2012 US General Election Discussions: Start to Finish

[MsMerrick]

President Obama, has done some things, and can do more.. Yep, he ain't perfect, but . Are you seriously considering any of the alternatives ?
And we seem to neglect to point out what he has done.
Me ? I wouldn't now have Health Insurance if it wasn't for "Obamacare" !

Here's some basics, some of which I am not crazy about but many of whom I am happy about..
This is are posted post from Facebook...

MY President (reposted) 1. Got Osama Bin Laden...check 2. Unemployment rate 8.5%...check. 3. 1.6 million jobs created with no GOP help...check 4. 22 months of job and economic growth with no help...check 5. Ended war in Iraq ...check 6. Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal...check 7. Not one tax hike in 3 years....check 8. Brought out the extreme racism in the Gop...check 9. Still carry 80% of the black vote...check 10. Same wife for 15 years with no extramarital affairs...check 11. Save auto industry and 1.5 million jobs.. check 12. Assisted in ousting Khaddafi...check 13. Only active President to receive Nobel Peace prize while in office. 14. Mortgage modification to prevent home owners from losing their home. 15. STILL fighting for middle class families. 16. Reform Affordable healthcare.... check Despite what the GOP would have you believe, the President has been doing these things and more. Obama 2012 - RE-POST to support!!

[Kobi]

Interesting theories.




The main reason the Republican establishment overwhelmingly favors Mitt Romney over Newt Gingrich is that Romney stands a better chance of beating Barack Obama," says Jonathan Chait at New York. So it's a problem for Romney that "as the campaign goes on, this seems to be growing less true." A new Washington Post/ABC News poll shows that negative views of Romney have "spiked" over the past two weeks, from a net +4 favorability rating (39 positive/34 negative) to a -18 rating (31 positive/49 negative) — very similar to Gingrich's -22 rating (29/51).

The shift is most notable among independents, who went from generally liking Romney (41/34) to disliking him by a 2-to-1 margin (23/51). Democrats (21/62) and Republicans (58/32) have soured on Mitt, too. What's behind Romney's newfound unpopularity? Here, seven theories:

1. Voters are turned off by his wealth Americans have long known that Romney is rich, but his just-released tax returns highlight just how much he earns from doing so little, says Peter Foster at Britain's Telegraph. Someone who rakes in $60,000 a day from personal investments is clearly "part of the elite – the '1 percent' that lives by different rules from ordinary Americans." But "the raw amount of money isn't really Romney's problem," says Chris Cillizza at The Washington Post. "It's the exoticness of his finances" — a Swiss bank account, money parked in Luxembourg and the Cayman Islands. "There is nothing more dangerous in politics than 'otherness,'" and Romney's fortune reeks of it.

2. And he's cagey about his fortune Romney's big weakness is that "he squirms like a worm on a hook whenever someone points out his wealth," says Charles Blow in The New York Times. Gingrich has deftly exploited that in recent debates, getting Romney to make a point of "'not apologizing' for getting filthy rich" by buying and disposing of companies. These "non-apologies reek of guilt and shame, which in turn puts people's antenna up."

3. Romney has alienated Reagan Democrats Romney's support has dropped among all voters, but it has plummeted among "blue-collar whites," says Greg Sargent at The Washington Post. That suggests his "wealth, privilege, low tax rates, and generally out-of-touch persona" are becoming a problem. "A smart candidate would use this fact and retool his message," at least acknowledging that Americans don't like "massive disparities of wealth," says Jamelle Bouie at The American Prospect. "But, like a petulant teenager, Romney has gone in the opposite direction," accusing critics of envy. Way to go, Romney, says Dan Riehl at Riehl World View. You've lost us the Reagan Democrats.

4. Being a venture capitalist turned out to be a liability Voters started turning on Romney when his rivals started attacking a resume line Romney had touted as a selling point: His private-sector success at private equity firm Bain Capital. And no wonder, says AJ Strata at Strata-Sphere. Romney isn't a product of Main Street who worked his way up. He's a "corporate raider who made millions the easy way — the Haarvaaard way." That's a liability with Wall Street Occupiers and Tea Partiers. Romney's not a job creator, he's a vulture capitalist. "Vultures have their purpose in nature and economics, but they are not what someone wants in a national leader."

5. The inevitability gambit backfired If I had to sum up Romney's growing unpopularity in one word, I'd pick "entitlement," says The American Prospect's Bouie. "From his refusal to engage his opponents for much of the primary, to his transparent pandering on virtually every issue under the sun, this sense of entitlement has carried over to every inch of his presidential campaign." Voters aren't stupid: They know when a candidate takes them for granted, and they much prefer to be seen as "supporters to be won, not obstacles to endure."

6. He can't handle his rivals' attacks Romney's spiking unpopularity "coincides with a difficult period" on the trail, says Nate Silver at The New York Times. His GOP rivals have been drawing blood with "attacks against him that may resonate more with independent voters than among actual Republicans." That validates my long-held theory that Romney can't "withstand the types of attacks used by Ted Kennedy (Bain) and John McCain (lack of core convictions)," says William Jacobson at Legal Insurrection. Romney never went through the "withering assault and scrutiny" his opponents did last fall. Now that he is finally getting a taste, it's "showing up in polling."

7. Going negative hurt him After losing big in South Carolina, Romney and his surrogates started "going far more negative on Newt Gingrich," calling him a "disgrace" who "embarrassed his party," says Doug Mataconis at Outside the Beltway. The problem is, "Romney isn't necessarily very good when he goes on the attack." Worse, this "Mad Mitt Beyond BlunderDome" routine is "most un-presidential and runs contrary to the finely crafted image his army of consultants have crafted for him," says Dan Riehl. When people ask for him to show more passion, they don't mean "angrily spewing slander."

http://news.yahoo.com/7-reasons-vote...094700884.html

[AtLast]

All SOTU speeches are political and more so in a general election year.

What I keep thinking about is without re-electing Obama and not getting more Democrats in Congress, we are just handing everthing to a republican party that will tear every piece of what Obama has been able to do apart. that is just unacceptable to me because I see hope in the Occupy Movement finally getting large factions of voters (including the so called "cloth coat," blue collar Republicans) to see and combat big money that has taken away every avenue of opportunity from the middle class.


I can't just sit back and stop fighting. Is Obama perfect in my eyes- hell no! But I can't accept the alternative without a fight. Although, I think that we need to be active locally in order to effect change. A foundation has to be built as it was during transformative political times in our past.

If one doesn't think voting matters- take a look at what is going on in the republican primary races. The establishment GOP can't even stop the anti-Romney sentiment by voters. yes, big money is involved, but voters are saying no to who the GOP establishment thinks is the best to run against Obama.

And look back to the '08 Democratic primaries when Hillary Clinton was the all out "favorite" for more than a year prior to those elections. Voters did speak.

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by MsMerrick

President Obama, has done some things, and can do more.. Yep, he ain't perfect, but . Are you seriously considering any of the alternatives ?
And we seem to neglect to point out what he has done.
Me ? I wouldn't now have Health Insurance if it wasn't for "Obamacare" !

Here's some basics, some of which I am not crazy about but many of whom I am happy about..
This is are posted post from Facebook...

MY President (reposted) 1. Got Osama Bin Laden...check 2. Unemployment rate 8.5%...check. 3. 1.6 million jobs created with no GOP help...check 4. 22 months of job and economic growth with no help...check 5. Ended war in Iraq ...check 6. Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal...check 7. Not one tax hike in 3 years....check 8. Brought out the extreme racism in the Gop...check 9. Still carry 80% of the black vote...check 10. Same wife for 15 years with no extramarital affairs...check 11. Save auto industry and 1.5 million jobs.. check 12. Assisted in ousting Khaddafi...check 13. Only active President to receive Nobel Peace prize while in office. 14. Mortgage modification to prevent home owners from losing their home. 15. STILL fighting for middle class families. 16. Reform Affordable healthcare.... check Despite what the GOP would have you believe, the President has been doing these things and more. Obama 2012 - RE-POST to support!!

I'm with you! When will what he has accomplished without support from even his own base be recognized?!!

Also, the Healthcare reforms have not even fully been implemented and there are many just like you that finally have coverage. Also, this year I finally got to tell some of my right-wing family members in small business (really small in the scheme of things) "Told Ya' So" because their cost to provide employee health care did decrease without any decrease in coverage (always a key issue in negotiating for employee programs)! Until now, those cost rose every year for at least a decade. Also, the choices did expand and that mean't being able to get plans that are just easier for employees to use overall (transportation & services more centralized- making these decisions also has to take into account your retirees that are aging).

I will never fully agree with any politician even if I loved them- who does! But, you bet I will be voting for him and giving my time for his re-election!

[Kobi]

He's making this up as he goes huh?

----------------

The race for the Republican presidential nomination is about to blast off into outer space: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich announced that, if elected, he'd establish a colony on the moon by 2020.

In a speech to supporters on the Florida space coast, Gingrich called for a "grandiose" effort to colonize space. "It's the second great launch of the adventure John F. Kennedy started," said Gingrich.

Gingrich opened up the possibility of the moon becoming the 51st state, something he believes could happen once a permanent settlement reaches a population of 13,000 Americans. While a 1967 United Nations document says that no one country can claim sovereignty over the moon, the U.S., Russia, and China failed to sign a more recent U.N. treaty to settle the question of who owns the moon.

The bold move hopes to boost the former speaker's presidential campaign in the Sunshine State, where space exploration remains a big industry. Florida will hold its GOP presidential primary vote on Tuesday, January 31. Polls show the race is close.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technolo...211103078.html

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by Kobi

He's making this up as he goes huh?

----------------

The race for the Republican presidential nomination is about to blast off into outer space: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich announced that, if elected, he'd establish a colony on the moon by 2020.

In a speech to supporters on the Florida space coast, Gingrich called for a "grandiose" effort to colonize space. "It's the second great launch of the adventure John F. Kennedy started," said Gingrich.

Gingrich opened up the possibility of the moon becoming the 51st state, something he believes could happen once a permanent settlement reaches a population of 13,000 Americans. While a 1967 United Nations document says that no one country can claim sovereignty over the moon, the U.S., Russia, and China failed to sign a more recent U.N. treaty to settle the question of who owns the moon.

The bold move hopes to boost the former speaker's presidential campaign in the Sunshine State, where space exploration remains a big industry. Florida will hold its GOP presidential primary vote on Tuesday, January 31. Polls show the race is close.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technolo...211103078.html

He's in a manic phase, or off meds - and in Florida, the space industry is big.

What bugs me the most with this is his attempt to sound Kennedy-esqe. He's no JFK!

[Kobi]

I love this article cuz it is talking about something I have been thinking myself. I figure by the time the republicans actually get to the convention, they will have scared the crap out of most Americans for one reason or another.

Also liked the quote from Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin...."With Gingrich, you never have the piece of mind that you have gotten to the bottom of his sleaze."

-----------------------


One of the most entertaining (and horrifying) things about this long Republican primary is watching the candidates attack each other using tactics that they'd previously mostly reserved for Democrats. It's not only that Newt Gingrich is going after Mitt Romney using the arguments from the left (he's anti-immigrant! he's a One Percenter!), but both candidate's drawn-out, bare-knuckle approach that usually comes into play across parties deeper into the general election.

Here are some accusations being traded within the Republican party that are making the primary so aggressive:

1. Moral bankruptcy


In previous campaigns, Newt Gingrich was a pioneer in taking out his opponents by portraying them as twisted and corrupt. He infamously sent out a memo in 1990 on how to use the right words --"sick," "anti-flag," etc -- could be used to portray Democrats as outside of the mainstream. In 1996, Gingrich said on Meet the Press, "I had a senior law enforcement official tell me that in his judgment up to a quarter of the White House staff, when they first came in, had used drugs in the last four or five years." In 1994, Gingrich said of his election goal, "It was to portray Clinton Democrats as the enemy of normal Americans."

This tactic is now being used by Romney against Gingrich. The Washington Post's Greg Sargent posts this flyer, at left, mailed to voters in Florida by the Romney campaign that points to Gingrich's "well of sleaze." Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz, a Romney backer, told Politico's Alex Isenstadt and Jake Sherman Friday that the idea of Gingrich winning the Republican nomination "scares me to death... Newt Gingrich is an unreliable leader. He’s prone to becoming unhinged. He’s been mired in scandal in his personal and professional life. And he is a consummate D.C. insider." New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie called Gingrich an embarrassment. During Thursday night's debate, Romney called Gingrich's claim that he was anti-immigrant "repulsive."

Gingrich has a tougher time making this case against Romney, who has been married only once. But that doesn't stop him from trying. In Thursday's debate, Gingrich portrayed Romney as greedy and depraved, saying Romney had invested in firms that profited from foreclosing on Floridians. "So maybe Governor Romney in the spirit of openness should tell us how much money he's made off of how many households that have been foreclosed by his investments?" he asked.

2. Corruption

Gingrich took down Democratic incumbents by accusing them of violating ethics rules. He brought ethics charges against Speaker Jim Wright in 1988 (Wright resigned). He was involved in the House postage scandal that brought down Dan Rostenkowski. He pushed for an investigation into the House banking scandal, in which members of Congress -- including Gingrich himself -- bounced checks from their House bank accounts. And, of course, he led the impeachment of President Clinton. Now Romney is portraying Gingrich as a corrupt creature of Washington. On Gingrich's consulting work for Freddie Mac, Romney said at the debate, "You can call it whatever you like -- I call it influence peddling. It is not right. It is not right." The reverse side of the mailer Sargent posted, at right, calls him unethical.

Gingrich has tried to present his eat-the-rich attacks on Romney's business career as a question of ethics. Romney was "looting companies," Gingrich said. "It’s not fine if the person who is rich manipulates the system, gets away with all the cash and leaves behind the human beings," he said earlier this month. This time, "the system" is finance, instead of Washington. "Romney owes all of us a press conference where he explains what happened to the companies that went bankrupt and why Bain made so much money out of companies that were going bankrupt."

3. Elitism

Since the Nixon era, Republicans have argued that uppity liberals want to impose their rules on hardworking, upstanding "traditional" families. It worked against John Kerry in 2004. Barack Obama played into this one in 2008, when he said the working class bitterly clung to guns and God, which offered quite the opening for Sarah Palin. Gingrich said of Romney this week, "I think you have to live in a world of Swiss bank accounts and Cayman Island accounts and automatic -- you know, $20 million a year of no work -- to have a fantasy this far from reality." Worse, Gingrich said in a campaign speech, Romney thinks you're a moron. Referring to Romney's questioning of his Reaganite credentials, Gingrich said, "This is the kind of gall they have to think we're so stupid and we're so timid... The message we should give Romney is, 'We aren't that stupid and you aren't that clever.'"


So far, Romney hasn't tried this one yet. In fact, he makes it pretty clear that he does think he's better -- than Gingrich, at least. Romney called Gingrich zany, and at the debate, he scoffed, "I spent 25 years in business. If I had a business executive come to me and say they wanted to spend a few hundred billion dollars to put a colony on the moon, I'd say, 'You're fired.'"

What's been the result? Well, just as they work against Democrats, these tactics work against Republicans, too. On Friday, a poll from NBC News/The Wall Street Journal showed that Romney has a net unfavorable rating -- a rarity at this stage in the election. "All of the GOP candidates are a net-negative in favorability ratings, with Santorum getting the best marks -- 26 percent positive, 27 percent negative," NBC's Domenico Montanaro reports. "Romney scores 31-36, and it’s worth noting that Bob Dole, John McCain, and George W. Bush were all net-positives at the same time in their fights for the nomination. The exception of a recent major party nominee being a net-negative at this point -- John Kerry, who was 22-26 in January 2004."

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/polit...h-other/47977/

[AtLast]

On Need to Know (PBS) last night, the role of elderly voters in FL was discussed within the GOP. Interesting, as most of this population is steadfast on both Social Security & MediCare being off-limits in terms of cuts or even tinkering with other than needs-analysis. The GOP has a big problem going on as we boomers are retiring in huge numbers no matter party what party we belong to.

[Cin]

'Let’s Stay Together' -- Can Obama’s Charm Offensive Woo Back Disgruntled Progressives?

How do we reconcile our need to hold the president accountable with our reaction to this renewed charm offensive?
By Sarah Seltzer

Progressives were furious at Barack Obama a few weeks ago. Between his signing of the National Defense Authorization Act and the horrible decision to overrule the FDA on emergency contraception availability, added to his pursuit of the “war on terror” using methods as questionably legal as Dick Cheney's, it felt like the last vestiges of hope and change from 2008 had finally burned out.

But on the internet these past few weeks, the disappointing President Obama ceded the spotlight once more to the beguiling Candidate Obama, reminding some of his former supporters how utterly entranced we were by the man we pulled the lever for three long years ago--and leading us to wonder how much it matters now.

The Man Vs. The Politician

To put this dichotomy another way, there's the political Obama who seems, maddeningly, to value compromise itself over what compromise actually achieves--who doesn’t come out swinging. And then there’s the cultural Obama, who is swinging: comfortable being himself and also one of us. He's clever, attuned to social currents, a little bit dorky, accessible, with an image we love to see, admire and joke about -- and most importantly who refuses to be cowed by the racist tenor of attacks he receives. In his cultural existence, he can blend an attitude that's above the fray with that refusal to bow to his critics. It's a balance he has yet to achieve politically.

Before I dissect this duality, it's important to note that some liberals have been loyal to the president despite his betrayals and disappointments (and been dubbed Obama-bots), while others remain furious at President Obama for some of his more disastrous policy decisions -- and will be unmoved by his reemergence into the cultural space. There's also been a robust debate about the racial element of progressive disappointment at the President.

But I'm referring here to a broad swath of us who to some degree are in both categories -- who despair over the politician and delight in the man, who do sympathize with his position politically while still feeling he's failed to lead at key moments. How much will his personality, as it's showcased during election season, be able to reel that group back in?

Despite brilliant efforts from his campaign to begin that wooing -- selling his voice singing Al Green as a ringtone, or hawking a “birth certificate” mug poking fun at the birthers -- the rise of Occupy Wall Street indicates this: for many young Obama supporters, his first term demonstrated the utter failure of the political system at large, its inability to be transformed by one leader. Our journey has parallels to his own political journey, moving from a politician who truly believed in the concept of hand across the aisle to a politician, it seems, who has realized that in Washington, you need to fight.

Obama Rules The Internet

So in embracing "change we can believe in" perhaps we, the supporters, were as naive as he was. Still, Candidate Obama's reemergence reminds us there are some things that a leader can transform. So let's return to the Obama who has dominated the internet this past week with new viral memes starring his best self. Each one offers us insight into his appeal to progressives, even the most fed-up ones.

First, there’s the photo of him giving a fistbump to a maintenance man in a White House hallway, which I keep seeing on Facebook. Can you imagine Mitt Romney, or even notoriously germophobic George W. Bush having such a natural “man of the people” touch?

Another meme was born when people began to eagerly circulate the YouTube video of President Obama singing--on key--the tough opening bar of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” at a fundraiser at the Apollo Theater, with Al Green himself watching approvingly from the sidelines. It soon became a ringtone and garnered millions of views.

How symbolic that choice of tune is. One of the most memorably catchy and plaintive songs of its era, it's about a lover bemoaning the need of other couples to break up, pleading for longevity in his own relationship, perhaps even wooing his estranged partner back. Sound familiar? Sitting in our kitchen this past weekend, my spouse and I both confessed that we felt like the president was singing right to us, asking us for a second chance, asking us to stay together through 2016.

Hilarious, yes, and clever. But these Internet sensations aren’t just measures of how au courant our President is or how great his singing voice is. Rather, they're about a certain defiance he maintains against the vitriol coming his way. The fistbump and the Al Green, after all, are affirmations of Obama’s unflinching identification with black culture -- as well as a broader pop culture that is diverse and frankly, pleasurable. He’s our first hip-hop loving president, after all. He's the political version of a style icon: a trendsetter. A celebrity.

Culturally Defiant

The president's personal choices to have Jay-Z on his mp3 player and a fistbump at the ready, therefore, are important. They fly in the face of the increasingly racially-loaded attacks he’s been receiving from his opponents: accusations of being a “food stamp president” and a “Saul Alinksy radical.”

Because Obama has actually governed as a complete moderate, maybe even a conservative, these insane charges just don't stick in terms of policy. Instead, the accusations coming from the Right are aimed at very same personality that delights many progressives: proudly African American, urban, intellectual, and hip.

Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are desperately vying to reclaim a starched-shirt version of White America from the black president some voters still can’t believe we elected. So by singing Al Green, by having "date night" with Michelle, by inviting the hip-hop artist Common to the White House, or by hosting a Tim Burton-influenced Halloween party in the White House, Obama is quietly but firmly giving the kiss-off to those who hate him for these reasons.

Which brings us to our third viral meme: A photo that was circulating widely on Facebook depicting a fake, doctored Washington Post front page, juxtaposing a laughing President Obama with the headline of Newt Gingrich’s victory in the South Carolina primary. Even though the image was false, the message was clear, to use the language of another meme: look at how many fucks Obama gives about you, Newt. Zero.

This picture is a fantasy, though because the political Obama is more likely to take his GOP colleagues seriously than to laugh at them -- and maybe he should. Certainly he would face a major backlash if he really did treat his opponents with the scorn they deserve, while they get a free pass for their dogwhistles at him. The point is, this image of Obama--simultaneously mocking his opponents (literally) while also defying their treatment of him, being both above the fray and in it, is only achievable in the cultural space, not the political one. You can't be above the fray in Washington.

We've Always Liked Him

The fact is, many progressives never stopped liking Obama as a figure, and we’ve loved his wife and family fiercely all the way through his term. We're also sympathetic to the unique position he's in as the recipient of ugly, outsized and racially tinged attacks. So when he isn’t kowtowing to completely insane Republicans or sending drones into Pakistan, leaving innocents dead, when he isn't doing things that make us bang our heads against the wall, Obama remains a likeable guy. He has been all along--and the feeling that there’s a badass, smart, brilliant person who has it in him to raise the middle finger to his critics makes his failures more frustrating. Where was that guy during the debt ceiling debacle? Where was he when the NDAA came to his desk?

So as we move forward into campaign season, the question is how to reconcile our need to continually hold the president accountable with our reaction to this renewed charm offensive. And if we are indeed charmed and at least want to see him re-elected, how to avoid falling into Obama-bot mode, defending him against legitimate and important charges from the Left?

The answer is that we can hold multiple ideas at the same time. We can like the man and many of his policy accomplishments, while deploring his policies of empire and political entanglement with the one-percent. We can believe he was hamstrung by a ridiculous Congress and subject to baseless racist attacks while also feeling he hasn't done enough to boost progressive ideas and policies. We can support his reelection while remaining convinced that such an event won't be nearly enough to set the country on the right track--and that policies like detention without trial, corporate welfare, income inequality, stalemate on women's rights, a lack of urgency on the environment, and a creeping police state will continue unless we ourselves combat them with actions more drastic than the ballot.

Perhaps most importantly, we have to continue to push President Obama to live up to the ideals of his campaign persona -- not the post-partisan one, but the tough and idealistic one -- even in the face of an obstructionist, personally vindictive opposition, and to be as confident and uncompromising in his political identity as he appears to be in his personal one.

http://www.alternet.org/story/153857..._/?page=entire