Month: January 2012

Categories
Health Care ObamaCare Politics

Saving The Economy – ObamaCare Ia A Job Creator

While the Republicans dwell in the land if make-belief with their “corporations are people my friend” mentality and their wish to deny you health care by repealing the law also known as “ObamaCare,” reports are surfacing showing more ways the health care law is benefiting the economy – by creating more jobs.

President Barack Obama’s effort to bring the health-care system into the digital age is boosting a couple of software startups — ZocDoc and Practice Fusion — that are trying to do just that.

ZocDoc, which lets patients book medical appointments via the web, said today that former Senate Majority Leaders Tom Daschle and Bill Frist have joined the advisory board to help the New York City-based company expand.

Practice Fusion, meanwhile, announced today it raised $2 million in debt from a group of angel investors, following a $23 million round of financing last year. Physicians use Practice Fusion’s software to track their patients’ medical history, schedule appointments, prescribe medication and provide referral letters.

While companies big and small have spent years trying to crack the electronic medical records market, it was President Obama’s 2009 economic stimulus plan that sped up the process. As part of the plan, the government will invest up to $27.4 billion by 2021 to get health organizations on board.

So the reality of the situation is this; Republicans’ wish to repeal “ObamaCare” would not only affect you by once again allowing insurance companies to deny you care when you’re sick, even if you’ve paid your premium, a repeal will literally cost thousands of jobs in an already bad economy.

Categories
Barack Obama Mitt Romney Politics Republican Tax break tax cuts United States White House

President Obama To Offer Tax Breaks To Companies Bringing Jobs Back Home

Report from the The Wall Street Journal

President Barack Obama said he will propose new tax incentives to encourage businesses to “bring jobs home,” a move that could sharpen differences with Republicans in an election year.

Mr. Obama also said Wednesday he would suggest eliminating “tax breaks for companies that move jobs overseas.” Administration officials said details won’t be released until the president issues his proposed budget next month.

In past years, most of the administration’s plans to limit tax breaks for multinationals have stalled amid opposition from businesses and Republicans. Tax experts said the proposals could include new investment subsidies such as more-generous depreciation, lower tax rates for income derived from innovation produced in the U.S. or expanded breaks for domestic research or manufacturing.

Categories
Politics South Carolina

Is Rick Perry Delusional Or Is He Just a Fool

Rick Perry got a massive 5% of the votes in Iowa, then lastnight in New Hampshire, 1% of voters still chose Perry, although he didn’t compete in the state. But instead of doing what other famous quitters like Sarah Palin and now Michele Bachmann have done and gracefully bow out, Perry still think there is hope for the corpse that is his campaign.

“South Carolina is the next stop,” Perry said in his statement. “I have a head start here, and it’s friendly territory for a Texas governor and veteran with solid outsider credentials, the nation’s best record of job creation, and solid fiscal, social and Tea Party conservatism.”

The latest polls from South Carolina show Perry in fifth place with 5 percent support. Romney places first in those polls.

Well, we never accused him of being a math wizard, but someone should advise Mr. Perry that 5% support does not equal a “head start,” nor does it signal “friendly terrority.”

Categories
Mitt Romney Politics Ronald Reagan

Joe Biden on Mitt Romney – He Has No Idea Of The Broken Bargain

In a twenty minutes conference call to New Hampshire Democrats on Tuesday, Vice President Joe Biden and the Obama Administration amplified the 2012 presidential campaign.

Taking direct aim at the Republican frontrunner, Mr. Biden said that Romney’s “I like being able to fire people” comment – although it may have been taken out of context – shows how out of touch Republicans are with the struggles of the working class America.

He thinks it’s more important for the stockholders and the shareholders and the investors and the venture capital guys to do well [than] for those employees to be part of the bargain,” he said.

“We inherited a broken bargain. A deal our parents didn’t have to face. Middle-class folks, if you gave them an even chance, they got to share in the benefits they helped to produce for this country. That bargain was broken during the Bush years and we were determined to fix it.

“Listen to Mitt Romney. He has no idea the bargain even exists, let alone is broken. How else can you say the best way to fix the financial crisis is by letting it all go down to the bottom?”

Greed. It has been the underlining and unmentioned trait of the rich in this country for centuries. And for centuries, because of the negative stigma of greed, a stigma the rich didn’t want to be associated with, working class America felt as though they were part of the solution and shared in the profits they helped create.

Then something happened about thirty years ago. With the election of Ronald Reagan, the me first you never attitude was born and the decline of middle class America begun.

Today, after the Bush presidency, that attitude is in full view for all to see. Greed is no longer considered a negative word, in fact, it is a trait Americans are judged by. It is the dividing line that separates the two political parties, as Republicans believe giving everything to the rich is the only way the middle class would survive while Democrats on the other hand believe that all Americans should have a fair shot at the American dream.

The 2012 election is about a choice that couldn’t be any clearer. Do we re-elect a president who believes that every American must have equal opportunities to make their American dream a reality, or do we elect someone who agrees with the Ronald Reagan and George Bush philosophy that taking from the poor and giving to the rich is all that matters?

With one candidate’s policies we can once again return to a system where the American dream is possible. With the alternative, we can continue the nightmare that Reagan and Bush started.

Categories
Citizens United Mitt Romney Newt Gingrich Politics presidential Republican Rick Santorum South Carolina

Apres-Primary Musings: Mitt Can’t Conquer the Mountain

We are not impressed.

If Mitt Romney can’t muster over 40% of the vote in a backyard state against a field of sub-par candidates with extreme positions on the issues, then he’s not ready yet for his curtain call. Yes, it certainly was a good day for Romney, but not as good as his victory speech would indicate.

He’ll win the nomination, but two things are abundantly clear. The first is that Romney still hasn’t galvanized his party as a candidate, and the second is that Republican enthusiasm is turning out to be somewhat of a myth.

Let’s get to the numbers.

Here’s what I said would happen (left) and here’s what actually happened (right):

Romney      38%        39.4%

Paul            19%        22.8%

Huntsman   16%       16.8%

Gingrich      11%         9.4%

Santorum    10%         9.3%

Roemer         3%         0.4%

Perry             1%          0.7%

As in Iowa, not bad. I seem to have underestimated Ron Paul’s reliable support and overestimated Buddy Roemer’s, but I don’t think I was alone.

If present reports are true, all the candidates are moving on to South Carolina where the PAC-men will be gobbling up money and air time in their quest for Romney’s scraps. This will be Citizens United writ not on the main stage, but as regional summer stock theater. Millions of dollars that otherwise could be spent on more significant pursuits will be sucked down the rabbit hole of ego and vanity. That’s the new democracy at work, and we’d all better get used to it because when the campaign moves to Broadway in the fall, there’s going to be an ad war like no other.

South Carolina is the last stand for Huntsman, Santorum and Perry to be sure unless any of them pull wild upsets and finish in the top 3, and above 20%. Gingrich could stay in if he’s in the top 3 because he now has PAC money and Paul and his minions will stick around for the duration. Romney can claim the nomination with a dominant performance, over 40%, but 30% will be enough to make him inevitable.

Follow the march to the south at facebook.com/WhereDemocracyLives.

Categories
Politics South Carolina United States voter suppression

Nikki Haley Plans To Sue Obama Administration To Implement Voter I.D Laws

Their attempt to suppress the vote in South Carolina with the implementation of voter ID laws, was stopped by the Obama administration, but this is not derailing the Republican governor, Nikki Hailey, as she and her administration promises to take the case to court in the form of a law suit.

“The will of the people was that we want to protect the integrity of the voting process,” Haley said. “And if you have to show a picture ID to buy Sudafed, if you have to show a picture ID to get on a plane – you should have to show an ID to do that one thing that is so important to us, which is that right to vote.”

Exactly Haley, “the right to vote.” Buying Sudafed or getting on a plane is not a “right.” Voting is, and it is protected by the Constitution. So why exactly are you and your Republican friends trying to put a condition on our rights, rights that are protected by the United States Constitution?

Seems unconstitutional to me Haley. Didn’t you take an oath to uphold the constitution?

Categories
Politics Rick Santorum

Santorum Slams Obama For Wanting Better Education

Rick Santorum, one of the Republican hopefuls trying to get his party’s nomination for the 2012 presidential election, is irate that President Obama wants the children of this nation to succeed.

Rick Santorum called President Barack Obama’s education goals an agenda of “hubris” on Saturday, saying he is “outraged” that the president thinks “every child in America should go to college.” “The hubris of this president to think that he knows what’s best for you […] This is the kind of snobbery that we see from those that think they know how to run our lives,” the former Pennsylvania senator said in a forum at St. Anselm’s New Hampshire Institute of Politics.

In a world where education is the key to success, this Obama dude really have some nerves. How dare he look out for the best interest of the our kids? We don’t need no stinkin’ education.

Categories
Elections Mitt Romney Politics Rick Santorum

The Polling Report: Special New Hampshire Edition

You can just call me the Hammer, because I nailed the Iowa results almost perfectly. Of course now I will suffer for my obvious act of hubris, but I don’t believe that will come in New Hampshire.

This primary has an odd air about it because the overwhelming sentiment is that Mitt Romney will win, but it won’t matter much. The fun will come later in the month in South Carolina and Florida.

So let’s get to the polling and analysis. The latest RealClearPolitics average shows Romney with a large lead over, in this order, Ron Paul, Jon Huntsman, Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich. Here are the specifics from the latest PPP Poll. Santorum has not received a major bounce out of Iowa because he’s far too conservative for New Hampshire and he’s professed some ideas that haven’t sat well with pragmatic New Englanders, like his diatribes against gay marriage. He’s also, well, Rick Santorum, who has some well-publicized issues stemming from when he was a Pennsylvania Senator and those came to light once the press started snooping around.

Ron Paul has his reliable legions who will support him throughout the primary season, so it’s no surprise that he’s in second place. This primary is make-or-break for Jon Hunstman, and I expect that he’ll drop out of the race when he finishes a distant third. Newt will stay in through at least Florida as a pain-in-the-side for Romney now that he’s received a huge infusion of money, and Rick Perry will also drop out after South Carolina when he finishes fourth in a conservative state he otherwise could win. If he wasn’t such a terrible debater, that is.

The only drama I see in New Hampshire is Mitt’s vote percentage. He must, in my estimation, receive above 40% of the vote in New Hampshire in order to meet expectations. If he falls below that threshold, it will be a major embarrassment for him and it will expose him as the second choice to everyone else in the field. It won’t really matter what the other candidates poll. The pressure is on Mitt. If he gets above 47%, then he shows obvious strength with the people who will decide the 2012 race, moderates and independent voters, and will be seen as the presumptive nominee. Having said that, the latest polls show Mitt actually losing some support according to the tracking polls. He began the weekend at around 42%, but has dropped to 33% in the Suffolk/7News Tracking survey released on Monday.

At this point in the race, we need to face some facts: Santorum, Gingrich and Perry are damaged goods and are just saying the most outlandish things in a last-ditch effort to appeal to the far right. Paul isn’t even popular with Republicans, for heaven’s sake, Huntsman never received his bump (and he won’t in South Carolina) and is seen as the other Mormon in the race. That’s America: two, three or four Protestants of any denomination, no problem, but room for only one Mormon.

Leaders of the conservative movement have recently been stepping up their efforts to find an alternative to Mitt, and it looks like the early winner is Santorum. I think they should find a true conservative who’s not in the race, vet them for all of their transgressions and run them as a candidate outside the primaries. That’s their best chance at having a conservative who can be elected. I’ve always thought that there would be a third party candidate in this election and that they would come from the right. This might be the time to start that movement.

The last big issue is the Super-PAC money entering this race from all sides. It’s enabling the field, minus Huntsman, to buy ads in South Carolina that will probably blanket the state for the next two weeks. Most of it will be aimed at Romney, and I’m sure we’ll hear more about how he likes to fire people and how many employees lost their jobs because of Bain Capital.

And now for the stick-out-my-neck-for-the-guillotine moment: Prediction for Tuesday.

Romney 38% Paul 19% Huntsman 16% Gingrich 11% Santorum 10% Roemer 3% Perry 1%

Mitt gets enough to claim a win, but falls short of the 40% threshold. Huntsman leaves the race gracefully, Santorum, Gingrich and Perry move on to the south to make their final stands. Perry leaves after South Carolina and perhaps Santorum does too. Newt stays around because he loves to hear himself talk.

Mother Jones has a Fantasy Primary Predictor here if you’d like to play.

For more, please visit: facebook.com/WhereDemocracyLives

Categories
Mitt Romney Politics

Mitt Romney – I Like Firing People

No matter how much he tries, Willard Romney will never be able to hide who he really is. He often boast about living his life in the private sector, and based on what we know about his time at Bain Capital, there are a lot of Americans who lost their jobs because of Willard’s actions.

Today, Willard made a statement that brought a certain unease to the working middle class. “I like being able to fire people who provide services to me,” Romney was heard saying, as he addressed the Chamber of Commerce.

For context, Romney was talking about the freedom of “firing” or chosing one insurance provider over another based on his preference. But the firing statement should never be used when it’s coming from a man who built his personal wealth acquiring smaller business and shipping Americans jobs overseas for cheaper labor. And such a statement should never be used when coming from a man who holds the dubious distinction of being number 47 (out of 50) in job creation when he was governor of the state of Massachusetts.

Categories
Elections Mitt Romney Politics Tax taxes

Mitt Romney’s Plan Will Raise Your Taxes

Unless you’re earning over $1 million a year that is, then you will see your taxes cut by as much as $146,000 a year. But for the middle class Americans struggling to make ends meet, prepare to pay more in taxes if Mitt Romney becomes your president.

The non-partisan Tax Policy Center analyzed Mitt Romney’s tax proposals and, according to the Wall Street Journal, “concluded that Mr. Romney’s plan would reduce taxes significantly for high-income earners (by 6.9% or $146,000 for households making more than $1 million), and increase federal deficits by $180 billion in 2015 compared to current tax levels.”

And despite Romney’s claims, his plan would also raise taxes slightly for low-income families.

Associated Press: “Households making between $50,000 and $75,000 would get small tax cuts, averaging 2.2 percent, or about $250, the study said. People making more than $1 million would get tax cuts averaging 15 percent, or about $146,000.”

Categories
Elections Mitt Romney Politics

Mitt Romney – Only Rich People Should Run For Office

The shocking claim came from the Republican frontrunner in Sunday’s debate.

Mitt Romney, born into wealth and is one of the top five richest people to run for president has a message for you poor folks – if you’re not as rich as he is, then forget about running for office. That honor is only reserved for his kind – the filthy rich!

Romney said his father, Michigan Governor George Romney, had told him, “Mitt, never get involved in politics if you have to win an election to pay a mortgage.”

“If you find yourself in a position when you can serve, why you ought to have a responsibility to do so if you think you can make a difference,” he recalled his father telling him. “Also, don’t get in politics if your kids are still young because it might turn their heads.”

A few seconds later, he bragged about his run against Teddy Kennedy.

“I was happy he had to take a mortgage out on his house to ultimately defeat me,” he said.

It’s amazing the things that bring him joy.

Categories
Mitt Romney MSNBC Newt Gingrich Politics Republican republican debate Rick Santorum

Republican Debate – A Record Flip Flop For Romney – Video

A Republican debate happened yesterday and Romney stood above the fighting fray, walking away with little or no real attacks on him or his record.

A Republican debate happened today, and things were much different, as Romney took swings from Rick Santorum and Jon Huntsman.

But Newt Gingrich took to the floor with one clear goal in mind. He wanted the audience to know the truth about Romney and his SuperPAC’s attempts to derail his candidacy with negative ads. Romney had previously said that he knew nothing about the actions of the PAC, or who they were. But today, he flip-flopped on that claim too.

Watch below, as Romney claimed he hadn’t seen any of the ads Gingrich was talking about, only to turn around and perfectly describe the ads he didn’t see.

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