Category: Politics

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Mitt Romney Politics

We Have A Winner

It’s been a long time coming, but we finally have incontrovertible evidence that Mitt Romney will be the Republican nominee for president in 2012. Of course, forward-thinking readers of the Farmer Blog know that this was a foregone conclusion because they read it here, here, here, here, and, oh yeah, here.

Just sayin’

Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, and Newt Gingrich put up a heck of a fight and did more to dent, ding, derail and at times demoralize Romney and his supporters, and for that Obama voters can be eternally grateful. Romney’s comments about trees in Michigan or how many Cadillacs he has also hurt him and planted in people’s minds just how wealthy he is, but I suspect that those independents who will decide the race will forgive him if the economy stalls or he’s able to make the case that Obama doesn’t deserve a second term. The president is already running a spot that highlights Romney’s conservatism in anticipation of Mitt coming back to the center for the general campaign.

For his part, Romney will have difficulty running away from some of the harder right positions he took in the primaries, especially support of the contraception and abortion legislation that has alienated women from the GOP. Winning them back is possible, but it’s always more difficult to do that if women’s attitudes have already hardened. Look for Romney to try to be warmer and fuzzier, but that’s not playing to his strength. Right now he’s about as warm as the Titanic’s iceberg and as fuzzy as a Brillo Pad. And if he says any more rich-guy stuff he’ll be in real trouble.

As challenger, Romney is in a position where he’ll need to remind Americans that times are still bad and he’ll need to hope that they don’t improve or improve so slowly that he can label Obama as inept on the economy. Job growth slowed in March, but as the economy improves, and it is improving, Romney will need to accentuate the negative at a time when he’ll need to project a positive image. Tough to do.

Gas prices are another issue that he’ll use against Obama, but there are signs that prices are peaking at the pumps. Plus, the media is finally catching on to the fact that we are now a net exporter of fuel and are finding sources of energy in places unimaginable 10 years ago. This is also tricky for Romney because he’s essential saying that Obama should fiddle with the free market to lower prices, which is something that runs exactly opposite to the GOP’s free market ideology.

The President has his work cut out for him as well. The right-wing PACs have much more money than his left-wing supporters, and Romney was tremendously successful at using that money, and his, to beat back a zesty challenge from Gingrich and then Santorum, both of whom were running shoestring campaigns. Romney’s message will find some sympathetic ears in the battleground states, and although polls show Obama ahead nationally, that support will weaken somewhat under an onslaught of advertisements and right-wing media messages.

Here are links to analyses of what both Romney and Obama need to do to win. We’ll look at more as the race proceeds.

The latest polls show Obama’s job approval in positive territory and he’s presently in command of the Electoral College. I would certainly expect these numbers to change, but it’s always nice to be in the lead when the campaign starts.

For more, please go to www.facebook.com/WhereDemocracyLives and Twitter @rigrundfest  

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Politics

What’s Wrong With Millionaires Paying The Same Rate You Pay?

President Obama once again called on Congress to pass the Buffett Rule – a policy initiative being pushed by Democrats that requires millionaires and billionaires to pay “their fair share” in taxes. The president admitted that although millionaires and billionaires paying more in taxes will not solve the budget crisis, he said the extra revenue would help reduce the federal debt and pay for government investments in programs like education.

“One in four millionaires pays a lower tax rate than millions of hardworking middle-class households,” the president said. “It’s just plain wrong that middle-class Americans pay a higher share of their income in taxes than some millionaires and billionaires.”

The Senate will vote on the Buffet Rule next week.

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Mitt Romney Politics quotes Republican

Some of Rick Santorum’s Best Quotes about Mitt Romney

With Santorum officially out-of-the-way, the focus now turns to the general election between Mitt Romney, the last man/robot carrying the Republican banner and President Obama – America’s only legitimate choice for 2012.

But with Santorum gone and the Republican establishment trying to clean up the mess he left behind, there is one remnant of the Santorum that will stay with us forever – his priceless quotes about his fellow Republican, Mittens.

Here are just a some of his best. 

”They are not going to nominate a moderate Massachusetts governor who’s been outspending his opponent 10-1 and can’t win the election outright. What chance do we have in a general election if he can’t, with an overwhelming money advantage, be able to deliver any kind of knockout blow to other candidates?” — NBC’s “Today,” March 12, 2012.

”Do you really believe this country wants to elect a Wall Street financier as the president of the United States? Do you think that’s the kind of experience that we need?” — Rockford, Ill., March 19, 2012.

”Conservatives will not trust (Romney), will not rally around him.” — Conference call with reporters, March 5, 2012.

”Are you going to vote for someone that says one thing one day, anything else the next day that’s necessary to win? Or are you going to vote for someone you trust?” — Feb. 25, 2012, Troy, Mich.

”He’s got a lot of money, but he doesn’t have the convictions, the authenticity nor the record that is necessary to win this election.” — Jan. 17, 2012, South Carolina.

”Pick any other Republican in the country. (Romney) is the worst Republican in the country to put up against Barack Obama.” — March 25, 2012, Franksville, Wis.

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Newt Gingrich Politics

Newt Gingrich’s Check, Bouncing Like a Rubber Ball

Five Republicans have filed the necessary papers and $500 fee to qualify for the June 26 Utah presidential primary election, but with Rick Santorum dropping out of the race Tuesday, only four will be on the ballot.

Or possibly three.

Utah Elections Director Mark Thomas said a designated agent for the Gingrich campaign brought the filing papers and a check for $500 in March, but the state was notified by the bank that the check had bounced. He said the office has tried to contact the Gingrich campaign through the telephone number and email provided on the application, but has not received a response.

Recently, the state sent a certified letter to the campaign, stating that if the fee isn’t paid by April 20, Gingrich will be disqualified and will not be on the ballot.

Source: The Salt Lake Tribune

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Politics

Oil Executives to Congress – We Don’t Need Your Stinkin’ $4 Billion Yearly Subsidy

Why exactly are we subsidizing the oil industry by the tune of $4 billion dollars a year, when the oil executives themselves already testified that they don’t need our subsidies. And especially when oil companies are making billions in profits a year, and more especially when prices at the gas pump getting higher by the day?

Why are we doing it? Because Republicans wont allow this loophole to end, that’s why.

Below, watch and listen to the executives themselves as they tell Congress they don’t need our stinkin’ $4 billion subsidy!

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Politics Rick Santorum

Rick Santorum is Now Quitting The Presidential Race

The Hill is reporting that Rick Santorum will drop out of the presidential race Tuesday afternoon, according to a campaign consultant, essentially guaranteeing Mitt Romney the GOP nomination.

Santorum will make the announcement at an event in his home state of Pennsylvania — his first public appearance following the release of his daughter from the hospital and after he took a break from the campaign trail for a long Easter weekend.

His decision comes after a slew of primary losses made it harder for him to catch Romney in the delegate count and it follows a meeting the former Pennsylvania senator had with conservative leaders last week to discuss his path forward.

It will now be up to Romney and Gingrich to provide all the GOP craziness.

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Citizens United Politics

The Supreme Court Will Reconsider ‘Citizens United’

The Supreme Court has agreed to take a case that justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer say will give it a chance to rethink its infamous Citizens United v. FEC decision. The court is being asked to look into a Montana Supreme Court decision stating that its law restricting corporate election spending in state elections is fine, because it “arises from Montana history,” UPI reports. Essentially, Montana is arguing that Citizens United only applies to federal laws and elections, not state ones.

Two Montana corporations are asking the court to make a summary judgment to the contrary; their lead counsel argues that otherwise, “free speech will be seriously harmed,” because states anywhere could “ban core political speech.” But Ginsburg and Breyer earlier wrote that the case “will give the Court an opportunity to consider whether, in light of the huge sums currently deployed to buy candidates’ allegiance, Citizens United should continue to hold sway.”

Source: Newser

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Politics

Report Finds Republican Gov. Chris Christie Lied – What Else Is New?

Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey exaggerated when he declared that unforeseen costs to the state were forcing him to cancel the new train tunnel planned to relieve congested routes across the Hudson River, according to a long-awaited report by independent Congressional investigators.

The report by the Government Accountability Office, to be released this week, found that while Mr. Christie said that state transportation officials had revised cost estimates for the tunnel to at least $11 billion and potentially more than $14 billion, the range of estimates had in fact remained unchanged in the two years before he announced in 2010 that he was shutting down the project. And state transportation officials, the report says, had said the cost would be no more than $10 billion.

Mr. Christie also misstated New Jersey’s share of the costs: he said the state would pay 70 percent of the project; the report found that New Jersey was paying 14.4 percent. And while the governor said that an agreement with the federal government would require the state to pay all cost overruns, the report found that there was no final agreement, and that the federal government had made several offers to share those costs.

Source: The New York Times

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Barack Obama Politics Ronald Reagan

These People are Not Reagan Republicans, These People Are Impostors

Ronald Reagan, the god of the Conservative agenda, said this, “do you think the millionaire ought to pay more than the bus driver or less?” The audience is heard in the background screaming, “MORE!”

The clip below compares what was said back in the 1980’s under the Reagan Republican presidency, to what is said now under the Obama Democratic presidency. The similarities between the two presidents on the issue of taxes are uncanny, and those similarities are what we now refer to as the Buffett Rule – asking the wealthiest among us to pay more in taxes than the average bus driver or secretary.

Today’s version of the Republican party believes that the poor should pay more than the rich and they go out of their way – even signing various pledges – to make sure the rich gets more at the expense of the poor… a move often called class warfare.

So while praising their leader, we will never hear today’s Republicans talk about Reagan’s position on taxes because these people are of a totally different breed than Reagan. The people we see  masquerading around as Republicans are what we can affectionately call impostors!

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Mitt Romney Politics

Saturday Night Live Discovers Mitt Romney… The Chameleon

The good people at Saturday Night Live brings us Mitt Romney just the way we have seen him before – as the Republican presidential campaigner who have mastered the art of determining what his audience wants to hear, then magically transform himself into what that particular audience is looking for.

Ladies and gentleman, the Chameleon… Mitt Romney… as portrayed by Saturday Night Live.

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Elizabeth Warren Politics

Elizabeth Warren Raises Twice as Much as Scott Brown in Quarter

Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren (D) has posted another mammoth fundraising quarter, raising $6.9 million in the first three months of the year, more than double the $3.4 million haul of Republican Sen. Scott Brown.

Warren raised $5.7 million in the fourth quarter on 2011, teeing up sky-high expectations for the first three months of 2012. But once, again, she’s set a new precedent for fundraising prowess.

Warren campaign manager Mindy Myers said that 83 percent of Warren’s donations since Jan. 1 have been $50 or less.

Source: Hotline On Call

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contraception Politics war on women

The Catholic Church Vows to Continue Fighting the Contraception Issue

This is one fight the Catholic Church is up for. They have found their voice and are determined to make the Contraception issue their main goal.

The issue – for those who have already moved on to more important things – is a policy that many Republican governors and the last Republican president have maintained over the last decade. It deals with providing contraception to women as part of their insurance coverage without a co-pay. This issue was not a problem for the Church when Republicans brought it up and in some cases demanded the Church pay for the coverage. But now that President Obama is continuing the policy, suddenly, the Bishops are up in arms.

Their argument it seems, states that requiring Religious organizations to provide contraception to their employees without a co-pay is immoral. So to satisfy the Bishops’ concern, the administration removed the requirement that religious organizations must pay for this benefit and placed that requirement on the insurance providers themselves.

But apparently, this move by the administration was not enough as Cardinal Timothy Dolan told CBS’s Face The Nation on Sunday, “we didn’t ask for the fight, but we’re not going to back away from it.”

Meanwhile, Republican Paul Ryan and Congressional Republicans have all agreed on a budget that will strip needed services from the poor and put more money into the pockets of the rich. If Ryan’s budget passes, medicare as we know it along with other services that benefits the poor will end.

So far, these same Bishops and the Catholic Church are silent on the Ryan Budget.

The conclusion: Giving women the right to have contraception – something over 90% of Catholic women already enjoy – is a big no-no and the Church is willing to fight with everything they have to keep the dreaded contraception out of their hands. However, take away life saving benefits from the poor and the Catholic Church is apparently okay with that!

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