The Ted Nugent Countdown Clock

 

On April 12th, 2012, Ted Nugent, the Motor City Meathead promised us: ”If Barack Obama becomes the president in November, again, I will be either be dead or in jail by this time next year.”

 

You can go here and see a countdown clock for Mr. Nugent:

Ted Nugent being dead or in jail Countdown Clock | CountingDownTo.com

 

What'll it be, Ted?

On 2012: At least, thank goodness, we dodged this bullet

That was WAY too close for comfort, even with them getting trounced.

Some hope for America after a sometimes ugly election

From Sunday's New York Times:

"Mr. Obama and the Democrats have an opportunity to bridge the racial and cultural divides that have been widening and to begin to reconfigure the country’s political landscape. Although this has always been a difficult task and one fraught with peril, history — from Reconstruction to Populism to the New Deal to the struggle for civil rights — teaches us that it can happen: when different groups meet one another on more level planes, slowly get to know and trust one another, and define objectives that are mutually beneficial and achievable, they learn to think of themselves as part of something larger — and they actually become something larger.

Hard work on the ground — in neighborhoods, schools, religious institutions and workplaces — is foundational. But Mr. Obama, the biracial community organizer, might consider starting his second term by articulating a vision of a multicultural, multiracial and more equitable America with the same insight and power that he once brought to an address on the singular problem of race. If he does that, with words and then with deeds, he can strike a telling blow against the political racism that haunts our country."

--Steven Hahn, Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania and author of “A Nation Under Our Feet: Black Political Struggles in the Rural South from Slavery to the Great Migration.”

Here's hoping.

Quote for a day of voting

''The great jousting tournament that is Election Day draws nigh, the prize the building you see behind me, Castle Congress.

But what side shall prevail in this epic electoral tilt? Who shall control the future of Fortress America?

Will we be, as the Republicans desire, a nation of wealthy heavily-armed white men, befouling the air and water in a ceaseless quest for profits, beholden to no laws but those of our lord and savior Jesus Christ?

Or shall we instead embrace the Democrats' vision of a namby-pamby quasi-Socialist Republic with an all-homosexual army flamboyantly defending a citizenry suckling at the foul teat of government welfare?

The choice is yours, fair maiden America, for the name of this feudal system is Democracy.''

—Stephen Colbert, comedian, satirist

Election 2012: "It's money that matters"

Randy was/is so right. He hit the nail on the head with this one, for sure.

Play loud.

Mitt Romney, the "Karma Chameleon"

If we learned anything this year, with the presidential campaign, we know that Mitt Romney is the "chameleon candidate." He's made it extremely clear that he has and will say virtually anything his immediate audience wants to hear, in order to be elected.



The lyrics of the song seem as though they come straight from Mittens himself:

"I'm a man without conviction..."

This, to me, is, by far, the most dangerous thing about Mitt Romney's campaign.

Think about it.

The precedent his election would set for this nation and for political campaigns in the future could be huge.

We're all familiar with the fact that Jimmy Carter's campaign set for all future campaigns was that people would have to start early, at least 2 years bfore the campaign.

Now, with Romney, even though we have video of him from years back, as well as more recently, saying he's both for and against various policies, time and again, repeatedly, people are still taking him seriously as a viable candidate.

Is this really the kind of candidates and campaigns we want to lead our states or the nation?

Surely not.

The big thing for the nation is that he--Romney--is still a successful, viable presidential candidate that could, possibly, win the White House this Fall, even with his shape-shifting and chameleon-like abilities.

Seriously, that is scary. It's crazy.

In the past, expressing different opinions, for and against the same issues would be enough to kill a campaign, Amazingly, frustratingly, nearly inconceivably, it hasn't destroyed Romney's campaign yet. Quite the opposite, it's still working.

The big, over-arching message, should Romney win, given his campaign, is that this squishiness of his, this shape-shifting on issues, day to day, works and that other candidates should use it.

This guy just cannot, cannot possibly win the White House.

All we need to know about the debate tonight

Sure, Mitt. Brilliant. You bet.



Not.

"Economic patriotism"

Indeed, we do need "economic patriotism", even and especially from our representatives in Congress in Washington.

We need everyone to do what's right and best for the nation, not just for the corporations and/or wealthy.

It's a type of insane we even have to say this.

Because it's been a while

Thank goodness he's back.

Well, at least in my view, anyway.

It's so bad for Romney...

Ryan has to prop up Grandpa.

Like the McDonald's advertisement goes, "I'm lovin' it."

It's like I keep saying, Mitt Romney is the gift that keeps on giving, God love him.

Link: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/26/1136637/-Joe-Scarborough-reacts-to-latest-Romney-FAIL-facepalm-Sweet-Jesus

Time's up for Todd Akin

The YouTube videos and advertising, hitting Todd Akin hard, began in earnest last evening, apparently:

Dems Release The Hounds As Deadline For Akin To Drop Out Expires

"The Missouri Senate race kicked off in earnest Tuesday when Republican candidate
Todd Akin affirmed for the last time that he will not drop his Senate bid at a press conference in St. Louis...

...Incumbent Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill posted a hard-hitting TV ad featuring Akin’s “legitimate rape” comments to her campaign website Tuesday."

This is the one video, however, that I think is especially tough for, if not damning of, Mr. Akin:



Between the hits Mr. Akin will be taking from now on, from his opponent(s) and the lack of support from a larger group of Republicans and conservatives, it looks as though he will have a tough, if not impossible campaign ahead.

After writing the above, I found this video, just posted on YouTube:



To Mr. Akin and his staff, I can only give Margo Channing's advice: "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night."

Pass the popcorn.

Links: http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/09/akin-mccaskill-missouri-senate-ad-rape.php

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/09/24/rep-todd-akin-write-me-a-decent-check-to-get-my-attention/

Quote of the day--on Mitt Romney and his political party

"There are two major theories about why Romney is dropping in the polls. One is Romney is a lousy candidate, unable to connect with people or make his case. The second is that Americans are finally beginning to see how radical the GOP has become, and are repudiating it.

Many Republicans hold to the first view, for obvious reasons. If Romney fails to make a comeback this week, I expect even more GOP complaints about Romney's personal failings, as well as the inadequacies of his campaign staff.

But the second explanation strikes me as more compelling. The Republican primaries, and then the Republican convention, have showed America a party far removed from the "compassionate conservatism" the GOP tried to sell in 2000. Instead, we have a party that's been taken over by Tea Partiers, nativists, social Darwinists, homophobes, right-wing evangelicals, and a few rich people whose only interest is to become even wealthier.

These regressives were there in 2000, to be sure. They lurked in the GOP in the 1990s, when Newt Gingrich took over the House. They were there in the 1980s, too, although Ronald Reagan's sunny disposition gave them cover. In truth, they've been part of the GOP for more than half a century -- but never before have they held so much sway in the party, never before have they called the shots.

Romney's failing isn't that he's a bad candidate. To the contrary, he's giving this GOP exactly what it wants in a candidate -- which is exactly what the rest of America doesn't want."

--Robert Reich, American political economist, professor, author, and political commentator. He served in the administrations of Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter and was Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1997.

Links: https://www.facebook.com/RBReich

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Reich

Notes and quotes on this presidential election

Some quotes from NPR yesterday, from a conversation of reporter Robert Siegel with E.J. Dionne, journalist and political commentator, and conservative commentator, journalist and writer--also Republican--David Brooks:

First, David Brooks on Mitt Romney: "His campaign is now in a sort of a state of crisis, I would say. The Republican elites are in somewhat panic.

You're seeing - the whole electoral map has sort of shifted. Some polls don't show it. The Gallup poll, to be fair, shows the race still tied, but basically, if you look at the whole electoral map, you have Obama up by five points in the NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, maybe five in a bunch of others, eight in some others. And then you're beginning to see the states, the key states - Ohio, significant Obama leads, all the swing states, with the possible exception North Carolina, all shifting Democratic.

And so, I don't know how bad it's hurt him, but the electoral map is shifting in the Democratic direction."

More from Mr. Brooks: "I think it's mostly Romney, frankly. I think the country would like to vote against President Obama if they had a plausible alternative. But Romney is the only candidate in modern political history where his unfavorables are higher than his favorables. John McCain, Al Gore, people who lost, had double-digit advantage in favorable.

So people just don't like Romney. And the core problem is he's insincere. It's an insincere campaign. He's a non-ideological person in an ideological age and he's pretending to be something he's not."

Link to original interview: http://www.npr.org/2012/09/21/161581380/week-in-politics-the-47-percent-senate-races

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Brooks_(journalist)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._J._Dionne

Quote of the day, on this election

"Barack Obama was a beatable incumbent, but he wasn't going to be beaten by a sub-par, second-rate politician like Mitt Romney. He simply isn't presidential timber, as indicated by his lack of vision, lack of political skills, and inability to effectively run for public office. He had his chance to establish himself as a viable alternative. He failed.

Start facing facts. This race is over. Barack Obama will be president for another four years."

--From the article today, "Hey pundits ... it's over." by brooklybadboy

The Daily Kos

Link: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/19/1133878/-Hey-pundits-its-over

The real Mitt Romney

I think we saw, yesterday, finally, the "real Mitt Romney" in the Mother Jones video, which reminded me of this:

Quote of the day

"This is going to be a squeaker of an election. Polls are showing Obama and Romney within a hair's breath of one another in the critical swing states that will determine the outcome. How can that be when Romney is an empty suit who believes nothing, hasn't articulated any program, and has (along with his running mate) called for more tax cuts for the wealthy, more spending cuts for the poor, and an evisceration of Medicare and Medicaid? When they want to deregulate Wall Street and regulate women?

The answer is the jobs situation. Yes, Franklin D. Roosevelt was reelected in 1936 with higher unemployment than we have now. But at least he had the wind at his back: an economy that by 1936 was growing by 14 percent. Barack Obama doesn't have an economy that's moving that swiftly in the right direction. It's growing just 2.2 percent, on an annualized basis.

So the real contest is between someone who very few Americans know or even like -- Mitt Romney -- who doesn't stand for anything, or someone most Americans feel they know quite well and like very much -- Barack Obama -- who is presiding over a terrible economy that shows few signs of fundamental improvement.

My betting is on Obama, but, frankly, I'm worried."

--Robert Reich, American political economist, professor, author, and political commentator. He served in the administrations of Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter and was Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1997.

Go, register, folks. Register to vote and then be sure to vote this November.

And enjoy your Sunday.

Links: https://www.facebook.com/RBReich

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Reich

Quote of the day

"It’s a strange moment when Americans relate less to the tall, handsome, rich prince of a famous political family than to a skinny black dude of mixed parentage who spent a lot of time in Indonesia."

--Maureen Dowd, from her column in Sunday's New York Times (link below) "Cruel Conservatives Throw a Masquerade Ball"

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/02/opinion/sunday/dowd-cruel-conservatives-throw-a-masquerade-ball.html?pagewanted=all

People and groups who shouldn't vote Republican

Herewith, a list of people who, given the Republican Party's stated, formal platform, absolutely should not vote Republican:

--Women

Does Todd Akin mean anything to you? How about women's reproductive rights? How about equal pay for women? They're against all that.

--Blacks/African-Americans

These are the people who have publicly tried to do away with both the Civil Rights Act ("We don't need it any more") and affirmative action ("We never needed it).

--Gays

Please. They virtually hate gays and legislate and vote accordingly and repeatedly.

--Union and/or Labor supporters

They vote against every union-supporting measure that comes up, as we all know.

--Anyone from the middle-class

They've been gutting and helping to gut the middle-class for decades, since Ronald Reagan, at least, in spite of what they tell everyone otherwise.

--Likewise from the lower-classes

Ditto, here. (See "Anyone from the middle-class", above). Also, check their lack of support for welfare, Head Start programs and financing, etc., etc.

--Working-class Americans

This ties in with not supporting measures for Unions, the middle class and lower-classes. It all goes hand in hand.

If all these groups, above, vote Democratic this November, as they should, the Romney/Ryan ticket hasn't got a chance.

Here's hoping.

Pick your priorities of this election and our nation

From the New York Times today:

This week, the Center for American Progress and the Center for the Next Generation released a report entitled “The Race That Really Matters: Comparing U.S., Chinese and Indian Investments in the Next Generation Workforce.” The findings were breathtaking:

• Half of U.S. children get no early childhood education, and we have no national strategy to increase enrollment.

• More than a quarter of U.S. children have a chronic health condition, such as obesity or asthma, threatening their capacity to learn.

• More than 22 percent of U.S. children lived in poverty in 2010, up from about 17 percent in 2007.

• More than half of U.S. postsecondary students drop out without receiving a degree.

So, a question for America and the Republican Party--do you really want to make debt the big issue of this campaign?

THAT'S your big concern?

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/25/opinion/blow-starving-the-future.html?_r=3&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1346300356-ITe9GpBrnsBxgldzR8gqsA

This Republican Party would eat Ronald Reagan alive

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