Day: July 3, 2012

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Politics

Republican Governor Rejects Voter ID Laws in Michigan

Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan surprised his fellow Republicans on Tuesday, refusing to sign two bills that would have required voters to show photo identification before obtaining an absentee ballot. The vetoes are an election-year rarity for the party, which has pressed for tougher voter identification laws nationwide.

They were passed by lawmakers two weeks ago. “These reforms will make a good election system even better by adding appropriate safeguards and improving transparency,” Mr. Snyder said. He said the vetoed bills “could create voter confusion among absentee voters.”

Sara Wurfel, a spokeswoman for the governor, said that confusion had to do with a part of the bills that would have made voters check a citizenship box before receiving a ballot. Mr. Snyder suggested that verification of a person’s citizenship should be done only once, when a voter is first registered, she said.

Categories
Healthcare michael steele ObamaCare Tax

Michael Steele Confirms Only Small Percentage Of Americans Will Pay Penalty

Michael Steele, the former head of the Republican National Committee is not buying into the Republican talking points. Ever since the Supreme Court came out supporting the President’s healthcare reform law, Republicans have been on a rampage telling everyone who would listen that this law – also called ObamaCare – will be the biggest tax on middle class America. And not to be outdone, Rush Limbaugh, the unofficial official mouthpiece of the Republican party is telling his faithful radio following that ObamaCare would be the biggest tax “in the history of the world!”

Of course it’s all a lie, but that’s not stopping these Republicans from using fear to control their base. So imagine my surprise when Michael Steele went on MSNBC’s Hardball and told the truth!

Asked about the law and the fact that Americans are buying into the Republican lie, Steele admitted that the tax/penalty would only be on a small group of Americans who decides not to follow the law.

there is that element of confusion that now exist out there. You’re talking about a small percentage of people, those who does not comply with the law who would be subject to this penalty/tax. But the broader population thinks it applies to them.

Categories
Barack Obama Mitt Romney Politics

Obama Vs Romney – Insourcing Vs Outsourcing. You Choose

A new ad by the Obama campaign draws a contrast between the President and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney. The narrator in the ad begins by saying, “what a president believes matters.” He then goes on to describe how Mitt Romney was a “pioneer in outsourcing American jobs to low wage countries.”

Compare that to President Obama, who the narrator says “believes in insourcing” and “saved the auto industry.” The President also “favors tax cuts for companies that bring jobs home.”

In an economy that need jobs, seems the choice is obvious. Insourcing vs Outsourcing? Obama vs Romney – You choose!

Categories
Health Care Healthcare ObamaCare

Americans To Republicans – Leave ObamaCare Alone, Move On Already!

A new poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation taken after the Supreme Court upheld ObamaCare finds a majority of Americans are tired of the Republican’s efforts to repeal President Obama’s Healthcare law.

This poll fielded following the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the heart of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) finds a majority of Americans (56 percent) now say they would like to see the law’s detractors stop their efforts to block its implementation and move on to other national problems.

Democrats overwhelmingly say opponents should move on to other issues (82 percent), as do half (51 percent) of independents and a quarter (26 percent) of Republicans.  But, seven in ten Republicans (69 percent) say they want to see efforts to stop the law continue, a view shared by 41 percent of independents and 14 percent of Democrats.

The public is also divided in its emotional reaction to the decision, with similar shares reporting being angry (17 percent) and enthusiastic (18 percent).  Negative emotions run highest among Republicans who support the Tea Party movement, with 49 percent of this group saying they are angry at the decision.

But what Americans want means nothing to Republicans, as John Boehner and Mitch McConnell are still promising to repeal the law.

Categories
Immigration Immigration Reform Politics

Tough Week For The Right

Remember the beginning of June? Lousy jobs numbers, Obama’s muddled message and the popular assumption that the president was going to lose court cases on immigration and health care? Hope and change came quickly and it’s the Republicans who are back on their heels. For now.

Not only was the Supreme Court’s health care decision a deflating coda to the term that also saw most of Arizona’s immigration law struck down (though the right can still claim a victory over checking papers), the news that Chief Justice Roberts actually changed his decision is proving to be too much on the rightward flank. Never mind  that the court struck at the heart of the left wing’s argument that the Commerce Clause allows Congress to require people to buy health care, or that the states would lose all of their Medicaid funds if they don’t comply with ACA. That turncoat Roberts voted to uphold the law!

What’s worse is that the Republican message machine went into overdrive, using the court’s ruling to call Obama a taxer gone crazy, only to have Mitt Romney say that it’s not a tax. Conservatives already suspicious about Mitt’s devotion to their cause will turn even redder over that.

The polls are not being any kinder to Romney as support for the health care law rose after the decision, though a majority still do not support it. The silver lining is that the GOP base is fired up big time and that could pay dividends in November.

But Mitt is not the only Republican facing headwinds. Chris Christie called a special session of the New Jersey Legislature on Monday to get the Democrats to support his proposed tax cut, but to no avail. He even tried to make some room in the budget by line item vetoing $650 million dollars worth of social programs that serve women and children, but those darn lefties wouldn’t budge. 

This is but one week in a long campaign, but the GOP was banking on a health care win to bolster their summer message. It might actually work to their advantage to have the ruling go against them because their fundraising has increased and Obama is still polling below 50% in most surveys. Still, I think they saw a different scenario and Mitt’s going off message will not help. More fireworks for the fourth of July.

Ain’t this a great country?

There’s more patriotic gore at www.facebook.com/WhereDemocracyLives and on Twitter @rigrundfest

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