The Politics Thread

[quartermainefan]

Arnold speaks:

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-oe-schwarzenegger-gop-needs-to-be-more-inclusiv-20120506,0,178448.story

[juppiter]

To me the most interesting stories the last couple of days have been international ones. The Socialists regaining power in France after 17 years is huge. There is not actually much in the way of socialism they CAN do without leaving the EU, but it'll be interesting to see how the dynamics change and if France-Germany will still be BFFs.

And of course the disastrous Greek election is the biggest clusterfuck democracy has given us in years. I hate what the Greek people are going through, I saw a pictorial on life in Greece a couple weeks ago that just broke my heart, but their crisis just fascinates me.

[MissLlanviewPA]

The end of an era has come to Indiana:

http://nbcpolitics.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/08/11604125-nbc-news-projects-lugar-defeated-in-indiana-primary?lite

Senator Lugar has been a true statesman, not to mention the longest serving GOP Senator. To go from being unopposed in 2006 to this--what a turnaround.

As a Democrat, however, I'm not gonna lie--bring on Joe Donnelly! I wish we could have someone a little bit more liberal (where is Birch Bayh when you need him?--Actually, he's living on the Eastern Shore of my homestate of Maryland now--very cool!), but I'm ready for a real race here.

[DRW50]

I thought this was interesting. It's clear that the "liberal" media were expecting Romney to go back to being their special, oh-so-sensible friend.

http://firstread.msn...ar-likely-loses

Politically, Romney has never been anything other than a con artist. He has adapted so much to the hard right sell that he won't stop now.

It's very telling that he can only sneer at student loans as "free stuff." On another occasion, he told students to just ask their parents for money.

The rich like Romney are happy and proud that they can now openly admit how much contempt they have for anyone who isn't rolling in cash. That will just become more and more flagrant as the campaign goes on. It's a very cynical campaign - let's just tell these people they are bums and need to stop expecting handouts (handouts are only for the banks) - and sadly, it will likely work.

I read an article in the Christian Science Monitor tsk-tsking people for saying Romney should have told that woman that Obama shouldn't be tried for treason. Only in today's media environment would you have the press PRAISING Romney for not condemning accusations of treason.

Edited May 9, 2012 by CarlD2

[MissLlanviewPA]

Awful.

http://nbcpolitics.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/08/11604355-north-carolina-oks-constitutional-same-sex-marriage-ban?lite

[DRW50]

This law also nullifies existing domestic partnership ordinances in various cities, and will nullify domestic violence laws for people who are not legally married.

[quartermainefan]

Why am I not surprised? The community that has been most the victim of bias and prejudice in this country is once again first in line to vote their own prejudices and bias.

[MissLlanviewPA]

WHOA!

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/09/11621156-obama-backs-same-sex-marriage?lite

[wingwalker]

Yeah pretty big news. I'm not surprised it's been a long time coming, I figured he would come out to support gay marriage, but I didn't think he would be until after the election, more risky to announce this now.

[DRW50]

That's certainly a big step, and one I never thought I'd see.

I will say that if he had just said this some time ago he would have saved himself a big headache, because now it seems like politics. I also expect this will cause a drop in support of gay marriage, because the media will spin this very negatively, and it will become a more polarized issue. It comes across as too little, too late, when it didn't have to be this way.

For all the breathless media talk of "moderate" and "sensible conservative" Mitt Romney, in that article he continues to show just how hostile he is to gay rights. The most he can support is domestic partnership benefits, and my guess is he doesn't even support that, since he said absolutely nothing about the NC amendment which bans them. He will not hire gay people for his campaign. He opposed DADT repeal. He opposes anti-discrimination laws.

Only in today's world does opposing any form of gay rights and supporting the departure of gay employees make you a moderate!

Edited May 9, 2012 by CarlD2

[Max]

I guess this is the time when President Obama is hailed as a "hero." Of course, he actually first supported gay marriage in 1996, but he flip-flopped (sorry, "evolved" is the proper term when it comes to him) when it came to pursuing his own national advancement. (This is similar to how Romney was originally a social conservative, then became a social liberal after moving to MA, and is now a social conservative again.)

I'll at least give him credit for flip-flopping now instead of after the election. Because he was getting hammered for playing both sides of the fence (see below), it just made sense for him to make this statement.

http://www.mediaite....iage-evolution/

The sad thing is that if Obama loses, it will be blamed on gay marriage, when the actual reason for such a loss will be the economy.

Given the size of his 2008 victory, he could have been shown some real bravery and supported it then (and still won). Certainly, that's what one would expect from a candidate who was hailed as a different type of politician.

Edited May 9, 2012 by Max

[DRW50]

Gays always get the blame anyway. They did in 2004, as very prominent Democrats blamed gay marriage for the loss, instead of the lousy campaign of John Kerry and the national party. This actually gives Democrats an easy way out if Obama loses - they won't have to address any of their failings.

Edited May 9, 2012 by CarlD2

[MissLlanviewPA]

The one thing that makes this particularly interesting (to me, at least) is that the DNC this year is being held in Charlotte, whose state just upheld an amendment banning same sex marriage.

Edited May 9, 2012 by MissLlanviewPA

[Max]

NC (which Obama doesn't need anyway) is the only (one-time) swing state where being in favor of gay marriage will likely doom his chances. Romney still faces a big uphill climb in accumulating 270 electoral votes.

Edited May 9, 2012 by Max

[DRW50]

I don't think gay marriage support will hurt his chances in North Carolina. I think it's mostly about the economy.