Category Archives: Elections 2012

President Obama: The Only Thing Going Is His Personal Likability

Posted on September 8, 2012 | 2 comments

Democrats at a 20 year low:

Democrat - Republican Favorable Views

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Posted in Elections 2012

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It’s Okay, You Don’t Have To Vote For Him

Posted on September 4, 2012 | Leave a comment

I get the feeling that people like Barack Obama.  And while they like him, they know he’s failed.  And when they come to peace with the idea that they can like him AND not vote for him, it’s curtains.

A majority of voters believe the country is worse off today than it was four years ago and that President Obama does not deserve reelection, according to a new poll for The Hill.

Fifty-two percent of likely voters say the nation is in “worse condition” now than in September 2008, while 54 percent say Obama does not deserve reelection based solely on his job performance.

Only 31 percent of voters believe the nation is in “better condition,” while 15 percent say it is “about the same,” the poll found. Just 40 percent of voters said Obama deserves reelection.

The results highlight the depth of voter dissatisfaction confronting Obama as he makes his case for a second term at this week’s Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.

Breaking up is so hard to do.

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Posted in Elections 2012, Politics: National

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Coercion

Posted on August 30, 2012 | 2 comments

I often and vigorously bash unions for the coercive techniques they use to gain membership and then take money.  All in the name of political power for democrats.

While it’s true that I dislike unions for this, among other, reasons, I also don’t like the practice when used by a corporation:

The Pepper Pike company that owns the Century Mine told workers that attending the Aug. 14 Romney event would be both mandatory and unpaid, a top company official said Monday morning in a West Virginia radio interview.

A group of employees who feared they’d be fired if they didn’t attend the campaign rally in Beallsville, Ohio, complained about it to WWVA radio station talk show host David Blomquist. Blomquist discussed their beefs on the air Monday with Murray Energy Chief Financial Officer Rob Moore.

Moore told Blomquist that managers “communicated to our workforce that the attendance at the Romney event was mandatory, but no one was forced to attend.” He said the company did not penalize no-shows.

Garbage.

 

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Posted in Elections 2012, Liberty, Republicans Can Be Leftists Too

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Joe Biden And Chains

Posted on August 16, 2012 | 6 comments

I’ve been ignoring the Joe Biden “chain” comments.  It seems silly.  These guys makes speech after speech after speech.

Maybe we can cut ’em a break.

I didn’t know what Biden was trying to say.  I don’t know what he WASN’T trying to say.  I simply didn’t think that the democrats were trying to make the case that the republicans were racists.

Then I happened to hear the comments:

Dood.  Biden slipped into the cadence.  He took a whole new tone and accent.  His arms raised as if he were a preacher.  His pause is reminiscent of a preacher.

He meant chains in the sense that in the past, white people used chains to control black slaves.

He had the tone, the timber, the cadence and the theatrics.

He’s using race to forward his political ends.  And that’s bigotry.

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Posted in Elections 2012, Race

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Jon Stewart On Harry Reid

Posted on August 13, 2012 | 2 comments

As is my habit, I record the Daily Show and watch in batch.  Most enjoyable.  Imagine my excitement when I hit on this episode.

When Harry Reid made the claim that Romney hadn’t paid his taxes in 10, years I called shenanigans and claimed that he was in in Birther territory.  I was SO wrong that my main man Jon Stewart agrees with me:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-august-1-2012/you–harry-reid–are-terrible?xrs=share_copy

Now, the end of the clip where he mocks Fox?  That’s hilarious.  But the fact remains that by saying, “Romney could end all the speculation by just releasing his tax returns.” is the same argument as, “Obama could end all the speculation by just releasing his birth certificate.”

Now, with that said, I wonder why he isn’t releasing them.  I also wondered why Obama didn’t release his birth certificate.  Maybe, deep inside, I’m hoping for the stand up and cheer moment when a candidate, when asked if he has ever smoked weed, played D&D made a mistake when he was 13 would say, “None of your business.  I’m here to run a country and that isn’t relevant to the conversation.”

However, this is politics, and like it or not, by refusing to release how much money he makes he’s giving the impression that there is something wrong.

But for tonight, I’m happy to listen to Jon Stewart take Harry Reid to task for being a birther.

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Posted in Elections 2012, Fun

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Obama: You Didn’t Build That

Posted on August 12, 2012 | 1 comment

Obama’s words are now famous.   In context, out of context, fair not fair, it’s all out there.  The republicans are running with it and the president is denying it.  However, this much is true.

Obama was making reference to the fact that business owners did not get to where they are entirely on their own.  Much of their success is based on the fact that those who came before created an infrastructure, roads and bridges, teachers and firemen, who have made their success possible.

And because of this, Obama feels, the very wealthiest among us, should be willing to “give a little back.”  Now, it’s important to put this in context, as ironic as that might be.  Here Obama is talking about his desire to let the Bush tax cuts expire for the wealthiest Americans.  Those Bush tax cuts that he wants to keep are the federal income taxes for all Americans earning less than $250,000.

President Obama is creating the narrative.  Federal income taxes.  The wealthy.  Business owners.  Roads and bridges and teachers.

Obama.

The conversation is federal income tax.  We’re not talking about sales tax.  No mention of property tax.  Not a whisper about social insurance taxes.  This conversation begins and ends with federal income tax.  Keeping the Bush rates for everyone but the wealthiest using the logic that those business owners didn’t build the infrastructure that allowed them to be successful.

In researching TPC’s critique of the Romney tax plan I found some numbers that will prove to be illustrative to Obama’s, his own logic, argument:

It turns out that the middle class didn’t build that.  The poorest among us didn’t build that.  Just as you would imagine, the wealthiest among us built that.  Those few wealthy who not only provide jobs for the rest of us but also provide for the roads and bridges to get us there.

 

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Posted in Elections 2012, Middle Class, Politics: National

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That Didn’t Take Long: Obama Attacks Ryan

Posted on August 11, 2012 | 5 comments

It took team Obama about 15 minutes to release the hounds.  However, to be fair, he probably had these ads lying in wait for each of the top choices.

Let’s take a look:

  1.  The economy crashed due to government policies that induced banks to lend money to people who had no hope of paying those loans back.
  2. BAM!  Class warfare at it’s finest.  I’ll have to look at the plan first though.  But if the analysis is anything like the TPC, there may be a bit of a partisan bias.
  3. We clearly don’t need more college graduates.  Or, at teh very least, we need fewer of the “soft” degrees and more of the “hard” degrees.  Clean energy – meh.  Clean energy should be given the same breaks as traditional energy.  But let’s not move to #4 without more class warfare.
  4. Yes.  Medicare as we know it is broken.
  5. I’ll have to check on that.  Not sure what he’s talking about.

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Posted in Elections 2012, Politics: National

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2012 Election: Obama 281 Romney 257

Posted on August 11, 2012 | 4 comments

Which really, isn’t that bad.  Then again, I’m out on a limb with Virginia and Colorado while Obama is pretty much a lock in every state going blue in the map above.  The default leanings when you pull up the map have Michigan and Wisconsin as toss-ups; I don’t think there’s a chance they break for Romney – though you would think his dad could help in Michigan.  I think Obama will carry the big Ohio and Pennsylvania states with Florida going for Mitt.  Like I said, Virginia might be wishful thinking.  However, only PPP has Obama ahead by more than 4.

The good news?  If my “out-on-a-limb” picks hold Romney would only need to steal a single state like Michigan, Ohio or Pennsylvania.  Or maybe the republican governors in Wisconsin and Iowa can deliver their states for Romney.  With Ryan on the ticket, he may actually pull Wisconsin over.  If he does and the rest holds, that gives Obama a 271 to 267 win.

Pretty close.

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Posted in Elections 2012, Mitt Romney

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Romney Picks Ryan And Other Stuff To Think About

Posted on August 11, 2012 | 10 comments

So he picked Ryan.  I think it’s a fine choice but maybe not the strongest one he could have made.  I’m glad that he didn’t pick Rubio.  Rick is too new, is only a Senator and really would have smacked to pandering.   The other pick I was afraid of was Rice.  I like her but she would have been a massive gamble.  She’s pro-choice -which is what it is- and that would have turned off a ton of the base.  Further, she could be seen a doubly pandering.

High gain high risk.

I would have preferred a governor.  Paulenty, Christie, Daniels, Jindal or McDonnell.  I think any of those 5 would be solid solid picks.  [If Obama wins the Republican primary is going to be an All Star team].

I think Ryan brings a conservative Tea Party rock and roll star, he brings youth and enthusiasm and brings a degree of expertise in matters financial.  However, he also brings the Ryan plan.  A plan that has been an easy target for democrats.  And a plan that may negatively sway indies and the elderly.

Will he make a difference?  Probably not.  But if his team can influence the Romney team that you have to be a little looser, a little more hip and a little bit more aggressive, then that would be a good thing.

Additionally, a few things are also clear.  In the coming days and for the rest of the campaign we’re gonna hear the democrats roll out all kinds of ads and speeches on the following themes:

  • War on the Middle Class – See also “Decline of the”
  • The gutting of Medicare and Medicaid
  • Tax breaks for the wealthy
  • Income disparity
  • The Ryan Plan itself

It should promise to be a great campaign!

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Posted in Elections 2012, Mitt Romney, Politics: National

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Absent Morality

Posted on August 8, 2012 | 1 comment

UPDATE:

I didn’t include the links to the stories showing the problem with the ad.  Those links are here and here.

Barack Obama has just released an ad in which he accuses Mitt Romney of causing the death of Ranae Soptic.  Basically the ad claims that Romney shut down a plant resulting in the family losing their health insurance.  Then, with no insurance to cover the family, Mrs. Soptic took ill, delayed going to see a doctor and was later diagnosed with Stage IV cancer; she died 22 days later.

The thrust of the ad is that Romney, caring only about corporate profits, took away the families health insurance leaving the family uninsured even as Ranae was ill.  If this were true, it hinges on the idea that the plant wouldn’t have closed anyway; with or without Romney and Bain.  And there’s no indication that it wouldn’t have.

However, that’s only interesting IF the claims made in the are true.  And they aren’t.  First, the plant was closed after Romney left Bain and Ranae had health insurance through her job.  Further, Mr. Soptic lost his job in 2001 and it wasn’t until 2006 that his wife passed away.

7 years after Romney had left Bain to run the Olympic Games.

But Obama doesn’t care.  Do you?

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