the most important election of your lifetime: 2012 american general election thread

Bill Clinton and the Tender Ministrations

The Screaming Lobster of Grope

i'm with morbz that romney's wealth won't really matter as much as people think it will. america 2012 is a post-facts zone. take TPM's article from this morning:

call me super-cynical, but i think screaming "tax hike!" will suffice for a lot of people, or at least that it will be more effective than screaming "he is rich!".

― Mad God 40/40 (Z S), Monday, July 9, 2012 11:20 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

its telling that you have to alter the charge against mitt to make this point, its not his wealth its how he made it, and furthermore how that speaks to the kind of guy he is - like if mitt was some likable guy who could relate to people and seemed to care at all abt them then it wouldnt matter as much that he made his money in a parasitic industry, but the fact is he seems to have no awareness of the inner lives of others he made his money in a way that doesnt care abt them and is currently unpopular leaves him open to the attack that hes callous, which he v much is

this along w/the logistical ground game is one of the primary ways in which campaigns can effect the outcome of an election, via defining their opponents, besmirching their good name - of course the flip side is making themselves look like upstanding citizens

the easy argument to make against this 'everythings is fucked this doesnt matter because people are stupid' but some might find that somewhat lacking in nuance

seriously tho has anyone looked into romney's real age? with that amount of money in an ira he could be upwards of 300 years old. the media is falling down on the job here.

romney is p old irl

romney is richard alpert

The patriotic spin against Romney's wealth and where he puts it from Maryland governor O'Malley:

The chairman of the Democratic Governors Association continued, “I’ve never known of a Swiss bank account to build an American bridge, a Swiss bank account to create American jobs, or Swiss bank accounts to rebuild the levies to protect the people of New Orleans. That's not an economic strategy for moving our country forward.”

http://www.politico.com/blogs/politico-live/2012/07/omalley-romneys-swiss-banks-account-is-unamerican-128269.html

the respondents simply refused to believe any politician would do such a thing.

I've said this before: Basically honest people just refuse to believe that the system OR individual people are this corrupt or duplicitous. People I have told truths to scoff and say it's not possible that what I'm saying is true because it's outrageous conspiracy theory, the utility companies would never play so dirty--after all, they're subject to the same laws as the rest of us.

or people could just be judging from past experience re politicians carrying through on fire breathing promises and human nature re the need to pander in elections

i mean theyre right that romney doesnt believe in or plan on carrying through on a lot of the stuff hes saying

right. getting into office is the entire point of what he's saying. once there no one will remember what he promised because of the constant noise in their heads.

this is the real problem with the filibuster & congressional sclerosis if u ask me: electoral promises have to veer really far from expected reality. if an elected majority could do anything like what is promised then promises would be verifiable.

yep

let those who won an election govern

that's how I feel about judges and justices: give'em the microscope only when their reputation precedes them (i.e. Bork).

"congressional sclerosis"

I like this phrase

anyone read the Mann-Orstein book yet? I've been waiting a month for the library to release a copy.

nah it's on my endless list tho

anyway, stoked:

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/07/ron-paul-could-force-convention-speech.html

He was the one guy who always laid off Romney in the debates, though. Plus Junior's future.

“Obama is weak on the business of the White House,” says one senior House Democrat, who asked not to be named. “He doesn’t woo members or schmooze them, and his staff doesn’t invite people to the White House.” This disaffected Democrat describes Obama as “more constitutional law professor than politician,” adding, “he doesn’t smooth people or cuddle up to them. He sort of treats politics like changing diapers.”

There were stories like this about GWB from Republican congressmen (Dick Army named, iirc) who thought that Clinton had done a much better job at making them feel less horrible about themselves. I like the image of Obama going to fundraisers and being like "Fuck you, pay me."

clinton really spoiled everyone huh

sometimes he would come and tenderly minister to me in the night

someone make a "Fuck you pay me" Obama gif.

http://i.imgur.com/So38o.png

tee

More weirdness from the Obama e-mail campaign. Yesterday, an "I will be outspent" e-mail (fine); today, "Re: I will be outspent," like I'd written back in the interim.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/president-obama-mitt-romney-deadlocked-in-race-poll-finds/2012/07/09/gJQAaJwdZW_story.html?hpid=z3

Now, the campaign appears destined to remain extremely close in the final four months before Election Day.

Washington Post insight

The scaremails from the Obama campaign have been extra obnoxious. xp

did RP go in too hard on Romney at the debates to get the veep nod? please say no. Mitt if you're reading this think abt it there's a whole bunch of people who'd do literally anything just to get to chance to somehow VOTE FOR RON PAUL

ron was famously friendly w/mitt in the debates iirc

said all sorts of nice things abt him and everything

the closest RP is going to get to an office higher than his own is visiting his son's

my theory is that his own philosophy forces him to accept that a rich guy is a better human being than he is

there's a bubbling undercurrent of ppl wanting mitt to appoint RP as fed chair. lol.

actual lol

i kinda wonder what he'd do if seated in that role. set interest rates at 4000% to get people onto non-state currencies aqap, maybe?

can someone explain the Romney logo to me? Is the "R" supposed to be a flag or something?

http://iowaadguy.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/romney20logo.jpg

uh sorry that's so big yikes

silhouettes of fat white americans imo

Looks ever so much like the 'O' in Obama's '08 campaign

Only fair since he ripped off Romneycare

it does, but the O thing deliberately evoked a rising sun. This evokes... a fat guy going down the stairs? I can't even

It's a guy with red hair and a blue moustache

It's one of Romney's grandmother's bustles, leaving for Mexico

http://www.coupondad.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Aquafresh_Logo.gif

it does, but the O thing deliberately evoked a rising sun. This evokes... a fat guy going down the stairs?

alfred hitchcock's silhouette?

http://www.seat42f.com/images/stories/Front/pbs-logo.jpg

http://www.goodlogo.com/images/logos/girl_scouts_logo_3064.gif

lol croup I was considering that exact same joke

http://www.vivaomni.com/images/Omni_logo.png

i was always bothered by the right girl scout's giraffe neck