The Politics Thread

[marceline]

I have no respect for anyone still undecided at this point.

[quartermainefan]

You saw things that didn't actually happen. Romney had a semblance of substance with regard to Obama's record: the deficits are up and unemployment is high. But he has zero substance about his so-called 5 point plan. I have a 1 point plan for this afternoon, to make a billion dollars. Trust me, I have a plan and if I say I will make a billion no newspaper reporter or economic think tank can say otherwise. What is my plan? I'll tell you after you lend me the 1 million seed money.

That is Romney's position. He has a 5 point plan but no matter how many people say his plan doesn't add up he refuses to elaborate on any of it. He is a pack of lies in an expensive wardrobe. Do you know which tax write offs he will eliminate to finance his 20% tax rate deductions? It's great if you do because no one else does, and the NY Times would love to hear from you so you can help explain it to everybody.

He came off as a blustery flim flam man trying to bully the moderator and talk over Obama. Obama ate his wheaties and for once decided to show some backbone.

[quartermainefan]

I don't believe that woman was undecided at all. I am decided, but for the chance to go to the debate and ask a question I would lie my face off. She was squarely in Obama's camp just by virtue of the question because I would have asked the same question only added sharper language.

[Ann_SS]

I agree. There is no excuse for Obama not dealing with immigration reform when he had the Democratic Congress. Also, he has not told us what his agenda is for his second term. However, Romney is so vague and is such a liar that he flounders when he is confronted directly.

The debate had good ratings: http://tvbythenumber...-debate/153433/

Edited October 17, 2012 by Ann_SS

[Max]

It's amazing that those who proclaim Romney "hates" women (especially in positions of power) are ignorant about one very important fact: he chose a woman to be his Lieutenant Governor.

Except for the part about the GOP spewing BS, I agree with your assessment Jane. The general consensus seems to be that as well:

http://www.nationalj...efid=mostViewed

A lot of people rightfully criticized Jack Welch and others for questioning whether the government lied about the 7.8% unemployment rate. For the record, I don't believe that any lying was going on. Of course, I am smart enough to "read behind the number," and realize that this statistic is going down in large part because (1) we have a record number of long-term unemployed (and once they stop collecting benefits, they are not counted as part of the workforce, which in turn reduces the unemployment rate), (2) retailers increase the number of part-time workers during this time of year, and (3) many of those who have found new employment in the Obama economy are settling for a job that is paying less than their old one.

I wasn't able to post when the 7.8% unemployment figure was announced and Obama supporters were trashing Republicans for being unable to accept the facts. However, it isn't only Republicans who seem to be having difficulty with factual information. Democrats are still in denial over Bush's 2004 Ohio victory; for the record, he defeated John Kerry by 118,601 votes (a far cry from Bush's 537 vote margin over Gore in 2000 in Florida, which I don't begrudge any Democrat for doubting). Unfortunately, there are plenty of fringe nuts who honestly believe that "minority voter suppression" and "rigged" voting machines manufactured by Diebold robbed Senator Kerry of the presidency. Then, of course, we still have the Democratic bulls-hit that Mitt Romney is a "felon" because he never paid any taxes. But PriceWaterhouseCoopers, a highly respected CPA firm, vouched that from 1990 to 2009, the governor never paid an effective tax rate lower than 13%. (If you want to play the stupid game that PriceWaterhouseCoopers is lying on behalf of Romney because he employs them, then somebody could counter and say that the Department of Labor is lying about the unemployment rate because they are part of the Obama Administration.) Still, Harry Reid will not retract his slanderous statements (that Romney paid zero in taxes), and David Letterman called Romney a felon even after PriceWaterhouseCoopers vouched for him. Finally, the most extreme elements on the left fervently believe that President Bush had prior knowledge of 9/11 and was a co-conspirator in the event, even after an acclaimed report that was published by a committee chaired by two politicians known for their bipartisanship (Tom Kean and Lee Hamilton).

It certainly would be very nice if everybody could accept the facts and recognize the official unemployment rate is 7.8% and that Obama is a Hawaiian-born Christian. I just don't see that happening until the other side acknowledges that Mitt Romney isn't a felon and George W. Bush is the legitimate winner of the 2004 election who did not aid in the 9/11 attacks.

Edited October 17, 2012 by Max

[Roman]

If he was affective...what is his 5 point plan?

[Roman]

And there was a tremendous amount of filibustering by Republicans for those two years. Now, Harry Reid is gutless and spineless, because Nancy Pelosi passes more everything in the House. If there's blame to go around blame Dems and Reps in the Senate.

[Roman]

let me add...

The deficit has came down by $200 billion. And 10% unemployment is now down to 7.8%....with NO HELP from Republicans. All they worried about is finding out which rape is real and how these men can get into the underwear of women and tell them what to do with their bodies. But, I got it a long time ago...

Facts mean nothing to certain people.

[Wales2004]

Even though there are fringe elements that might believe the lies about Barack Obama's birth, the people who tend to perpetuate it probably don't believe nor do they care. When Mitt Romney stands up and jokes about where he and Ann were born and about no one ever asking to see his birth certificate, it's not because he believes Barack Obama isn't an American. Honestly, if the Republicans truly believed that then they would have fought to keep him off the ballot in 2008 and would have put up one massive fight to have blocked him from taking office. That never happened so the ones perpetuating the idea know it's bogus and they do it to appeal to their low base in the same way they float the lazy people on welfare and seemingly hold onto the single parents wrecking the country with their criminal offspring.

Democrats can make 1001 concessions and go along with what you say and it still won't change the Republican's stance. The Republicans generally promote this feeling of being superior to everyone else--especially morally superior since they are more Christian than any other Christians on their mission to "fix" society in their image.

BTW, the issue regarding the unemployment figures not including the long term is nothing new. The same thing happened when the economy was bad on George H. Bush and people stopped looking. I don't know what the numbers were then but they are at issue now because of the election and the Republicans fear that it makes it look as if Barack Obama isn't doing as poorly as they want him people to see him as doing. This says a lot more about the nature of the Republican party than it does about anything else. There may be a lot of genuinely good sincere people in the Republican party as may be the case with Democrats, but unfortunately the fringe elements get the spotlight. Society loves to emphasize the negative over the positive.

[quartermainefan]

"Fringe elements"? Is that what we call Donald Trump, Mitt Romney's joke writers, random FOX personalities, and various state officials who try to pass birther laws? If the establishment is now the fringe, then please define fringe.

No, it because he is seeking to exploit and profit from racism.

Edited October 18, 2012 by quartermainefan

[Ann_SS]

Bullying is a Romney family trait. Tagg Romney (one of Mitt Romney's sons) wanted to "take a swing" at the President during the debate. So much for single mothers being the ones who produce violent people.

http://thinkprogress...swing-at-obama/

Edited October 18, 2012 by Ann_SS

[marceline]

I'd like to see someone ask Sasha and Malia what it's like to hear people call their dad an un-American, black nationalist Muslim who hates women and white people. Or what it's like to hear people refer to their mother as an ape. Or their grandmother as a slut who had sex with a dog.

Life outside of the bubble is kind of tough, isn't it Tagg?

[DRW50]

I was also imagining the reaction if Michelle Obama's brother said he wanted to punch someone who trashed her. I doubt it would be the same positive reaction this Romney son (is this the one who asked to see Obama's school grades?) is getting.

The guy who does Dilbert is endorsing Romney because of Obama's medical marijauna prosecutions.

http://www.politico....2571.html?hp=r2

I thought he might vote for Romney based on these views.

The reality is that women are treated differently by society for exactly the same reason that children and the mentally handicapped are treated differently. It's just easier this way for everyone. You don't argue with a four-year old about why he shouldn't eat candy for dinner. You don't punch a mentally handicapped guy even if he punches you first. And you don't argue when a women tells you she's only making 80 cents to your dollar. It's the path of least resistance. You save your energy for more important battles. -Scott Adams

Read More: http://www.comicsall.../#ixzz29fOwAQTR

Edited October 18, 2012 by CarlD2

[marceline]

Are we sure he's serious? Because that's some of the most insane reasoning I've ever seen. Obama's at least smoked pot, Romney doesn't even drink. Does he really think Romney is going to be better for the legalization community than Barack "Intercepted" Obama?!

Maybe Adams should cut back on some of the bud.

[Ann_SS]

Both Tagg and his mother were giving the President the evil stare during and after the debate. Romney's aggressive body language, invasion of the President's personal space, and bullying and insulting manner and words made me think that he wanted to punch the President. White privileged men like Romney are not accustomed to be opposed or confronted by people of color or women, in particular. The President has had to deal with men like Romney all his life and in that last debate, he effectively put Romney in his place and Romney did not like it one bit. Check on this article on body language from the debate:

http://www.washingto...dcf2_story.html

Edited October 18, 2012 by Ann_SS