| The ED Show - Romney goes birther Published on Aug 24, 2012 by Licentiathe8th Aug 24, 2012
At a rally, Mitt Romney said "No one has ever asked to see my birth certificate. They know that this was the place that we were born and raised." He later tried to pass it off as a joke but has the damage been done? Rep. Chaka Fattah, D-Pa., joins Ed Schultz to discuss the latest birther comments to come out of the Republican party. GOP Medicare Hurricane Of Lie MSNBC Politic Nation Reverend Al Sharpton http://politicsnation.msnbc.com
Hurricane Isaac makes it's way toward Tampa Bay where the Republican Party will begin it's convention on Monday, August, 27. Reverend Al discusses the Romney/Ryan campaign's false attacks against Obama; how they misrepresent Obama's ACA, and the 716 billion in savings Obama gained from Medicare, with their ad campaign and campaign stump speeches. The ED Show - Targeting the poor with GOP budgets Published on Aug 21, 2012 by Licentiathe8th Aug 21, 2012
Ezra Klein breaks down the numbers and shows how Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney's plans are a sure bet for one thing: attacking programs that the poor rely on. Economist Jared Bernstein joins Ezra Klein to break down the shocking numbers that unfairly target poor Americans. The ED Show - Republicans on track to steal Ohio Published on Aug 23, 2012 by UnitedStatesmovies The ED Show - Republicans on track to steal Ohio The ED Show - Fox News outs Seal Team Six member The ED Show - Fox News outs Seal Team Six member The ED Show - Republicans try new twist on old Medicare lie Aug 22, 2012
Rep. Paul Ryan told voters today he didn't want to bore them with the details of his and Romney's plan for Medicare. But we promise not to be bored if he tells us the truth about the plan and what it will really cost seniors. Ed Schultz explains the facts and talks to MSNBC Political Analyst and columnist for Bloomberg View about whether the Republicans will fool voters in the debate over healthcare. The ED Show - Ryan evades questions about his anti-choice record Aug 22, 2012
The Vice Presidential candidate, Rep. Paul Ryan, has a history of strong anti-choice policy positions. But now he is short on specifics when asked about his past support for things like "forcible rape" amendments. Terry O'Neill of the National Organization for Women joins Ed Schultz to examine Ryan's real record. Congresswoman Marcia Fudge discusses voter supression on Politics Nation The Congresswoman Marcia Fudge discusses voter suppression in Ohio on Reverend Al Sharpton's Politics Nation The ED Show - Stunning admission shows Ohio voting laws target African-Americans Aug 20, 2012
One of the election commissioners in Ohio told the Columbus Dispatch that he thinks expanded voting hours accommodates African-American voters. Ohio's new voting rules make it tougher for African-Americans to cast a vote, and Republicans know it. Ed Schultz talks about the latest developments in voter suppression tactics with Ohio state Senator Nina Turner, and Ari Berman, contributing writer to The Nation magazine. Has Romney & Bain actually KILLED people??? - The Ed Show Mitt Romney and Bain Capital deliberately bankrupted companies through LBO's, "Leveraged Buy-Outs." They then fired all the employees and robbed them of their health insurance & pensions.
Have they KILLED people? Have they killed Americans by taking away their health insurance?
From "The Ed Show," MSNBC Every word Romney utters is a lie, including 'and' and 'the'. townsendjean 2 weeks ago Romney & Ryan actually wish to KILL Medicare. Romney & Paul Ryan's Budget Plan calls for Medicare "Vouchers" to be given to Seniors over 67. But that effectively means that anyone with a serious illness or preexisting condition will be UNABLE to get Heath Insurance at any price, whatsoever??? They also have plans to kill Medicaid & Social Security. Can you imagine what would have happened to tens of millions of seniors after the Financial Meltdown under the Republican plan to "reform SS"??? Romney wrote in the NY TIMES against any help for the U.S. AUTO industry, but now claims credit for Obama's leadership which saved over 1 million jobs. Romney said Climate Change is a CRITICAL PROBLEM but now says it's not? At Bain Capital Romney made $Millions buying profitable companies, borrowing money to the MAX, then declaring bankruptcy, gutting worker's pensions & healthcare (for which taxpayers now pay) Bain & Romney shipped OUR jobs OVERSEAS! Romney is MR.1%. Romney MrEtchASketch 2 weeks ago The ED Show - Ryan's attack on women's health and economic security Aug 13, 2012
Rep. Paul Ryan has a radical vision for women in America: he wants to eliminate existing programs that help women, take away their health care and economic security. Ed Schultz talks with Terry O'Neill, President of the National Organization for Women. Al Sharpton Presents "The Great Mittsby" (With Help From PoliticalSubversities) Clip from July 9, 2012, Politics Nation with Al Sharpton where Al presents "The Great Mittsby," a reenactment by characters from politicalsubversities of actual comments and conversations overheard at recent Mitt Romney fundraisers in the Hamptons, including one at David Koch's mansion (yes, that David Koch - one of the infamous Koch Brothers). The Great Gatsby, er, I mean Mittsby, lives! Rachel Maddow - Romney paid as a do-nothing president at Bain? July 13, 2012
Shannon O'Brien, 2002 Democratic Massachusetts gubernatorial nominee who ran against Mitt Romney, talks with Rachel Maddow about Mitt Romney's conflicting claims about his role at Bain Capital in the years that he worked on the Olympics, including why he was paid a hundred thousand dollar salary if he wasn't doing anything. The ED Show - Romney revives his badly-reviewed 59-point plan July 6, 2012
Mitt Romney has revived his 59-point economic plan, and says the President doesn't have one at all. Michael Eric Dyson debunks Mitt's myth, and the Washington Post's Ezra Klein dissects it. Obama Campaign: 'America Doesn't Need a Birther-in-Chief'By Devin Dwyer | ABC News – 11 hrs ago The Obama campaign is branding Mitt Romney an aspiring "birther-in-chief," after the presumptive GOP nominee seemed to joke Friday about the long-debunked claim that President Obama was not born in the United States. In a 15-second web video produced nine hours after Romney made the remark on a campaign stop in Michigan, Team Obama accused Romney of "embracing unfounded conspiracy theories, distracting from real issues." "Holding out hope Romney had a vision for the middle class? Think again," the narrator said. The spot included a clip of Romney speaking in Commerce, Mich., when he said: "Now, I love being home in this place where Ann and I were raised, where both of us were born. Ann was born in Henry Ford Hospital. I was born in Harper Hospital. No one's ever asked to see my birth certificate," he said drawing laughter and applause. "They know that this is the place that we were born and raised." Romney later clarified in an interview with CBS News that the comment was "not a swipe" at the president and that he believes Obama was born in the U.S.A. But that didn't stop the president's re-election campaign from seizing on the subtle reference, nonetheless. "America doesn't need a birther-in-chief," the Obama Web spot concluded. Mitt Romney Makes His Bain Defense in 'Wall Street Journal' EditorialBy Connor Simpson | The Atlantic Wire – Thu, Aug 23, 2012 Romney makes the case in his new 'What I Learned at Bain Capital' editorial, debuting sort-of hilariously on the same day as Gawker's big Bain docu-dump that no one was able to understand, unless you're a financial reporter. The office supply company Staples, a Bain baby, gets a big endorsement in the first paragraph. "The back-to-school season is here, and as parents take their children to shop for school supplies, I suspect that many of them will be visiting a Staples store," he writes. "I'm very familiar with those stores because Staples is one of many businesses we helped create and expand at Bain Capital, a firm that my colleagues and I built," he writes, taking off on the quickly-becoming-stale campaign line. RELATED: Obama Would Rather Fight Romney About Bain, Not Gay Rights He learned so much building businesses at Bain that he's already applied those lessons to the only two jobs he's held since, and he's prepared to make it a third: The lessons I learned over my 15 years at Bain Capital were valuable in helping me turn around the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. They also helped me as governor of Massachusetts to turn a budget deficit into a surplus and reduce our unemployment rate to 4.7%. The lessons from that time would help me as president to fix our economy, create jobs and get things done in Washington. This is the fleshed out version of the Bain defense the Romney campaign's been using after every attack ad and Bain controversy for months. He explains, using Bain anecdotes, how he plans to turn the economy around, spike American innovation, and save the middle class. Things are bad, he explains, but "I know what it takes to turn around difficult situations." RELATED: Will Anyone Defend the Rich?
Read the whole thing over at the Journal. Romney turns to Ohio amidst distractionsBy KEN THOMAS and STEVE PEOPLES | Associated Press – 4 hrs ago Associated Press/Evan Vucci - Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign rally with vice presidential running mate Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., on Friday, Aug. …more 24, 2012 in Commerce, Mich. November's presidential election offers Americans one of the starkest choices in years. On this, at least, President Barack Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney can agree.(AP Photo/Evan Vucci) COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Mitt Romney and running mate Paul Ryan look to shrug off the latest in a series of unwanted distractions when they face Ohio voters as the Republican presidential ticket for the first time. The two men are appearing at a Columbus-area rally Saturday morning, less than 24 hours after Romney raised the discredited rumor that President Barack Obama wasn't born in the United States. The comment, and his efforts to explain it, overshadowed Romney's economic message as he campaigned near his Michigan birthplace on Friday. The Ohio rally is expected to be Romney's final public appearance of the weekend ahead of the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., where the former Massachusetts governor will formally accept the presidential nomination. While GOP officials suggest they have momentum on their side heading into the crucial period, Romney and his party have faced tough questions in recent weeks on Medicare and abortion. Now his joking reference to the president's birth certificate links him to the so-called birther movement and a wing of his party — a combined 25 percent in an April Pew Research Center poll — that says it either isn't sure or doesn't believe Obama was born in the United States. Earlier in the week, Romney caused another stir by declaring that big business was "doing fine" in the current struggling economy in part because companies get advantages from offshore tax havens. Still, polls suggest that the presidential contest is essentially a tossup as Obama struggles under the weight of the nation's weak economy. The president's re-election campaign has pushed voter attention away from the economy in recent weeks, particularly after Romney's selection of his running mate, Ryan, the architect of a controversial budget plan that would transform Medicare into a voucher-like system for future retirees. Democrats have also seized on Missouri Senate candidate Rep. Todd Akin's recent suggestion that women's bodies can prevent pregnancy in cases of "legitimate rape." The congressman announced Friday that he would not leave his Senate contest despite overwhelming pressure from Romney and top Republican officials. Romney made his birth certificate remark at a large outdoor rally in Michigan, where he grew up and where his father, George, served as governor. He told supporters that he and his wife, Ann, had been born at nearby hospitals. "No one's ever asked to see my birth certificate. They know that this is the place that we were born and raised," Romney said. The crowd of more than 7,000 responded with hearty laughter. Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt swiftly denounced the remark, saying Romney "embraced the most strident voices in his party instead of standing up to them." Romney was asked about his remark in a CBS interview later in the day. "No, no, not a swipe," Romney said. "I've said throughout the campaign and before, there's no question about where he was born. He was born in the U.S. This was fun about us and coming home. And humor, you know — we've got to have a little humor in a campaign." The authenticity of Obama's birth certificate has been questioned by some Republican critics who insist Obama is not a "natural-born citizen" as required by the Constitution. Obama released a long-form version of his birth certificate last year as proof that he was born in Hawaii in 1961. But conservative questions have lingered. And Romney has declined to condemn such questions, particularly from prominent donor Donald Trump. The Obama campaign released a web video Friday night featuring Romney's remark and declaring that, "America doesn't need a birther-in-chief." Democrats intend to keep the pressure on as the Republican convention gets under way. Obama was spending the weekend at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, as Republicans began gathering in Tampa for their convention. But Democrats were planning to counter Romney's message throughout the week. Reaching out to young voters, a key component of his 2008 election, Obama was making stops in the college towns of Ames, Iowa, Fort Collins, Colo., and Charlottesville, Va., on Tuesday and Wednesday. Vice President Joe Biden canceled plans to give a speech in Tampa on Monday, a short distance from the convention site, to help ensure emergency officials can focus on Tropical Storm Isaac. But he is expected to travel on Tuesday to Orlando and St. Augustine, Fla. Shortly after Ryan gives his convention address on Wednesday night, first lady Michelle Obama is set to appear on CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman," offering a counter to the Republican message. The high-profile events are paired with a number of smaller gatherings around the country by Democrats aiming to attract female voters and a bus tour with party activists in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Obama campaign deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter said the president's team was "not going to cede four days of this campaign just because of a party convention." Mitt Romney Uses Secretive Data Mining To Identify Wealthy Donors WASHINGTON — 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. Businesses use those kinds of analytics firms to answer key questions for clients, such as where to build a retail store or where to mail pamphlets touting a new product. The analysis doesn't directly bring in campaign contributions, but it generates the equivalent of sales leads for Romney's campaign. The project relies upon a sophisticated analysis by powerful computers of thousands of commercially available, expensive databases that are lawfully bought and sold behind the scenes by corporations, including details about credit accounts, families and children, voter registrations, charitable contributions, property tax records and survey responses. It combines marketing data with what is known in this specialized industry as psychographic information about Americans. An early test analyzed details of more than 2 million households near San Francisco and elsewhere on the West Coast and identified thousands of people who would be comfortably able and inclined to give Romney at least $2,500 or more. An AP analysis this week determined that Romney's campaign has made impressive inroads into even traditionally Democratic neighborhoods, collecting more than $350,000 this summer around San Francisco in contributions that averaged $400 each. High-dollar donors have been essential to Romney's election effort, unlike Obama, who relies on more contributors giving smaller amounts. Romney and the GOP have out-fundraised Obama's re-election effort for the past three months. The fate of the presidency may depend on who raises more money in the campaign, whose cost for the first time is approaching $2 billion. That figure includes hundreds of millions of dollars spent by "super" political committees that accept unlimited and in some cases effectively anonymous contributions from millionaires, companies, labor groups and others to pay for television campaign advertisements across the nation. Buxton confirmed that the data-mining project began with the help of Dick Boyce, Romney's former Bain & Co. colleague, after Romney joined fundraising forces with the Republican National Committee. Buxton expressed such confidence in his business and analysis methods that, in nearly two decades of running his firm, he told AP he has always been able to answer essential questions for customers. "I can look at data of any kind and say, `I want to know who that $100 donor could be,'" Buxton said. "We look at data of any kind." Obama's campaign employs its own form of data analysis to lure potential supporters, via Facebook and Twitter, to fine-tune messages for supporters and potential donors. The Obama campaign declined to comment on its internal fundraising practices, although Buxton said it doesn't work with Obama's campaign. Romney's campaign has also been secretive about how it raises its money, and most fundraising events have been closed to the press. 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. This is not Buxton's first foray into politics: In 2006, the company produced 1,000 names for a Connecticut campaign to meet a write-in ballot requirement, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram then reported, and 900 of them signed up. Few in Washington campaign circles recognized the work of Buxton, although it lists thousands of other clients in the public and private sector, including hospitals and local governments. Anything signed by the president as part of a U.N. Convention " can only be implemented through domestic legislation enacted by Congress or state legislatures, in a manner and time-frame determined by our own legislative process." Effectively, broader U.N. provisions can't supersede laws passed by Congress, and only serve as guiding principles for signatories to consider. While it might seem outrageous that such a bizarre conspiracy theory is being promoted by an elected official -- as grounds to support a particular policy no less -- Head isn't the only one. GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney appeared to give some credence to the same theory in response to a question at a town hall in Ohio last month. "Turning to the United Nations to tell us how to raise our kids, or whether we can have the Second Amendment rights that our Constitution gave us, I mean, that is the wrong way to go, right? Do not cede sovereignty," Romney said. "I'm happy to talk there. I'm not willing to give American sovereignty in any way, shape or form to the United Nations or any other body. We are a free nation. We fought for freedom and independence. We are going to keep freedom and independence." Texas Judge Considers Civil War Possible If Obama Wins In November (VIDEO)  While the vision of this Justice trying to imitate the famous Tank Man of Tiananmen Square fame can be amusing, his arguments are downright dangerous. When asked to clarify in a later interview, he continued his message: While he backed down, calling it a worst case scenario, there is statistically a higher chance of an alien invasion, and if little green men did descend upon Lubbock county, he would want Obama in office anyways. It is clear that Justice Head, who was last elected in 2010 and is in office until 2014, has not actually studied US Case history. This is clear because his comments about a President handing over sovereignty to anybody have no basis in US Legal or Constitutional study. First, the President does not ratify any treaty with a foreign power by himself, and requires the approval of a supermajority in the US Senate, per the Treaty Clause of the US Constitution, Article II, Section 2, Clause 2. That means 67 US Senators would have to agree, with it. Second, this would not hand over sovereignty, as the Supreme Court case Reid vs Covert ruled, in 1957. In order to do that, one would need a Constitutional Amendment specifically designed for that, which would then require 67 Senators, over 300 members of the House *and* 34 States all to ratify it. The statistical probability of that happening is incredibly low. The case is clear, either Justice Tom Head is intentionally rousing trouble to directly benefit himself through a new tax which would grant him a pay increase, or he lacks the capacity to handle the office which he is sworn to uphold and should resign immediately. There is no room in the courts for a Justice who would ignore case-law going back decades, and instead pander to an ill educated and anti-intellectual base. Good Grief! Only in Texas where I used to live & study. But this is the mentality of th good ole boy redneck," muy mas macho" mentality. to them just a game of cowboys & Indians & loving to shoot em up for any reason that suits them. Sad for the Texans who are more civilized & progressive-the are some, but not the ones who weild authority. Unforunatety, just wit & see--This bandwagon (or haywagon) will be jumped up on by followers in quite a few like-minded states or areas or states. Guess we can star singing "Praise th Lord & pass the ammunition"? (Sarcasm only , I hope).  Unfortunately, it seems that Texas (or "Tex-ass" as some of my friends say, and have said for some time now) really wants to secede from the union! And, sad to say, I'd support them, fully! Let all the oil people stay there, and let them cut, cut, cut their taxes (except for those taxes that pay this judge's salary--a State salary, no less, which I'm sure comes with a terrific health plan and retirement package) and then come begging to be "reinstated" to the Union! Then, I'd hope that "cooler heads would prevail" and turn the Lone Star State away. I'd say "Put the "Lone" in the Lone Star State". (Or is it the "Loan" Star State? Bill Ball · Top Commenter I don't know about that, but something is brewing. Makes me think of that song from the 60's by Buffalo Springfield called " For What It's Worth". It's worth listening to. CAMPAIGN 2012 Obama: Romney Tax Plan Will Benefit Rich at Expense of Poor By Sophie Quinton Updated: August 3, 2012 | 11:52 a.m.
August 1, 2012 | 12:35 p.m. Presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney's tax plan would cut taxes on wealthy Americans while raising taxes on the middle class, President Obama told voters in Mansfield, Ohio, on Wednesday. Romney has proposed a $5 trillion tax cut on top of the Bush tax cuts, Obama said. "The bulk of this tax cut would go to the very top. A lot of it would go to the wealthiest 1 percent of all households," Obama said, pointing to a report from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center."If Governor Romney wants to keep his word and pay for this plan, he would have to cut tax breaks that middle-class families depend on," Obama said, like those for mortgages, health care and college spending. "That means that the average middle-class family with children, according to this study, would be hit with a tax increase of more than $2,000." "And here's the thing. He's not asking you to contribute more to pay down the deficit," or invest in education or other programs, Obama added. "He's asking you to pay more so that people like him can get a big tax cut." Tax cuts for middle-class Americans do more to grow the economy than tax cuts to the wealthy, Obama said. When middle-class families have more money to spend on goods and services, "all that money circulates in the economy and it makes us all grow," the president added. Obama's Plans Benefit More of America Than Romney's Plans Both candidate claims their proposals are better for Americans, but Obama's plans will benefit more of them, according to data analysis by statisticians at Politify.com, as laid out in an interactive map showing a geographical breakdown. The result: Lots and lots of blue to represent Obama. The glimmers of red represent places where Romney plans will benefit Americans. The non-partisan group used policies from the candidates' websites, data from the Census Bureau and the IRS, and tax theories from the Tax Foundation to create the interactive. You can enter your zip code on Politify's site to see which candidates' plan will benefit you more. Politify says it "is setting out to solve one of the oldest problems in democracy: which candidate best serves our individual interests?" Note: The map doesn't account for population density. But looking at Politify's national breakdown, Obama still wins with 69.8 percent of households benefiting from his plans, compared to 30.2 percent of households benefiting from Romney's plans: If all politics is local, then, the interactive at Politify can help you sort out the impact of each candidate on where you live. Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at sdai@theatlantic.com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire. GOP upheaval arrives just before Romney conventionBy THOMAS BEAUMONT | Associated Press – Wed, Aug 22, 2012 Associated Press/Evan Vucci, File - FILE - In this Aug. 21, 2012 file photo, Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney arrives at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport …more in New Orleans. This is the convention prelude of the Republicans' dreams _ their nightmares, that is. Mitt Romney wanted to preside over a made-for TV gathering showcasing his economic credentials and GOP unity. Instead, he's heading to Tampa with the national debate focused on rape and abortion and with the divisions within his party on full display. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File) TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — This is the convention prelude of the Republicans' dreams — their nightmares, that is. Mitt Romney wanted to preside over a made-for-TV gathering showcasing his economic credentials and GOP unity. Instead, he's heading to Tampa with the national debate focused on rape and abortion and with the divisions within his party — and with running mate Paul Ryan — on full display. "It's a huge distraction," Saul Anuzis, a RNC member from Michigan and a top Romney backer, said of the emotional quarreling touched off by embattled Missouri Rep. Todd Akin earlier this week. "We should be talking about the economy and here we are consumed by these side issues." Even the weather is threatening to spoil Romney's party. As Wednesday's rain pounded the arena and hotel complex where the convention is scheduled for next week, Anuzis lamented the tropical storm churning toward Florida, saying that "it could cause havoc; it could be a chaotic situation from a transportation and security standpoint." All this as a new Associated Press-GfK poll showed a neck-and-neck race between Romney and President Barack Obama just over two months before the election. Some 47 percent of registered voters say they plan to vote for Obama, while 46 percent favor Romney. That's virtually the same as last month — and evidence that Romney didn't get a bounce of support by choosing Ryan as his vice presidential nominee. Romney and Ryan sought to gain ground Wednesday with fresh criticism of Obama on health care in separate rallies and with a new TV ad. But Republican troubles persisted, just as the party had seemed to be moving past deep divisions between its establishment and conservative wings in the name of rallying behind its presidential nominee and beating Obama. Instead, the ticket found itself still overshadowed by the uproar over Akin's refusal to drop out of his Senate race after causing a stir by saying that women's bodies have ways of preventing pregnancies in cases of "legitimate rape." He has apologized repeatedly and has said he misspoke, but he also has bucked calls from top Republicans — including Romney and Ryan — to abandon his bid. "It's bad timing. Akin happening now sort of amplifies the whole thing," Charlie Black, a veteran GOP presidential campaign strategist and informal Romney adviser, said, referring to distractions from the campaign's economic message. Romney spokesman Kevin Madden tried putting the matter to rest during a campaign stop in Arkansas, telling reporters he did not expect the presumptive nominee to address Akin's comments further. "We said what we needed to say," Madden told reporters. As final preparations were being made for the four-day convention, there were fears rippling through the national party that fallout from the Akin situation demonstrated weakness by the GOP leaders who are uniting behind Romney. But Black and others predicted that the national conversation will shift back to the economy — and an unemployment rate above 8 percent — by the time Romney accepts the nomination Aug. 30, and certainly by this fall. "I can't imagine Obama running ads in suburban Pennsylvania in October tying Mitt Romney to Todd Akin," said Black. "If he does, it means we're winning." For now at least, Akin's comments have caused a furor in the Republican Party just as it's trying to narrow the advantage Obama and the Democrats have among women voters. And the debate has highlighted fissures within the GOP over when abortion should be legal. Romney does not oppose abortion in cases of rape and incest or if it will save a mother's life, while Ryan does oppose abortion in cases of rape and incest. Underscoring the split, the Republican National Committee is including support in its draft platform for a ban on abortion without noting specific exceptions. The plank leaves exceptions up to states, but also stops short of listing rape or incest. Ryan himself stoked the debate Wednesday when he was forced to emphasize anew that Romney is the nominee, brushing aside differences in their records. "I'm proud of my pro-life record. And I stand by my pro-life record in Congress. It's something I'm proud of. But Mitt Romney is the top of the ticket and Mitt Romney will be president and he will set the policy of the Romney administration," Ryan told a Pennsylvania TV station. He also defended a bill he cosponsored in the House to ban federal funding for abortion except in cases of incest and "forcible" rape. That language, which was eventually changed, would have narrowed the exception for rape victims. Akin and 225 other members of the House, including 11 Democrats, also cosponsored the bill. Romney's campaign rejected the idea that the Akin issue was overshadowing the party's effort to stir enthusiasm in its base membership. And advisers said they weren't worried that Missouri, a state Obama lost in 2008, would suddenly become competitive when it's long been considered a state Romney was virtually assured of winning. But Akin's refusal to quit his race gave rise to GOP fears in other states. Senate GOP officials were deeply concerned that the Missouri congressman might be jeopardizing the party's chances of winning control the 100-seat chamber in a close-fought year. Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, finishing her first term, was considered the Senate's most vulnerable Democrat until Akin's remarks this week. Democrats were working to use Akin to go after Republicans at all levels. "It's not just one extreme candidate in Missouri; it's part of a Republican pattern," says an ad supporting Massachusetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren in her Senate race against Republican Sen. Scott Brown. Brown is urging Akin to step aside. There were other issues beyond Akin and abortion threatening Romney's convention. The RNC's platform committee has adopted budget language similar to Ryan's House federal spending blueprint, which calls for turning Medicare into a voucher system. That issue again spotlights the differences between the two Republicans, and splits in the party. At the same time, Democrats were making plans to try to steal some of the limelight from Romney next week. Obama has arranged to campaign in Iowa, Colorado and Virginia. Biden is planning to campaign in Florida — including in Tampa — early next week, and Michelle Obama is to appear on David Letterman's show on Aug. 29, the third day of the GOP convention. And there is one thing completely out of Romney's control: Tropical Storm Isaac is bearing down on Florida, threatening to reach the Tampa area just as thousands of people are pouring into Tampa. Convention officials say contingency plans are in place should the storm stay on its course for Tampa. They are monitoring the storm but not yet contacting delegates about alternate plans. ___ Associated Press writer Laurie Kellman and Deputy Polling Director Jennifer Agiesta in Washington, and writer Julie Pace in Little Rock, Ark., contributed. Huckabee Says He and a 'Quiet Army' Back Akin Associated Press
Mike Huckabee declared his support for Todd Akin staying in the race against Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill in an email Thursday, Politico's Alexander Burns reports. "Who ordered this 'Code Red' on Akin?" Huckabee wrote, saying Akin had "owned his mistake" and that the Republican Party has betrayed the Missourian. "If Todd Akin loses the Senate seat, I will not blame Todd Akin," Huckabee writes. The Republican Party has sometimes seemed to be in a civil war between fiscal conservatives and social conservatives, and you can find evidence for that in the language Huckabee uses: From the spotlights of political offices and media perches, it may appear that the demand for Akin's head is universal in the party. I assure you it is not. There is a vast, but mostly quiet army of people who have an innate sense of fairness and don't like to see a fellow political pilgrim bullied.... It wasn't just Todd Akin that was treated with contempt by the thinly veiled attack on Todd Akin. It was all the people who have faithfully knocked doors, made calls, and made sacrificial contributions to elect Republicans because we thought we were welcome in the party. Akin first apologized for his "legitimate rape" comment on Huckabee's radio show, and announced he was staying in the race there, too. Evangelical tempers are flaring over Akin's comments and how the GOP responded. On Monday, the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins warned Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown to be " careful" with his criticism of Akin. Reacting to the Huckabee email, Iowa evangelical leader and radio host Steve Deace tweeted, "To those who think Romney should remove Huckabee's convention speech over Akin, I promise you Romney will lose election if he does that." Earlier Deace urged the "GOP establishment" to "Grow up. Show unity. Be team players." His latest tweet is a little more forceful. Deace also posted on his site a story titled, " Romney-Ryan Campaign Is Wrong on Abortion." The ticket supports a rape exception to a ban on all abortions. Update: Another clue Akin's in for good? Republicans had considered switching Akin with Ann Wagner, who's running for his House seat. Wagner put out a statement Thursday saying there will be no switch. Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at ereeve@nationaljournal.com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire. Romney touts Bain experience in Wall Street Journal editorial Senior Political Reporter August 24the 2012...... 8 hrs ago After months of negative attacks from his Democratic opponents, Mitt Romney is trying to turn his resume at Bain Capital into a positive for his campaign, arguing in a new Wall Street Journal editorial the experience he gained there would help him in the White House. "The lessons I learned over my 15 years at Bain Capital were valuable in helping me turn around the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. They also helped me as governor of Massachusetts to turn a budget deficit into a surplus and reduce our unemployment rate to 4.7 percent," Romney writes in the editorial published online late Thursday. "The lessons from that time would help me as president to fix our economy, create jobs and get things done in Washington." It's a message Romney and his aides have communicated previously on the campaign trail. But it still hasn't quite resonated with voters, amid withering attacks from President Barack Obama's re-election campaign and its allies over Romney's business record. In the Journal op-ed, Romney argues that his experience at Bain confirmed his "belief in empowering people" and gave him an up close look at how thing like high energy costs and massive regulations impact businesses. Echoing a story that has already been the subject of a Romney campaign ad, the presumptive Republican nominee cites Bain's role in building up an Indiana-based Steel Dynamics by equipping it with new technology. He says the experience taught him "that we must have a level playing field in international trade." "As president, I will challenge unfair trade practices that are harming American workers," Romney writes. Among other things, Romney says his time at Bain offered leadership lessons that will help him to take steps to reduce the federal deficit. He also argues that he knows first hand what it's like to start and operate a business—a sly dig at Obama, whom he's frequently criticized for lacking private sector experience and for being hostile to businesses. "I'm not sure Bain Capital could have grown or turned around some of the companies we invested in had we faced today's anti-business environment," Romney writes. "I know what it takes to turn around difficult situations," he adds. "And I will put that experience to work, to get our economy back on track, create jobs, strengthen the middle class and lay the groundwork for America's increased competitiveness in the world." Mitt Romney Says Big Business 'Doing Fine' After Criticizing Obama for Similar RemarksBy Emily Friedman | ABC OTUS News – 10 hrs ago HOPKINS, Minn. - Mitt Romney said Thursday night that big businesses are "doing fine," using similar language that the presumptive nominee has hammered President Obama for using to describe the private sector earlier this year. "I'm going to champion small business. We've got to make it easier for small businesses. Big business is doing fine in many places - they get the loans they need, they can deal with all the regulation," said Romney, speaking to a group of supporters at a private fundraiser in Minnesota. Romney then added that the reason that big businesses are "doing fine in many places" is because they are able to invest their money in "tax havens." "They know how to find ways to get through the tax code, save money by putting various things in the places where there are low tax havens around the world for their businesses," said Romney. "But small business is getting crushed." While Romney often talks about the negative impact regulations have on small businesses during his campaign speeches, his remarks tonight sounded similar to those made by Obama in June in which he said the private sector was "doing fine." Romney has since used the president's words as a frequent example on the campaign trail of Obama being out of touch with struggling Americans. At a campaign rally in Michigan just days following Obama's remarks Romney said that the president, "trying to explain that everything's going swimmingly," remarked that "the private sector is doing fine." Eliciting boos from the crowd, Romney added, "Yeah, I don't hear that where I go across the country, with the 23 million people out of work or underemployed." Additionally, while Romney said tax havens were helping businesses succeed during his remarks tonight, the candidate's own personal finances have come under scrutiny after it was revealed that some of his investments were placed in offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands. | Another View: In GOP civil war, only Democrats are winning 11:53 PM, Aug. 6, 2012 | When traditional Republicans tell their tea party wing that they have to negotiate with Democrats, the radicals' frequent response is: No, they don't. One side has to win. But before that fistfight can take place, one side has to win within the Republican Party. Civil wars are not pretty. The tea party movement has become the dead bad-luck bird hanging around the Republican Party establishment's neck. Its anger-fueled energy has forced moderate Republicans off ballots in places where moderates tend to win. It has burdened otherwise centrist Republicans with radical positions that don't go well with a general electorate. The Grand Old Party is being taken over by an ideological fringe with unclear motives, a loose grasp on reality and little interest in actually governing. The most recent victim is Ohio Republican Steven LaTourette, who says that he's had it after 18 years in the House. The uncompromising partisanship drove him out. "Anybody that doesn't understand that in a split government, you've got to find a common-ground way out of it, it's not going to be your way or the highway, is nuts," he said. But suppose the right wing is nuts. Or suppose it isn't nuts but doesn't quite understand that pushing the United States to the brink of default, as it did last summer, is bad for the world, the United States and even itself. Or perhaps the radicals think that grown-ups somewhere will attend to the details while they play. The right wing so badgered Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe that the Republican moderate — and shoo-in for re-election — has decided to leave the Senate. Now the party may lose her Senate seat to a Democrat. In Indiana, longtime Republican statesman Sen. Richard Lugar lost the primary to Richard Mourdock, a tea party favorite. That seat is now up in the air as Mourdock and Democratic Rep. Joe Donnelly battle it out. Donnelly has turned his opponent's tea party ties into a campaign issue. Poor Mitt Romney is unable to pick sides — among fellow Republicans, that is. He says one thing in swing state Colorado, another in usually Republican Indiana. His socially moderate record as governor of Massachusetts would play well with most independents, who will ultimately decide the election. But he can't go there for fear of losing a right wing that does not like him. Speaking of Massachusetts, Republican Sen. Scott Brown is now running neck and neck with Democrat Elizabeth Warren. He's done this in a generally liberal state by talking up his independent stands and how he wants to work with Democrats. But suppose he's re-elected and his fellow Republicans won't work with him, a likelihood, given the increasing demonization of moderates within the party. And suppose — a real consideration for Massachusetts voters — Brown becomes a neutered outcast, while his re-election sends control of the closely divided Senate to the right-wingers. Do centrists in Massachusetts or anywhere else want tea party activist Jim DeMint of South Carolina controlling the powerful Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee? And with the pragmatic Republican establishment under ideological attack, its moderates may no longer feel free to be themselves. Snowe voted to create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which the right opposed. But with the Maine tea party later breathing down her neck, she only voted "present" during a filibuster of the appointee to run the bureau, the unobjectionable Richard Cordray, former attorney general of Ohio. One is rooting for traditional Republicans to retake control of the asylum and restore a normal brand of politics. That would be very good for the country, a not-small consideration. The only side winning so far is the Democrats. Republican Civil War RIGHT SPEAK A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. Monday, January 23, 2012 I have thought for some time now that regardless of who the nominee is and whether the GOP nominee wins the presidency this year, the party is headed for a civil war. There have already been skirmishes in the forms of NY-23, the 2010 senate races for Nevada, Alaska, Delaware, Colorado, Arizona and many House races. I'm quite sure that if Romney won the nomination and presidency that there would be a solid 10-15% of the party who would never shut their mouths during his presidency and would do everything they could to undermine his presidency. But with the polls coming out of Florida today it appears that we don't have to worry about the long, drawn out scenario. Newt is ahead in the Florida polls by anywhere from a few points to as much as 9.
The shot that started this Civil War was fired in South Carolina when the so called social conservatives abandoned all their values to vote for the man who least stands for social values. South Carolina started THE Civil War 151 years ago to protect an evil way of life, slavery, and to reject a president who was not one of them, Lincoln. South Carolina has started a GOP Civil War to protect a big government, serial adulterer, dead beat father because he is one of them, a Southerner.
The tea party doesn't want moderate republicans in the party. Southern Evangelicals may be willing to tolerate Mormons in the party, as long as we sit in the back of the bus, but they won't stand for one driving the bus. Libertarians have received similar treatment as well. Gingrich will work wonders to drive out all three groups. His nomination will galvanize large numbers of republicans to permanently leave the party. The GOP continues to shrink with smaller voter ID numbers than democrats. Voters have been leaving the GOP in droves for some years now.
Well then, maybe it's time to cut loose from the teavangelicals. Perhaps it is time for the 20% of us who are hated by the tea party and the South to leave as well. It is past time for a center right party to form. That is what I would like to see. But the reality is that we will just fracture and gaurantee the democrats control all three branches of government for decades to come. But this is what the country deserves at this point.
Whatever happens this year, the lights are going to be turned off soon for the GOP, and good riddance. Mitt Romney wants to start World War III The World Over - Mitt Romney EXCLUSIVE with Raymond Arroyo - 2012-08-22 Published on Aug 23, 2012 by EWTN Watch Raymond Arroyo's exclusive interview with GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney on the World Over Live, Thursday, 8 p.m. ET, with re-airs throughout the week. Mitt Romney Trade War With China Uploaded by DionAFields on Nov 17, 2011 What an idiot, lets just call attention to the fact that we don't pay our bills then threaten the people that do. We can't afford stuff now, if Romney pisses China off he could kill millions of people here and there. They figure they have enough they can spare a few. This guy would be a terrifying president. He's so stupid he actually believes John the Baptist came back from the dead and baptise Joseph Smith almost 2 thousand years later. Dems slam Ryan over Social Security privatizationBy STEPHEN OHLEMACHER | Associated Press – 3 hrs ago WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are eagerly renewing their fight against privatizing Social Security now that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has picked Paul Ryan as his running mate. It was a fight that didn't go well for the GOP when President George W. Bush pushed the idea in 2005. In his 2010 "Road Map for America's Future," the Wisconsin congressman proposed a plan to allow younger workers to divert more than one-third of their Social Security taxes into personal accounts that they would own and could will to their heirs. Ryan wrote that the accounts would provide workers an opportunity "to build a significant nest egg for retirement that far exceeds what the current program can provide." Workers 55 and older would stay in the current system. Romney hasn't embraced the proposal and Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, didn't include it in either of the federal budgets passed by House Republicans the past two years. But now that Ryan is running for vice president, Democrats hope to capitalize on the issue. Bush's proposal for private accounts received a chilly reception from members in both parties in Congress, though Ryan embraced it. Democrats used the issue against GOP congressional candidates in the 2006 election, when they regained control of the House and Senate. "The very last thing we ought to be doing is putting at risk the retirement security of millions of America's seniors," said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, who heads the Democratic National Committee. Until now, Social Security had been largely absent from the presidential campaign. President Barack Obama has yet to lay out a detailed plan for addressing the issue, and his silence is drawing criticism from advocates who supported him in the past. Romney has been more forthcoming with proposals, but Social Security has not been a big part of his campaign, either. Romney, in his book, "No Apology," said he liked the idea of personal accounts. But, he wrote, "Given the volatility of investment values that we have just experienced, I would prefer that individual accounts were added to Social Security, not diverted from it, and that they were voluntary." Romney's current plan for Social Security doesn't mention personal accounts. Instead, he proposes a gradual increase in the retirement age to account for growing life expectancy. For future generations, Romney would slow the growth of benefits "for those with higher incomes." Romney says tax increases should be off the table, and current beneficiaries and those near retirement should be spared from cuts. "Mitt Romney and Paul support gradual reforms to Social Security that protect current beneficiaries from any benefit disruptions while strengthening the program to ensure that it doesn't go bankrupt," Romney campaign spokesman Ryan Williams said. The trustees who oversee Social Security say the trust funds that support the program will run dry in 2033. At that point, Social Security will generate only enough tax revenue to pay about 75 percent of benefits, triggering automatic cuts unless Congress acts. During the 2008 campaign, Obama said he wanted to improve Social Security's finances by applying the payroll tax to annual wages above $250,000. It is now limited to wages below $110,100, a level that increases with inflation. Obama also pledged to oppose raising the retirement age or reducing annual cost-of-living adjustments, or COLAs. "Let me be clear, I will not do either," Obama said at the time. Last year, however, Obama put on the table a proposal to reduce annual COLAs during deficit-reduction talks with House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. The talks ultimately failed and nothing came of the proposal, but it raised questions about whether Obama would honor his 2008 pledge. "A national politician would do well to strongly identify themselves with Social Security, not just with rhetoric, but to be very clear that they understand the pain people are experiencing today, that they stand behind this program and they will protect the citizenry and they will not cut benefits," said Eric Kingson, a Syracuse University professor who co-founded Social Security Works. "I hope to hear that from the White House. I have not heard that yet." Obama offered some principles to strengthen Social Security in his 2011 State of the Union address. "We must do it without putting at risk current retirees, the most vulnerable or people with disabilities, without slashing benefits for future generations and without subjecting Americans' guaranteed retirement income to the whims of the stock market," Obama said in the speech. Last week, Vice President Joe Biden made a more sweeping guarantee during a campaign swing in southern Virginia, telling a customer at a diner that Social Security will not be changed. "I guarantee you, flat guarantee you, there will be no changes in Social Security," Biden told the customer, according to a White House pool report. "I flat guarantee you." A Biden adviser said later the vice president was merely reassuring the woman that her benefits would not be changed. The adviser spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the issue. Obama campaign spokesman Adam Fetcher said the president "has put forward a set of principles to guide bipartisan action to strengthen it for future generations. Rather than laying the groundwork for a bipartisan approach as the president has done, Mitt Romney's only solution would mean deep benefit cuts for future retirees. His running mate, Paul Ryan was an architect of privatization." Romney's campaign chided Obama's inaction. "His failure to lead on entitlements has put the future of Social Security at risk," said Williams, the Romney spokesman. "Mitt Romney is committed to ensuring that Social Security is there for future generations and he has a comprehensive plan to save Social Security with commonsense reforms." Follow Stephen Ohlemacher on Twitter: http://twitter.com/stephenatap |
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