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

Matthew Funtime ‏@MatthewFuntime

@ToddAkin the liberal media don't know shit about real science Dr. Akin!!

I bet he's lots of fun.

there's some validity to that statement but not in the way i think he means

i want Hannity etc to respond to the allegations that they're the liberal media. just because.

Surprised Akin stuck it out. When I left the house earlier, he'd had his interview with Huckabee, but there was still an hour left and I thought he'd be out by 6:00. CNN had the RNC chairman, Rebus Plurbius, on around 4:30, and he said that it would be difficult for Akin to win without any money. (Curious if they stick to that.) Even the dynamism and persuasive powers of Romney wasn't enough.

yeah i'm also curious about that. i'm not sure that race is over unless the rnc really does cut bait.

so...was this linked?

http://leanforward.msnbc.com/_news/2012/08/21/13400848-new-nbcwsj-poll-shows-zero-percent-support-for-romney-among-african-americans#.UDQ8XrIWWME.twitter

Looking inside the numbers, Obama continues to lead Romney among key parts of his political base, including African Americans (94 percent to 0 percent), Latinos (by a 2-to-1 margin), voters under 35-years-old (52 percent to 41 percent) and women (51 percent to 41 percent).

who do the other 6 percent support?

maybe they're thinking about voting for someone who isn't barack obama or mitt romney

Undecideds, I think.

the other six percent is alan west

rent is too damn high

and women (51 percent to 41 percent)

I've got to believe this will be moving noticably in Obama's direction. (Saw something on TV that said he got 56% last time.)

Well Sullivan unloaded with some interesting details:

http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/08/akin-is-the-christianist-mainstream.html

what's the deal with this (from willke, in the sullivan)?

First, let's define the term "rape." When pro-lifers speak of rape pregnancies, we should commonly use the phrase "forcible rape" or "assault rape," for that specifies what we're talking about. Rape can also be statutory. Depending upon your state law, statutory rape can be consensual, but we're not addressing that here.

like, do they actually have some kind of goofy problem with statutory rape, or is this just a red herring to make it look like 'forcible rape' is a thing and not just a way to cast aspersions on the legitimacy of rape reports?

And but of course!

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2012/08/21/palin_suggests_third_party_candidate_to_stop_akin_in_missouri.html

"Bless his heart, I don't want to pile on Todd Akin, because in some respects I understand what he's trying to say here, and standing on principle, that he doesn't want to be perceived as a quitter. But you got to know when to hold them and know when to fold them," fmr. Gov. Sarah Palin said on FOX News today.

jesus christ she sounds like an onion parody of herself

i'd have expected her to back him, tbh

somehow i always forget that sarah palin quit her term halfway through because she doesn't like making policy and to make money at fox. but i can understand how in some respects she would, standing on principle, not want to be perceived as a quitter

sarah palin is on vacation, plz direct yr questions to this kenny loggins tape

is palin perceived as a quitter by her base, or a savvy person who refused to be a victim of despicable liberal tactics in the grimy trenches of anchorage?

as a quitter, given her half-assed bus tour, i think

rogers

haha, i was just taking a trip down palin memory lane 2009 and found this awesome quote describing why she would be a quitter if she didn't quit: "it may be tempting and more comfortable to just keep your head down, plod along, and appease those who demand: 'Sit down and shut up,' but that's the worthless, easy path; that's a quitter's way out".

"Continuing on the path you've set for yourself means quitting all the other paths you haven't taken." - Anonymous

any chance the Romney/ Ryan move to go on the offensive re Medicare is working?

― it's smdh time in America (will), Tuesday, August 21, 2012 8:41 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

new ap poll fwiw: Forty-nine percent trust Obama to handle Medicare, versus 41 percent who trust Romney.

This is terribly amusing.

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/314646/how-will-todd-akin-movie-end-lisa-schiffren

It is fascinating to watch someone on a national stage who truly fails to comprehend the reality of what he is doing.

*steeples fingers* yes, lisa.

Wendy...

Yes, Lisa?

lol

I only want to see you laughing now at Todd Akin.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/22/world/akin-international-rape-reaction/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Hong Kong (CNN) -- In just a few days, a politician largely unknown outside the U.S. has earned the dubious reputation on the world stage as the "rape-gaffe congressman."

Todd Akin, 2009:

AKIN: This whole thing strikes me if it weren’t so serious as being a comedy you know. I mean, we just went from winter to spring. In Missouri when we go from winter to spring, that’s a good climate change. I don’t want to stop that climate change you know. Who in the world want to put politicians in charge of the weather anyways? What a dumb idea…

Some of the models said that we’re going to have surf at the front steps of the Capitol pretty soon. I was really looking forward to that…

We’ve been joined by another doctor, a medical doctor but also a guy who graduated from high school science as well, from Georgia, my good friend, Congressman Gingrey.… So to have actually a guy who’s passed high school science is tremendously helpful. And Dr. Fleming from Louisiana.

again, what alarms me isn't his terrible ideas but just his underlying caveman level of intelligence.

he's right about that high school science though. if only there were some more of those brainiacs around!

high school science, the apex of human understanding

i'm actually a little shocked at the "outrage" at Akin from his own team. i realize it's an election year and all, but this guy isn't saying anything that hasn't been mainstream GOP domga for some time now afaict

^^^ I've been pleased by the number of even TV reporters remarking that Romney-Ryan's positions aren't much different.

its all abt him looking like an idiot for not understanding how human reproduction works

Is the water warm enough, Congressman?

like was Bush Sr (or maybe Dole?) the last 'household name' Republican who wasn't a total nitwit when it came to reproductive rights?

I don't recall Dubya being particularly heavy on the pro-life shit but he was a total nitwit in general so glass half empty there maybe

Poppy Bush supported abortion rights until Reagan shanghaied him in 1980. In 1992 he vacillated in a craven manner several times between saying abortion is evil full stop and "we need exceptions."

Akinizing is the new Borked

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/obama-tries-in-vain-to-shift-conversation-to-education-economy.php?ref=fpa

I assume the headline is meant to be at least partly ironic.

Sandra Fluke i✧✧✧@barackob✧✧✧.c✧✧
reply-to: i✧✧✧@barackob✧✧✧.c✧✧
to: [redacted]
date: Wed, Aug 22, 2012 at 4:40 PM
subject: "Legitimate rape"
mailed-by: bounce.bluestatedigital.com
signed-by: barackobama.com

nixon on roe v wade: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/us/politics/24nixon.html

man those Nixon tapes are such a goldmine

Seriously. Excerpts should be drip-fed and posted to news organizations every six months just to keep it in the public mind that the guy was just an unmitigated creep and sonuvabitch. Good preventative dose against "great statesman" revisionism etc.

Nixon to his credit said at the end of his life that he believed Roe v Wade was the right decision.