U.S. 2012 Election
- Thread starter a_majoor
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E.R. Campbell said:
My read is that even the neo-cons have decided to sit this one out. The rift seems to be establishment vs socially conservative right wing.
Either way you cut it though, the GOP is taking a beating in the opinion polls amongst key groups they need to win.
The Canadian media goes Mach 1 over scooped chopper flight . . . can you imagine the hysterics if PM Harper pulled even a fraction of this story.
"The U.S. Air Force is pulling nine cargo aircraft from military operations to support President Barrack Obama’s stepped-up visits to campaign events.
The five medium-capacity C-130s and four heavyweight C-17s will be used to ferry security vehicles, armored limousines and communications gear into cities ahead of Obama’s campaign appearances.
In the months before November, the president is expected to fly into multiple cities per week, and speak at multiple sites per day. On Mar. 8, for example, the president will fly to Richmond, and then drive over to a Rolls-Royce aircraft-parts factory. That evening, he’ll fly down to Houston, Texas.
His wife, the Vice President and many of his cabinet secretaries are using the Air Force’s fleet of VIP aircraft to visit more states as the election season speeds up.
The nine cargo aircraft will begin operations in April, said Maj. Michelle Lai, communications officer for the Air Force’s 89th Airlift Wing. "
http://dailycaller.com/2012/03/09/obamas-campaign-gets-more-usaf-aircraft/
"The U.S. Air Force is pulling nine cargo aircraft from military operations to support President Barrack Obama’s stepped-up visits to campaign events.
The five medium-capacity C-130s and four heavyweight C-17s will be used to ferry security vehicles, armored limousines and communications gear into cities ahead of Obama’s campaign appearances.
In the months before November, the president is expected to fly into multiple cities per week, and speak at multiple sites per day. On Mar. 8, for example, the president will fly to Richmond, and then drive over to a Rolls-Royce aircraft-parts factory. That evening, he’ll fly down to Houston, Texas.
His wife, the Vice President and many of his cabinet secretaries are using the Air Force’s fleet of VIP aircraft to visit more states as the election season speeds up.
The nine cargo aircraft will begin operations in April, said Maj. Michelle Lai, communications officer for the Air Force’s 89th Airlift Wing. "
http://dailycaller.com/2012/03/09/obamas-campaign-gets-more-usaf-aircraft/
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Haletown said:
Similar to the uproar that went out when the Sec. Service bought 2 armored tour buses after the last election. McCAin bitched that they weren't American (assembled in Canada, but the main chassis and powertrain was US built).
Turns out it was cheaper than leasing them, doing the conversions and then undoing it after the election, which is what they had done in the previous couple of elections.
Brad Sallows
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Simpson et al: you guys are right; you win. The GOP is going down the toilet. The Republicans are unable to produce a stellar candidate such as the great luminaries Al "Temper Tantrum" Gore and John "What Yacht Taxes?" Kerry. I suppose people have lost sight of the fact that the winner of the GOP primary will run against Barack Obama, not Jesus Christ. And, undoubtedly the Republicans will be shellacked in the House, Senate, and all the state elections. I guess we'll have to wait and see how bad it is.
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I would like to suggest that those of you interested in the circus that is our Presidential campaign follow Real Clear Politics and Professor Sabato's Chrystal Ball.
http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/?state=nwa
http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/?state=nwa
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Brad Sallows said:
:not-again:
Nobody has said this would be a cake walk for Obama.
And yes, the Dems have had their share of dud candidates as well.
But pretty much all of the talking heads for both sides are saying that the drawn out primary is doing more harm than good. And barring a suprise candidate coming in late, Romney will be the eventual nominee. And the longer this goes on, the harder it becomes for Romney in the general election to appear as credible, when he moves back towards the center. And it's doubtful he would regain his losses with independent voters. Latest polls show him at 22% favorable with that key block.
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cupper said:OK, I'm going to ignore the obvious Redeye = Nobody set-up. >
Redeye is a Pod person.
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Technoviking said:
Barring a change of direction in the GOP, which may happen after primaries as Mr. Campbell said, it's looking that way. At the very least the primary process is giving the DNC loads of ad material for when the campaign begins.
Steyn summarizes Fluke . . .
"No, the most basic issue here is not religious morality, individual liberty, or fiscal responsibility. It’s that a society in which middle-aged children of privilege testify before the most powerful figures in the land to demand state-enforced funding for their sex lives at a time when their government owes more money than anyone has ever owed in the history of the planet is quite simply nuts."
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/293094/fluke-charade-mark-steyn
"No, the most basic issue here is not religious morality, individual liberty, or fiscal responsibility. It’s that a society in which middle-aged children of privilege testify before the most powerful figures in the land to demand state-enforced funding for their sex lives at a time when their government owes more money than anyone has ever owed in the history of the planet is quite simply nuts."
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/293094/fluke-charade-mark-steyn
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This campaign ultimately will resolve whether numbers or narrative will triumph. The Democrats have chosen "class warfare" narrative as their underlying theme. Demanding "the rich" pay more taxes, berating business for not investing and the support for the "occupy" movement are all samples of the Democrat narrative.
OTOH the economic numbers are dreadful; a simple comparison of 2007 unemployment figures (4.4%) vs the "official"(and false) 8% or the real 10% (or the even more astonishing U6 at 14%) will make it difficult for the administration to answer any criticism of their economic record. And this is not the only set of figures; sluggish GDP growth, massive increases in debt and the deficit, the wastage of taxpayer dollars via crony capitalism and inflation in fuel and food prices all paint a totally negative picture of the Administration's policies.
Unemployment and inflation is probably the key figures; regardless of how the legacy media spins the numbers, far too many people are either directly affected or know someone who is to make sunny media announcements believable. Besides, how many "recovery summers" can you have without there being any recovery? The story of the boy who cried wolf applies here as well.
OTOH the economic numbers are dreadful; a simple comparison of 2007 unemployment figures (4.4%) vs the "official"(and false) 8% or the real 10% (or the even more astonishing U6 at 14%) will make it difficult for the administration to answer any criticism of their economic record. And this is not the only set of figures; sluggish GDP growth, massive increases in debt and the deficit, the wastage of taxpayer dollars via crony capitalism and inflation in fuel and food prices all paint a totally negative picture of the Administration's policies.
Unemployment and inflation is probably the key figures; regardless of how the legacy media spins the numbers, far too many people are either directly affected or know someone who is to make sunny media announcements believable. Besides, how many "recovery summers" can you have without there being any recovery? The story of the boy who cried wolf applies here as well.
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The economic "holy grail" is neither numbers nor narrative, it is well paid (well enough to support a lower middle class family) jobs for school leavers. Those school leavers, men, mostly, in their 20s, 30s and 40s, of all races and creeds, are a HUGE minority and they constitute a stubbornly static slice of the unemployment numbers. Obama has failed them, so far. These men cannot be in Obama's favoured groups: school teachers and first responders, because they are not well enough educated ~ instead they are labourers, factory workers, would-be tradesmen and the like. Capital needs to flow into new enterprises in order to put them to work ~ something Obama's henchmen, Dodd and Franks have helped stymie.
All the talk about a "knowledge economy" and "green jobs" and so on is just fluff, all huff and puff, but there is nothing there for the male school leaver who wants to (and can) work with his hands, his brawn and his less than "well educated" common sense. In the autumn, the candidate who offers them a sensible plan to out them to work should win the election. I am about 99.99% sure Barak Obama will not make that offer because he neither knows nor cares about them ... which is too bad because they are the "heart and soul" of his country.
All the talk about a "knowledge economy" and "green jobs" and so on is just fluff, all huff and puff, but there is nothing there for the male school leaver who wants to (and can) work with his hands, his brawn and his less than "well educated" common sense. In the autumn, the candidate who offers them a sensible plan to out them to work should win the election. I am about 99.99% sure Barak Obama will not make that offer because he neither knows nor cares about them ... which is too bad because they are the "heart and soul" of his country.
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E.R. Campbell said:
From where is this moderate, socially liberal but fiscally conservative Republican Party emerge? They will have to find a completely new stable of candidates for that, I suspect.
As to Steyn's claim, there's nothing nuts about this at all - insurance companies have no issue funding contraception as it makes business sense for them. The issue has nothing to do with people's sex lives and everything to do with enforcing phony morality. There's no good way to frame this issue, and it's going to get the GOP nowhere.
They could, as I said, be proposing ways to reduce barriers to economic growth that are moderate, and that would probably capture independents and even some Democrats who are looking for a different tack. There's so much ridiculous regulation they could target that few people would argue over, I'd suspect. But instead, they choose not to for now. I can only wonder if they've got something like that up their sleeves.
If you're going to make the argument that "Obama has failed" those "school leavers", and then suggest that that could be to the GOP's advantage, then to at least those paying attention you have to be able to make the argument that the GOP has policy ideas that would do something different. Those school leavers, however, would in large part probably hear a lot of the usual GOP planks and not actually think it'd make them any better off. The ideas have been tried, and they've not worked. These people, for better or worse, will look through the prism of the Bush years in particular, and they'll see that all the tax cuts and deregulation did not have enough impact. What I'll wonder about is will they vote at all, or will they just become disenchanted with the system and stay home. I wonder if politics will be perceived as so toxic that people don't care. That's probably President Obama's biggest worry - he has to make sure that his base is out and casts votes. I'm sure that the DNC will be busy getting registrations done given how many rules have been brought in in the hopes of excluding voters.
Brad Sallows
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>insurance companies have no issue funding contraception as it makes business sense for them.
Then they don't need a federal decree. End of problem, end of discussion. Much ado about nothing. If Catholic institutions don't want coverage included, they can either search high and low to find a willing insurer, or self-insure.
Then they don't need a federal decree. End of problem, end of discussion. Much ado about nothing. If Catholic institutions don't want coverage included, they can either search high and low to find a willing insurer, or self-insure.
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