"A wise and frugal government which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government." (Thomas Jefferson)
The GOP Convention is history with Romney thinking children should just borrow from their parents to go to college or start a small business. What dream world is he living in? One more Convention next week after Labor Day with the Democrats and back to normal with TV programming! YEA!!!!!
The Oklahoma Sooner football team is heading to El Paso tomorrow to take on UTEP in the first game of the season Saturday night -- will be there to watch and cheer on the Sooners for the opener. Leaving early in the morning to enjoy Friday evening in El Paso. Late game because of the heat index on the field and in the stands if the sun is out.
The chances of Ron Paul people voting for Romney/Ryan are slim to none. Would expect many of them will end up in the Gary Johnson camp who is running as a Libertarian. Since he was the two-term well-liked Republican Governor of New Mexico who actually did cut the budget and turn a deficit into a surplus, it is perfect fit for the libertarian leaning Paul supporters. If Romney thinks after the underhanded tactics he and his people used to keep Ron Paul's duly elected delegates at the state conventions from being seated is going to play well, then they have no clue about the Paulbots who are very passionate about their candidate.
It is not only Paulbots who are mad as tomorrow night at the 6 p.m. press conference, delegates from other campaigns are going to be speaking about the rules changes which are not going over well:
“It’s also Santorum people, Gingrich people, Tea Party people who are not happy with these rule changes that have been shoved through. If that’s the type of corruption that we’re going to be faced with in the party, then what type of corruption are we going to be facing with Romney as president?”
Romney deserves to lose big for his overbearing tactics when it comes to delegates when he knew Ron Paul had no chance to win. Shows what he would do to anyone he considered his enemy if he were President. Reminds me of Richard Nixon which is not someone a Republican candidate should be emulating.
Couldn't agree more with this delegate, Bill Greene, from Georgia who is saying what a lot of us have been saying that if all you are is against a candidate and in some instances hate the other candidate, you are going lose the election. Motivation brings out votes and a lot of Republicans are not enthused, motivated, or even like the ticket. Putting Paul Ryan on the ticket with his hard right stance on issues has made the situation worse IMHO!
What’s clear is that the Romney campaign could desperately use some of the Paul movement’s passion. “I’m very active in the Tea Party—I’ve spoken at a lot of Tea Party events,” Bill Greene, a Paul delegate from Georgia, told me on Tuesday. “And I hear from a lot of Tea Party people that there is almost zero enthusiasm for Mitt Romney. The only thing that’s motivating them at all right now is being against Obama. And just being against something means you lose.”
Also questioning why Fox News wouldn't let Sarah Palin speak tonight as they cancelled her interview? That makes no sense since they hired her. Were they afraid she might say something Romney didn't like? Sounds like a Karl Rove deal to me.
A group of Paulites walked out of the convention hall Wednesday night. Michelle Goldberg on one of the few intriguing story lines straying from Tampa’s tedious script.
Last night, as John McCain was in the middle of a speech accusing Obama of weakening American national security, several dozen Ron Paul delegates leapt to their feet and started chanting, “As Maine Goes, So Goes the Nation!” before marching out the door, through the hallways at the Tampa Bay Times Forum, and into the steamy evening. Hungry journalists, myself included, chased after them, happy that something remotely interesting was happening. The fight over the Maine delegation, and the treatment of Paul more generally, has been one of the few bits of drama at a convention that has journalists debating whether it’s the most boring ever, or just the most boring in a couple of decades.Ron Paul, shakes hands with delegates from his state during the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla.,, Aug. 28, 2012. (Charlie Neibergall / AP Photos)“Make sure you take this down,” said Christopher Brown, a Paul delegate from Caldwell, Texas. “The entire Ron Paul delegation came here to support the Republican Party and Mitt Romney. And when they didn’t seat our delegates, changed the rules, took away our votes, and didn’t give Ron Paul, a 12-term congressman that’s given his life to defending the Constitution and working for the Republican Party, when they didn’t give him a speaking role, that was it.”
In the days before the convention, Republican officials, arguing that the delegate-selection process was tainted, stripped half of Maine’s Paul delegates of their credentials and replaced them with loyal Romney supporters. That led Maine’s governor, Romney backer Paul LePage, to skip the convention in protest, and it turned the state into a symbol of Paul-ite anger at the Republican establishment. Then, on Tuesday, the RNC pushed through new rules designed to give the national party greater control over delegate selection in the future. The result was grassroots anger that goes beyond Paul supporters, enlivening a convention that’s otherwise most notable for its listlessness.
Originally, the Wednesday night walkout was supposed to be bigger, but according to Justin Carro, an alternate delegate from Alaska, the Paul camp urged restraint. “Ron Paul did say he wanted us to be polite and respectful and not boo Mitt Romney,” Carro said. “That we should be cautious in our actions and not destroy the progress that we have made. After discussion with the organization, the decision was made that you can do it if you want to,” but not everyone joined in.
It’s unlikely, though, that Paul fans are feeling any warmer towards Romney after Wednesday. The video tribute to Paul that the RNC offered in lieu of a speech played early in the evening, as delegates were just starting to wander onto the floor. Later, Paul’s son Rand spoke, but didn’t mention his father’s name; some of Paul’s supporters believe that the Romney camp forbade him to.
Thus the dissension is likely to continue on Thursday, the convention’s final day. At 6 pm, an hour before the evening’s speeches are set to begin, a group of dissident Republicans are planning a press conference in the Forum to denounce the party’s recent rule changes. “It’s not necessarily just Ron Paul folks who are going to be there,” says Carro, one of the planners.
If Ben Ginsberg said the sky was blue, I would have to go check after he came down on the side of Joe Miller in AK who until this year was one of a group of candidates that were the worst I have seen being pushed by the Tea Party. This year is worse with the likes of Akin and others running for Senate who are too hard right to be elected or at least I hope the people are smart enough not to send Akin and others like him to the Senate. Gingberg went to Alaska to help Miller out but even he couldn't pull out a win for Miller who was beat by the incumbent write-in candidate, Lisa Murkowski. Joe Miller was a joke and so were the statements made by Gingsberg during that fight.
Gingsberg can play down the fight over the rules this week all he wants but it left a lot of bitter feelings and these Romney Republican establishment types are stupid if they don't think most Ron Paul people will never support Romney/Ryan and their hostile takeover of the GOP. The first rule was even worse when they wanted to make it so the candidate could replace delegates in the states which they had to compromise but anyone with a brain can tell that the Romney establishment types want complete control of delegate selection. Guess they really do want to be the minority party for years to come with this attitude basically telling the grassroots to sit down and shut up. The fact they tried to get control of state delegations should bother every last Republican:
The move misjudged the mood and background of many of the people here. "It was tyranny at its best," said Bob Ide, a delegate from Idaho. "They should have run these guys off the stage."
But many other delegates -- especially the large contingent from Texas -- were irate as well. I sat with the delegation Tuesday night and they were all glad to join with Paul on the matter. The "compromise" got rid of the delegate-replacement language, but kept other features that will reduce the power of state and local party officials. That's the place where Paul -- and any other anti-establishment and Tea Party types -- can work their will.
The delegate from Idaho says it all. What are the likes of Romney and Gingsberg going to say when they wake up after the election and discover a much smaller Republican Party after all their shenanigans to consolidate power in DC for Republicans. Why bother to have County and State Conventions when the national people want to pick the delegates?
Is the end of the Republican Party getting closer or will a Romney defeat of epic proportions save the Party? Not sure a lot of Republicans want to be associated with the Romney Republican Party with all the lies being told about welfare and medicare that have been proven to be lies but Romney/Ryan cannot seem to stop themselves as they continue to lie. Wonder if anyone has kept track of all the lies after two nights?
TAMPA, Fla. -- Republicans here claim to want to disperse political power: return it to the states, the marketplace and the people. But Team Mitt tried to collect even more power in the hands of itself and the Republican Party -- which is what caused a rules fight that seemed very obscure, but that in fact provided a glimpse into the ideological and temperamental split in the GOP.
On the floor of the hall Wednesday night, RNC lawyer Ben Ginsberg downplayed the rules confrontation, resolved on Tuesday, at least for the time being.
"You know you're having a very good convention when a rules fight is all there is to argue about," Ginsberg said.
As if to show a lack of hard feelings, Ginsberg was on the floor for a speech by Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, whose father Ron Paul's cadre of delegates were at the center of the fight. "I like Dr. Paul and have worked with him for years on the Hill," said Ginsberg. "We get along fine."
Not really. Ginsberg, who has worked with and for every GOP president and campaign since Bush One -- and who is a central figure in the GOP's D.C.-based establishment -- tried to push through a rule giving party leaders the power to pick (or replace) delegates representing candidates, and even the party's nominee, before the convention.
(snip)
"All we want is to make sure that the popular vote in a primary is what controls the outcome in delegates," Ginsberg told me.
But the result will make state and local conventions irrelevant. And soon enough, the big convention will be irrelevant, too.
Excerpt: Read More at the Huffington Post It'll all be big money.
Isaac which is scheduled now to hit New Orleans within a day of the anniversary of Katrina is showcasing the short shortsightedness of the House Republicans led by Paul Ryan and his budget to cut even more from emergency related spending. We just had horrendous wildfires in Oklahoma but only our hardest hit area is going to receive federal funds. There are not enough funds to go around thanks to the cuts in emergency related spending led by Republicans while they keep the Defense Department as their sacred cow even proposing to increase their budget which the military says is not necessary. That doesn't stop the hard headed Republicans in the House from pushing forward knowing full well it will never be passed in the Senate.
Why are Republicans so stubborn about raising taxes on people like Romney who pay less than 15% due to knowing how to work the IRS rules by using a large number of accountants and sending money offshore to keep from paying the full amount on taxes if they had invested those same dollars in the United States. The US Treasury loses billions each year due to these offshore accounts and now one of those wealthy people who have offshore accounts is running for President. Unbelievable! How many members of Congress have offshore accounts? How many of them are millionaires who don't want a tax increase but are willing to cut emergency management services?
The Republican House has cost the taxpayers $50M with their 33 votes to repeal ObamaCare which they know will go nowhere, but they want to tell everyone back home they are looking out for them. Looking out for us? Not in my world when taxpayers are picking up the tab. The House couldn't adjourn as too many people voted to stay and finish the business of the House but the Republicans left anyway without adjourning to take a 5-week vacation with maybe a few Town Halls. The grandstanding since Republicans took control of the House has caused a lot of Republicans to question whether they should ever be in charge again with their obstructionism on the jobs bill, the farm bill, and infrastructure bill which would add jobs to the economy.
IMHO the Republicans don't deserve to remain in charge of the House. I didn't think it was possible to look worse then the last two years of the Democrats but this group of Republican obstructionists in a time of economic crises has managed to do just that. The lies that come out of this House and some of the far right speeches on the floor make me cringe. We have some hard right people who are an embarrassment to the people in the Republican Party with common sense. I still cannot get over that 227 Republicans supported HR3 as the third bill in the House that was about abortion. Our economy is in the tank and social issues take priority?
If you want one more reason not to vote for Romney/Ryan, it is their cuts to emergency management which is one job that the federal government should be involved.
Even FEMA’s most important activity, its response to disasters, has been held hostage by the demands of Tea Party Republicans in the House — including Mr. Ryan — for smaller government. Last year, when it looked as if FEMA might exceed its budget after a spate of disasters, House Republicans demanded that any further spending be offset by cuts in other programs they disliked.
Squeezing one program to pay for another has become a familiar Tea Party technique, but it is particularly reprehensible when emergency response is at stake. Eventually, after Democrats refused to go along, Republicans backed off.
These House Republicans deserve to be called the party of "NO" when it comes to programs that help Americans recover from disasters that happened through no fault of their own. Yet they are big time spenders on defense to pay back their big donors who just happen to be defense contractors. It is so obvious what is going on with all the lobbyists setting up in Tampa to wine and dine Republican members of the House and Senate. It is beyond disgusting and the reason that the Republican Party is headed for a split if things don't change. To hold emergency management hostage is so wrong that I cannot even imagine anyone thinking that was a good idea except the Hard Right Republicans who are 'severely' out of touch with mainstream Americans.
The Storm, AgainPublished: August 27, 2012
Tropical Storm Isaac is more than just a logistical inconvenience for Republicans gathered in Tampa: it is a powerful reminder both of Republican incompetence in handling Hurricane Katrina seven years ago, and the party’s no-less-disastrous plans to further cut emergency-related spending.
That is not something you will hear Paul Ryan talk about this week at the convention, nor any of the other lawmakers who make simplistic promises about the power of slashing government spending. But the budgets assembled by Mr. Ryan and warmly embraced by Mitt Romney severely cut spending for emergency preparedness, exactly the kind of money needed in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and scores of other states for this and future storms.
Between 2010 and 2012, House Republicans forced a reduction of 43 percent in the primary grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that pay for disaster preparedness. That is $1.8 billion that will not be available for evacuation equipment and supplies, communications gear that lets first responders speak to one another, and training exercises. (House Republicans tried to cut $354 million more in this year’s homeland security spending bill, but Democrats restored the money in a conference with the Senate.)
That spending was enormously useful during last year’s tornadoes in Joplin, Mo., and Tuscaloosa, Ala. Although the effects of the cuts will not be felt yet as gulf states deal with this week’s storm, they will leave the region less prepared for future hurricanes, tornadoes and floods.
The New Orleans area, in particular, will rely this week on $14 billion in levee construction, pumps and other flood control structures built by the Army Corps of Engineers since Katrina. But the corps’s construction budget has been cut by 21 percent since 2009 because of Republican pressure, hitting flood prevention especially hard.
(snip)
One of the themes of the Tampa convention will be the failure of government, and the prosperity that will result if it is cut to ribbons. But in a different corner of the television screen, the winds of Isaac are a reminder of the necessity of government — its labor, its expertise, its money — in the nation’s most dire moments. It is hard to forget what happened to New Orleans when that Republican philosophy was followed in 2005, and it will be harder still to explain how it might be allowed to happen again.
The New York Times covered in detail the Romney camp plans to use Welfare and Medicare against Obama even though on Welfare their ads and comments have been declared completely false and on Medicare half false. What kind of a campaign uses outright lies which have already been proven as lies to attack another candidate? A campaign that is losing big is the only answer to take this risk.
The Washington Post fact checker is used by both parties for fact checking ads. Earlier in the summer the Washington Post fact check went after an Obama ad giving the ad four Pinocchios. From what I can tell, they are non-partisan and only looking for the facts:
The Washington Post’s fact checker, Glenn Kessler, gave the welfare ads his lowest rating, four Pinocchios. The Tampa Bay Times’s Politifact was equally harsh, describing the ads as “a drastic distortion” warranting a “pants on fire” rating. The welfare commercial, according to Politifact, “inflames old resentments about able-bodied adults sitting around collecting public assistance.”
Romney’s claim gives the impression that the law takes money that was already allocated to Medicare and funds the new health care law with it. In fact, the law uses a number of measures to try to reduce the rapid growth of future Medicare spending. Those savings are then used to offset costs created by the law — especially coverage for the uninsured — so that the overall law doesn’t add to the deficit. We rate his statement Half True.
Politifact also rated a claim Romney made later on the stump — that “there’s only one president that I know of in history that robbed Medicare, $716 billion to pay for a new risky program of his own that we call Obamacare” — as “mostly false.”
Even though Romney has been hit with using false facts, his campaign intends to continue on this road of lies and deceit. Is Romney also going to keep inferring that Obama is not a real American with a real birth certificate like he has been doing? I find that line of attack offensive along with a lot of other people. The Romney ticket is quickly driving people from the Republican Party who are not part of the hard right culture into supporting Gary Johnson, the former two-time Republican Governor of New Mexico, running as a Libertarian, or actually supporting President Obama for re-election.
There is a real problem in the Republican Party and this Convention is not going to heal the split when seven of the speakers are birthers who have made comments against Obama about his birth certificate and not acting American which includes Romney. From the GOP Platform, the Rules, the Credentials, and seating of delegates, the evidence has piled up that this GOP Convention is going hard right which is going to drive even more Republicans to either stay home or vote for other candidates.
This may be the year that the split in the GOP is permanent and a new party arises from the ashes. Too many Republicans with common sense don't like the direction of the party with the attacks on minorities and immigrants that we are witnessing. Jeb Bush has warned them numerous times alienating minorities especially Hispanics but the GOP Platform is using the AZ Immigration Policy which means this Platform Group led by Gov McDonnell (R-VA) is not listening to the more reasoned voices of the Republican Party.
Since the Ron Paul supporters have been placed in the nosebleed section, and a lot of their delegates who won fair and square have not been credentialed from the caucus states, I would expect a lot of them will be going to Gary Johnson to support him after the Convention. That is a chunk of people deserting the ticket. Note that Ron Paul did not endorse Romney at his rally with 10,000 supporters. Many of his supporters are mad at his son, Sen Rand Paul, for endorsing Romney earlier this summer and are not sure they would back him if he ran for President. The chances for a split in the Republican Party between the hard right and the rest of us is growing with all the splinters to the Party.
Many Republicans in the last four years have essentially been told to sit down and shut up or leave as the Party has moved hard right. The door might have to be widened after this election.
This article from the New York Times details what is happening with the Romney campaign and the Republican Party. When I first posted sometime ago from former Florida Governor Jeb Bush about his worry on today's Republicans not reaching out to minorities especially Hispanics, that article drew a lot of negative emails telling me to leave the Party. Before this election is said and done there is a good chance they will get their way. The way minorities unless they are part of the Hard Right are treated today is an embarrassment to long time Republicans who have worked to make the GOP the home of the big tent going back to the years of pushing for the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Act legislation. Maybe my problem is that I come from the North having grown up in Ohio.
Now some in the GOP have called for abolishing those acts starting with the Texas Convention who voted for an overturn the Voting Rights Act. Then you had an amendment submitted in the House to use no federal money to enforce the Voting Rights Act in the states which turned out badly for Republicans:
Lewis (D-GA), who marched with Martin Luther King Jr., took to the floor to denounce Broun's amendment.
"It is hard and difficult and almost unbelievable that any member, but especially a member from the state of Georgia, would come and offer such an amendment," Lewis said, recounting the history of struggles over voters' rights. "It's shameful that you would come here tonight and say to the Department of Justice that you must not use one penny, one cent, one dime, one dollar to carry out the mandate of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act."
“People died for the right to vote -- friends of mine, colleagues of mine,” Lewis said. "I speak out against this amendment."
Broun (R-GA), chastised, gave in. "I apologize to my dear friend from Georgia if he's gotten angry with this amendment. It was never my intent to do so, and I'm going to ask unanimous consent to withdraw the amendment," he said.
What was Broun thinking? I find the whole debate about race in 2012 to be incomprehensible. It is like returning to the 1950's, but then we had a President Dwight D. Eisenhower who supported Civil Rights and integration of colleges and schools which at that time Southern Democrats were very opposed to his policies on Civil Rights for minorities along with Voting Rights. Is this part of the problem in the Republican Party today that some of those southern Democrat bigots, KKK, and their families became Republican?
All I know is that this not the Republican Party that I grew up in and supported all these years. I don't recognize the hate I see daily out of the GOP ticket and this group of hard right against a black President especially since it is clear he is not some hard left President. His biggest mistake IMHO was listening to then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi instead of the more reasoned Majority Leader of the Senate Harry Reid.
Obama in the past few years has reached out more to the more reasoned voices of the Republican Party as he did on the budget deal and has been trying on the farm, jobs, and infrastructure bills which are being blocked by the Hard Right in the House and Senate. No one wants to go against them and face a challenge in their upcoming elections. How about some Republicans in Congress grow a backbone and actually do what is best for all Americans not just the hard right?
This article takes a look at how race is driving this election and how white the Republican Party has become with their march to the Hard Right. One thing the author missed is how this Hard Right shift by the GOP has disenfranchised women voters in the Republican Party.
Vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan says that he personally believes that rape is just another “method of conception” and not an excuse to allow abortion. Why would common sense Republican women, support a ticket with a Vice Presidential candidate that calls rape a "method of conception?" The answer is we will NEVER support Romney/Ryan. In fact, we will work to defeat such ideology aimed at women that is repulsive. This comes on top of the attacks on minorities, veterans, teachers, fire, police, and white collar Federal Civil Service by this Republican ticket and the hard right that the GOP has become today. So who is going to vote for the Republican ticket besides the hard right and the gun clinging white males who support the anti-illegal immigration laws -- tougher the better even when it affects children?
This article confirms what a lot of us have been hearing about the Romney/Ryan campaign that they are going to get dirtier and nastier against Obama to get more white voters to go to the polls. Two hours ago it came out that the Romney camp is aiming to get 61% of the white vote now and will be pushing the whiteness of the ticket. Despicable and repulsive is all I can think of to describe this current thinking out of Romney/Ryan. Looks like the real Romney is emerging as his Mormon Church he grew up in did not allow minorities to become full members. This article from the NY Times is correct:
The Republican ticket is flooding the airwaves with commercials that develop two themes designed to turn the presidential contest into a racially freighted resource competition pitting middle class white voters against the minority poor.
Ads that accuse President Obama of gutting the work requirements enacted in the 1996 welfare reform legislation present the first theme. Ads alleging that Obama has taken $716 billion from Medicare — a program serving an overwhelmingly white constituency — in order to provide health coverage to the heavily black and Hispanic poor deliver the second. The ads are meant to work together, to mutually reinforce each other’s claims.
(snip)
The Romney campaign’s shift of focus toward welfare and Medicare suggests that his strategists are worried that just disparaging Obama’s ability to deal with the struggling economy won’t be adequate to produce victory on November 6.
The importance to the Romney-Ryan ticket of two overlapping constituencies — whites without college degrees and white Medicare recipients — cannot be overestimated. Romney, continuing the Republican approach of 2010, is banking on a huge turnout among key white segments of the electorate in order to counter Obama’s strengths with minority voters as well as with young and unmarried female voters of all races.
There is extensive poll data showing the depth of Republican dependence on white voters. On August 23, Pew Research released its latest findings on partisan identification, and the gains that the Republican Party has made among older and non-college whites since 2004 are remarkable.
Just eight years ago, Pew reports, whites 65 and over were evenly split in their allegiance, 46 percent Democratic, 46 percent Republican. In the most recent findings, these voters are now solidly in the Republican camp, 54-38, an eight point Republican gain. Elderly women were 9 points more Democratic than Republican in 2004, 50-41, the opposite of where they are now, 51-42 Republican. Older men, who were 51-41 Republican in 2004, are now 59-33 Republican.
Similarly, white voters without college degrees, of all ages, have gone from 51-40 Republican in 2004, to 54-37 in 2012, according to Pew.
Most importantly, the Pew surveys show that 89% of voters who identify themselves as Republican are white. Faced with few if any possibilities of making gains among blacks and Hispanics — whose support for Obama has remained strong — the Romney campaign has no other choice if the goal is to win but to adopt a strategy to drive up white turnout.
The Romney campaign is willing to disregard criticism concerning accuracy and veracity in favor of “blowing the dog whistle of racism” – resorting to a campaign appealing to racial symbols, images and issues in its bid to break the frustratingly persistent Obama lead in the polls, which has lasted for the past 10 months.
The result is a campaign run at two levels. On the trail, Paul Ryan argues that “we’re going to make this about ideas. We’re going to make this about a positive vision for the future.” On television and the Internet, however, the Romney campaign is clearly determined “to make this about” race, in the tradition of the notorious 1988 Republican Willie Horton ad, which described the rape of a white woman by a convicted African-American murderer released on furlough from a Massachusetts prison during the gubernatorial administration of Michael Dukakis and Jesse Helms’s equally infamous “White Hands” commercial, which depicted a white job applicant who “needed that job” but was rejected because “they had to give it to a minority.”
The longer campaigns go on, the nastier they get. Once unthinkable methods become conventional.
“You can tell they” — the welfare ads— “are landing punches,” Steven Law, president of the Republican super PAC American Crossroads, told the Wall Street Journal. Law’s focus group and polling research suggest that the theme is not necessarily going to work. “The economy is so lousy for middle-income Americans that the same people who chafe at the rise of welfare dependency under Obama don’t automatically default to a ‘get-a-job’ attitude — because they know there are no jobs.”
As the head of a tax-exempt 501(c)4 independent expenditure committee, Law cannot coordinate campaign strategy directly with the Romney campaign. Nonetheless, he is sending a warning. The welfare theme, Law said, “needs to be done sensitively. Right now it may be more of an economic issue than a values issue: In other words, more people on welfare is another disturbing symptom of Obama’s broken-down economy, rather than an indictment of those who are on welfare or the culture as a whole.”
Will the Romney campaign heed Law’s advice to keep it subtle? The principle media consultant for the pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future, which will be running many of the anti-Obama ads over the next ten weeks, is Larry McCarthy, who produced the original Willie Horton ad.
Thomas B. Edsall, a professor of journalism at Columbia University, is the author of the book “The Age of Austerity: How Scarcity Will Remake American Politics,” which was published earlier this year.
Why would anyone be surprised at what a person from Karl Rove's Crossroads would have to say about this line of attack knowing it is based on lies? Rove, himself, is not Mr. Honesty. The fact that Fox News treats him like a non-partisan when he comes on the air to discuss the election, should also tell you all you need to know about Fox News. Karl Rove is a partisan hack who used George W. Bush to get to where he is at so he can take out people he doesn't like , e.g. Rick Perry in the primary, with all the millions that have been donated to his two organizations one of them where donors are kept secret.
Republicans are using Super PACs and non-disclosure donor non-profits to spread the lies so I ask you "Why would anyone vote for the ticket of Romney/Ryan if you believe in honesty and ethics in elections?" Will the hard right shift this election of the Republican Party be the final nail in the coffin? The jury is still out.
Last night on Twitter, Chris Hayes who hosts Up with Chris Hayes, a weekend opinion television show on MSNBC.tweeted:
"GOP platform comes out hard against the Lacey Act of 1900"
It was one of those moments where you just sit there and say how far back is this Republican Platform going to take us when the Platform comes out against a Act passed in 1900? Truthfully, I had no clue what the Lacey Act was so I decided to research to find out why this act was important starting with the initial question "What is the Lacey Act?"
The Lacey Act, 16 U.S.C. §§
3371-3378, protects both plants and wildlife by creating civil and criminal
penalties for a wide array of violations. Most notably, the Act prohibits trade
in wildlife, fish, and plants that have been illegally taken, possessed,
transported or sold. Thus, the Act underscores other federal, state, and foreign
laws protecting wildlife by making it a separate offense to take, possess,
transport, or sell wildlife that has been taken in violation of those laws. The
Act prohibits the falsification of documents for most shipments of wildlife (a
criminal penalty) and prohibits the failure to mark wildlife shipments (civil
penalty). The Lacey Act is administered by the Departments of the Interior,
Commerce, and Agriculture through their respective agencies. These include the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, and Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service.
The Lacey Act was first introduced by Iowa Congressman John Lacey in the
House of Representatives in the spring of 1900. It was signed into law by
President William McKinley on May 25, 1900. The original Act was directed more
at the preservation of game and wild birds by making it a federal crime to poach
game in one state with the purpose of selling the bounty in another. It was also
concerned with the potential problems of the introduction of non-native, or
exotic species of birds and animals into native ecosystems. Finally, it sought
to buttress state laws already in existence for the protection of game and
birds.
The Lacey Act has been amended several times since its inception in 1900. The
most significant ones occurred in 1969, 1981, and 1988. The 1969 amendments
expanded to include amphibians, reptiles, mollusks, and crustaceans. The maximum
penalty was increased to $10,000 with possible imprisonment for one year.
Additionally, the mental state required for a criminal violation was increased
to "knowingly and willfully;" civil penalties were expanded to apply to
negligent violations.
In 1981, Congress removed the heightened proof standard of "willfully" from
the statute, making "knowingly" the standard. This came in response to an
increased illegal trade in fish and wildlife both domestically and abroad.
Indigenous plants were also added to the protected species. With regard to
penalty, the maximum civil fine was raised to $10,000 and a bifurcated
felony/misdemeanor scheme was created under the statute based on the conduct of
the offender and the market value of the species at issue. Under the felony
portion of the statute, the maximum penalty was set at $20,000 and/or five years
imprisonment; misdemeanor violations were set at $10,000 and/or up to one-year
imprisonment. The amendments also allowed for warrantless arrest for felony
violations under the Act and expansion of the role of federal wildlife
agents.
In 1988, the role of guiding or outfitting services were added to cover a new
threat to big game species under the ambit of "sale." Prior to the amendment,
big game guides who provided illegal hunts were immune to prosecution for
violation based on commercial activity. The amendments also created a separate
and distinct violation for the intended falsification of documents pertaining to
the exporting, importing, or transporting of wildlife, fish, or plants. The
felony provision of this part of the act was amended such that one could be
convicted if he or she either knew of the import or export of the species or
where he or she was involved in the sale or purchase of wildlife, fish, or
plants with a market value greater than $350.
The Lacey Act now stands as one of the broadest and most comprehensive forces
in the federal arsenal to combat wildlife crime. With increasing activity in
international and domestic wildlife trafficking, the Act has evolved to become
an important weapon to protect animals domestically and abroad.
After reading the overview of the act, it made no sense why this act was in the 2012 RNC Platform. First question that popped in my mind was what is the real reason for this being in the platform. With a little research, discovered it was about Gibson Guitars who had been raided by the DOJ for violating this act. After first reading the Fox News account which seemed to be a white wash for Gibson Guitars as it was more of an opinion piece which should not shock anyone out of Fox News today. John Roberts who did the story for Fox News didn't bother to report the facts which were readily available.
The lack of truth by Fox News anchors and reporters with only a few exceptions like Shepherd Smith in this election is astounding. Used to rely on reports from the Media Research Center for checking articles until I discovered that their reports were very slanted right and at times contained more opinions then facts. What is wrong with telling the truth by the conservative media? Is it because if they told the truth, they would have to admit that Romney/Ryan are an extremely flawed ticket and the 2012 GOP Platform is out of touch with mainstream America. Went to Media Matters to see what they had to say about this investigation. Double checked to make sure their report was correct. Fox News once again used bogus information to report the news without checking basic facts.
The easiest item to check was the part that Fox said on their broadcast that the owner of Gibson Guitars, Henry Juszkiewicz, was a Republican who has donated to Republican campaigns. Figured that must be the reason for the Lacey Act being part of the Platform to help out a big donor. After researching the FEC records for the latest which took all of three minutes, I discovered that he was not a big Republican donor as he had only given $2300 to Mike Huckabee in 2007, donated to a Democrat candidate for Congress in 2011, and the rest of his $48,000+ donations starting in 2007 went to the Consumer Electronics Association PAC. Why can't Fox News do a basic search to discover if Juszkiewicz really was a Republican donor to various campaigns instead of assuming? Since 2007, Juszkiewicz gave only $2300 to ONE Republican candidate which makes you wonder who does the research at Fox News. Why should anyone believe anything they say when they couldn't get that simple fact right?
Here is the real news behind the Gibson Guitar DOJ Investigation which seems to have led to the GOP Platform coming down hard on the Lacey Act of 1900. Did the GOP Platform Committee use the Fox News reporting calling the investigation political as the basis for that part of the 2012 GOP Platform attacking the Lacey Act?
Following up on a series of one-sided reports suggesting that the Department of Justice's investigation of Gibson Guitar over charges of illegal logging was unwarranted, Fox News senior national correspondent John Roberts has now explicitly declared: "[T]here doesn't appear to be any illegal logging here."
HEMMER: What do they say is behind all this John?'
ROBERTS: It is an amendment to the 1900 Lacey Act that was passed in 2008 to help protect against any illegal logging. But there doesn't appear to be any illegal logging here. The Indian government says that they wood that it exported to Gibson and other luthiers across the country is legal. But the U.S. government says "No it's not legal to import into the United States." This of course has created a massive amount of confusion. So much so that the National Association of Music Merchants wrote a letter to the president and to members of Congress complaining about the "unintended consequences of the Lacey Act that we feel are damaging to our industry and the economy." I asked Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee about that. He was a cosponsor of the 2008 amendment. He told me that "some changes may be needed here."
Fox's coverage on the Gibson Guitar's case has been skewed from the very beginning and Roberts' report is the logical culmination of its coverage so far.
An affidavit filed by career Fish and Wildlife Service official John Rayfield spells out the government's case for searching Gibson property, as Reuters reported on August 25. The affidavit details a recent shipment of Indian ebony wood that was intercepted by Customs officials for possible Lacey Act violations and referred to the Fish and Wildlife Service. The Customs entry form listed California importer Luthier Mercantile International as the final destination for the shipment, when in fact, it was bound for Nashville for Gibson Guitars, according to the affidavit.
But that wasn't the only problem. The affidavit states that the Customs form falsely labeled the wood as veneer sheets and listed a false tariff code "to match the false description." The Indian export declaration also allegedly misrepresented the shipment, classifying it under the tariff code for finished parts of musical instruments. The reason this matters is that, according to the affidavit, veneer sheets (less than 6mm) and finished parts are legal to export under Indian law, but unfinished wood larger than 6mm is not. Juszkiewicz contends that the U.S. government has misinterpreted Indian law.
But rather than ascertain the facts, Fox has portrayed the case as an attack against Gibson Guitar's CEO Henry Juszkiewicz for his political leanings. In fact, Bret Baier, host of Fox News' Special Report has stated, "There is an element of politics here. The CEO of Gibson Guitars is a Republican who has donated to the Republican campaigns."
However, Juszkiewicz's political donations do not indicate that he is a major Republican donor.
The case has also been used as a platform to push GOP talking points on government regulations.
And now Roberts has determined that Gibson apparently did not violate the law. One wonders how he came to that reasoned opinion: Long hours of research into U.S. law? A trip to India to research Indian law on the subject? A close examination of the Fish and Wildlife Service affidavit?
Or is it just Fox's default position the Obama administration must be wrong, a position that is held by both its opinion and its supposedly "straight news" divisions?
Media Matters discovered that Juszkiewicz was not a big Republican donor, took me three minutes, and yet Fox News labeled him as a donor to Republican campaigns and why the Obama Administration was after Gibson Guitars. More of the lies by Fox News to make Obama look bad?
Found this little gem about Fox News not being allowed in Canada from 2011 which speaks volumes about Fox News and the conservative pundits:
The Prime Minster wanted to repeal a law forbidding lying on broadcast news? Why? So that they could bring in Fox News and the conservative pundits like Beck, Rush, and Hannity who tend to stretch the truth and at times outright lie. The bust of Churchill being returned to England by Obama lie comes to mind when it was only moved in the White House and replaced in the Oval Office with a bust of Lincoln. Bringing Fox News and the conservative pundits to broadcast stations is the only reason that I could think of because it doesn't make sense to repeal a law saying broadcast news people cannot lie on the air. If only that were true in the United States.
Update 6:47 cdt, 25 Aug 2012: On Monday the RNC will convene and then adjourn until Tuesday due to threat from Isaac. Scheduled on Monday night were Jeb Bush, Mike Huckabee, and Nikki Haley.
More details from Michael Isakoff on the RNC Convention are emerging. Looks like the House Republicans were not serious in 2007 when new rules about lobbying were enacted when the Democrats took over after Abramoff:
Craig Holman, a lawyer for Public Citizen, a campaign watchdog group that plans to "bird dog" the parties , says that this year's convention is showcasing new ways that lobbyists are bypassing ethics rules. Those rules -- enacted in 2007 after the Abramoff scandal -- barred lobbyists from throwing parties honoring "a member of Congress." So this year's parties don't honor individual members; they honor groups of members such as "A Salute to the House and Senate Energy and Commerce Committees" being thrown by a new consulting firm called GOP Convention Strategies at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. ("It's a Home Run!" reads the invite.)
This is beyond disgusting out of Republican House members and lends credibility to the stories that keeping coming up that a lot of the GOP Committee people especially Chairman are bought and paid for by lobbyists. More evidence that rules do not apply to Republicans today. They should know better after the Abramoff scandal but it doesn't seem to have phased them as they march on to the drums of the lobbyist. This article has additional information from the video of Isakoff on the Rachel Maddow show last night:
Tampa soirees will again blur lines between lobbying, partying By Michael Isikoff, NBC News
A "salute" to oil baron David Koch. A fete bankrolled by casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. And gala bashes for GOP super PAC donors and bundlers featuring rock stars like Kid Rock and ex-Eagles guitarist Don Felder.
Those are only a handful of the big parties planned for Republican delegates, lawmakers and donors in Tampa starting this weekend. While some of the events are well advertised and open to the public, private schedules, prepared for GOP fundraisers and obtained by NBC News, show that this year's convention will once again provide a unique opportunity for lobbyists and big dollar donors to wine and dine lawmakers -- and press their agendas.
"It's a mega-fundraising, lobbying extravaganza. Everybody is in one place at one time," says Jack Abramoff, the onetime kingpin lobbyist whose 2006 conviction for corruption led to reforms aimed at cracking down on lobbyist influence peddling.
Abramoff, who was released from prison last year and will be attending this year's GOP convention as a commentator for "Inside Edition," said that, as far as he can see, lobbyists and their lawyers have merely figured out creative new ways to skirt the rules -- a point underscored by the dizzying array of parties all week in Tampa. "Nothing has really changed," he said.
Storm warnings notwithstanding, the action begins in earnest Sunday at 5:30 p.m. when one of Washington's biggest lobbying firms, Williams and Jensen (whose current clients include the American Bankers Association, Pfizer and Comcast, which owns NBC) hosts a kick-off reception and dinner for GOP delegates at a local eatery called Bern's Steakhouse.
Just a half hour later, another big D.C. lobbying powerhouse -- Fierce, Isakowitz and Blalock (current clients: the American Gaming Association, Ford Motor, J.P. Morgan and Time Warner Cable) -- hosts a dinner for the National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee at the Tampa Museum of Art.
Then later in the evening, oil giant Chevron and Aflac, the insurance firm, are co-hosts of a "Two Step, Soul and Rock 'N Roll" party at the Historic Cuban Club; AT& T throws a competing party at Armani's Grand Hyatt; and the American Action Network, an "issues advocacy group" headed by former GOP Sen. Norm Coleman, teams up with Citizens United for a bash at Liberty Plaza.
But delegates may have to pace themselves. On Monday night, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce joins the Distilled Spirits Council for a "Celebrate the Spirit of Tampa" party at the Tampa Aquarium. On Tuesday, Barbour Griffith and Rogers, another of Washington's biggest lobbying firms (among its current clients: Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline and the country of Qatar) hosts the delegates at Stump's Supper Club with a party honoring its founding partner, Haley Barbour, who, after serving as governor of Mississippi and toying with the idea of running for president, has rejoined the firm.
The next morning, Restore Our Future, the Romney super PAC, offers a private briefing for its mega donors by Sen. Marco Rubio. And that afternoon, the Republican Jewish Coalition throws a "Salute to Pro-Israel Elected Officials at the Crowne Plaza, where the coalition's major bankroller, casino kingpin Adelson, is expected to make a grand appearance. (That's not the only Adelson presence at the convention. According to a report in Yahoo News on Friday, the YG Network -- named for House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor's Young Guns -- has named a "Woman Up!" pavilion for Miriam Adelson, the mogul's Israeli-born wife.)
(snip)
But perhaps the most conspicuous honoree is not any member or delegate: It's David Koch, the billionaire oil man who helps run energy giant Koch Industries. Along with his brother, Charles, Koch has emerged as one of the biggest and most controversial financiers of conservative advocacy groups that gave rise to the Tea Party and other GOP causes. On Thursday, Americans for Prosperity -- one of the Koch-backed groups that has announced it plans to spend $151 million on this year's campaign, including a new blitz of TV ads attacking President Barack Obama -- will sponsor "A Salute to Entrepreneurs Building America."
There will be two men honored at the event: Art Pope, the group's chairman, and Koch.
Michael Isakoff joins Rachel Maddow to explain how Partisans take a back seat to Big Money in Tampa. This is well worth watching if you really want to know what events are being held for the wealthy donors and the bundlers many of them anonymous:
It is shocking that the events are for the wealthy as the most important part of the RNC Convention this year but probably shouldn't be shocked the way the Republican Party starting with the candidate Romney has bowed down to the major donors. Money corrupts would be an apt statement for a lot of the GOP today in Congress who vote like they are told by lobbyists of the wealthy.
If you are a partisan there is little you can attend outside of the Convention. You can vote on the Platform which is the most conservative in recent history and attend a function honoring one of the Koch Brothers for a reasonable price. They are going back to 1981 to choose the Oak Ridge Boys as the band for the biggest closed door event for wealthy donors and bundlers. Most events are closed to the media so they won't find out who the big donors are. Lobbyists are very prominent this time even though there are rules in place from the Abramoff scandal but as we have learned as this election season has progresses, rules don't apply to Republicans in 2012. Is Abramoff type lobbying scandal just around the Country for some Republicans in Congress? BTW Abramoff is going to be reporting from the RNC Convention. How ironic that he now gives a presentation on ethics and corruption in DC. Guess prison time will do that to a person.
FYI! The speech by Ann Romney has been moved to a network night from Monday night in hopes the networks will cover her speech.
The more that has come out on Romney and his secrecy, you have to wonder why he has the nomination or even why he ran. Here is one scenario that could have happened:
Romney is the candidate because they cut a deal with him to give him the nomination in 2012 if he dropped out of the race with McCain. Romney stayed in the race a long time after it was clear that he was going to lose. When he finally did drop out, he said he would campaign for McCain in places like Michigan but that never materialized. Is this why McCain endorsed Romney early in the race which never made sense? RNC did all the heavy lifting to get Romney the nomination even cheating and changing rules. Smacks of a deal being cut in 2008 to award him the nomination in 2012. Sometimes backdoor deals are successful and some are gigantic busts -- this one is the latter IMHO.
This secretive data mining operation for Romney explains a lot and adds to the secrecy surrounding candidate Romney. How many of you have been receiving fundraising letters from the Romney camp maybe 6-12 times a week? I know I have -- they came in variations of my name. Some have Mrs, Ms, middle initial, no middle initial, SK and my last name, S and my last name, and some with my maiden name which I never use except the DMV put it on my driver's license. The answer is data mining for the Romney campaign.
These fundraising requests are part of a secret data mining operation which is secretive the AP cannot locate who is paying for the operation for Romney. Yet this secretive man wants to be President?
Unlike Obama, Romney's campaign has declined to publicly identify the names of major fundraisers, known as bundlers, who have helped amass much of its money. Details of this project have not been made public until now, as payments to Buxton aren't reflected in federal campaign expense reports.
Buxton is not listed as a vendor in any of the campaign's reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission, although some campaigns do not report expenses until the vendor sends them a bill.
When AP initially asked Buxton about its work for Romney, it declined to acknowledge that it helped raise money for the RNC, even as its own website displayed a prominent log-in page for "2012 presidential donor prospecting." That web address contained the letters "RNC" - a common abbreviation for the Republican National Committee. After the AP's continued questioning, the company replaced the "RNC" letters in the web address with a generic "campaign" the next day.
Are we going to get the real truth about the Romney campaign including donations and vendors after the election? This smacks of a campaign telling vendors, we will pay you after the campaign so don't send a bill until the election is over. That way they can keep secret about who they are hiring as vendors. Wouldn't be the first time I have seen that happen and won't be the last. Not very ethical but then a lot of today's politicians are not very ethical especially Secretary of States who control elections.
People who run campaigns have a tendency to forget that big donors only have one vote but if you have 100 donors who give $25 a piece that equals $2,500 which is what a donor can give the Romney campaign. Even though Romney has the cash advantage, Obama has the numbers advantage for donors which translates into votes. If I was a candidate, I would take the number of voters any day over a much fewer amount of donors for more cash. That's why getting donations in SF area as mentioned in the article is probably from Mormons who have been pressured to give to Romney almost like tithing to the Church. They may not even take the time to vote. Smaller donors almost always vote because they will sacrifice to make a small donation to be part of a campaign.
Now you know who to blame for all those fundraising letters -- a data mining company who is tracking our moves. Why isn't this illegal?
Aug 24, 8:50 AM
EDT AP Exclusive: Romney uses
secretive data-mining By JACK GILLUM Associated
Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Mitt Romney's success in raising hundreds
of millions of dollars in the costliest presidential race ever can be traced in
part to a secretive data-mining project that sifts through Americans' personal
information - including their purchasing history and church attendance - to
identify new and likely, wealthy donors, The Associated Press has learned. For the data-mining project, the Republican candidate has
quietly employed since at least June a little-known but successful analytics
firm that previously performed marketing work for a colleague tied to Bain &
Co., the management-consulting firm that Romney once led.
The head of Buxton Co. of Fort Worth, Texas, chief executive
Tom Buxton, confirmed to the AP his company's efforts to help Romney identify
rich and previously untapped Republican donors across the country. The Romney
campaign declined to discuss on the record its work with Buxton or the project's
overall success.
The project shows that the same strategies corporations use
to influence the way we shop and think are now being used to influence
presidential elections. The same personal information that we give away, often
unwittingly when we swipe our credit cards or log into Facebook, is now being
collected by the people who might one day occupy the White House.
There are no records of payments to Buxton from Romney's
campaign, the Republican National Committee or a joint fundraising committee.
Under federal law, companies cannot use corporate money or resources, such as
proprietary data analysis, for in-kind contributions to campaigns.
The effort by Romney appears to be the first example of a
political campaign using such extensive data analysis. President Barack Obama's
re-election campaign has long been known as data-savvy, but Romney's project
appears to take a page from the Fortune 500 business world and dig deeper into
available consumer data.
Buxton said he's working for the Romney campaign because he
wants "to be on the winning team."
He once worked with a former Romney business partner to
provide insights, for example, about where Petco should open a new pet-supply
store to maximize profits. In addition to Buxton, the data-mining project was
described to the AP by a Romney fundraiser who spoke on condition of anonymity
because the fundraiser did not want to face repercussions for describing
internal campaign processes.
This is disgusting that data mining is being used by the Romney campaign to harass donors who have given in the past to Republican candidates. I can understand going to Republicans several times but the volume is every week with more and more fundraising letters I find really irritating. How much money can you spend on ads when frankly people are sick and tired of seeing ads all the time in Battleground States. Know my two daughters live in a battleground state. My oldest daughter said the campaign ads never quit on Denver TV.
Romney is saturating the markets like he did in FL with the Super PAC where he had staffers working between the Super PACs and his campaign during the primary not to mention the Super PAC Restore our Future is run by former Romney aides. Nothing to see here, just move on to the next topic. Honesty and ethics will never be a hallmark of a Romney campaign. He will do anything to skirt or even break campaign finance laws in order to get elected -- he will just pay a fine afterwards.
I have not donated one penny to the RNC or Romney for 2012 -- no amount of mail is going to make me change my mind. Guess you could look at it that they are keeping the post office busy. I did ask the post office what happens if I refuse the mail and was told there is no return so they toss them in a box that the letters then get shredded. Only campaign that I have received mail from who sends a bumper strip and pictures in mail without a donation. Every day there is at least one and several times I have had three fundraising letters in one day. That doesn't even count email.
Where is the transparency in the Romney campaign? This data mining is just another example of his lack of transparency. Anyone who swallowed the koolaid there would be transparency never looked at Romney's career. As Governor, he made sure he didn't have to deal with the 'little people' of MA including the legislature or even ride in the elevator with them -- he had the Office of Governor essentially blocked off so a member of the legislature didn't just drop by his office which they had been doing for years plus he took over a public elevator for his and his staff's personal use:
On this reporter's unannounced visit to the Legislature, there was no shortage of Democratic lawmakers who complained about Romney's unprecedented move to block off one State House elevator specifically for the governor's office.
"He took over the elevator for the west wing of the building. He kept it only for his staff and him," Smizik said.
Listening in on Smizik's comments, another Democrat, state Rep. Ellen Story, said the elevator restrictions and security ropes installed outside Romney's office turned off some lawmakers for good.
"When Romney came in, he treated government like the only thing he ever knew, which was big business, and he was the CEO of the big business," Story said.
Another lawmaker, Democratic state Rep. John Scibak, was far more blunt in his feelings about Romney.
"Many people said, 'Good riddance. Don't let the door hit you on the way out,' " Scibak quipped about Romney's decision to forgo a second term to run for the presidency in 2008.
The Romney camp struck back saying these are Obama supporters who are saying this BUT members of the legislature were complaining about this while he was Governor and Obama hadn't even been elected as a Senator. Then there is the little detail that all the Romney staff destroyed their hard drives so no one could see what had been happening during the time Romney was Governor:
Mitt Romney spent nearly $100,000 in state funds to replace computers in his
office at the end of his term as governor of Massachusetts in 2007 as part of an
unprecedented effort to keep his records secret, Reuters has learned.
Romney left a $100,000 bill for the Massachusetts taxpayers when he left office because he was such a secretive person who didn't want anyone looking into the records of his administration since he planned to run for President. Guess he figured that when he ran, there would be no records to review, but he didn't count on the reporters from MA like the Boston Globe. What was Romney trying to hide? Just like the tax returns -- same story from Romney -- different topic. Either Romney is an extremely paranoid individual or he is hiding a lot of things. Either way it should have disqualified him from running for President.
Those rope lines and elevator only for the Governor and his aides -- gone:
Democratic leaders, who now dominate the Massachusetts State House and control the governor's office, gleefully note the rope lines are gone and the Romney executive elevator has since been reopened to the general public.
Romney's Democratic successor, Gov. Deval Patrick, conceded he made those changes after taking office.
"I'm a governor of, with and for the people. We have a different style in that respect," Patrick said, adding he has great respect for Romney.
Wonder how many politicians say they have great respect for their predecessor who have their fingers crossed when making that statement? Bet it is a lot!
You might be asking yourself what these three articles have in common -- one is a Sheriff who wants to use deadly force to stop abortions, one is a Judge who wants to institute a tax for the impending civil war if Obama is reelected, and finally there is the article that blames Obama for the hurricane. Three separate topics and one central theme -- they hate Obama. There is no nice way to sugarcoat it as that is reality. Will take it one step further and say most likely none of them like having a black man as President in the White House but also think they would be saying the same thing if it was a woman or a minority as President. Some men think the White House should be reserved for a white male only! Just like men are the primary voices on no exceptions for abortions.
When I first read this article, I figured the headline was a little over the top but the headline is true and this candidate for Sheriff in New Hampshire will love the Republican Party Platform. Maybe this guy should have been on the Platform Committee with his neanderthal comments which are frankly scary. Talking about using deadly force to stop abortions should disqualify him from even owning a gun IMHO not to mention he should never be a Sheriff. What kind of person would make that statement?
Is all this over the top hate rhetoric in the media and Republican Party now causing people to be so angry that they make comments like this candidate?
Frank Szabo wants the people of Hillsborough County, N.H., to know that if they elect him as sheriff this year, he will do whatever it takes to stop doctors from performing abortions — even if that means using deadly force.
In an interview on Wednesday with local television station WMUR, Szabo said he believed sheriffs were granted special powers under the Constitution. That means, he said, he would be empowered to arrest or even use deadly force against doctors for providing legal abortions for women.
“I would hope that it wouldn’t come to that, as with any situation where someone was in danger,” Szabo said. “But again, specifically talking about elective abortions and late term abortions, that is an act that needs to be stopped.”
He clarified it did not apply to cases in which the mother’s life was in danger. “That’s a medical decision. That’s out of the area I’m talking about,” he said.
It’s not clear what kind of chance Szabo has at winning the race. He claims endorsements from Jack Kimball, the former chairman of the state Republican Party, as well as multiple tea party groups. But WMUR reported that the state’s House speaker was already calling for Szabo to drop out of the race after his comments surfaced.
Szabo said he believed sheriffs are given enormous authority under his interpretation of the Constitution. When pressed about what he would do if a prosecutor declined to charge a doctor he arrested, he said the answer was simple.
“If they choose not to do their duty and uphold the Constitution,” Szabo said, “they can be brought up on charges before what’s called a citizen’s grand jury, which is something that’s not that common in the United States. But again, it is something based in common law that’s within the purview of the county sheriff.”
To add to the Sheriff candidate in NH who would use deadly force to stop an abortion, is a County Judge in Lubbock County, TX, who is warning of a Civil War and a United Nations take over. For those who don't know where Lubbock is, it is in the West Texas Panhandle and home of Texas Tech aka as the Sand Aggies in Big 12 Country. Maybe one of the sand storms affected his ability to reason.
Read this article from the Houston Chronicle and once again could not believe what I was reading. Obama has been in office 3 1/2 years -- there has been no gun grab, no Sharia law, or no takeover of the Country by the United Nationals but listening to this loon and others, it's coming. People like this should not be an elected official getting paid by taxpayers dollars IMHO.
Lubbock County Judge Tom Head apparently fears that President Obama's re-election could mean the handover of U.S. power to the United Nations.
Lubbock County, Texas, judge, the panhandle county's chief administrator, is asking for a tax increase to hire deputies for the inevitable civil war he believes would follow President Obama's re-election.
Judge Tom Head and Commissioner Mark Heinrich told the station this week that a 1.7 cent tax increase for the next fiscal year was necessary to prepare for many contingencies, including Obama's re-election. He also mentioned to the station that the county needs a pay increase is needed for the district attorney's office and more funds to pay for more sheriff's office deputies.
"He's going to try to hand over the sovereignty of the United States to the (United Nations), and what is going to happen when that happens?," Head asked the station during a Monday interview. "I'm thinking the worst. Civil unrest, civil disobedience, civil war maybe. And we're not just talking a few riots here and demonstrations, we're talking Lexington, Concord, take up arms and get rid of the guy."
Head also seems to fear the retaliation of such civil unrest.
"Now what's going to happen if we do that, if the public decides to do that? He's going to send in U.N. troops. I don't want 'em in Lubbock County. OK. So I'm going to stand in front of their armored personnel carrier and say 'you're not coming in here'.
"And the sheriff, I've already asked him, I said 'you gonna back me' he said, 'yeah, I'll back you'. Well, I don't want a bunch of rookies back there. I want trained, equipped, seasoned veteran officers to back me."
The station reports that the tax hike will provide an additional $832,433 coupled with $2 million in cuts to make the numbers work.
When Pres George W Bush was President, we would talk about the loony left but now they are joined by the loony right. Conspiracy theories abound about almost anything you can name if Obama is involved. This next article details the special magical powers of Obama to determine the path of a Hurricane. After all, Obama is just one big conspiracy according to the expert Rush Limbaugh. We have Limbaugh to thank his rant about Obama's Conspiracy to Cancel the GOP Convention using a Hurricane for the laugh of the evening. You are probably thinking that cannot be right but that is exactly what he said yesterday. Maybe we should have a Hall of Fame for loony comments -- these three would certainly be included.
Still having a hard time believing that Limbaugh said this but Media Matters has the audio which I linked. Just seeing a clip was enough for me to realize that he has gone over the edge. What I don't understand is why people still pay attention to what he has to say unless they are turning in to get a laugh -- in that case, they should have had been rolling around the floor laughing at his comments about Obama is the cause for the Hurricane maybe headed for Tampa.
Rush Limbaugh is even blaming Obama for the weather. On his radio show, Limbaugh claimed that Hurricane Issac is an Obama conspiracy to shut down the Republican convention.
LIMBAUGH: So we got a hurricane coming. The National Hurricane Center, which is a government agency, is very hopeful that the hurricane gets near Tampa. The National Hurricane Center is Obama. It’s the National Weather Service, part of the commerce department. It’s Obama. The media, it’s all about the hurricane hitting next week, and they’re not talking about Biden, they’re talking about this Hurricane Isaac thing. Well, you know, we who live in south Florida become experts. We don’t need the National Hurricane Center, and we don’t need all these weather dolts analyzing this for us. Well, we need the center, we can look at their charts and graphs, we know what to do, we can read the stuff. I’ve been tracking the charted forecast track of the storm, and they’re moving it sometimes to the east. The latest, 11 o’clock, they moved it to the west as a cat 1 impact in Naples, Fort Myers area.
This morning at five a.m., the impact was Miami. We’re still not talking about ’til next Tuesday, so it’s gonna be all over the ballpark between now and then. We don’t know where this thing is gonna hit. The models are moving it more and more out into the Gulf. I wouldn’t be surprised if this thing hits in Louisiana someplace when it’s all said and done. Just kidding. Nobody knows, but they’re desperately hoping, they’re so desperately hoping for Tampa. The media, you know, I can see Obama sending FEMA in in advance of the hurricane hitting Tampa so that the Republican convention is nothing but a bunch of tents in Tampa, a bunch of RVs and stuff. (laughing) Make it look like a disaster area before the hurricane even hits there.
According to Limbaugh, Obama is so worried about Mitt Romney that he had the National Hurricane Center change the path of the storm, and the president intends to send FEMA into Tampa to make the Republican convention look like a disaster area.
One could argue that the Republican convention is going to be a disaster, no matter what the hurricane does, but that wouldn’t stop Rush Limbaugh from cooking up an Obama related weather conspiracy theory.
If the Republican Party wanted to avoid any potential weather problems, they could have made the decision not to hold their convention in South Florida at the peak of hurricane season. Seriously, who in the Republican Party thought it would be a great idea to hold their convention in South Florida in late August?
What Limbaugh was trying to do here was cover up for the horrible decision making skills of the Republican Party by blaming Obama. The president is leading in almost every poll. He doesn’t need to create a distraction around a hurricane. In fact, the Obama campaign is probably hoping beyond hope that America gets four days of Mitt Romney.
Romney is the first candidate in modern history who has actually hurt himself by campaigning. The more voters see of Romney, the less they like him. The best thing that could happen to the Republican Party is that the spotlight is not placed on their nominee.
The Republican convention is going to be a showcase for unpopular politicians highlighting the damage that they have done to the Republican brand. Democrats would never hope for anyone to be placed in harm’s way by hurricane. That type of thinking sounds more like Limbaugh than any Democrat out there.
Limbaugh’s rant today proved that Republicans are so blinded by Obama that they are even willing to blame him for the weather.
There’s no Obama weather conspiracy here. Just more Republican whining and blaming Obama for their own lousy decision making.
What has these people so stirred up? Are they guessing or have they seen the internal polling that is slightly different from the public polling that is being released to keep this a close race. Romney/Ryan are lying all over the place about Obama when it comes to Medicare and Welfare. Even when called on it, they keep lying which is a sign of pure desperation out of candidates.
Now the most conservative Republican Platform in modern times is expected to be approved Monday night that IMHO is going to be driving women and minorities away from the Republican Party even more. Would think seniors will be be following them out the exit in pretty big numbers when they wake up and find the truth that Romney/Ryan are nothing but liars when it comes to social security.
Just don't see a path for Romney to win and all their lies plus the Republican Platform are going to catch up to them. Never thought I would see Ryan lying about pro-life matters or even social security since he used the Obama savings from fraud, waste, and abuse, to lower the debt but now says Obama is robbing the money from social security when he knows that is a lie. Shame on Ryan for being nothing more
then a parrot of the liar Romney. I thought he had more ethics then to tell bold faced lies. I was wrong.
This should an interesting fall especially if you are not in a battleground state where they are going to be subjected to wall to wall advertisements. Will Romney ever tell the truth or show his income taxes for more than two years? My bet is on NO. Would also bet these three people in the articles Szabo, Head, and Limbaugh suspect Romney is going lose big and they cannot stand the thought of four more years of Obama as President. Otherwise their comments make even less sense.
Arrogance of NRA is simply stunning - for an organization who used to be about gun safety now the bottom line for gun/ammo manufacturers trumps all as the NRA lobbies for them.
According to Think Progress, “NRA: Practice Range” is billed as a “network of news, laws, facts, knowledge, safety tips, educational materials and online resource” for the organization.The National Rifle Association released a new app on Sunday that includes a gun range equipped with coffin-shaped targets, and the option for players to simulate using a military-grade sniper rifle.
The app includes what it calls “9 true to life firearms,” and allows players to download an MK-11 sniper rifle setting for 99 cents. The rifle can shoot 750 rounds per minute.
Dems/GOP Fighting -- Will they Finally Work Together for the Country? Will replace this image when they do. (11/07/2012)
Quotes
"We will be told that the causes of such violence are complex, and that is true. No single law, no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society, but that can’t be an excuse for inaction. Surely we can do better than this." President Barack Obama, Newtown, CT, 12/16/2012
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"I don't think that the way to correct a spin from the left is to try to impart a spin from the right.... [A]n information flow distorted from the right would be just as much a disservice as distortion from the left. What we really should be after... is accurate information. And I don't see what any conservative or anybody else for that matter has to fear from accurate information." M. Stanton Evans
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Former Senator Alan Simpson (R-WY)
“For heaven’s sake, you have Grover Norquist wandering the earth in his white robes saying that if you raise taxes one penny, he’ll defeat you,” he told CNN back in May. “He can’t murder you. He can’t burn your house. The only thing he can do to you, as an elected official, is defeat you for reelection. And if that means more to you than your country when we need patriots to come out in a situation when we’re in extremity, you shouldn’t even be in Congress.”
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"We are are an American family and we rise or fall together as one nation.
John Stuart Mill was a 19th century political philosopher:
"I never meant to say that the Conservatives are generally stupid. I meant to say that stupid people are generally Conservative. I believe that is so obviously and universally admitted a principle that I hardly think any gentleman will deny it." John Stuart Mill.
New Hampshire sheriff candidate Frank Szabohare
Raw Story 
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