Friday, September 28, 2012

Catching up on gun nonsense and pandemonium

Ted Nugent
Back in April, out-of-date rocker Ted Nugent threatened President Obama and promptly received a visit from the Secret Service.  Nugent is a celebrity—although some question that status—gun nut that reminds me of the lunatic Charlton Heston in his famous tirade waving a musket over his head.  It seems that the NRA is constantly recruiting has-beens that are really not that good anymore at their day job.  Nugent is a NRA board member.


Wacky Wayne LaPierre
Josh Horwitz of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence says that although National Rifle Assn. (NRA) CEO Wayne LaPierre wants us to believe gun guys make the rules, the Founding Fathers “ratified the Constitution to obviate the need for political violence.”  What wacky Wayne and his lackeys have turned this into is a drive to put guns in the hands of anyone who wants them and allow them to carry their weapons anywhere they want.  This keeps gun nuts like Nugent happy.


James Holmes

Along the lines of unrestricted gun power, there is the fact that the purchase of ammunition online is essentially unregulated.  Firearms cannot be bought online except, of course, in Arizona.  But ammunition can be ordered online and shipped to the buyer’s address.  James Holmes, who killed 12 and injured 58 in the Aurora, Colo. movie shooting, purchased 6,000 rounds of ammunition online.  If regulated, this purchase would have certainly alerted police.

Arizona is one of the few states allowing the purchase of guns over the Internet, although they do restrict the sale of tobacco products.  KPHO CBS5 in Phoenix says, “Policy makers in Arizona can now rest easier, knowing that while no one is purchasing tobacco over the internet, every convicted felon and his brother can purchase guns online to kill or maim their local Congressman.”  The latter refers to the severe wounding of former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords in Tucson.

Back in August after the recent rash of gun massacres had died down, A CNN poll was taken finding that 50% of respondents favor no or minimum restrictions on gun ownership compared to 48% for major restrictions.  But 96% favor background checks and 91% support laws that will prevent felons or the mentally ill from buying guns.  That’s a start and if we added closing the gun show loophole and banning assault weapons we are on the way to gun sanity.

I base my opinion, above, on another CNN report on gun statistics in America:









CSGV asked National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) General Counsel Larry Keane if he felt that individual Americans had a right to shoot and kill government officials in response to what they personally perceived as ‘”tyranny,” Keane tweeted back at us plaintively, “Just like the Jews in the ghettos of Warsaw? The South Sudanese? Kurds? The American colonists?”  That pretty much says it all for the gun nuts.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Which presidential candidate gets the most secret money?

In the past few years, particularly after the Supreme Court decision to open the door to unlimited contributions by corporations and unions, secret money has poured into presidential and congressional campaigns.  Following that decision in January of 2010, the President remarked that the high court had, "given a green light to a new stampede of special interest money in our politics." 

President Obama
According to OpenSecrets.org, Obama’s large individual contributions are 63.2%, Romney 82.6%.  From Stateofenlightenment.com, Obama’s corporate donations are spread around pretty evenly between law, education, media, government, technology and finance.  But Romney comes in at 80% alone from finance with the remaining 20% spread between law, real estate and technology.  Obama has received no PAC contributions, Romney $901,524.

But the American public is fed up with this mystery cash going into political action committees (PACS) and other organizations that are formed specifically to raise millions of dollars to defeat the opposing candidate and who are also able to protect the identity of their donors.  They just may not take it anymore.  Already protesters have forced 38 corporations to cut ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), known as a corporate bill mill.

Following the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling, Congress did not act on a bill to require disclosure of the donors.  In Justice Anthony Kennedy’s opinion following the ruling, he and seven other Justices in agreeing with Citizens United also upheld disclosure rules and emphasized there should be transparency.  They even envisioned voters getting campaign information from laptops or smart phones.

Kennedy added, “Prompt disclosure of expenditures can provide shareholders and citizens with the information needed to hold corporations and elected officials accountable for their positions and supporters.”  Further, “This transparency enables the electorate to make informed decisions and give proper weight to different speakers and messages.”  Well, it hasn’t happened and isn’t likely to happen as long as the GOP control the House.

Mitt Romney
Undisclosed donor ads were less than 2% in 2006, jumping to 25% in 2008, 40% in 2010.  It is obvious that candidates along with corporations do not want the source of this new found gold mine to be revealed and that, in itself, should tell the public that something very wrong is going on.  Otherwise, why wouldn’t both sides be eager for the American people to know how a political campaign is being run and who is supporting who?

Mark Sherman said in the Huff Post, “More than 8 in 10 Americans in a poll by The Associated Press and the National Constitution Center support limits on the amount of money given to groups that are trying to influence U.S. elections.”  He also said, “The ringing endorsement of First Amendment freedoms matched the public's view of the Constitution as an enduring document, even as Americans hold the institutions of government, other than the military, in very low regard.”

In addition, the poll found that Americans want protection for minorities in elections, probably as a result of the voter ID laws passed in many states.  Sherman commented, “The laws mainly have been backed by Republican lawmakers who say they want to combat voter fraud. Democrats, citing academic studies that found there is very little voter fraud…”  In fact the laws appear to be just a hurdle to make it harder for those minorities voting Democrat.

Ah, the games politicians play.  The big question is just how long will John and Jane Q. Public put up with it?  Perhaps that’s a question we can answer in November.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and other lunacy in state politics

It wasn’t bad enough that Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer issued an executive order that, even if young undocumented immigrants receive deferred action on deportation, they can’t have a driver’s license, The Arizona Department of Transportation agreed.  Many thought there was some leeway between Brewer’s order and what the state Constitution says.  The ADT conducted a review and the decision was also not to issue driver’s licenses.

Jan Brewer
Without them the immigrants cannot drive to work or school.  California will issue driver’s licenses for those in the program but, then, that state is light years ahead of Arizona in progress.  This edict would put 80,000 undocumented immigrants in the state in the position of either hitching a ride or just driving illegally.  Arizona will most likely face another lawsuit to add to SB-1070, Sheriff Joe Arpaio and others.  Just another stupid move by the wicked witch from the Southwest.

The Gov. recently stated she is 100 percent sure she knows just what Mitt Romney meant when he told a fundraising dinner that 47 percent of the country “believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them.”  The Gov. turned illusionist exclaimed he meant, “We want to make everyone successful.  We want everybody to be successful.”  This kind of statement is one you might expect from someone living on another planet.

But everything this fruitcake politician does cannot change the fact that she has pissed off many Hispanics in the state, and this kind of politics is projected to turn Arizona over to the Democrats in the not too distant future.  There are 589,000 Latinos registered to vote in Arizona and 265,000 of those are expected to vote Democrat. 

Depending on what poll you read, President Obama has a chance of winning Arizona.  To support that, he raised $859,000 in the state in August compared to Romney’s $676,000.  It was also his biggest month nationwide.

Jan Brewer and undocumented immigrant
And there are many ways that a governor can cast aspersions on the state they govern, one of them by insulting one of its largest corporations with corporate headquarters in the state.  It wasn’t bad enough that Brewer was blowing the state’s money needlessly on a trip to Paris, but she and two of her staff caused a $4,100 bill during the fiasco that included cancellation fees for a Best Western hotel where they thought the digs weren’t up to standard for such royalty. 

Moving on to the bigoted side of Jan Brewer and many state residents, she was asked not to attend the recent Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C.  This was because the organization that sponsored it, the Family Research Council, is said to have spread demeaning untruths about the lesbian and gay community.  But Brewer not only attended but said she was honored to speak.  And what might we expect?  Other speakers included Paul Ryan and Michele Bachmann.

And then there was the recent meandering interview with the New York Times where Jan Brewer showed the true colors of an Arizona fanatic.  Here are some excerpts.  She was hurt when wagging her finger in the President’s face on a Phoenix tarmac he walked off in the middle of her sentence.  Why Obama even took the time to acknowledge her at all is amazing.  She won’t even admit how stupid she was, which thoroughly irks several Arizona progressives.

Jan Brewer announcing
headless bodies
She admitted she didn’t have a clue where the U.S./Mexico border is when asked about her concerns over Arizona border violence; the FBI reported that violence had dropped.  She quoted figures for people who were murdered in Puerto Penasco, a full 60 miles into Mexico.  There was also the beheaded bodies found in the desert that weren’t really there.  And maintaining her stand on loose gun laws in the aftermath of Rep. Gabby Giffords severe wounding in Tucson.

But the clincher was Brewer’s reaction to the law she signed to allow concealed weapons in bars.  The interviewer questioned this reasoning and she replied, “I think a bartender knows who’s drinking and who isn’t.  But he doesn’t know who has a concealed weapon was the retort.  Her only answer was how responsible gun owners are, not how irresponsible they might become after a few drinks.

Arizonans have to live with this on a daily basis, and many still support this incompetent poor soul.  Unfortunately it has caused ridicule of the state that will take years to repair.  Disgraced State Sen. Russell Pearce, a Brewer buddy and author of SB-1070, was thrown out of office.  There’s still a chance for Jan Brewer and many progressives are looking for just that.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Barry Goldwater daughter will vote Democrat

I am strictly a progressive in the truest sense of the word, but I have great admiration for Barry Goldwater as a man and a statesman.  Not just a politician like many of the hacks in Congress and running for president these days, but one who has the wisdom to lead and who wants only the best for the citizens of this country.  Would he turn over in his grave knowing that his eldest daughter, Joanne Goldwater is voting for a Democrat?  Don’t think so and here’s why.


Joanne Goldwater with Carmona
Ms. Goldwater, who must know her dad’s politics, says Jeff Flake, who is running in Arizona against Democrat Richard Carmona for Jon Kyl’s Senate seat, does not practice her father’s “brand of conservatism,” nor does she think the modern day Republican Party does.  Barry Goldwater was credited with sparking the resurgence of the conservative movement in the 1960s pushing the GOP further right with his famous statement:

"I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice.  And ... moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue."

But Goldwater’s extremism didn’t come off like that of today’s Republican fanatics, particularly the Tea Party.  And that is how a statesman separates himself from the run-of-the-mill politicians that are running Congress today.  I agreed very little with most of his views and told him so at a signing of his book, Conscience of a Conservative in Phoenix in 1960.  I was a bleeding liberal in those days and the Senator commented that there was still time to change.

Goldwater lost to Lyndon Johnson in 1964 in one of the largest landslides in history.  Goldwater was not a supporter of the religious right, commenting in his book, "I am a conservative Republican, but I believe in democracy and the separation of church and state.  The conservative movement is founded on the simple tenet that people have the right to live life as they please as long as they don't hurt anyone else in the process."  Today would turn him over in his grave.

Richar Carmona on his politics:

On this same issue he said, "I don't have any respect for the Religious Right.  There is no place in this country for practicing religion in politics.  That goes for Falwell, Robertson and all the rest of these political preachers.  They are a detriment to the country."  In fact, in Conscience of a Conservative he commented, "Every good Christian should line up and kick Jerry Falwell's ass."  He always spoke his mind and oh, if only he had been a progressive.

Richard Carmona
So if Arizona’s Jeff Flake isn’t a true conservative in the genuine sense of the word, then what would you label Mitt Romney?  So far I have found no comments from Joanne Goldwater re. Mitt Romney’s candidacy for President.  Most would agree, Barry Goldwater would never flip-flop on the issues like Romney and Obama Senior Adviser David Plouffe even said:

“…he {Romney} is the most radical conservative since Barry Goldwater. You can’t kind of have it both ways. Barry Goldwater was not a flip flopping phony. And so, if you’re going to say that Romney is a flip flopping phony, you can’t say that he’s a hard right conservative.”

Any way you look at this, Mitt Romney appears to be attempting to be just what the voters want him to be, with no real vision for how he would run this country.  On the other hand, we know what Barack Obama stands for, and, as Flip Wilson used to say, “You get what you see.”  Obama made a comment recently that I thought really humbled him. 

He said after he wins his second term that hopefully the Republicans that have made it their mission for the last four years just to get rid of him will change their tactics and at least meet him half way. 

No animosity or revenge in his remark, just the statement of a man who wants the best for the U.S. and is asking for the support of the opposing party which, so far, has been the party of NO to everything he proposed.  Things are looking up for the President while Romney continues to implode by simply opening his mouth.  In the latest Electoral Vote count by Huffington Post, it has Obama at 332 votes, Romney with 191.  You need 270 to win.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Gun control advocates take over NRA…Oust Wayne LaPierre

A PARODY

Dateline-May 6, 2013-Houston: It was just last week and the National Rifle Assn. (NRA) was holding its annual convention at the George R. Brown convention Center in the heart of downtown Houston.  The exhibit hall was huge, some 400,000 feet, equipped to handle 500 exhibitors.  Families of gun worshippers gathered to hear the omnipotent Wayne LaPierre reassure them that gun control advocates would not take away their precious guns.


Wackier than even Wayne LaPierre

LaPierre is known for coddling this gang of gun nuts to make sure they continue to send their money that will keep his maniacal crusade flourishing while more than adequately filling his pockets and those of his top henchmen.  It’s a no lose situation with these poor souls.  But their financial support is trivial compared to the real money that comes from the gun manufacturers where clearly LaPierre has placed his nose and support up entirely within their backside.

Back at the convention, children marvel at the weaponry, especially the selection of assault rifles, reminded that their parents had promised them one when they are old enough.  Moms look over an array of holsters for females to select the one that best fits their personality.  Dads search for the most masculine looking Glock that will help them confirm their manliness.  They are all here, ready to heap praise on the great one who has fulfilled their loosest gun dreams.


NRA kid who doesn't like
gun control advocates

But there is another group present that has a different purpose than the NRA’s fanatical gun rights.  They are the gun control advocates who came to this firearms fiasco to dump CEO Wayne LaPierre and shut down its absurd advocacy for guns for everyone to take anywhere they want.  These are reasonable people, some of which own guns, many who are NRA members, but realize they should only be meant for protection in the home.

These are law abiding citizens who aren’t afraid of background checks, even the registration of their weapons.  They are also a part of the budding majority that believes assault rifles were meant for killing and have no place in the typical American home.  They believe in the 2nd Amendment but also realize its limitations.  The Founding Fathers did not intend for it to open the door to an NRA style culture with zero restraint.

It was almost a year ago in 2012 that the call went out through gun control advocates to enlist those with this philosophy to join the NRA, while identifying members within the organization that were approving of sensible gun control.  They responded in droves with 3 million new applicants signing up and 750,000 NRA member sympathizers joining the group.  That meant out of the total membership now of 7,300,000, 3,750,000 were anti Wayne LaPierre.

Finally, there was a majority in the most powerful lobby in the country; but could they throw the bums at the top out?  With determination the gun controllers set about to infiltrate the meetings, espousing their views on sensible gun control.  They were met with even more supporters from the ranks coming over to their side, but were also confronted by the typical bubba gun nuts, along with their wives and kids, that called them everything from anarchist to communist.

Glenn Beck - Wackier than
Charlton Heston
Soon the fireworks began to go off in the upper echelons when LaPierre and his minions caught wind of the movement.  They had known all along that something was going on but reacted with the same arrogance that nothing could stop the great LaPierre and his wrecking ball.  But this time was different.  The American public, although leery of blanket gun control, was weary of the daily gun homicides that were going on across the U.S.  The time had come.

Momentum grew for the gun controllers when a confrontation ensued.  But then saner minds prevailed by warning the crowd that everything they were doing was being taped for the evening news.  At this point the gun controllers forced a vote, first to elect a new President of the NRA who was one of them.  Next, a vote was taken to dethrone Wayne LaPierre, which passed by a large plurality, and to form a committee to find a new Executive Vice President and CEO to replace him.

It was done and the gun controllers had done it.  When they went searching for LaPierre to officially strip him of his titles and position he was nowhere to be found.  One security guard said that he saw him and several other men exiting through a basement door that led to the parking lot where they expected to find their limousines.  They weren’t there.  The gun controllers had made sure of that.  LaPierre was later seen walking around the parking lot begging for a ride.

The 2013 NRA Annual Meeting closed early.

Oh, only if…

Friday, September 21, 2012

There is categorically no excuse for not voting…this means you

I have never heard as much bitching and moaning over the political situation in the decades I have been voting as I do today.  The public is convinced that all politicians are either dishonest, incompetent or just plain stupid.  Just maybe all three.  According to an August 2012 Gallup Poll, one in ten people approve of the job Congress is doing.  This gang of “incompetents” passed only 61 laws which are the fewest since 1947.  All because of ridiculous partisan bickering.

And then there are the presidential candidates who probably bear the most extreme feelings of whether or not they are fit for office.  The love/hate relationship voters have with Barack Obama is guided in many cases by just a dislike for the man, which I have a very hard time understanding.  If you watched the President on Dave Letterman recently and then can tell me what there is to dislike about him, I would probably wonder about your acuity.

You may not like Obama’s politics but that is an entirely different matter.  There are some who don’t but that is why you get off your butt and go to the polls in November.  I talked to someone recently that had been so against Barack Obama that this person would never vote for him.  But she told me that now she was going to vote for the President because she doesn’t like Mitt Romney’s politics.  But the point is she is going to vote for the better of two candidates.


Pres. Barack Obama
That’s the American way.  Not sulk and pick up your ballot and go home.  That’s what Susan Page of USA Today says 90 million Americans will do in November.  At best a USA Today/Suffolk University Poll says there’s a 50% chance these laggards will go to the polls.  These slackers “back Obama's re-election over Republican Mitt Romney by more than 2-to-1. Two-thirds of them say they are registered to vote.”  Excuse the name calling but you deserve it.

And here are the reasons the poll found for not voting: “They're too busy. They aren't excited about either candidate. Their vote doesn't really matter. And nothing ever gets done, anyway.  Let’s analyze these one by one.

  • Too busy.  That kind of excuse reflects the caliber of the Congress who is to busy trying to get reelected, establish a power base, fill their pockets while in office or all three.

  • Not excited over either candidate.  Any individual who cannot do the simple homework to find out which candidate has the most ideas that represent their position is just plain lazy and perhaps dull-witted. 

  • Vote doesn’t matter.  Not only is this a stupid attitude, it is mathematically impossible when you consider the popular vote does impact the Electoral College vote.  How the hell do these people think we arrive at a majority?

  • Nothing ever gets done.  Well, you know, this viewpoint does have some validity when you consider the Congress we are currently stuck with.  But this attitude fades in comparison with the fact that the way to get something done is to get rid of the current Congress.  To do that you must vote.

Susan Page found one mother of three, Jamie Palmer of St. Joseph, MO, who is 35 and has never voted.  This is incredible, the example of the worst kind of American citizen, who should be placed last on the list in order to enjoy the benefits of this country.  She, of course, should have no say in local, state or federal government.  For anyone to even admit this shows a mentality that would certainly bring the U.S. down if there were too many like her.

The demographics of poll respondents are as follows:

“Only a third calls their household finances good or excellent. Close to half say their annual household income is less than $60,000 a year. They tend to have lower levels of education than likely voters; nearly six in 10 have no more than a high school diploma.”

I was serious about throwing out all the incumbent bums in Congress and bringing in fresh blood, perhaps even less politically oriented in Washington’s ways.  Of course I am biased and would favor those who are progressive, but if you aren’t, you still must vote. 


Mitt Romney
As far as the candidates for president, you do have a choice between two distinct kinds of government.  Barack Obama represents the kind that is beginning to work today as is portrayed by all the upturn signs in the economy.  It’s been slow but his approach is working and shows resilience along with progress.

Mitt Romney represents the kind of government that fostered the financial meltdown resulting in record home foreclosures and jobs loss.  I am talking about George W. Bush’s administration which left President Obama with the worst mess since the Great Depression.

You do have a choice but you must vote to decide just what kind of government the majority of the American public wants.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Australia: Another gun control success story

In 1996 there was a gun massacre in Tasmania, Australia resulting in 35 people killed, 18 wounded at a tourist resort.  It was Australia’s worst mass murder ever, but, as we will see, it wasn’t ignored like the recent firearm bloodbaths in the U.S.  Martin Bryant walked into the Broad Arrow Café in the small coastal town of Port Arthur, finished his meal, then entered the main dining room with a satchel, took out an AR-15 assault rifle, and started the carnage.  


Down Under gets serious
with gun control
Bryant shot and killed 20 people in the resort in less than two minutes, thanks to rapid fire available in assault weapons, hitting Moh Yee Ng as he ate his soup, followed by his girlfriend and 18 more.  Then he left to try and kill as many others as possible in this small town including a woman and her two children.  Sound familiar?  Just another random shooting by a maniac—James Holmes in the Aurora, Colo. movie theatre killed 12, injuring 58 with an assault rifle.

Todd Crowell in Real Clear World reports that Bryant was a schizophrenic, which indicates that mental illness entered into the equation.  Another parallel with the James Holmes bloodshed where, if mental health data was shared among law enforcement agencies in the U.S. as it should be, Holmes would never have gotten a gun. 

A 2008 study done in the U.S. shows that local  area background checks had 27% lower rates of gun-related suicides and 22% lower rates of gun-related murders.   


Prime Minister John Howard
But the end of the Australia story is far different that that in the U.S.  As a guideline, this country has done nothing, zilch, zip since the gun slaughters that started gaining momentum with the Columbine gun butchery in Colorado in 1999.  But the conservative—yes, I said conservative—government of Prime Minister John Howard in Australia decided they had had enough.  Because that country’s constitution cannot regulate firearms, they coerced the states to do it.


Kangaroo to the rescue
Australia is a country of 22.7 million people and the National Rifle Assn. (NRA) influence is weaker than in the U.S.  Also, this group is more concerned with hunter’s rights than in this country where gun worshippers want everyone to be able to own a gun and take it anywhere they want to.  What does that say about the American gun culture where these fanatics value their weapons over human life?  This speaks to the fact that the U.S. has 31,347 firearm deaths each year.

The eventuality of Australia’s efforts in gun control resulted in “…mandatory gun licensing; registration of all firearms; an almost complete ban on all semi-automatic weapons, including pump-action shotguns.  Today Australia has a .14 rate of homicides per 100,000 population compared to the U.S. at 2.97, and 15 guns per 100,000 people, the U.S. 88.8, according to The Guardian Datablog.  They also raised taxes to buy back guns.

There are two important factors in relation to the Australian gun control situation.  First, the force behind this action wasn’t gun hating liberals like the NRA would have us think, but conservatives.  Second, Howard’s stringent position on gun control not only didn’t affect him in current elections but helped him in future elections, making him the second-longest serving prime minister in Australian history.  A fact that Democrats and some Republicans should take note of.

UPDATE

My stock answer to all comments questioning the Australian gun law post.

You are quick to come up with anti-gun control facts but short on total research that proves the1996 Australian gun law worked.  Perhaps I am a bit short-sighted for not spelling it out for gun fanatics with blinders. 

Australia’s population increases have been substantial since the passing of the law in 1996.  Its growth rate is higher than China, the U.S. and Canada.  But during the increases in population, Australian homicides per 100,000 pop. decreased from .57 in 1996 down to .1 in 2009.  There was a steady decline to .30 in 2000, .19 in 2005 to .1 in 2009.  These figures come from GunPolicy.org.

And I just uncovered another study that shows as a result of the law the firearm homicide rate fell by 59%, the firearm suicide rate dropped 65%.  The research also estimated that because of the buying back of 3,500 guns per 100,000 population, there resulted a 35 to 50% decline in the homicide rate.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Romney exclaims “his job is not to worry about those people,” meaning the needy

Once again the Romney campaign has imploded with a statement that reflects the elitism of the Republican Party and the views of many Americans that, as long as I get mine, let the rest, well, who cares.  Romney’s statement was taped with a hidden camera saying that 47% of Americans will vote for Obama just because they rely on government support provided by the President’s administration.  There is more but here is exactly what he said:


Thumbs up on the wealthy
Thumbs down on the needy

"There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what.  There are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent on government, who believe that, that they are victims, who believe that government has the responsibility to care for them. Who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing."

It was Franklin Delano Roosevelt that had to deal with a worldwide economic depression while running a major war but still was able to push through the New Deal, eventually adding new jobs which produced relief resulting in reform and a recovery from 1933 to 1937.  There was a relapse in 1937 pushing the economy into a deep recession, but many experts still agree that FDR’s employment and wage strategy worked.  Helping the needy has been and is an American tradition.

MUST SEE video from the YoungTurks on Romney's 47%:

As a comparison to Romney’s figure of 47%, the non-partisan Tax Policy Center estimates that in 2011, 46% of U.S. households will pay no income tax.  But if you counted the payroll taxes paid by this group, that figure drops dramatically to 18%.  It is the GOP candidate’s position that his "job is not to worry about those people."  Here is another comment from Romney:

 "I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.  What I have to do is convince the 5 percent to 10 percent in the center that are independents, that are thoughtful."


Look Paul, there's our token
needy person
How can you take personal responsibility for your life when the business you worked for for years ships your job overseas, and what exactly are those families in foreclosure supposed to do about a situation that was created by the George W. Bush administration initiating a financial disaster that brought this country to the very brink?  This is what the Republican elite and corporate America don’t understand and ample excuse for keeping the GOP out of the White House.

As far as the Romney/Ryan Bobbsey Twins are concerned, that 47% are on their own and can expect no help from an indifferent government that would be run by them.

The event where the secret video was taken was in Boca Raton, Fla. at the home of Sun Capital executive Marc Leder.  It was there that Romney further alienated the Hispanic community by commenting in humor that his bid for President could be more successful if he was Latino.  Barack Obama’s campaign called Romney’s statements “shocking.”  Here’s the actual quote:

The Bobbsey Twins
"It's shocking that a candidate for President of the United States would go behind closed doors and declare to a group of wealthy donors that half the American people view themselves as 'victims,' entitled to handouts, and are unwilling to take 'personal responsibility' for their lives. It's hard to serve as president for all Americans when you've disdainfully written off half the nation.”

I have been called a bleeding liberal for my view that it is equality between all individuals that we should be striving for rather than a system built around the “haves” and “have nots.”  I continue to be proud of that position and there is no doubt in my mind that Barack Obama is still the man to make this happen. 

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Obama’s momentum strengthens his Electoral vote advantage

John King of CNN says that Barack Obama “must make history again.”  He refers, of course, to the President’s huge win over Arizona Senator John McCain in 2008.  He became the first African American president, a fact that continues to bother many closet racists.  He had good ideas on how to take this country out of the mire George W. Bush had led America into, but many of his programs were stymied by a GOP Congress unwilling to support anything he proposed.

Middle cass on the brink
The GOP way
Some got through like his health care plan, the auto bailout and the stimulus programs.  During the whole process, Republicans brought the U.S. economy to the brink of disaster with their refusal to drop the tax breaks for the wealthy enacted under GWB.  And we will no doubt re-experience this log-jam once again in November and December of this year.  The election is November 6, and King says Obama has an easier path to 270 votes than Mitt Romney.

Here are the numbers from 5 Electoral College polls:

  • 270 To Win:            Obama 201   Romney 191
  • New York Times      Obama 237   Romney 206
  • Real Clear Politics   Obama 237   Romney 191
  • USA Today             Obama 196   Romney 191
  • CNN                        Obama 237   Romney 191

If you average these out, Obama comes out with 221.6, Romney 194.

If you add in the more liberal Huff Post poll where Obama is 313 to Romney’s 206, the new average is Obama 267.3, Romney 200.

But there is even more good news for the President.  New CNN battleground polls show high marks for the President compared to his GOP contender from likely voters in three top states:

  • Ohio             Obama 50%            Romney 43%
  • Florida          Obama 49%            Romney 44%
  • Virginia         Obama 49%            Romney 44%

The experts say that Mitt Romney must win Florida and Ohio.  Taking this even further, only 6% of Ohio voters are undecided, 5% for both Florida and Virginia.  That leaves the Romney/Ryan Bobbsey Twins little room in which to wiggle.

Obama's 2008 "Change"
History tells us that no incumbent has ever won the presidency since Franklin D. Roosevelt with unemployment over 8%, but apparently the voting public is saying, wait a minute, we’ve had enough of these radical conservatives and want more of the “change” Barack Obama promised.  The unemployment rate was 8.3% when Obama took office and remained the same as of August.  In Michigan where the auto bailout was felt strongest, Obama leads Romney 47% to 37%.    

And then there is the Hispanic vote which the GOP seems to have lost long ago.  No self-respecting Latino would vote for a party that has denied them their rights for years and continues to put barriers in the way of everything President Obama has tried to do for this group.  It is generally agreed that Barack Obama has not done enough for overall immigration reform but given the chance in a second term, I think this President will come through for Hispanics. 


Obama's Hispanic vote
Obama does hold his own with African-Americans, Latinos and young people, as well as women voters.  He does have problems like Wisconsin and North Carolina, among a few others.  But in my book, Romney signed his doom by selecting Paul Ryan as VP, just like McCain with Sarah Palin.  The latter was obviously unfit to run, but Ryan is equally radical in his politics, especially on the budget.  Even GWB said the budget he presented to him was “irresponsible.”

With Mitt Romney’s flip-flop positions combined with recent foot-in-mouth disease, he just might seal the deal sometime in October.  But Barack Obama has no reason to expect success at this point, only to make hay while the momentum continues.  Barring some catastrophic blunder or event, however, the current momentum could carry the President into November and a well-earned second term.

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