Category Archives: Elections

June 5, 2011 · 10:54 am

Except for Romney, Most Voters Say They Would Never Vote for Best-Known GOP Candidates « Poll Watch Daily

Interesting…and more good news for President Obama.

No matter what happens, his biggest benefit, so far, to his re-election campaign is the very weak Republican field of potential opponents.

Base on polling it appears only Romney has a slight chance.  And I think Romney would be relatively easy to defeat based on his frequent changes of positions.  Talk about Flip Flopping…

And I hate to say it, but  I don’t think his Mormon religion is going to play well in the fundamentalist South- which the GOP has to carry to win.

Romney’s candidacy could be great fun and really freak out the South.  Having to choose between a Mormon and a Black man?  The whole region might have a collective nervous breakdown.  Or try to secede again…Or, hopefully, just stay home….

I think the people considering Romney right now are only thinking of voting for him because he looks like an aging Ken doll….

From PollWatchDaily.com

Many polls have noted the lack of enthusiasm for the GOP presidential field, particularly among the general electorate but also among Republicans. A new Pew Research Center poll drives the point home with the finding that out of the five best known potential nominees – those who at least half of voters say they have heard of – only Mitt Romney scores over 50 percent when those voters are asked if there is a good or at least some chance they would vote for him in a general election.

Eighty-two percent of voters have heard of Romney and 51 percent percent said there is a good or some chance they’d vote for him (with only 17 percent rating that probability as “good”), according to the survey conducted May 25-30. Forty-four percent say there is no chance they’d back him.

But a majority of voters, and in most cases a big majority, say there is no chance they’d vote for the other best-known Republicans.

Sarah Palin is known by 97 percent of voters but 63 percent said there was no chance they’d vote for her. Newt Gingrich is known by 86 percent, and 63 percent said there s no chance they’d vote for him.

via Except for Romney, Most Voters Say They Would Never Vote for Best-Known GOP Candidates « Poll Watch Daily.

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June 3, 2011 · 8:06 am

Democrats Emerge From White House Meeting Determined Not To Cave On Medicare, Taxes

They are definitely, finally on the right track- where they should have been two years ago.

Now, if only they will stand by their words….

From TalkingPointsMemo:

 

House Democrats emerged from a White House meeting with President Obama confident that the GOP Medicare plan has Republicans on the ropes and more determined than ever to ensure that tax increases on the wealthiest Americans are included in any long-term debt-reduction package.

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said the meeting was “very productive” and a “great exchange of ideas.”

In negotiations with Republicans to raise the debt-ceiling and reduce the ballooning debt, Pelosi said Democrats and the President are committed to strengthening the middle class and reducing the debt with “balance” and “fairness.”

She also said that the primary focus of the meetings was on greater job creation.

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said Democrats and Obama have clear objectives in the negotiations: “We need to bring the deficits down and make sure Medicare is strengthened and preserved.”

“The President said failure is not an option” when it comes to raising the debt-ceiling, added Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA). “…We will make sure the middle class and seniors will not be stiff armed in these budget negotiations.”

House Republicans and Democrats are under increasing pressure to stop the bickering, especially when it comes to raising the debt ceiling.

via Democrats Emerge From White House Meeting Determined Not To Cave On Medicare, Taxes | TPMDC.

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June 1, 2011 · 8:12 pm

The Bin Laden Decade

Great article from Thomas Friedman in today’s New York Times is worth reading in its entirety.

I especially like his assertion that governments only govern based on either Fear or Trust.

The Arab world is losing it’s fear of government and we have lost our trust in government.

That makes for a scary and complicated time ahead….

Here is a brief excerpt from the middle of the column:

In America, President George W. Bush used the post-9/11 economic dip to push through a second tax cut we could not afford. He followed that with a Medicare prescription drug entitlement we cannot afford and started two wars in the wake of 9/11 without raising taxes to pay for them — all at a time when we should have been saving money in anticipation of the baby boomers’ imminent retirement. As such, our nation’s fiscal hole is deeper than ever and Republicans and Democrats — rather than coming together and generating the political authority needed for us to take our castor oil to compensate for our binge — are just demonizing one another.

As the Israeli political theorist Yaron Ezrahi points out, governance is based on authority “that is generated in one of two ways — by trust or by fear. Both of those sources of authority are disintegrating right now.” The Arab leaders governed by fear, and their people are not afraid anymore. And the Western democracies governed by generating trust, but their societies today are more splintered than ever.

via The Bin Laden Decade – NYTimes.com.

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June 1, 2011 · 8:08 pm

Poll: GOP Medicare-Ending Budget Bigger Political Fumble Than First Thought

Like I’ve said, the Democrats are known for shooting themselves in the foot. But luckily the GOP just shot themselves in the head….

From TalkingPointsMemo.com:

It doesn’t take much political savvy to note that Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) Medicare-destroying budget plan hasn’t panned out all that well for the GOP. But a new poll out from advocates for the Democratic health care law shows that the Ryan budget fail goes even deeper than embarrassed presidential candidates and special election upsets.

Not only does the poll show huge opposition to Ryan’s plan to replace Medicare with a voucher system, the poll shows Democrats winning the credibility war when it comes to Medicare and “protecting the middle class.” And — in a jolt of good news for the White House and Democrats — the numbers show that when voters are given Ryan budget messaging from opponents, support for the Democratic health care law actually goes up slightly in response.

I’ve seen the same types of responses in several other polls today…..

Now, if the Dems just don’t cave in during the negotiations over the debt ceiling, they have a-  probably the- winning issue for the 2012 elections.

And the GOP has got to agree to increase the debt ceiling or Wall Street-who owns most of the government-  will have a nervous breakdown.

They really have no bargaining legs to stand on….

But that’s not stopped the Dems from caving in the past…

via Poll: GOP Medicare-Ending Budget Bigger Political Fumble Than First Thought | TPMDC.

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May 31, 2011 · 11:00 pm

Against Learned Helplessness – NYTimes.com

More wisdom from Paul Krugman…

He’s right…

As usual…

The voice of common sense in the wilderness.

Bear in mind that the unemployed aren’t jobless because they don’t want to work, or because they lack the necessary skills. There’s nothing wrong with our workers — remember, just four years ago the unemployment rate was below 5 percent.

The core of our economic problem is, instead, the debt — mainly mortgage debt — that households ran up during the bubble years of the last decade. Now that the bubble has burst, that debt is acting as a persistent drag on the economy, preventing any real recovery in employment. And once you realize that the overhang of private debt is the problem, you realize that there are a number of things that could be done about it.

For example, we could have W.P.A.-type programs putting the unemployed to work doing useful things like repairing roads — which would also, by raising incomes, make it easier for households to pay down debt. We could have a serious program of mortgage modification, reducing the debts of troubled homeowners. We could try to get inflation back up to the 4 percent rate that prevailed during Ronald Reagan’s second term, which would help to reduce the real burden of debt.

So there are policies we could be pursuing to bring unemployment down. These policies would be unorthodox — but so are the economic problems we face. And those who warn about the risks of action must explain why these risks should worry us more than the certainty of continued mass suffering if we do nothing.

In pointing out that we could be doing much more about unemployment, I recognize, of course, the political obstacles to actually pursuing any of the policies that might work. In the United States, in particular, any effort to tackle unemployment will run into a stone wall of Republican opposition. Yet that’s not a reason to stop talking about the issue. In fact, looking back at my own writings over the past year or so, it’s clear that I too have sinned: political realism is all very well, but I have said far too little about what we really should be doing to deal with our most important problem.

As I see it, policy makers are sinking into a condition of learned helplessness on the jobs issue: the more they fail to do anything about the problem, the more they convince themselves that there’s nothing they could do. And those of us who know better should be doing all we can to break that vicious circle.

via Against Learned Helplessness – NYTimes.com.

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May 31, 2011 · 9:00 pm

CNN Poll: Obama’s Approval Rating Edges Up

Great news…

Now if the economy doesn’t tank- more- he should be fine for re-election next year…

The GOP Primary season is going to be the Greatest Show on Earth with all the clowns they have running…

That will only make President Obama look better to the electorate…

Bring on Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann!

President Barack Obama’s performance on national security and international affairs and his image as a strong leader appear to be behind his rising approval rating, according to new national poll conducted as the president was on an overseas visit to four countries.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Monday indicates that Obama’s approval rating among Americans stands at 54 percent, with 45 percent saying they disapprove of the job he’s doing as president. Obama’s approval rating appears to have steadily risen in the past two months, from 48 percent in early April to 52 percent in early May and the current mark of 54 percent.

“On specific issues, the president’s approval rating is over 50 percent on only three out of 11 items tested, and all three – terrorism, Afghanistan, and Iraq – are foreign or security issues,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. “But his approval rating on every domestic issue listed in the poll is well below 50 and on most of them – including the economy, health care, taxes, and the budget deficit – his rating has remained flat or dropped since the start of the year.”

via CNN Poll: Obama’s approval rating edges up thanks to foreign policy – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs.

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May 30, 2011 · 9:00 pm

Eric Cantor On ‘Face The Nation’: Disaster Relief For Joplin Tornado Victims Must Be Offset

This guy really is a disgrace on so many levels….

Totally heartless…

On Sunday, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) reiterated his position that disaster relief funds for the tornado victims in Joplin, Missouri must be paid for with cuts to other programs. “Congress will find the money,” Cantor said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” “And it will be offset.”

“I know that America is just stunned by the scope of devastation and loss and the horrific tragedy that the people of Joplin and other places across the country really are experiencing this tornado season,” Cantor said. The federal government typically pays for disaster relief, but Cantor has said repeatedly that the government must maintain fiscal discipline. On Sunday, he compared the situation to that of a family putting off buying a new care when a family member became ill.

“When a family is struck with tragedy — like the family of Joplin … let’s say if they had $10,000 set aside to do something else with, to buy a new car … and then they were struck with a sick member of the family or something, and needed to take that money to apply it to that, that’s what they would do, because families don’t have unlimited money. And, really, neither does the federal government.”

Democratic lawmakers from districts hit by the storms have blasted Republicans for talking about the need to pay for an emergency package, HuffPost’s Jennifer Bendery reported:

“Where is his heart?” Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-Mo.) said of Cantor. “Where is his compassion for people who are suffering today?”

“If they want to fight and quibble over the supplemental, I mean, they are heartless. What’s wrong with them?” Clay said. “Nothing for the average American community. That’s what they’re saying: we don’t have anything for the average American community.”

via Eric Cantor On ‘Face The Nation’: Disaster Relief For Joplin Tornado Victims Must Be Offset (VIDEO).

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May 28, 2011 · 6:30 pm

Why the Democratic Party Has Abandoned the Middle Class in Favor of the Rich | | AlterNet

Great article from Kevin Drum at “Mother Jones” reposted at Alternet.com.

This is really worth reading if you are still tying to figure out why things did not turn out as well as some of us hoped after the 2008 Elections…

In 2008, a liberal Democrat was elected president. Landslide votes gave Democrats huge congressional majorities. Eight years of war and scandal and George W. Bush had stigmatized the Republican Party almost beyond redemption. A global financial crisis had discredited the disciples of free-market fundamentalism, and Americans were ready for serious change.

Or so it seemed. But two years later, Wall Street is back to earning record profits, and conservatives are triumphant. To understand why this happened, it’s not enough to examine polls and tea parties and the makeup of Barack Obama’s economic team. You have to understand how we fell so short, and what we rightfully should have expected from Obama’s election. And you have to understand two crucial things about American politics.

More:  Why the Democratic Party Has Abandoned the Middle Class in Favor of the Rich | | AlterNet.

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May 26, 2011 · 8:39 pm

John Edwards Plea Deal Possible As Potential Indictment Looms?

Speaking as a former supporter, he just needs to settle this and go away…

We’re all tired of him and his tacky ways.  I’ve always believed “Class will tell and the lack of it even faster”.

It took us way too long to find out the truth on Johnny Boy- he has none.

Now that we know all this, there is no possible “rehabilitation” of his image that I can see…

He just needs to go away….

From Huffington Post:

John Edwards is considering a plea deal that would allow him to avert a looming indictment in a more than two year investigation into alleged campaign finance violations, North Carolina station WRAL reports.

The AP relays background on the case:

Edwards’ mistress Rielle Hunter has sued former campaign aide Andrew Young to have a sex tape and other items returned to her. Young has said he helped cover up Edwards’ affair during the 2008 presidential campaign and worked for months to keep Hunter in hiding.

Edwards has admitted to the affair and fathering Hunter’s child. She worked as a videographer in 2006 for Edwards’ political action committee.

Edwards’ lawyer, Gregory Craig, issued a statement on Wednesday denying his client broke the law. “The government’s theory is wrong on the facts and wrong on the law. It is novel and untested. There is no civil or criminal precedent for such a prosecution,” he said.

Ben Smith at Politico reported on Thursday:

Two other sources in the Edwards camp also said that his own legal team is in deep discussions with their client — himself an almost legendary star of the North Carolina trial bar — over whether he should accept the risk and expense of a criminal trial or sacrifice his law license and possibly his freedom with a guilty plea that might nonetheless represent a real chance for reinventing his tattered public image.

ABC’s James Hill reported on Thursday night:

Multiple sources at the estate of Rachel “Bunny” Mellon confirm to ABC News that the former North Carolina senator met Mellon today for lunch at her sprawling compound in Northern Virginia.

The AP elaborates on the significance of Bunny’s role in relation to the probe into Edwards’ conduct:

According to the network, the reason for the meeting remains unknown. Young has said that Edwards agreed in 2007 to solicit money directly from Rachel “Bunny” Mellon, the 100-year-old widow of banking heir Paul Mellon. Young has said he received hundreds of thousands of dollars in checks from Mellon for his use and Hunter’s, with some of the checks hidden in boxes of chocolate.

Mellon’s attorney has said she didn’t know where the money was going but intended it as a personal gift.

via John Edwards Plea Deal Possible As Potential Indictment Looms? (VIDEO).

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May 26, 2011 · 7:00 am

Texas Gov. Perry Thinking About Presidential Bid

I knew they would get around to him eventually….

The GOP did so well with their last empty-headed Texas Governor/Figurehead…

All I can think is how the late, great Molly Ivins always called him Rick”Good Hair” Perry…

Good Hair/ Empty Head….

From Political Wire:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s (R) chief political strategist, Dave Carney, tells the Texas Tribune Perry is probably mulling a presidential bid.

Said Carney: “Obviously, it’s flattering to have everybody, Rush Limbaugh and all these other conservative, right-of-center leaders, talk about you, urging you to think about it, urging you to run, saying they support you. But I don’t see any difference in terms of the governor’s thinking… I’m sure he’s thinking about it because it’s just human nature when you have Rush Limbaugh spend 20 minutes talking about you and have all these other people mention you, that you don’t sort of think that’s flattering and think about it. But I don’t see any change in his direction, what he’s planning to do.”

via Perry Thinking About Presidential Bid.

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