Month: June 2012

Categories
Politics Republican

Michael Stafford Explains Why He Left The Republican Party

I’m a life-long Republican. My political affiliation has been woven intrinsically into the very fabric of my being.

When I was young, Ronald Reagan bestrode the world like a colossus. I grew up watching the Cold War end-game play out as Reagan faced down the Soviet Union- which really was evil- and helped break the long night of communist repression in Eastern Europe. He was my hero.

Indeed, my first political act was passionately lobbying my fourth-grade classmates to vote for Reagan over Walter Mondale in a mock election in 1984. As an adult, I continued to be a rock-solid Republican- I helped run my law school’s chapter of the Federalist Society and its Republican club. And after the election of President Obama in 2008, I served as an officer in my state Republican Party. For the next two years, I devoted substantial amounts of my time, my talent, and my treasure to supporting local candidates running for office and to building the Party organization.

Today, however, I am a registered Republican no longer.

I came to the decision to leave the GOP not with a heavy heart, but with a broken one.

I reached this point through a long series of awakenings and realizations- a path marked by literally years of wrestling with, and finally accepting, the political implications of a number of difficult truths. It involved ever-increasing levels of cognitive dissonance, as I tried to square my experiences, concerns, and knowledge, with my continued loyalty to the GOP.

As a local GOP official after President Obama’s election, I had a front-row seat as it became infected by a dangerous and virulent form of political rabies.

In the grip of this contagion, the Republican Party has come unhinged. Its fevered hallucinations involve threats from imaginary communists and socialists who, seemingly, lurk around every corner. Climate change- a reality recognized by every single significant scientific body and academy in the world- is a liberal conspiracy conjured up by Al Gore and other leftists who want to destroy America. Large numbers of Republicans- the notorious birthers- believe that the President was not born in the United States. Even worse, few figures in the GOP have the courage to confront them.

Republican economic policies are also indefensible. The GOP constantly claims that its opponents are engaged in “class warfare,” but this is an exercise in projection. In Republican proposals, the wealthy win, and the rest of us lose- one only has to look at Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget to see that.

[More]

Categories
Ohio Politics

President Obama Speaks in Ohio – Mitt Romney Was There Somewhere

Both President Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney are in Ohio today giving campaign speeches. It was a hard decision figuring out which speech to broadcast, but it all boiled down to the fact that here at EzKool, we are in your face with the truth, and broadcasting Mitt Romney’s speech completely contradict our tagline.

Ladies and gentlemen, President Obama…

Categories
Mitt Romney Politics

Multiple Ways to Say ‘No’ To Being Romney’s Vice President

Mike Huckabee: His talents are best used elsewhere
Why he’s in the veepstakes: Huckabee is already a household name, thanks to his 2008 run for president and subsequent Fox News show, and he’s popular with social conservatives and right-leaning economic populists. He’s also an ordained Baptist minister with a sunny public disposition.

Why he won’t be chosen: “I think there’s a greater likelihood that I’ll be asked by Madonna to go on tour as her bass player than I’ll be picked to be on the ticket,” Huckabee told ABC News on June 10.

2. Jeb Bush: Not interested in toeing the party line
Why he’s in the veepstakes: The former Florida governor, and younger scion of the Bush clan, is a Republican’s Republican, a uniting figure who can bring together different factions of the GOP — and could help Romney win Florida.

Why he won’t be chosen: Being Romney’s running mate is “not in the cards for me,” Bush told ABC News on June 1. “I don’t know how many times I have to repeat this. I have been repeating it for the last two years. I’ve been pretty consistent…. I am not a candidate. I’m not going to be asked…. This will prove I’m not running for anything: If you could bring to me a majority of people to say that we are going to have $10 of spending cuts for $1 of revenue enhancement, put me in, coach.”

3. Marco Rubio: The Freudian slip
Why he’s in the veepstakes: The freshman senator from Florida is Latino, photogenic, and popular with the Tea Party, and he is popular at home, in the biggest of the swing states.

Why he won’t be chosen: “I don’t want to be the vice president,” Rubio told National Journal in April. “But you know he’s not going to ask. That doesn’t work. He’s watching this interview right now…. Three, four, five, six, seven years from now, if I do a good job as vice president — I’m sorry, if I do a good job as a senator instead of a vice president, I’ll have a chance to do all sorts of things, including commissioner of the NFL, which is where the real power is.”

4. Chris Christie: Too big to make the cut
Why he’s in the veepstakes: The tough-talking New Jersey governor has been campaigning for Romney since last fall, and he’s endeared himself to the Republican base by taking on public service unions as policy and politics — Christie’s short videos of himself verbally smacking down critics at town hall events have gone viral on YouTube.

Why he won’t be chosen: “Do I look like somebody’s vice president?” the famously portly Christie said at a December 2011 Romney rally in Iowa. “If you were a betting woman, I wouldn’t bet on Romney-Christie. I wouldn’t lay any money on that.”

[More]

Categories
Mitt Romney Politics

How to Purchase a Presidency – Mittens Gets a Huge Donation

Billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson is pumping $10 million into an outside group supporting GOP presumptive nominee Mitt Romney, the Associated Press and other news outlets report.

Adelson’s donation went to Restore Our Future, which has run ads to support Romney’s campaign and attack his opponents, the AP reports, citing anonymous sources. Charles Spies, Restore Our Future’s treasurer, declined to comment on donors. Adelson spokesman Ron Reese did not return telephone calls.

The donation is the latest sign deep-pocketed Republican donors are prepared to spend heavily to defeat President Obama through independent groups that can raise and spend unlimited amounts. Restore Our Future, a super PAC run by former Romney campaign aides, has collected $56.5 million between Jan. 1, 2011 and April 30 of this year, more than five times the amount raised by Priorities USA Action, a pro-Obama super PAC.

[USA Today]

Categories
Eric Holder eric holder Politics

John Cornyn Pulls a Political Stunt – Demands Eric Holder Resign

On Tuesday, Republican Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) demanded that Attorney General Eric Holder, a member of the Obama Administration, resign. “So, Mr. Attorney General, it’s more with sorrow than anger that I would say you leave me with no alternative but to join those who call upon you to resign your office,” Cornyn said.

The Republican Senator is calling on Mr. Holder to resign because of a program that started in 2007 under the Bush Administration called The Fast an Furious. The object of the program was to allow traceable guns to be smuggled into Mexico with the intention of pinpointing their locations and capturing some very bad people associated with the drug cartels . Unfortunately, an American Border Patrol Agant Brian Terry, was killed in December 2010 by a criminal using one of these guns and now Mr. Holder is in the hot seat.

Cornyn continued;

“You still resist coming clean about what you knew and when you knew it with regard to Operation Fast and Furious,” Cornyn charged. “You won’t cooperate with a legitimate congressional investigation, and you won’t hold anyone, including yourself, accountable. Your department blocks states from implementing attempts to combat voter fraud. In short, you’ve violated the public trust, in my view, by failing and refusing to perform the duties of your office.”

“So, Mr. Attorney General, it’s more with sorrow than anger that I would say you leave me with no alternative but to join those who call upon you to resign your office,” Cornyn said.

Calling Cornyn’s performance a political stunt, Holder replied that he is not resigning;

“With all due respect, senator, there is so much that’s factually wrong with the premises that you started your statement with, it’s almost breathtaking in its inaccuracy, but I will simply leave it at that.”

“… I don’t have any intention of resigning. I heard the White House press officer say yesterday that the President has absolute confidence in me. I don’t have any reason to believe that that, in fact, is not the case.”

And in reference to the documents Republicans are demanding, reports claim that Tuesday’s appearance marked the ninth time [Holder] has testified before Congress on Operation Fast and Furious. Holder said he was the one who ended “the misguided tactics” in that operation and who tapped an inspector general to investigate any wrongdoing. His staff has also provided Congress with more than 7,600 documents, in 46 separate installments, relating to the issue.

Categories
Politics

Panic! At The Obama Campaign? Really?

Did you know that the Democrats are panicking? It’s true. I know it because I read it in the media. Obama’s campaign is panicking. FOX News says that Obama’s panicking. Even Jim Messina, Obama’s campaign manager (and I’m pretty sure the other half of Loggins and Messina) worries about Democrats panicking.

Why the panic? Jobs numbers, dumb comments about the private economy being fine and a general sense that Obama just isn’t on his game obviously have the progressive left in a panic about the president’s chances in November. A closer look at what’s actually happening with the campaign shows that there is no need for panic, and, indeed, there is reason for optimism.

The conventional wisdom, until last week that is, was that Obama’s ads attacking Romney’s record at Bain Capital were doing more damage to Obama than to Mitt. Surprise! That’s not the case. In fact, the attacks have had their intended effect. More people have a negative view of private equity firms according to the latest polls. Imagine that; negative ads that produce negative responses towards your opponent. Perhaps the Republicans should try that.

The real wonder is that Democrats would entertain the idea that a negative ad aimed at Romney highlighting his past actions would somehow be off limits (do you hear me Bill?). This is the point in the campaign where you’d better define your opponent or they will define themselves. It’s exactly what the Romney campaign is trying to do on the economy and it’s what Obama needs to continue to do until the conventions.

The blabbering media narrative from last week also focused on the effects the dismal job numbers and Scott Walker’s win in Wisconsin would have on the president. What’s the reality? The latest polls show Obama holding on to his lead, though it is reduced from a month ago. Obama’s approval ratings? Gallup has him +4 and Rasmussen at -4, which are pretty much where Obama was a couple of days after the economic reports were released. Conclusion? The president is in decent shape. Even the folks at Intrade have Obama with a more than 52% chance of reelection. That is hardly a reason to panic.

The latest state polls also provide good news for Obama. He’s +6 in Pennsylvania, and a poll on Wednesday showing Romney ahead in North Carolina by 2 was really good news for the president because it also showed him inexplicably with only 78% of the African-American vote. Really? Anybody who believes that Mitt Romney is going to rack up 20+% of the African-American vote in November is either dreaming or on bath salts.

Ultimately, this race will be about the economy and jobs, and right now Obama has a jobs plan and Mitt doesn’t. Obama has a pragmatic foreign policy record and Mitt just wants to throw bombs at the world. Energy prices are down, marriage equality is up, and even Obama’s gaffe might help him in the long run.

I’m not panicking. This was always going to be a close race for a variety of reasons, and for all of the problems the president is currently having this month (with the health care ruling still to come), Obama is in good shape entering the summer. Romney has yet to tell us what he’d do as president and most polls say the public sides with Obama when it comes to balancing cuts with revenue and long-term investment in America.

Still, we all have those nervous moments. If you feel a panic attack coming on, let me soothe you at: www.facebook.com/WhereDemocracyLives and on Twitter @rigrundfest 

Categories
Mitt Romney Politics teachers

Doubling Down on Stupidity Is The Romney Way

I have a sinking suspicion that Romney believes voters aren’t terribly bright.

The main problem with Romney’s new line is that it doesn’t make any sense. “The federal government doesn’t pay for teachers, firefighters or policemen”? Well, actually, the federal government can provide resources to states and municipalities to either hire new teachers and first responders, or prevent layoffs that would otherwise be made. If Washington would do this, we’d see an immediate drop in the unemployment rate, but Republicans refuse to even consider the idea.

What’s more, when Romney says President Obama’s “new idea … didn’t work the first time,” that’s the exact opposite of reality. Obama’s new idea isn’t exactly new — the last three Republican presidents strengthened the national economy through public-sector hiring— and it worked perfectly when Obama protected these jobs in 2009. Here’s a possible follow-up question for Romney: when you say public-sector hiring didn’t work the first time, what in the world are you talking about?

And finally, Romney’s position from Friday hasn’t changed. He sees President Obama fighting for school teachers, police officers, and firefighters, and Romney’s still convinced the economy will be better off if those teachers and first responders are unemployed.

That’s not “completely absurd”; that’s just Romney’s stated position.

[The Maddow Blog]

Categories
Mitt Romney north carolina Politics

New Poll Gives Mitt Romney The Lead Against President In North Carolina

What are these people thinking, or are they even thinking? The same Mitt Romney who is promising to cut jobs if he becomes president is leading in North Carolina.

PPP’s newest North Carolina poll finds Mitt Romney leading Barack Obama 48-46. It’s a small lead but still significant in that it’s the first time we’ve found Romney ahead in our monthly polling of the state since October.

Romney’s gained 7 points on Obama in North Carolina since April, when the President led by a 49-44 margin. Since then Romney’s erased what was a 51-38 lead for Obama with independents and taken a 42-41 lead with that voting group. He’s also increased his share of the Democratic vote from 15% to 20%, suggesting he’s convincing some more conservative voters within the party to cross over.

Voters in the state have significantly warmed up to Romney in the couple of months since he sewed up the Republican nomination. 41% of voters have a favorable opinion of him to 46% with a negative one. Those numbers still aren’t great but they represent a 24 point improvement on the margin from April when Romney was at a -29 spread (29/58).

[PPP]

Categories
arrested News trayvon martin

George Zimmerman’s Wife Arrested for Perjury

George Zimmerman’s wife, Shellie, was booked into the John E. Polk Correctional Facility Tuesday on one count of perjury.

Deputies arrested Shellie Zimmerman, 25, where she was living around 3:30 p.m.

Earlier this month, prosecutors accused Shellie of lying to the court during a bond hearing for her husband in April. Shellie testified by phone about how much money they had, which turned out to be much more than originally claimed.

According to the probable cause affidavit, investigators looked into the financial records of George, Shellie, and George’s sister.

Investigators said the records showed that Shellie transferred more than $74,000 from George’s account to hers.

It was in recorded phone calls between George and Shellie, while he was in jail, that officials heard them discuss their finances and the transferring of money, investigators said.

[Bay News 9]

Categories
fail Mitt Romney Politics

Mitt Romney Thought He Destroyed All The Evidence From His Governorship, But…

So you want to know about Mitt Romney’s economic plan for America? Well in addition to listening to Romney himself, another good  place to look would be in Massachusetts. But wait, you say you can’t really find any information on Romney because he purchased all the computers used during his tenure and destroyed their harddrives? Okay, then it seems old Mittens has something to hide.

Thank goodness though, Romney couldn’t destroy all the evidence of his failed term as governor. There are still People around – those souls who served under his administration are still around and guess what? They know how to talk!

Listen to some of the stories from the people who knew and worked with Mitt.

Categories
Politics Wisconsin

President Obama – Presidential “Responsibilities” Kept Me From Wisconsin in Recall Election

President Obama says White House duties kept him away from Wisconsin during the recent recall election — and he doesn’t think the Democratic defeat there will mean much for his own re-election bid.

“I think probably you’ve got specific circumstances in Wisconsin,” Obama told WBAY-TV of Green Bay about the failed Democratic effort to recall Gov. Scott Walker.

When asked about supporters who were upset that Obama did not campaign for Democratic candidate Tom Barrett, Obama said: “The truth of the matter is that as President of the United States, I’ve got a lot of responsibilities.

“I was supportive of Tom and have been supportive of Tom,” Obama said. “Obviously, I would have loved to see a different result.”

[USA Today]

Categories
Religion

Pastor Frederick Haynes Supports President Obama’s “Personal Opinion” On Gay Marriage

With all the publicity given to some pastors who jumped in front the television cameras to voice their opinion on President Obama’s support for gay marriage, there is another pastor who is taking the President’s side. Needless to say, he is not on any popular talk show voicing his comments on the matter, but in the video below, he is seen preaching a very moving sermon explaining to his congregation that President Obama is not “Pastor of the United States, he is President of the United States.” And as President, Mr. Obama’s job is to uphold the Constitution and the rights that the Constitution provides to all Americans.

His name is Senior Pastor Frederick Haynes III, and part of his sermon is below.

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