Morality is not determined by the church you attend nor the faith you embrace. It is determined by the quality of your character and the positive impact you have on those you meet along your journey
Monday, August 13, 2012
You know I had been wondering why Mitt Romney's schtick seemed so familiar to me. Now I remember.
I tell you. This R squared ticket is truly frightening. At least with McCain, we had a human being on half the ticket. I think these two are robots dressed up like Ken dolls. Not a heart between them.
In an SNL skit they had him pandering to whatever audience he was presenting to, and they had Jason Sedakis saying in a plugged deep voice, "You know I don't have any diseases but if I had to have one I wish it was diabetes!"
Anytime he made such proclamations, someone in the audience would yell, "We don't believe you!"
But don't worry folks, old dependable Mitt, the last one standing after every single person was the 'flavor of the month' in that whole exhausting front-runner race, was going to be there for the conservatives as their choice against "That One."
Romney and his people think picking Ryan is a game-changer, but choosing Paul Ryan for the ticket just locks Romney into playing the game Obama's team wanted all along.
Team Obama has been patiently pushing Romney into a corner where the last move he had left was to bow down to the crazies. He has done so, and his campaign from here on out will be defined by crazy. Petard, meet match.
So...what does this all mean from a strategic standpoint?
I think Obama set this guy up last summer to bring national attention to how radical the Tea Party agenda is, and to force Republicans to hitch themselves to it so there would be no question about the contrasts between themselves and the President. Now they're having exactly the debate Obama has been framing for months: "this election is about two different visions for the future". That's a debate Romney and Ryan cannot possibly win.
The Tea Party wanted this because they have no strategic sense. Their only approach is to scream louder, and refuse to budge. They are crowing because they view Romney's selection of Ryan as the moment they have taken over the Republican Party, and they may be right. But if so, in the process they are finalizing the breaking of the Republican Party as a nationally competitive brand.
Over the long term, just as Ronald Reagan snapped up working people for Republicans in the 80s, Ryan's gang is driving them towards Democrats. With single women and minorities already heavily tilted towards Democrats, it's getting to be pretty thin picking for a Republican Presidential candidate. Looking at their bench and their agenda, it is hard for me to imagine a way they can get to 270 electoral votes--not just this year, but going forward. And given the Tea Party faction's complete inability to compromise, it's going to be hard for them to back away from positions that put states like Florida safely in blue territory, like voucherizing Medicare.
Although Paul Ryan undoubtedly has some political and personal skills and will inject some much-needed energy into the Romney campaign, it isn't too hard to figure out why Democrats are elated about his selection. First, let's look at what picking House Republican Paul Ryan didn't do.
1. It didn't help Romney with women. 2. It didn't help Romney make any inroads with blacks, Latinos, Asians, or Muslims. 3. It didn't boost confidence in a Romney administration's preparedness to handle foreign policy, a la Dick Cheney. 4. It didn't force the Obama administration to defend new territory. 5. It didn't deflect attention from Romney's tax returns/avoidance. 6. It didn't help Romney move to the middle. 7. It didn't isolate Romney from the wildly unpopular House Republicans.
And let's look at what picking Ryan did do:
1. It forced Romney to try and fail to distance himself from Paul Ryan's budget plan. Romney now says he would have signed Ryan's budget, and he therefore owns a budget plan so unpopular that people don't even believe it was actually proposed. 2. It locked Romney in to a plan that raises taxes on lower middle class folks while effectively zeroing out his own taxes. 3. It locked Romney into a program that voucherizes Medicare, and twins him with a candidate who wants to privatize Social Security. 4. It, therefore, weakened Romney substantially with white working class voters and with seniors, who both hate the Ryan Budget with a white hot passion once they learn the details of it. 5. It saved the Obama administration the cost and difficulty of tying Paul Ryan and the House Republicans to Mitt Romney. 6. It created the best conceivable opening for Democrats running in difficult heavily-white states and districts. 7. It turned a battle of personalities, which polls showed Romney was losing narrowly, into a battle of ideologies, which polls show Romney will lose decisively.
For more on those polling numbers, take a look at Ron Brownstein's latest piece. Mr. Brownstein also sees the Ryan pick as potentially disastrous to Romney's chances.
'Ryan’s ambitious budget blueprint, as passed twice by House Republicans over the past two years, crystallizes the GOP’s highest policy priority: shrinking the size of the federal government, largely by dramatically restructuring entitlement programs led by Medicare and Medicaid. But the GOP today is increasingly dependent on the votes of older and blue-collar whites who -- while eager to scale back government programs that transfer income to the poor -- are much more resistant to retrenching entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security that largely benefit the middle-class.'
You assume that the voters who are most at risk in a Ryan budget success are paying attention and thinking. My fear is that they will watch whatever Fox tells them, believe it unquestioningly, and vote it. Ignorance is dangerous, and too many people are ignorant voters.
How can Romney define Ryan when he hasn't defined himself yet? This pick was a gift to the other side, can't wait for the debates.
The honeymoon may bring larger crowds, but Independents, Elderly, young, female, hispanic and black voters aren't easily placated, and these questions will be asked in the debates when moderators other than Fox News are asking the questions.
Paul Ryan has the exact same fake smile that Todd Palin uses.
ReplyDeleteIt is creepy how much they resemble each other.
Mitt thinks Paul is just the right height.
I tell you. This R squared ticket is truly frightening. At least with McCain, we had a human being on half the ticket. I think these two are robots dressed up like Ken dolls. Not a heart between them.
ReplyDeleteIn an SNL skit they had him pandering to whatever audience he was presenting to, and they had Jason Sedakis saying in a plugged deep voice, "You know I don't have any diseases but if I had to have one I wish it was diabetes!"
ReplyDeleteAnytime he made such proclamations, someone in the audience would yell, "We don't believe you!"
But don't worry folks, old dependable Mitt, the last one standing after every single person was the 'flavor of the month' in that whole exhausting front-runner race, was going to be there for the conservatives as their choice against "That One."
Scroll down to the video selection.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2126890/Mitt-Romney-mocked-Saturday-Night-Live-sketch-Jason-Sudeikis.html
Rmoney and Ryawn is just a perfect meme.
ReplyDeleteRolls and Royce.
Delete
ReplyDeleteRomney and his people think picking Ryan is a game-changer, but choosing Paul Ryan for the ticket just locks Romney into playing the game Obama's team wanted all along.
Team Obama has been patiently pushing Romney into a corner where the last move he had left was to bow down to the crazies. He has done so, and his campaign from here on out will be defined by crazy. Petard, meet match.
So...what does this all mean from a strategic standpoint?
ReplyDeleteI think Obama set this guy up last summer to bring national attention to how radical the Tea Party agenda is, and to force Republicans to hitch themselves to it so there would be no question about the contrasts between themselves and the President. Now they're having exactly the debate Obama has been framing for months: "this election is about two different visions for the future". That's a debate Romney and Ryan cannot possibly win.
The Tea Party wanted this because they have no strategic sense. Their only approach is to scream louder, and refuse to budge. They are crowing because they view Romney's selection of Ryan as the moment they have taken over the Republican Party, and they may be right. But if so, in the process they are finalizing the breaking of the Republican Party as a nationally competitive brand.
Over the long term, just as Ronald Reagan snapped up working people for Republicans in the 80s, Ryan's gang is driving them towards Democrats. With single women and minorities already heavily tilted towards Democrats, it's getting to be pretty thin picking for a Republican Presidential candidate. Looking at their bench and their agenda, it is hard for me to imagine a way they can get to 270 electoral votes--not just this year, but going forward. And given the Tea Party faction's complete inability to compromise, it's going to be hard for them to back away from positions that put states like Florida safely in blue territory, like voucherizing Medicare.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/12/1119507/-Running-Against-Paul-Ryan-is-Exactly-What-Team-Obama-Wanted
Picking Ryan Wasn't Bold; It Was Insane
ReplyDeleteAlthough Paul Ryan undoubtedly has some political and personal skills and will inject some much-needed energy into the Romney campaign, it isn't too hard to figure out why Democrats are elated about his selection. First, let's look at what picking House Republican Paul Ryan didn't do.
1. It didn't help Romney with women.
2. It didn't help Romney make any inroads with blacks, Latinos, Asians, or Muslims.
3. It didn't boost confidence in a Romney administration's preparedness to handle foreign policy, a la Dick Cheney.
4. It didn't force the Obama administration to defend new territory.
5. It didn't deflect attention from Romney's tax returns/avoidance.
6. It didn't help Romney move to the middle.
7. It didn't isolate Romney from the wildly unpopular House Republicans.
And let's look at what picking Ryan did do:
1. It forced Romney to try and fail to distance himself from Paul Ryan's budget plan. Romney now says he would have signed Ryan's budget, and he therefore owns a budget plan so unpopular that people don't even believe it was actually proposed.
2. It locked Romney in to a plan that raises taxes on lower middle class folks while effectively zeroing out his own taxes.
3. It locked Romney into a program that voucherizes Medicare, and twins him with a candidate who wants to privatize Social Security.
4. It, therefore, weakened Romney substantially with white working class voters and with seniors, who both hate the Ryan Budget with a white hot passion once they learn the details of it.
5. It saved the Obama administration the cost and difficulty of tying Paul Ryan and the House Republicans to Mitt Romney.
6. It created the best conceivable opening for Democrats running in difficult heavily-white states and districts.
7. It turned a battle of personalities, which polls showed Romney was losing narrowly, into a battle of ideologies, which polls show Romney will lose decisively.
For more on those polling numbers, take a look at Ron Brownstein's latest piece. Mr. Brownstein also sees the Ryan pick as potentially disastrous to Romney's chances.
'Ryan’s ambitious budget blueprint, as passed twice by House Republicans over the past two years, crystallizes the GOP’s highest policy priority: shrinking the size of the federal government, largely by dramatically restructuring entitlement programs led by Medicare and Medicaid. But the GOP today is increasingly dependent on the votes of older and blue-collar whites who -- while eager to scale back government programs that transfer income to the poor -- are much more resistant to retrenching entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security that largely benefit the middle-class.'
If we assume ...
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2012/8/12/12106/2055
You assume that the voters who are most at risk in a Ryan budget success are paying attention and thinking. My fear is that they will watch whatever Fox tells them, believe it unquestioningly, and vote it.
DeleteIgnorance is dangerous, and too many people are ignorant voters.
Hahaha! I think the "Anchorman" character still has more personality than Romney.
ReplyDeleteA Mormon and and atheist Randroid trying to get elected by a party with a base consisting mostly of evangelical Christians.
ReplyDeleteWhat could possibly go wrong?
How can Romney define Ryan when he hasn't defined himself yet? This pick was a gift to the other side, can't wait for the debates.
ReplyDeleteThe honeymoon may bring larger crowds, but Independents, Elderly, young, female, hispanic and black voters aren't easily placated, and these questions will be asked in the debates when moderators other than Fox News are asking the questions.