to attack. An attack, and the chaos that would ensure, including a spike in gas prices, could seriously damage Obama's re-election chances. So, Netanyahu could get a twofer out of it.
So which would you rather be hit with - mud or santorum!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OtOcrS6axnE
Maddow goes deeper into the voter fraud in Maine. One last decent journalist in that country.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4Z-K5OBD58&feature=youtu.be
PT2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv6ZWOV7v9I
CNN poll shows which candidate favours middle class
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYV2W0WpCZ4&feature=g-all-u&context=G2f17...
relatively good economic news continues to favour incumbent:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/17/business/economy/us-jobless-claims-are-lowest-since-2008.html?_r=1&ref=global-home
The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell to the lowest point in almost four years last week, the latest signal that the job market is steadily improving.
In other economic news, a rise in building permits suggested that the construction industry was growing confident that more buyers were ready to come off the sidelines, and the latest data on wholesale prices signaled that inflation remained largely in check.
The Labor Department said on Thursday that weekly applications for unemployment benefits dropped 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 348,000. It was the fourth drop in five weeks and the fewest number of claims since March 2008.
Mitt Romney doesn't even bother to hide his anti-worker agenda:
http://www.mittromney.com/news/press/2012/02/unlike-obama-romney-will-st...
I doubt that everyone working at Wal-Mart supports Pugs!
relatively good economic news continues to favour incumbent:
The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell to the lowest point in almost four years last week, the latest signal that the job market is steadily improving.
The story is that the number of applications for unemployment benefits declined. But the number of unemployed continues to rise. For the week ending Jan 28, the number of people getting state or federal unemployment benefits climbed by 18,304 to 7.68 million.
But unemployment benefits don't tell the whole story. Nearly 13 million USians are unemployed (8.3%), which means there are at least 5 million unemployed who receive no unemployment benefits at all.
I know. As if they aren't just manipulating the numbers for the purposes of re-election. I can't believe you buy into Obama's big-top extravaganza!
It's not manipulating numbers. When the unemployment rate was higher, there was no problem with the numbers. Now that there has been a modest improvement, suddenly they're manipulated. I see the same charges of manipulation from the right.
The "it's Romney" crew are now confused as to "why Santorum?", not able to comprehend the degree to which Jesus has entered the "thought processes" of so many in the GOP. I can recommend America's Right Turn by Viguerie and Franke, with its foreword by "Left Behind's" Tim LaHaye.
It's not manipulating numbers. When the unemployment rate was higher, there was no problem with the numbers. Now that there has been a modest improvement, suddenly they're manipulated. I see the same charges of manipulation from the right.
Actually there has been a problem with the numbers all along. They do not take into account those who aren't looking for a job. They are still unemployed. Same here in Canada. Real number is closer to 20%.
The bureau in charge of keeping unemployment stats in the U.S. keeps track of that number also. It just doesn't get the headlines. Currently at about 15%.
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t15.htm
Actually there has been a problem with the numbers all along. They do not take into account those who aren't looking for a job. ....
yes, they do: those stats are called the U4 and U5 rates, and statistics are very carefully compiled following International Labour Organization models:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unemployment_rate#Measurement
it's just that the U3, the most commonly cited in the media, reflects workers ""actively seeking"" jobs who are not finding them"
As defined by the International Labour Organization, "unemployed workers" are those who are currently not working but are willing and able to work for pay, currently available to work, and have actively searched for work
the other indexes exist but don't get the same press, and in any case they all tend to rise and fall together, as they are all falling now:
http://alternativeeconomics.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/shadowstats.gif
On your link it has SGS alternate unemployed at 22%.
Maddow again on Maine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEJqY75m4Qc&feature=youtu.be
Obama worse than Bush on medical marijuana
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/obamas-war-on-pot-20120216?pri...
Canadian-Owned Firms are Funding US Election Campaigns
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/americas/us-election/canadian-...
"Political action committees affiliated with companies owned by Canadian corporations are pouring money into this year's House and Senate races. Donations to Republicans were $89,250 (US) compared with $74,250 (US) for Democrats.."
How a Filthy Rich 196 People Will Buy Our Elections
http://www.alternet.org/economy/154172/how_a_filthy_rich_196_people_will...
"2012 is the year of the big donor, when a candidate is only as good as the amount of money in his super PAC. 'This really is the selling of America..."
Ron Paul, 'The Only Candidate Speaking of Lost Civil Liberties and Pending Illegal Wars' (and vid)
http://rt.com/news/ron-paul-candidate-liberties-717/
"United States presidential contender Ron Paul has warned that his country is slipping into a twenty-first century fascist system with a broke government ruled by big business. Radio host and author Stephen Lendman also agrees that current US policies are evidence that the country has indeed developed a fascist system, going on to disagree slightly - 'The only thing I'd disagree with Ron Paul is not slipping into it - it's deep into it.'"
Some levity.
A Rick Santorum campaign poster composed entirely of gay porn. NOT safe for work. Hee hee.
For those thinking it might be one of those hidden 3D pics, I don't think it is, just in case any were staring at the red dot between his eyes.
Santorum's been on a roll the last week. He's worried about Satan attacking the U.S.:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/02/21/us-pol-republican-santorum-satan.html
Excommunicated mainline Protestants:
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2012/02/18/427529/santorum-excommunicates-45-million-christians-mainline-protestants-are-gone-from-the-world-of-christianity/?mobile=nc
Appeared to call for the end of public education:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gop-race-20120219,0,2831889.story
Made disparaging remarks about birth control and prenatal testing:
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/articles/2012/02/22/santorum_makes_prenatal_testing_a_campaign_issue/
Makes you wonder whether he's running for president or Grand Inquisitor.
Makes you wonder where the U.S. will, end up, with a population that vulnerable to the kind of madness that drove the inquisition.
They can't be all that bad, if they elected your hero Barack Obama, can they?
I think it was Colbert who did a recent piece on Santorum's battle against Satan, where part of the strategy might involve removing missles from their silos, and placing them back in, upside down.
They can't be all that bad, if they elected your hero Barack Obama, can they?
You "unconventional electoral politicals" :) had better hope that that element can continue to fight and edge out the others...while you vacation in Neverland.
Which gets me to thinking that Ron Paul style libertarianism is either a complete mutation of the concept, or perhaps it is more likely to be a rigged up platform designed as an appeal to those anti-socialists out there who are fed up with government, but who don't rightly know why exactly, having only ever been spoon-fed information on what socialism and government is all about. The free, unfettered, self correcting hand of the market is anything but. Instead, it connives, betrays, lies, steals and jimmies around with any old excuse to avoid it's responsibility toward humanity at large. It is in fact the hidden big hand thrust up inside government through perpetual interference. Seems to me that he's the ready-made answer to the white, disgruntled, tax weary demographic out there, where they've all grown weary for a change about paying for foreign wars if they don't really have to..its getting too expensive after all. The anti-big government crowd, except when it comes to social security and Medicare, needs rounding up. As many as possible that is, and led back into the fold which happens to be just one voice among many within the Washington and Republican establishments. Tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of fed up thuglican voters, neatly tucked away on a shelf in Ron Paul's office. They might as well all line up for nose rings so as to add a little convenience to being led around.
Debate tonight
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/cvplive/cvpstream1
Thanks for the video link, but I could stomach orly a couple of minutes. These are the folks that will make the law if the Democrats don't. Some choice.
They might as well all line up for nose rings so as to add a little convenience to being led around.
choosing your favourite nose ring is what it's all about. Here too...
The Lost Party: How the 2012 Primary Has Revealed a GOP on the Verge of Collapse
The transfiguration of the GOP isn’t only about ideology, however. It is also about demography and temperament, as the party has grown whiter, less well schooled, more blue-collar, and more hair-curlingly populist. The result has been a party divided along the lines of culture and class: Establishment versus grassroots, secular versus religious, upscale versus downscale, highfalutin versus hoi polloi. And with those divisions have arisen the competing electoral coalitions—shirts versus skins, regulars versus red-hots—represented by Romney and Santorum, which are now increasingly likely to duke it out all spring.
With such precedents in mind, many Republicans are already looking past 2012. If either Romney or Santorum gains the nomination and then falls before Obama, flubbing an election that just months ago seemed eminently winnable, it will unleash a GOP apocalypse on November 7—followed by an epic struggle between the regulars and red-hots to refashion the party. And make no mistake: A loss is what the GOP’s political class now expects. “Six months before this thing got going, every Republican I know was saying, ‘We’re gonna win, we’re gonna beat Obama,’ ” says former Reagan strategist Ed Rollins. “Now even those who’ve endorsed Romney say, ‘My God, what a fucking mess.’ ”
But if Obama prevails, precisely the opposite dynamic is likely to kick in: a period of bitter recriminations followed by a reformation (or counterreformation) of the GOP. This, please recall, was what many Republicans were counting on to happen in the wake of their party’s loss of the White House and seats in the House and Senate in 2008. Instead, Republicans seized on a strategy of relentless opposition to Obama, which proved politically effective in 2010 but left the party as bereft of new ideas, a constructive agenda, or a coherent governing philosophy as before. With Obama having looked beatable months ago, a botched bid to oust him—especially if coupled with a failure to take over the Senate—would usher in a full-blown Republican conflagration, followed by an effort to rise from the ashes by doing the opposite of what caused the meltdown of 2012.
as auto industry employment improves, the Midwest again becomes winnable for Obama:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/25/us/politics/uaw-tries-to-help-obama-win-working-class-voters.html
Romney continues to campaign in Michigan saying it was wrong to save that industry in 2008-09....
One of organized labor's motivating issues in the election is addressing disparities in wealth, a topic that Mr. Romney, whose worth is estimated at as much as $250 million, inadvertently drew more attention to Friday when he said in his speech that he and his wife owned four American cars, including two Cadillacs. And Mr. Romney has criticized the auto bailout as "crony capitalism" that benefited "union bosses" at the expense of taxpayers, a position that has left him battling to win working-class voters in the face of union opposition.
In an attempt to outnumber Republicans at the polls in November, union officials are getting an early start with voter registration drives in their plants. Successful efforts to curb collective bargaining rights in neighboring states like Wisconsin and Indiana are adding to a sense of urgency already heightened by the steep decline in ranks. The union has about 400,000 members - less than a third of its size 30 years ago.
Maysie, that gay porn pic of Santorum is fantastic!
I love this spoof, from the same website, of Santorum's gmail inbox.
Ron Paul Beats Obama in Polls
http://rt.com/usa/news/ron-paul-obama-rasmussen-555/
"Texas Congressman Ron Paul would win a presidential race against incumbent Barack Obama, according to a tracking poll released Monday by Rasmussen Reports. Paul also spent a moment during Tuesday's speech to address the results of the Rasmussen survey, joking that 'Every once in a while the include my name in polling.."
Rasmussen? LOL. I guess this is one of those, my enemy of my enemy is my friend, polling things.
Cmon, cut RP a little slack. Did you see him take on Clinton and Bernanke yesterday?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtzki2WTcss&feature=colike
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aqsz8KQ0mE&feature=g-u&context=G2aed3c5F...
a key historic Reagan publicist runs up the white flag for 2012,
sort of:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/republicans-can-stop-obama-one-way-or-another/2012/03/02/gIQAjq6bmR_story.html
Today, conservatives dismayed about the Republican presidential spectacle may write a codicil to what is called the Buckley Rule. He said that in any election, conservatives should vote for the most electable conservative. ... Unless the nomination or election of a particular conservative would mean a net long-term subtraction from conservatism's strength.
US economic numbers stilll on upswing:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/10/business/economy/us-added-227000-jobs-last-month-rate-at-8-3.html?_r=1&ref=global-home
This year, the economy appears to be somewhat less vulnerable to shocks. There were 1.4 million more jobs in January than there were last April, and they were spread across more industries and more cities. Consumers have paid down some of their debt and begun to make large purchases, particularly cars. And so far, gas prices have not risen enough to dampen spending.
February's growth was in manufacturing, professional sectors like law and accounting, hotels and restaurants, and mining. The construction industry was flat after two months of gains, and the retail sector actually lost jobs.
Mother Jones, also my view:
http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/03/barack-obamas-had-pretty-damn-good-presidency
The Democrats pummel them so hard, after four or eight rounds they start begging for the right, only to be pounded upon again, which causes them to switch back to asking for the left. Someone needs to throw a towel in on the whole bout at least until the cut men can stitch em up.
Mother Jones, also my view:
http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/03/barack-obamas-had-pretty-damn-good-presidency
Not my view. Obama only looks good compared to the competition. Fortunately, that's all he needs electorally but I can't help but think that even in American liberal terms it's been a fairly mediocre administration. Health care reform was hobbled by conceding too much, too early. It has yet to make much difference to the struggle to find and keep insurance and won't until the more substantial elements of the reform come into effect in 2014. The stimulus package was too small - its effect has been nullified by state-level spending cuts. Wall Street has hardly been imposed upon by reform and arguably investigations and prosecutions based on existing law have been lacking. In lots of ways "Yes, we can!" became "No, we can't!" and while reality was always going to be more resistant to change than the slogan suggested, Democrats have to be dissappointed.
With an electorate so heartily out to lunch by any standards of intelligence and openess to rational argument, so heavily committed to a Limbaugh world view, so thoroughly racist in its southern form, we should expect what, exactly?
I'm chatting with friends in the USA on another board, and I just wrote that if Gingrich wins the GOP nomination (very highly unlikely) Obama would not even have to bother with a campaign, and he'd still win.
Stewart and Colbert had a field day last night complete with grits and chitlins. Colbert served tea in mason jars and handed out shotguns.
Mother Jones, also my view:
http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/03/barack-obamas-had-pretty-damn-good-presidency
How can you so happily support Obama, who has simply continued the work that Bush did? Are you so partisan that you can't see they are the same thing. I was in a buffet line at an NDP event last week and this guy was defending Obama, saying he wasnt that rich. I had to say something. In 2010 Obama's net worth was 7.8 million.
How can you call yourself a social democrat while you defend millionaires who erode civil liberties and kill thousands of civilians?
How can you call yourself a social democrat while you defend millionaires who erode civil liberties and kill thousands of civilians?
You may have answered your own question.
Obama: The Assassination President
"When the history books are written, Obama is going to be known as the assassinations president,” said Kevin Alexander Gray, the Columbia, South Carolina-based writer and political activist. “Everything that he has done in regards to the Constitution and transparency and protecting human rights and the due process rights of all people, regardless of nationality, has been a failure.” Attorney General Eric Holder’s narrow definition of “due process” of law is really “the due process of the star chamber." Traditional civil rights organizations have not moved to “check” Obama because “they are all in the tank for the administration,” said Gray.
indeed he's quite a piece of work...this prez.
True or false I know not - but here's the blogging sleuth Wayne Madsen - on infowars - not a particular fave of mine -but with great dirty stories of Obama's supposed shady past. Chicago, CIA asset, consorting with commies, death of Breitbart, everything but the kitchen sink here - if nothing else what a yarn...
http://aangirfan.blogspot.com/2012/03/obama-of-cia-wayne-madsen.html
The latest poll out of Mississippi says that 51 per cent of the Republican voters there still believe he's Muslim.
Only 47 per cent of that demographic in Alabama believe that.
You do realize that releasing this fact on the American p;ublic, his "consorting with commies," in the past, is liable to lead to impeachment in that nutbar nation. But as you say, "if nothing else," he is indeed "quite a piece of work," but nowhere near those who are vulnerable to such drool, eh?
Hillary Clinton's approval numbers right now are 60% (according to CNN), higher than Obama's. It's being speculated she will run in 2016.
The latest poll out of Mississippi says that 51 per cent of the Republican voters there still believe he's Muslim.
Only 47 per cent of that demographic in Alabama believe that.
Wow. Alabama's slipping.
The results are not surprising. I'm sure at least half the Republican voters in Alabama would support the reinstitution of slavery.
Hillary Clinton's approval numbers right now are 60% (according to CNN), higher than Obama's. It's being speculated she will run in 2016.
Santorum won Alabama and Mississippi. I would have thought Gingrich had those two sewn up.
Santorum appealed to many of the hardcore more because he doesn't have Gingrich's personal baggage.
Hillary Clinton's approval numbers right now are 60% (according to CNN), higher than Obama's. It's being speculated she will run in 2016.
AND, to explain the poll differences, she's not black.
Netanyahu V Obama - What Next? - by Alan Hart
http://www.countercurrents.org/hart170312.htm
"...There is, Burston wrote, something new in the air, something Netanyahu does not like. What is it? 'American conservatives have begun to think out loud that Barack Obama will win in November.' Netanyahu could very well be in trouble if Obama wins a second term. Question: How might initiating a war with Iran assist Netanyahu to put Obama in real trouble?"
Why on earth would Netanyahu be in trouble if Obama were to win a second term?
I think that article is overly optimistic about what Obama would do in the middle east if he got a second term. He's spent the last four years capitulating to Repugnicans. I doubt he'll stop during his second term.
Hart is of the opinion that Obama isn't onside with whatever Israel wants. I rather tend to agree with you.
Mother Jones, also my view:
http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/03/barack-obamas-had-pretty-damn-good-presidency
How can you so happily support Obama, who has simply continued the work that Bush did?
[....]
How can you call yourself a social democrat while you defend millionaires who erode civil liberties and kill thousands of civilians?
very very sorry,
it was only recently that I was informed it is you who officially attributes the title "social democrat" on people ...
in serious matters:
........................
Obama deserves to be judged by ordinary human standards, not by standards of perfection. A sidebar to Glastris' piece lists Obama's top 50 accomplishments, and I think it was a mistake to create a list so long. It ends up looking like the usual boring laundry list that any president can trumpet. Better to pare it down to 10 really top achievements in order to highlight how many truly major accomplishments Obama has been responsible for. So I did. Except I couldn't get there. I cut it down to 13 and got stuck. Here they are, in the same order as the original Washington Monthly list:
1. Passed Health Care Reform
2. Passed the Stimulus
3. Passed Wall Street Reform
4. Ended the War in Iraq
6. Eliminated Osama bin Laden
7. Turned Around US Auto Industry
9. Repealed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
12. Reversed Bush Torture Policies
14. Kicked Banks Out of Federal Student Loan Program
16. Boosted Fuel Efficiency Standards
18. Passed Mini Stimuli (July 22, 2010; December 17, 2010; December 23, 2011)
22. Created Conditions to Begin Closing Dirtiest Power Plants
27. Achieved New START Treaty
These are all big deals. Big fucking deals, to quote our vice president. Unless you're just bound and determined to sulk in your tent while insisting that health care was a sellout and the stimulus was too small and Dodd-Frank was feeble and the mini stimuli were more like micro stimuli, there's just no way around the fact that this is a historically colossal set of progressive accomplishments, especially in the face of a historically hostile political environment.
Mother Jones, also my view:
http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/03/barack-obamas-had-pretty-damn-good-presidency
How can you so happily support Obama, who has simply continued the work that Bush did? Are you so partisan that you can't see they are the same thing. I was in a buffet line at an NDP event last week and this guy was defending Obama, saying he wasnt that rich. I had to say something. In 2010 Obama's net worth was 7.8 million.
How can you call yourself a social democrat while you defend millionaires who erode civil liberties and kill thousands of civilians?
very very sorry, it was only recently that I was informed it was you who officially attributes the title "social democrat" on people...
Obama deserves to be judged by ordinary human standards, not by standards of perfection. A sidebar to Glastris' piece lists Obama's top 50 accomplishments, and I think it was a mistake to create a list so long. It ends up looking like the usual boring laundry list that any president can trumpet. Better to pare it down to 10 really top achievements in order to highlight how many truly major accomplishments Obama has been responsible for. So I did. Except I couldn't get there. I cut it down to 13 and got stuck. Here they are, in the same order as the original Washington Monthly list:
1. Passed Health Care Reform
2. Passed the Stimulus
3. Passed Wall Street Reform
4. Ended the War in Iraq
6. Eliminated Osama bin Laden
7. Turned Around US Auto Industry
9. Repealed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
12. Reversed Bush Torture Policies
14. Kicked Banks Out of Federal Student Loan Program
16. Boosted Fuel Efficiency Standards
18. Passed Mini Stimuli (July 22, 2010; December 17, 2010; December 23, 2011)
22. Created Conditions to Begin Closing Dirtiest Power Plants
27. Achieved New START Treaty
These are all big deals. Big fucking deals, to quote our vice president. Unless you're just bound and determined to sulk in your tent while insisting that health care was a sellout and the stimulus was too small and Dodd-Frank was feeble and the mini stimuli were more like micro stimuli, there's just no way around the fact that this is a historically colossal set of progressive accomplishments, especially in the face of a historically hostile political environment.
"Reversed Bush torture policies?"
Health care reform, you say? Wow, that sounds great.
That makes it sound like he didn't completely capitulate on the public option, and that he didn't give a huge gift to private insurers by forcing everyone to buy an inferior private insurance plan.
Did you actually read the "Wall Street Reform" bill? It's another handout to the banks in disguise. Look up Newspeak ... you're a little behind.
Ended the war in Iraq? Ever heard of private military companies? Iraq is now controlled by them and various oil companies. I'm sure the Iraqi people are jumping with joy.
Officially "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" has been repealed... but how does that actually look on the ground? Did he magically erase the homophobia that's endemic in military environments? But never mind that... we've got a couple snapshots of some pretty lesbian couples kissing in uniform from the Ministry of Truth. All is well.
No, no, no ... all of those are either BS or teeny little nothings meant to appease his base so he'll get re-elected. Which he will...
CFL