« BACK  |  PRINT

RS

EDITOR OF REDSTATE

Wetting the Bed Over Mitt Romney

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  July 18th, 2012 at 04:47 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

“It’s like the GOP consultant class learned all the wrong lessons from Bob Shrum.”

Of all the people to not be beating up Mitt Romney for his present not quite stellar campaign, I find myself in that position.

I’m genuinely not that worried.

First of all, remember that most of his primary money is gone so he can’t spend on a fancy ad campaign right now. He can’t spend his general election money yet.

Second, I like the aggressiveness over the past few days. Yesterday, he gave a great rebuttal to Barack Obama’s grade school Marxism. John Sununu was actually spot on. Barack Obama really has no concept of American job creation.

Let me say that unlike some of my friends, I have concluded that it is not that Barack Obama is anti-American. I don’t think he really hates America. I think Barack Obama is just profoundly ignorant about America and its free enterprise system. He wants to take over and “fix” that which he does not understand.

Barack Obama was raised first in Hawaii where his mentor was a communist. Then Indonesia and then back in Hawaii where he spent his time in a prestigious private school stoned. Then he went to private, super liberal colleges where his autobiographical fiction suggests he basically played the role of emo wanderer. Then he became a self-described failed community organizer. Then he entered the ranks of academics and politicians.

Of course Barack Obama believes successful people should give back to government. He’s been quite successful in government. It is the only success he has ever really known.

In the White House, he has surrounded himself with people who worked for non-profits. Definitionally these people have never needed to make a profit — just take from rich donors.

Barack Obama’s administration is filled with the ignorance of America you get from liberal academics and rich people who’ve never done much work out in fly over country. That ignorance coupled with arrogance explains, in a nutshell, why unemployment is still over 8%.

John Sununu was right. As a measure of just how right he is, consider that the Obama campaign now claims the President’s marxist comments in Roanoke, VA were taken out of context and they are outraged by Sununu’s comments when just last week the President’s team was calling Romney a liar and felon.

Maybe had Sununu called Barack Obama a liar or felon, the Obama team would not be so outraged.

Third, the President had a crappy month last month only to be rescued at the end by John Roberts. No one was calling for his campaign to be shaken up. Romney has had a bad two weeks. The central issue remains the economy, but Obama’s marxist comments from Friday in Virginia give Romney more ammo against him. Most Americans do not share Barack Obama’s notions of fairness. Romney can capitalize on those remarks with long time hispanic residents of the country, women, and white voters — all of them are already suspicious of Barack Obama. That the Obama campaign is doing damage control on those remarks suggests they know they have a problem Romney can capitalize on.

Now, about Mitt Romney’s tax records. I said back in January at the South Carolina debate it seemed pretty obvious the President could run the general election on Romney’s tax returns. It was clear then and clear now he is uncomfortable talking about his wealth. A well oiled team should have figured that out by now.

Mitt Romney has released his tax records. He has not released enough to satisfy Team Obama or the media. Frankly, I think he should release them going back a ways. But if I were Romney, I would not release them until Barack Obama released his college transcripts. It’s one more thing about Barack Obama we don’t know and frankly, it’d just be fun to watch Obama squirm. (Or maybe the Fast and Furious documents)

If Mitt Romney has something to hide in his tax returns, I bet Barack Obama has something to hide in his full and unedited college record.

Finally, can I just say what a bunch of charlatans and grifters most GOP consultants are. We have all these GOP Super PACs sucking up millions and millions of dollars to help Mitt Romney and now in the summer lull? Nothing. But I bet some consultants are getting rich. It’s like the GOP consultant class learned all the wrong lessons from Bob Shrum.

Tags: , ,

COMMENTS

POSTING RULES  |  LOGIN TO COMMENT  |  REGISTER TODAY
  • jakee308

    is paying his bills.

    If it’s a consulting job with a Republican, I want to know who is the stupid nit wit that hired him so we can shame them into getting rid of him.

    He’s barely qualified to be a burger flipper. (He’d probably complain the burgers came out bad tasting because they didn’t cooperate)

    I understand he’s being groomed and curried by the Liberal Media for obvious reasons but are they paying him? If so let’s get that on the record that he’s a paid consultant being paid to denigrate Republicans for the Liberal Media and get his resume as a consultant put in everyone’s circular file.

  • geanakc

    Spot on Erick, these talking heads think too much and the 24/7 news cycles make mountains out of mole hills. Romney is fighting a long election with strategy.. something the bedwetters may not comprehend.. or maybe its not an exciting enough story line to report on.

  • la2000

    [Translation: this speech yesterday by Romney was SCARY. - ML]

    There are no excuses for this monumental screw up. Romney should have seen this coming from a mile away. He got a taste of it during the primaries, he knew it would circle around again, and apparently, even at this late date, his team still had absolutely no plan in place to deal with this tax issue.

    And the problem now is that this is no longer a conversation about tax returns, or Bain, or outsourcing, or off shore accounts, all of which are politically survivable. The problem now is that Romney’s truly poor reaction to this has turned this into a conversation about judgment. And that is not politically survivable for someone who thinks he should be President.

    If the returns have a problem, this man absolutely had the obligation to level with the party while we had a chance to decide for ourselves whether this “issue” was one we thought we could get past. Instead, he just sat on them. And now, he may well have cost us the election. This entire process makes our party look like a pack of hypocrites. We are, after all, the party that embraced those that demanded that we see not just a birth certificate, but the long form birth certificate, in order to accept that the President was in fact American. So given our own recent demands for transparency and disclosure, for Romney to think that he could skate past an obvious expectation for financial disclosure is so staggeringly stupid that it leaves me speechless.

    Judgment.

    But let’s suppose the returns are pristine. Let’s suppose that everything is in order. Then what’s he waiting for? Why is he letting a conversation about the economy just slip through his fingers? Why doesn’t he just put out the fire? What’s to be gained by shrouding his innocence in suspicion?

    His response to this has been ridiculous and it is NOT the judgment of a man who should be sitting in the Oval Office.

    Dump him. Let move forward at the convention with someone up to the job and put this whole fiasco behind us.

    Because you may not realize it yet, but Romney cannot win now.

  • commonsenseobserver

    You say that Romney cannot win now.

    On the contrary, he is doing his best to win, now more than ever. Republicans have never let America slip off a cliff like that.

  • macbookben

    …your conclusion is to dump him at the convention? Pray tell who is this ‘someone’ that is up to the job? Your underperforming d?nouement mocks the rest of your post. Wait, you’re a concern troll, right? Tell us, which candidate(s) did you support back in February?

  • ohiohistorian

    I agree with Erick. He has some mis-steps. He does not have major screw-ups, especially of the magnitude you claim. Most Americans don’t want their private data pawed over, either. I agree that he needs to say “Obama, you have been hiding birth certificate, college records, and all sorts of your data on your relationships with Chicago non-profits and George Soros’ contributions. You have taken off the controls on your donation machine that control whether you take foreign money. Until you release these data and put the controls back in place, you can pound sand on getting more of mine.”

    Hope you know who that “someone” is you want at the convention? We sure didn’t see any of them in primaries. Romney may not be perfect, but he is what we have now. We don’t need buyers’ remorse.

  • tokm908

    My favorite comment so far from Romney is this:

    ‘Obama wants Americans to be ashamed of success’

    And the proof is in the puddin’ -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-ZO7XOpwa8

  • http://impudent.edublogs.org/ kyle8

    nt

  • jiminga

    “I think Barack Obama is just profoundly ignorant about America and its free enterprise system.” Obama understands it quite well as he continues to prove he is a Marxist/Socialist, following the Alinsky playbook to the letter. Further proof is his comment last week suggesting success can only be achieved through the collective.

    Painting him as ignorant is foolish. He knows exactly what he’s doing.

  • la2000

    And I am really surprised that the party hasn’t grasped that yet. You can’t just will this away. Even the conservative press smells blood.

    Denial didn’t work in 2008 and it won’t work now. This time, we need to work quickly to put this behind us and move forward with a candidate that can win.

    Who? Bush, Christie, Ryan, and Rubio may not have wanted to run a grueling primary, but I bet any one of them wouldn’t mind a quick 10 week sprint to the White House.

  • joydbrower

    I don’t know if you’re exagerrtaing the situation, but your points are VERY well taken. Romney is NOT painting “with bold colors,” as advised by Ronaldus Magnus!!

  • http://impudent.edublogs.org/ kyle8

    To jettison your candidate at this point would be a certain disaster at the polls.

  • joydbrower

    Is Red State THAT naive to suggest that OHelpUs “doesn’t understand the system?!?” Helloo!! He’s been a student of Marxism all his adult life – he knows very well the system he’s trying to dismantle! It’s bred in his bones – and he hates it!

  • joydbrower

    Is Red State THAT naive to suggest that OHelpUs “doesn’t understand the system?!?” Helloo!! He’s been a student of Marxism all his adult life – he knows very well the system he’s trying to dismantle! It’s bred in his bones – and he hates it!

  • clamdigger53

    How i love and am grateful for waking up to sanity in the morning.You can say that hugobama dosent really hate America;perhaps,but only because he dosent even see it. It must be said that hes well traveled and familiar with some influences from his father,good and bad like the rest of us.To know stories from Africa,(anti British),to live in Indonesia(a paradise on earth),to grow up rich in Hawaii(the most beautiful and awesome state in the union),he surly grew up differently! Since hes been here hes lived in Chicago and d.c.,what an ugly contrast.Whats my point? Wait a minute im being distracted by a beautiful sunrise in New Bedford,With the right crowd to guide you, you can float through school getting high and coasting through to get a degree with a c,d,and incompletes.(What a Country)! A truly remarkable Bubble Boy!

  • raginpatriot

    >> Let me say that unlike some of my friends, I have concluded that it is not that Barack Obama is anti-American.

    1) He is a collectivist (which variety doesn’t matter much, whether Marxist, Fascist or Progressive). Collectivism is the antithesis of this country’s founding and underlying philosophy;

    2) His disdain for the Constitution is demonstrated by his serial extra-constitutional, arguably fascist-like executive orders (and related acts) that push the envelope (and will bust through it in his second term);

    3) He is executing a form of the Cloward-Piven strategy, this time using macroeconomics instead of the welfare system (running up massive debt and new entitlements — Obamacare — that will “collapse the system”);

    4) All of the above show the kind of “fundamental transformation” he intends for this country, which in sum amounts to a collectivist coup against the Constitution.

    I suggest you read Stanley Kurtz’s book “Radical in Chief” and pay close attention not to the material about Obama, but about the groups that since the 1970′s have been playing the long game to incrementally collapse our system (adopting the theories and strategies of communists Antonio Gramsci and Andre Gorz). When you see these strategies, presented in their own writings, you recognize what Obama is doing EXACTLY fits that template.

  • alanwr

    Obama campaigned hard on change and how he wanted to change America. He is doing just that and the Dens are going along. Normally when a candidate speaks of change, they’re talking about focus and scandal. How can his party still not see that he wants to change “of the people for the people’” to “of the government to the government.”

  • la2000

    If you think it’s certain disaster, then at least pick how you lose: fighting to get a candidate who can still win, or curling up in a ball with cotton in your ears, pretending the Romney candidacy isn’t rattling apart around you.

    I actually think that going into the convention without a nominee would make the republican convention the most viewed political event in the history of the nation. Assuming we emerge with a good choice, I think that the enthusiasm for someone new and fresh would carry them almost to the finish line.

    Remember all of the excitement around Palin (pre Couric interview)? Now imagine that at the TOP of the ticket. It’s not hard to imagine how something like that might carry the GOP to victory.

  • commonsenseobserver

    And believing in Sugarcandy Mountain.

  • clamdigger53

    Romney is simply playing poker,calling the other player to show his cards. Show the school grades and then i show you my hand.

  • jakee308

    quid pro quo offer a la Trump’s idea.

    Mr. President, for every year of schooling you release your transcripts for, I’ll release my tax returns for.

    Now unless Romney’s got something in the old tax closet rattling around then this is an easy win as we’re pretty sure that the choom meister’s got some heavy bones rolling around in his.

    If Romney doesn’t make some kind of offer and follow through if they agree, then we have a problem.

  • http://moelane.com/ Moe Lane

    Shoo.

  • SoFiMil

    .

  • wlcjr

    Because he is the President. His bonafides are his record as president. Any record exchange should be with Fast and Furious documents.

  • tnfriendofcoal101368

    Your days are numbered…109 to be exact

  • edintexas

    NT

  • commonsenseobserver

    Used to be thought of as a great strategist before he engineered Team Mac’s implosion.

  • commonsenseobserver

    The disadvantage of not releasing his returns would be the inability to rebut such lies.

    Perhaps Romney should just reveal two parts of his tax records- his income and how much he paid.

  • tnfriendofcoal101368

    Fast and Furious documents…

  • commonsenseobserver

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303933704577532981276269006.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303933704577532873471701152.html?mod=opinion_newsreel

  • edintexas

    “How can his party still not see…?

    The active party members can and do see exactly what he wants and where he is going. Those who vote for the party, as opposed to bothering to know anything about the party’s nominees, will continue to do so.

  • cwfoster

    “Palin meltdown”? People make it sound like Romney stepped in it. I listened to half the speech, but I heard nothing that was off base. My biggest complaint is that no one wants to acknoledge that Obama isn’t simply incompetent. The only bright spot on the horizon currently is the results and implications of hydraulic fracking, giving us a glimpse of having the worlds greatest petroleum reserves. Yet the Obama administration seems intent on trying to regulate and or ban fracking so they can stop the progress being made on non-Federal lands! This is NOT the actaions of an incompetent, this is deliberate, premeditated sabotage of our economy and productivity, and it’s high time our leaders (the Conservative movements) recognized this.

  • edintexas

    Without showing legal deductions, only showing income and taxes might result in Dear Leader’s friends (particularly the MSM) and campaign (also including the MSM) drubbing Romney over how little he paid in taxes when compared to his income.

    Romney has said he didn’t wish to provide “them” (see above) with the opportunity to dredge through thousands of pages of his tax returns. The possibility of errors is fairly good the larger the return gets. While Obama’s friends and campaign would ignore any errors in the government’s favor, they would pounce on the smallest error in Romney’s favor.

  • malvernpa

    I was not a Mitt man but he has the nomination, let the man do his job, you had the chance to run for this nomination and did not do it so get out of the captains chair. Your idea of a campaign is to have a bunch of privates in a war zone calling out the orders, that will cause chaos and chaos kills in desperate times. It is the Obama team that has the dead weight around their neck with the media keeping them afloat. Obama will sink under the weight of his own corruption and ignorance.

  • tnfriendofcoal101368

    1) He didn’t pay as much taxes as you – most of Romney’s income the last 10-15 years has come from investments – which means most of his taxes are capital gains at a lower rate and if there is a year where his investments were down…look at this video were Mika Brezinski does exactly to Boone Pickens (who has waayyy more money than Mitt Romney) exactly what the Obama campaign wants to do to Mitt Romney i.e. tar him by playing by the rules that they didn’t think was important enough to change. In addition, ignoring the fact that Romney in the last year has given more to charity and paid more in taxes than Barack Obama has made in his life. As Romney had a real job, a payroll to meet and didn’t acquire his fortune mostly from fictional accounts of his own life.

    2. Richie Rich

  • Common_Cents

    What ELSE does he have to do or say to prove he isn’t some naive guy who just doesn’t know any better? That he has an agenda to ‘transform America’?

    The guy is a Milli Vanilli lip syncing fraud but he isn’t that stupid to not know exactly what he is doing/trying to do. He’s spelled it out in word and deed.

    Hiring energy Sec that wants 8-9 buck gas, obama wants to ruin coal companies(huge source of electricity), hired Van Jones, a known radical, on and on and on….started his career in a known terrorists home, Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn. Grew up with a communist mentor. The list is loooooong.

    What ELSE does this guy have to do to convince America he is a radical and not just some ignorant liberal like your friend/neighbor/co-worker who just doesnt know any better?

  • barleycorn

    The title is even perfect.

    This paragraph sums up Barack Obama as well as any I’ve read:

    “Barack Obama was raised first in Hawaii where his mentor was a communist. Then Indonesia and then back in Hawaii where he spent his time in a prestigious private school stoned. Then he went to private, super liberal colleges where his autobiographical fiction suggests he basically played the role of emo wanderer. Then he became a self-described failed community organizer. Then he entered the ranks of academics and politicians.”

    And this is dead on:

    “I think Barack Obama is just profoundly ignorant about America and its free enterprise system. He wants to take over and ?fix? that which he does not understand.”

    There is an old idiom that states: Those who can do, those who can’t teach”. Perhaps we should update that especially for Mr. Obama.

    “Those who can do, those who can’t, fix.”

  • porkandcheese

    Put me in the camp that believes Obama hates this country. He didn’t just hang out with pseudo-intellectuals of a leftist slant. He spent July 4, 2005 with his old friend Bill Ayers the unrepentant domestic terrorist. He lied about how well they were acquainted. He lied about whether he was in Rev. Wright’s church for the GD Amerikkka sermon. The LA Times hid a tape that would have revealed to the public something that would have torpedoed his presidential campaign. He was a member of the New Party that wanted to overthrow our government. Has he changed his mind or had some epiphany? Obviously not.

    This “You didn’t make it,” and “Healthy people who want to keep their money are freeloaders” talk from him is more revealing talk along the lines of “Spread the wealth around” and “Energy prices will necessarily skyrocket.” Obama is a Marxist, he is a danger to a free and prosperous United States of America, and Mitt Romney is finally treating him as such.

    Why was Romney so broke after the primaries? Because he unloaded all his available resources on conservatives. Why is he lagging in polls now? For two reasons: He is soft after not having to defend himself in an easy primary, and He cannot attack Obama for things he did himself, i.e. Romneycare.

    This latest speech was an improvement in his campaigning, because he now realizes that just talking about the economy isn’t enough. The real issue of this election is What Kind of America Do We Want? Obama does not love this America that we all know and love. He wants to *fundamentally” change it.

  • barleycorn

    I wouldn’t have seen it if you hadn’t cleaned up a spill with it.

    It gives me renewed hope that Romney gets it.

    Also I would point out that Romney gave this speech without a teleprompter. He is not a spellbinding orator but he speaks well and clearly knows what he’s talking about, both attributes that distinguish him from BO.

    As he spoke at the end about America’s place in the the world and in history I was moved in way I have not been by a politician in a very long time.

    He’s not a great orator but he’s getting better.

  • runner12

    But in a different way than people might think. I do think he likes America, just not the America our Founding Fathers created. He desires to morph it into his own socialist-utopia vision. So while I do not think he will be turning the keys over to a foreign power any time soon, I do think he will actively try and destroy the Republic form of government from within.

    On Romney, I completely agree with you. I cannot figure why so many are freaking out right now over his campaign. Could it be better? Sure, there is always room for improvement. But is is not awful and weak, as some would have people to believe.

    Most people are not paying attention right now and no one cares about Bain capital, FYI. Romney has done well to avoid this tit-for-tat in this area, as any comment would bring more attention to it and divert from Obama’s failed policies. Keep the focus on Obama’s failures and the wretched economy he has
    created.

    Romney’s speech to the NAACP was great. If he keeps that up, he will win the Presidency.

  • ateam

    An average family with teenage children who drive to jobs and both adults working are burning at least 40 gallons of gas a week. Gasoline when Obama took office was $1.80 per gallon. In Georgia it is $3.30 now. Even if you ignore lack of leadership. Even if you ignore the erosion of our constitutional rights. Even if you ignore the government takeover of healthcare. This is the math:

    $1.50 X 40 X 52 = $3,120 per year that we don’t have now that we did have in 2008.

    What happened to the family that burns 80 gallons? $6,240 per year.

  • Common_Cents

    If not, I’ll be pissed.

    Romney has been running for president for how many years now? 5-6? Plus running for/being governor. He’s got to be prepared for this obvious attack on his wealth and tax returns. It would be a huge face palm moment if he isn’t prepared for this.

  • wintermute

    the comparison is absurd on its face. I don’t believe the ‘Palin is an idiot’ meme but she was completely unequipped for both the campaign and the actual office. Combined with a horrible campaign that i think wasn’t even sure it wanted to win and it was just a disaster.

    Mitt Romney is running a good campaign. This tax thing is a red herring. Nobody is going to go into a voting booth and worry about his taxes when the economy is melting down around them and the president is saying we aren’t allowed to reap the benefits of our own hard work.

    I like our position right now. I dont know you at all so I cant tell if youre a concern troll but saying this is anything like the palin fail is just extremely off.

  • gagirl74

    Everything you stated is spot on! Just last night I was re-reading an article from 2008 from The American Thinker by James Simpson. He gave the most thorough, concise and documented description of Cloward-Piven, Alinsky, and Barack Obama’s connection to them and their influence on, not only Obama, but the media and the democrat party. The article is entitled, “Barack Obama and the Strategy of Manufactured Crisis” and was published on September 28, 2008. It is lengthy but well worth the read. I have shared it with several friends over the past 3+ years and it has changed some minds. If not changed minds, at least got them questioning and researching on their own. Obama knows exactly what he is doing. He is following the roadmap that has been laid out for decades by the leftists in this country. They are a hair’s breadth away from achieving full socialism in this country and they will not go down without a fight. I fear fight may not be just a figure of speech.

  • trimulchio

    there is a legal requirement to release your tax returns (with which Romney has complied), however, there is NO legal duty to disclose college transcripts. It looks . . . dumb.

    Further, it is an ambush. Obama graduated magna cum laude from HLS: his transcripts are probably impressive, certainly for law school. If his undergraduate record is weaker, it is redeemed by his law school performance.

    Romney’s problem is that studied minimal compliance appears suspect. Operationally defined, it probably IS suspect: there are probably things in his tax records that are either suspect or embarassing.

    Romney has things he can run on:

    1) range of experiance (business; government; not-for-profit; AND religious organization management experiance;

    2) time in the LDS Church charitable system, a good model to replace the welfare state; and

    3) a genuine understanding of how business works and a strong rep as “Mr. Fixit.”

    However, the Bain Capital SEC disclosures are more of an issue than most yet understand. People may have done deals based on Romney’s hand being on the tiller when he now says it wasn’t. SOX was not yet in effect then, but if it had been, this would probably be fatal.

    There has to be a reasoned debate at high levels of the Romney Campaign and the RNC as to whether it would be better for Romney to release his delegates and have an open convention. I am not certain that is the answer, but it is now concievable that it is and it MUST be addressed prior to the 11th Hour.

    At minimum, the VP pick has become determinative.

  • teaforme2012

    That’s one move that may backfire. Suppose Obama releases his transcripts and he’s a B student, or maybe he’s got a few Cs. We know he graduated and wasn’t thrown out of school for cheating. The worst that can happen is more Americans relate to him for not being a Mr. Perfect Straight A student.

    Or he is that Straight A student. Hardly a victory. Mitt’s just got to put his head down and keep grinding. Those tax returns can’t see the light of day, otherwise they would have been released by now. He just needs to ignore the screaming from both sides and keep the focus on jobs, and hope that some bumbler from the McCain camp, like Schmidt, isn’t going to start talking to his new friends in the liberal media.

  • trimulchio

    of the GOP Contenders out and about attacking Obama right now.

    That way they don’t look like they are keeping their options open for Romney releasing his delegates.

    Although, if they only attacked the Administration, they would be doing just that . . . .

  • tnfriendofcoal101368

    Bain doesn’t matter; no laws were broken; no investor lawsuits are pending; Romney signed documents saying he owned the company which he did; Investors were aware he took a leave of absence to go run the Olympics; It’s a non issue even the lefty’s have moved on to taxes and then something else next week.

  • funwithknives

    an inquiring mind.

    He does not like ‘As-Built America’ and sees the need to parse it’s laws {Me, being polite}, undermine and ignore his Oath to Us and his {presumed} Creator, and vocally demean any who oppose him in a way he initially clamed he would never, ever do.

    By action and word ,HimSelf does not ‘Heart’, like, admire or even really care about America, as-is.

    If that is not some ample evidence of hatred, then his idea of
    “Like-in’ Us” is just not palatable, and cannot be allowed to continue.
    I’ll look in the ATT phone book for ‘fwends’ and no doubt, have more success.

    Too much more of this, and ‘Love is Hate’ will become Our New Reality.

  • gretchenstreetman

    “Most people are not paying attention right now and no one cares about Bain capital, FYI. ”

    I generally agree with the sentiment that folks aren’t paying attention right now, but when talking to my age group (from a comment thread last week, I think you and I are in the same demo), folks are pretty fired up about the Bain thing, especially young conservatives and right leaning moderates. What I’m seeing is that those who were pretty non-engaged are now paying attention and the Dems attempt to define Romney negatively is working. Are you not seeing the same thing with your similarly-aged peers? Maybe it’s just me.

  • wintermute

    but b/c it legitimizes their absurd, petulant arguments. After he gives them 20 whatever years of tax returns they will start demanding something else equally as irrelevant but the media will harp on it again. I agree with a point made upstream that they already have the tax returns, no doubt from some sympathizer at the IRS. He hasn’t done anything illegal or the IRS would have come after him. Whatever it is its probably something that fits well into a 30 second ad after a little distortion.

    And whatever it is, I really dont care.

  • funwithknives

    and similar, that is where this would go off the rails for
    ‘Barry, The First’.
    They would neccessarily have all his backround claims, lived-in locations and Citizenship Status {also,as-claimed}

    They would also include any ‘Minority Points’/playing field leveling, for grade inflation if no redactions are used.

    These,among a few other reasons are why Barry H S Durham-Obama will never do this. As one-dimensional as he is, he knows dyno-mite when he sees it. He’ll leave it in the box it resides in.

    ….and you won’t see any of it at his future ‘Royal Presidency’ library ,either.
    The question : “Where’s Waldo?” will take on an entirely new meaning.

  • funwithknives

    4th line : Barry H S *Dunham*-Obama.

    OOooops….silly me.

  • teaforme2012

    And I hope it comes out that someone in his administration or his campaign is using an American citizen’s personal information for political gain. That’s exactly the kind of Chicago-style politics that will sink Obama’s ship.

  • gwbramhall

    I came early to the conclusion that Romney is
    the best man to run against President Obama. His
    business experience and touphness in how he
    handled the primaty challengers gave me hope
    that he would not be a patsey come the Fall
    election. However, I am not long from writing
    the campaign with the advise that there might be
    people working in his campaign that are not
    serving him well and may be working against him.
    Hardly a day goes by without mulitiple solicitations
    for contributions both at home and at work. This
    has to be very costly and an extreme waste of
    money. His decals don’t stick as well as his bumper
    stickers. I know you got to get back to your
    supporters, but if this is a sign of his management
    skills during this election season….Houston, I think
    we have a problem. Well, let’s hope they
    get better as time goes by and they offer us a
    sucessful and winning campaign. It is all too
    important that we win.

  • Martin Knight

    Worse, you’re transparent.

    We are, after all, the party that embraced those that demanded that we see not just a birth certificate, but the long form birth certificate, in order to accept that the President was in fact American.

    Who’s this “we” you’re talking about?

    So given our own recent demands for transparency and disclosure, for Romney to think that he could skate past an obvious expectation for financial disclosure is so staggeringly stupid that it leaves me speechless.

    So when do we get to see Obama’s paper trail? His school transcripts? His own tax returns?

  • Martin Knight

    Hit the Post button way too late …

  • Repair_Man_Jack

    -nt.

  • http://bit.ly/b2OIJf bobmann101

    It boggles my mind that a man who cannot pass to be in the FBI or CIA can be sittnging WH.

  • justperhaps45

    Using the “Golden rule” may be possible in this case. Not proper, maybe not legal, certainly not ethical but absolutely consistent with the progressives gleeful behavior related to their opposition which means they have defined what they want “done unto them.”

    Isn’t it a pity that we can’t use their behavior as an excuse for behaving badly?

  • APA Guy

    Honestly, what else can one deduce when a president wants to undo centuries of prosperity and greatness and replace it with debt and mediocrity?

    It’s true…he hates America…and his contempt for those who have made it great bears that fact out.

  • justperhaps45

    Didn’t Romney do the Olympics something like $1 per year or such.

    The problem with Romney is that he sets goals and is successful. Makes SOME jealous and spiteful, go figure?

    We seem to have a petty, picky POTUS who avoids mirrors.

    Remember he has made many $’s selling a book that another claims to have written. And, that his wife got a big promotion and raise with no apparent change in duties after he was elected to the IL Senate. There may be bones in the closets of that fine house they have in the “windy city?”

  • justperhaps45

    America is more than the structures, dirt , air and water, it includes the entirety of us all and the way we do what we do and why we do. You cannot parse America, we are a blend pimples, ribbons and all.

    By his fruits Obama shows more than hate, he show disregard for our purpose and success as a nation. He uses the jealousy of the ignorant and unsuccessful to grip power even as he endeavors to make them more poor, ignorant and hopeless. When was a mountain made higher, better by leveling it out? When? How?

  • trimulchio

    filings were in 2002, right before SOX made what Romney apparently did possibly culpable. It is one more thing that looks like Romney plays fast and loose with the rules when it suits him. It plays into the same theme with the tax returns that the Dems are having success with with one of teh weakest incumbents in US history coming off the horrible month of June.

    The senior Romney people and the RNC need to do a “come to
    J-s-s” meeting sooner rather than later. People have to know that if Romney does not release his delegates, he probably loses in November. The issue is if that hurts in 2016 and if it helps the Republican party split between Rhinos and Tea Party.

    IT IS JUST THAT BAD.

  • trimulchio

    who CANNOT release his tax returns because, even if all of it was legal (and he tacitly admits that, due to the size of his portfolio, some of it MAY NOT be), most people will see him as a human version of Scrooge McDuck, without the exotic ethnic background and the Horatio Alger backstory.

    In the worst economic climate for most people since the Great Depression, there is admiration for great executives and business leaders (which Romney needs to “capitalize” on more effectively) but ABSOLUTELY NO SYMPATHY . . . which Romney keeps looking for and expecting.

    Given that he took last week end off, I think some wisemen have to be having that “Tom Eagleton” moment with Romney.

    Again, the VP choice is starting to look like the last ditch effort. That actually paid off initially with Sarah Palin, maybe the best retail politician to hit the national stage since Bill Clinton, but you need some one with a broader background if they are going to be able to take the standard and govern.

  • trimulchio

    . . . but NO MORE. There are no legal requirements for college transcripts or even birth certificates (which, for the last, there should be). This really seems petty and weak, even if it isn’t, which means you have lost the debate and the Dems define Romney.

  • Melody Warbington (rwm52)

    To whom do you think he should release them, anyway? And what rules does Romney play fast and loose with?

    Furthermore, I haven’t heard anyone in my local GOP or tea party who cares about the tax returns. The entire issue is a smoke and mirrors distraction by the Obama camp to keep the focus away from the economy. If Romney releases the returns, it’ll be something else, and then something else, and then …

    We need to reprint the bumper stickers that say, “It’s the economy, stupid.” Then continue to hammer away on O’s failed policies.

  • tnfriendofcoal101368

    Than you do about Romney releasing his delegates. It’s a suggestion that silly on it’s face so I am offering up the trimulchio decision tree….

    First, go outside ask the nearest person standing to you “Is it raining?” – If their answer is different from yours, ask them to call 911 and relate that to the operator. Stand in place until the ambulance arrives.

    If you are in agreement, some questions:

    Are you a Gingrich or Santorum supporter just desparately holding on?
    If yes, go online and buy any Tony Robbins video, watch it and find the inner strength to accept ROMNEY WON THE FREAKING NOMINATION and he isn’t giving it back.

    If no, have you visited DKos more than once in the last six months
    If yes, they miss you and want you back.

    If no, we need gekster and a certain Bugs Bunny cartoon.

  • http://impudent.edublogs.org/ kyle8

    Babylon 4, the previous station that went back in time.

    No, I am not a nerd why do you ask?

  • trimulchio

    he losses . . . and so does the country.

  • trimulchio

    opinion.

    Romney left Bain Capital to fix the 2002 Winter Games, serve as Massachusetts Governor and run for President twice, settling for amassing Hundreds of Millions of Dollars, instead of the Billions his talents could realistically have brought him.

    Romney, his family and his close advisors see this as a sacrifice.

    The electorate, increasingly, see it as an ego-trip, a rich man’s vanity project, like fixing up an old sailboat or classic car.

    Lots of talented people try politics after they don’t grasp the final brass ring in their first career. The first duty campaign staff have is to tell them in no uncertain terms that the office they are running for is not a consolation prize. It is a posistion they will usually have to earn on merit over the guy or gal already serving there. That person, no matter how weal they may be is teh devil teh voters know and YOU are the devil they don’t. No one seems to have explained that yet to Romney.

  • APA Guy

    Romney needs nothing explained to him relative to his record…particularly from someone who thinks that the pursuit of wealth makes someone less appealing to the electorate.

    If anything, someone who has sought and achieved private-sector success and accumulated wealth should serve as an example to those who chase the American dream. True conservatives know and understand this; liberals see this as evil…and no one will convince them otherwise anyway.

  • PowerToThePeople

    Really, I am being serious, are you retarded?

    Can not see how anyone of any IQ above retarded would make a comment like this one.

  • acat

    Can someone please find Obama a nice sinecure on Oahu as his consolation prize?

    Mew

  • tnfriendofcoal101368

    I vote to send him to the country that is an excellent example of the consequences of his policies: Greece.

  • Melody Warbington (rwm52)

    To whom should he release the delegates?

    What rules has he played fast and loose with?

    Romney is imminently more qualified to be POTUS than Obama. The fact that he has made money and created jobs while doing so is a plus which seems to be a concept Obama and liberals do not grasp. Romney understands it, and that’s what we need to explain to voters. Just about everything else is a distraction.

  • trimulchio

    An attempt to mime Reagan, to mimic has cadences but without passion or heart or . . . real belief. , and with av vagely petulent tone.

    How does a man whose faith teaches that the Constitution is divinely inspired NOT speak from the heart?

  • trimulchio

    campaign over the week-end, Republican governors calling for Romney to release more tax records than required—-classic distress signals.

    The issue now is what do you do. That’s the question no one wants to face.

  • acat

    if anyone was going to point that out.

    And what’s wrong with being a science fiction fan?

    Mew

  • acat

    Or .. are you The Shadow?

    How do you know what’s in Romney’s heart, or what was in Reagan’s, for that matter?

    Mew

    p.s. adjust your tin-foil

  • trimulchio

    “certain disaster at the polls” and you can still at least have a fighting chance?

    H-P got rid of Carly Fiorino when they figured out she was the wrong fit. Apple forced out . . . and brought back . . . Steve Jobs.

    The only thing certain is that not facing the issue does not help.

  • tnfriendofcoal101368

    should believe it is Babylon 4!

  • trimulchio

    and being sold to.

    Keep this in mind when you consider this matter:

    ?Sincerity – if you can fake that, you’ve got it made.?
    ? George Burns

  • trimulchio

    Bill Clinton? Would NOT be the first time . . . .

  • littlehouse18

    I’m hoping they’re just waiting to see what prices will be closer to the election.

  • trimulchio

    to be POTUS than Obama.”

    Likely true. Completely irrelivant.

    The salient question AT THIS POINT is: “Is he more likely to be elected than Obama?”

    Increasingly, the answer appears to be: “No.”

    The Courses of Action are:

    1) try anyway and hope he improves;

    2) try to get him to bow out with as much grace as possible while something can be done; or

    3) accept the set-back and work hard on the US Senate races and the state-house races.

    The issues raised are:

    1) What does this mean for 2016?

    and

    2) Does this make the tension between TEA Party/Liberty Movement people and RINOs unsolveable?

  • Repair_Man_Jack

    Somehow, the honest answer to that is probably nothing.

    Assuming my intuition ont his is correct, who would you prefer to see win in 2012? Romney or Obama?

  • Repair_Man_Jack

    Bwank! Thanks for playing.

    http://hotair.com/archives/2012/07/18/cbsnyt-poll-shows-voter-enthusiasm-among-gop-sharply-rising/

    GOP voters are more enthusiatic over 2012 than Dems. Hence more likely to vote.

    http://hotair.com/archives/2012/07/18/pelosi-house-democrats-should-skip-the-national-convention/

    Nancy Pelosi is advising her fellow partisans in the House to not be at his convention. A sign that connecting their name with his is a form of poison.

  • tnfriendofcoal101368

    First there is no poll which does not show Romney leading the race. Incumbent President’s don’t gain numbers over time. Barack Obama is currently sitting at 46% in Ohio, Virginia, Florida, Colorado, and Iowa. He already trails Romney in Florida and the next set of polling will have him behind in Ohio. In addition, he is under 50 in Nevada, Michigan and Pennsylvania. An election where Michigan is being discussed as a swing state with a straight face isn’t going well for the incumbent. In addition, Arizona, Indiana and North Carolina places where Obama won or was competitive are off the table this time. Romney is going to win the election more easily than George W. Bush won either of his unless the economy starts to grow magically at 5-6% or Romney finds his own Rielle Hunter. There you have it unless Jack gives Obama some of his magic beans or Romney suddenly loses control of his zipper, then in 2016, Mitt Romney will be running for re-election.

  • Bill S

    Your “issues” and “courses of action” are irrelevant. He’s the nominee. Deal with it…and either support him, provide constructive criticism, or pipe down.

  • gekster

  • Melody Warbington (rwm52)

    Release the delegates to whom?

    What rules has Romney broken, or as you say, played fast and loose with?

    Let me add a third. Are you doing anything to help change things? Involved in your local GOP or tea party or a candidate’s GOTV? Door knocking for a campaign? Okay, that’s three more, but they’re all pretty simple.

  • gekster

    You gave him ‘simple’ questions.

  • macbookben

    ” You’re in it, now. Up to your neck!”

  • acat

    It’s Romney or Obama.

    Choose.

    Mew

  • PowerToThePeople

    Welcome to the dark side…….

    Just try this once, and believe me this guy has deserved it, make the last word on your post be idiot. Do it, do it, it will release the force within you and make your transition to the dark side complete.

    Come Luke………..

  • zpatriot

    at this point.
    His failure to release his tax returns makes it look like he is hiding something. And he didn’t even release the full tax return for 2010 accounting for his FOREIGN bank accounts.

    I’m already more than a little queasy with a guy who is off-shoring jobs and off-shoring money that the government needed to give our troops the helmuts and body armor that they were missing.

    And what’s this bull about being CEO of Bain, but not being there, but getting $100K salary for not being there, but being in Utah, but still being in Massachusetts so you could run for Governor. I can’t understand a word you are saying! And, if I can’t understand it, you think some swing voter in Ohio is going to figure it out?

    Also, is the guy who invented Obama-care/Romney-care, the guy we want making the case on health care?

    Also, all this animal cruelty stuff really makes me uncomfortable. A dog on the roof? A drugged up horse? And where did you find that guy Malek who barbecued a dog?

    We have to dump Romney before it’s too late!

  • Melody Warbington (rwm52)

    Believe me, I’ve got the fire. My husband is constantly afraid I’m going to throw something at the TV and bust it. It usually takes us a good 10-15 minutes to get through anything political because I keep pausing it to talk back.

    That’s why I had to start posting under my real name – keeps me in check. I kept recommending redstate to so many friends and family members, I knew they might see my comments.

    But, I hear the dark side calling….

  • tnfriendofcoal101368

    Though this time you did it right where Bill S can see you – I suspect we won’t have you around much longer. Please tell Markos we are laughing at him not with him; also would you let him know Obama’s days are numbered; 109 to be exact.

  • Melody Warbington (rwm52)

    Simple question and a one word answer will suffice.

    Which one are you voting for?

  • gekster

    Like any other troll, (and this is a poor one)
    he is just here to fling crap against the wall.

  • zpatriot

    Obama cut taxes and killed bin Laden, and the Dow has nearly doubled since he took office.

    Romney has flipped so many times, I can’t keep track. He just seems like he is hiding stuff, and I don’t like the way he shipped jobs overseas, and his numbers on the budget (cut taxes and expand DoD and cut the deficit), don’t add up.

    And, I’m sorry, when that debate audience booed that gay soldier, and Rommey stood there like a deer in the cross-hairs, I just got a knot in my stomach. A soldier on foreign soil, protecting us at home, and Romney lets them boo him? I don’t get it.

  • APA Guy

    Registered today…bleating the leftist talking points…insists “dumping Romney” is best for our chances.

    Cya…don’t let the door hit ya on the way to DKOS. Enjoy your tall cup of

    Photobucket

  • tnfriendofcoal101368

    z-troll – just so you know Romney is not a flip flopper any more – that is old news. Billy Clinton dropped the hint to Axelrod that they’d be better with swing voters to paint Romney as a tax cheating, people firing, no feeling, conservative thug. Seems Billy thinks swing voters don’t mind flip flopper to much since that criticism hits a little to close to home. Now, you are trolling off the teleprompter much like Obama in Roanoke.

    PS: We all know you are troll and voting for Obama – you might as well drop the pretense.

  • APA Guy

    Get lost.

  • Melody Warbington (rwm52)

    Conservatism and what’s good for the country being among them if you’d even consider voting for Obama.

  • macbookben

    a majority of the electorate believing that success can not be achieved on a level playing field, that the government can and must move the goal posts so that everyone is guaranteed an equal measure of it. Every man a king, indeed.

  • PowerToThePeople

    the soldier was not booed because he was gay, he was booed for his leftist talking points. You are a stupid fool, but do not think for a sec the many people on here are stupid enough to buy your BS.

    You are a liar, you know it, we know you know it.

  • macbookben

    n/t

  • Viet71

    Americans may or may not hate paying federal income taxes, but they HATE filling out Form 1040 or even 1040A.

    For Romney not to release his returns is going to cost him. He’d be much better off to let the Dems and the media have a couple of field days. He’s showing real lack of judgment here. He’s on the defensive until he releases those returns. Period.

  • gekster

    It’s only a big deal to the left, who ain’t going to vote for Romney anyway.

  • APA Guy

    Take a look at the following website:

    http://www.taxhistory.org/www/website.nsf/Web/PresidentialTaxReturns/

    Reagan didn’t release tax returns until he released his 1981 return. Bush didn’t release his tax returns prior to 2000…nor did Cheney. Clinton didn’t release tax returns prior to 1992.

    Romney already released his 2010 return. He needs to do what he is doing now…hammering Obama on his record and comments that disparaged business owners and job creators. The tax returns, Bain, etc. are diversions…diversions that too many on our side are willing to embrace.

  • PowerToThePeople

    no more does Romney need to release his tax forms past what he already has then does Obama needs to release his school transcripts.

    It is nothing but a distraction. The folks who are desperately looking for work do not care about the lines on his tax return, they care about work. The at least 2 million who will lose their jobs in January do not care about his taxes, they want to hear the tax cuts will be extended so they keep their jobs.

    You are wrong about what he needs to do and that he is on the defensive. This BS makes Obama look desperate and Romney needs to do nothing more than stay on the economy. Nothing more, nothing less.

  • Viet71

    The Left WILL use any pretext to attack Romney.

    The prize: the Indies. IMO, they’ll think Romney is hiding something if he doesn’t release, say, his past five years of returns.

    Not saying this is fair. Just politics.

    No big deal, IMO, except Romney is making it a big deal. All Prez candidates have released past returns. That’s his problem.

  • gekster

    who were demanding the same of Obama.

  • Viet71

    Thanks, BTW, for the info.

    Romney’s problem is that he’s letting Redstate throw his counter-punches.

  • Viet71

    You’re right about a distraction. Romney can end it. Today.

    The debate needs to be about the last 3.5 years. Not about Romney as a person. He’s clean.

  • tnfriendofcoal101368

    No text

  • Viet71

    The issue here isn’t fairness. It’s who wins.

  • acat

    By sharing the load, we let Team Romney continue with the “Obama’s a nice guy but he’s in over his head” or “Obama’s a nice guy, but he made some rookie mistakes” meme …

    The counter-punch has to happen .. but it doesn’t have to (immediately) come from Team Romney.

    Mew

  • acat

    (Cheshire grin)

  • Bill S

    .

  • Bill S

    The content alone was enough to get an early exit. It would have been sooner if the day job hadn’t gotten in the way…

  • gekster

    Not by answering every call out by the left who won’t demand the same of thier candidate.
    If you can, check out some of his speaches from today.
    Do a search on ‘romney speaches 7-18-2012′.

  • tnfriendofcoal101368

    oh well he can add “banned by RedState” to his DKos signature. As acat said, I think that was his goal

  • tnfriendofcoal101368

    Let me see how fast Obama looks to turn those over. They sure didn’t want to turn the Chu/Westly e-mails over.

  • http://impudent.edublogs.org/ kyle8

    what ever happened to Bbjaylive? Haven’t seen his mmt tomfoolery for days.

  • gekster

    And is now wondering an abandoned castle in England somewhere.
    South West England I suspect.

  • http://moelane.com/ Moe Lane

    We had quite a few sleepers/trolls who panicked over Romney’s speech yesterday, it seems.

  • Bill S

    The verdict?

    abi igitur!

  • avagreen

    @ the TV when I see the ads about Romney’s tax records beyond 2 years ago.

    A Romney ad or a snappy comeback from Romney needs to get scripted. Really quick.

  • http://lukos.com Ed54

    And let it compete with stories about Lochte-vs-Phelps and who won the 100m sprint. By the convention, I’ll all be forgotten.

    I don’t get the reluctance to release them though. Policy wonks in the media will make a big deal about the rate he paid as a % of his income. But most average Joes will just look at the amount and say “holy cow, Romney pays 5 million bucks in taxes a year!”

  • http://impudent.edublogs.org/ kyle8

    Brooksrob

  • tnfriendofcoal101368

    the deadwood; first a DKos troll and now a Paulbot…

  • http://lukos.com Ed54

    in light of polls out today that showi the race continuing to tighten. Throw in a Convention bounce and possibly a VP bounce, and it’s hard to see why Romney should be doing anything differently than he is.

  • ihateliberals

    Obama has no credentials he can prove or will prove and his Presidential Record is dismal. His one crowning achievement is Obamacare and 65% of the American people want it repealed. so what is left, Attack the opponent. It doesn’ t matter how useless the information is bring anything you can into question is his method. Make the opponent spend his time defending what you said. It doesn’t even have to be true because you just want to distract him from his message. That is Obama’s strategy and it seems to be working very well for him right now. If he hadn’t made that gaft about business he wouldn’t be in trouble right now. On the other hand when you have a lack luster Candidate like Romney and combine that with lackluster consultants you get nothing.

    No matter how passionate Romney is about any subject he can’t convey that passion to the public. Romney has no defined campaign right now other than to defeat Obama. he is shooting blanks though. I hate to always have to go back to Reagan but he was one of the greatest communicators of our time. he could make you feel passionate about most anything. After a Reagan speech you wanted to find the closest American flag and give it a kiss and hug.

    Carter Tried to distract Reagan but Reagan had a platform and a point. Carter could say what he wanted to but Reagan would give it a slight mention and then continue to push his message home. he didn’t waste his time blaming Carter he spent his time telling us how great we are and that through his plan we could continue to be great. Romney first off doesn’t have a plan that anyone knows about and he doesn’t speak with the believable passion that envelops me. It’s like getting hit in the face with a wet dish cloth. Romney could do this if he had consultants that knew what they were doing.

    Come November 6th when I step into that voting booth I will not be voting for Romney I will be voting against barrack Obama and that isn’t a good thing. I want to be not just voting against the evil one i want to be voting for something. Right now all I know is that Romney is a red Light for Obama but I don’t see the Green light for Romney.

    One other problem Romney has is Congress. We have John Boehner, John McCain, McConnell, Eric Cantor and a slue of others that are less than desirable representing the GOP. McCain comes out today defending a Clinton flunky. McCain is to the left of center and should have never been Returned to DC. That was a fail for the people of AZ and now the country. John Boehner is the worse Speaker of the House that we have had in decades. Most of the time we don’t know what Party he belongs to. People have no confidence in the current congressional leaders and that bleeds over to Romney.

    One more thing of interest. There is a battle of words about who has sent the most jobs off-shore. Romney needs to bite this in the behind fast and not defending the jobs Bain Capital may have sent or created off-shore but provide a plan that will stop the trade deficit with China and Mexico and show how we can bring those jobs home.

    Tax returns, college transcripts etc etc don’t do a thing for me now. I don’t care how much Romney made or the investments he has nor do I care now about Obama’s birth certificate or his tax records they are what they are. We have all the evidence we need that the Progressive Liberal Plan of the DNC and Obama isn’t working for America, Romney needs to tell us how we are going to fix that and get past the personal attacks.

    sorry about the length of this but I am passionate about my country. I have Risk my life for her and it sickens me to see her transformed into what I was fighting to prevent. It makes my service seem irrelevant now and a waste of my time. In many ways I sacrificed my life because going to war changes who you are. But it makes sacrifices many others made literally with their lives to defend our Constitution the very one that Obama makes a mockery of, wasted.

    I pray for our citizens, our leaders and the members of our Military everyday. May God be with us all to save our freedoms that he has granted us.

  • http://impudent.edublogs.org/ kyle8

    I like it when they run in packs, good shootin.

  • acat

    I’m not sure who holds the record .. I remember, at one point, Neil having 4 or 5 “G’bye”s in the comments list…

    Mew

  • ctredstater

    Rush is Right – this current occupant of the White House hates America. he is the product of the Reverend Wrights of the world.

    and his wife is to the left of him.

    he knows full well what he is doing – everything he can to “transform America” from a Shining City on a Hill to Marxist dictatorship run by him and his pals. period.

  • poorwilber

    How in the h*ll a liberal incompetent boob like Steve Schmidt ever got in charge of a major campaign is beyond belief.

  • APA Guy

    …including Super PACs, which are not restricted in the same meaningful manner that Romney is (i.e. having to wait until after the convention) where spending is concerned.

    In any event, I think Romney falls into their trap by releasing endless bundles of tax returns. All something like that does is give the enemy ammo…and we don’t need to reload their guns for them.

  • runner12

    being employed than they do Bain capital and in the same token fear the loss of jobs. They fear rising taxes and the damage that is going to ensue from ObamaCare. They could care less about Bain capital. Especially when finding out that Bain has donated heavily to Dems in the past and that several people in the Obama administration formerly worked for Bain and other venture capitalist firms. It kind of kills the whole criticism Romney off of the bat.

    Besides, where I live few people begrudge those who become successful as long as they are not dishonest.

  • runner12

    heavy dose of sarcasm. My point was that if you asked O if he hated America, he would say no and probably mean it (in a way). According to him, he does not hate America per se, he just hates what we have stood for the last 200+ years!! He thinks that if he can “fundamentally change” it into a socialist utopia he will make it perfect!

    A more accurate statement would be that he hates the Republic form of government. By stating it this way, it is easier to make the everyday folks understand why he is so dangerous to this country. Simply stating that he hates America generally gets you a glazed over look. By stating it the way I mentioned, it paves the way to discuss O’s socialism and how his belief in that system will prompt him to throw our Constitution under the bus at every turn.

  • runner12

    You and I know that when we say Obama hates America, we are referring to the core principles that built this nation (ie the Republican form of government). But most people do not understand that. Heck, I think O himself likes America, if he could just “tweek” it a bit /sarc.

    The terrible danger with Obama is that his ideology is fundamentally at odds with the founding intent of this country. Socialism and a Republican form of government are complete opposites. No matter how many 4th of July parades O attends, this will not change.

    Therefore O will give some lip service to his love for America, all the while seeking to destroy the very foundation this country is built on.

    I hope that explains what I was trying to say a little more. I read over my initial comment and caught several errors that probably made it confusing.

  • gretchenstreetman

    are you seeing the same thing re: Bain even among younger folks or do you mean across a broad demographic? I’m in the same position wrt people not begrudging those who are successful, but that’s probably because my peers are younger folks who make +$100K per year. Generally way north of $100K actually, but a lot of these folks are interested in the Bain thing mostly because they are venture capital folks who have somewhat of a disdain for private equity (these are VERY different financial animals). I think this distinction of VC vs. PE has gotten lost in the media cycle. Anyway, that’s maybe too inside baseball, but its interesting to watch.

    As for rising taxes, this does not seem to be much of an issue at all with my peers–they accept that even if you did away with entitlements that conservatives don’t like and cut defense spending that libs don’t like, taxes will have to rise dramatically in the coming years because there’s no way Boomers are going to give up a penny of their Social Security or Medicare that they’re “entitled to.” The current +$250K tax hike issue is seen by Gen x, Y and Millennials generally as simply noise by Boomers who don’t want to pay an extra penny but have no problem screwing X, Y and Millenials down the road as they demand more and more SS and Medicare spending.

    It’s a generational thing and it ain’t pretty and only going to get worse. Regardless of my own feelings on the subject, I’m shocked that Boomers of both parties aren’t realizing this yet.

    Oh, and thanks for your response, btw. Have a great day!

  • runner12

    If I am being totally honest, most of my friends would not even have a clue who or what Bain capital is, much less the criticisms regarding it towards Romney.

    My friends are just everyday voters who really do not follow politics all that much. Their main concern in that vein is the economy and O care.

  • gretchenstreetman

    having friends that are not that engaged in politics. It’s all my friends talk about! It’s like living in a real live Reddit’esque hivemind. :)

  • Melody Warbington (rwm52)

    and I pay more than enough in taxes, so your friends are right in that I don’t want to pay any more than I already do. However, there are a good number of Boomers here at redstate who have advocated for means testing, changing the retirement age and all around SS reform that would include privatizing it and giving the younger generation the choice to opt out – something we never had. Additionally, this isn’t a recent revelation. Many of has have been vocal about this for a long time.

    And it’s not a question of sticking it to the younger generation, rather the fact that I and others have worked since we were in our teens while the government confiscated our earnings under the guise of a savings plan. For me, that’s 35 years of payments that I would have preferred to stay in my wallet, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I never see a penny of it. Thankfully, my husband and I have made other arrangements for our retirement, but there are many who simply could not afford to save in addition to what the government confiscated. The fact that we want money that we earned back doesn’t make us selfish or demanding.

    I’m on record as saying that I’d be wiling to take reduced SS payments or give it up altogether in order to relieve the burden on my son (in college) if I could stop making payments and keep what I earn now through my retirement and opt out of Medicare.

  • tnfriendofcoal101368

    FICA is a tax you pay to the government that supports the people currently on social security and medicare. If means testing isn’t a fact by the time I reach retirement (and the age isn’t moved back), SS and medicare won’t be there for anyone. Paul Ryan is not trying to kill ss and medicare; he is trying to save it. I don’t know that I wholly agree with his approach but he is trying to be fair in honoring the committments to folks who don’t have the time to make other arrangements while moving to means testing and market based insurance options in the future.

    I am continually amazed at the silliness of people who say I should raise Warren Buffet’s taxes while at the same time paying for his health care.

  • runner12

    more. But on the other hand, it is a good way to find out what the average, educated voter thinks.

    At this point, it is all about the economy, the debt, and entitlements (O care included) for them. It really frustrates my friends to see people on welfare driving more expensive cars than they drive and talking on Iphones.

    That is the one subject that is sure to get them fired up, along with the massive debt we have.

  • runner12

    Baby Boomers, although they know that the coming massive addition of this generation to MediCare will bankrupt us. After all, most all of our parents are at the tail end of the Baby Boomer generation. We have grown up hearing them say that they know they won’t see a penny of SS, or at least I did. That is not to say that there is not a general vagueness that they havd screwed up the country somehow from the 60′s on, but it is not well-defined in my set of friends.

    The ire, as I stated below is more towards the takers. Those who are lazy and live off the government. Not to say that my friends are not charitable. We all try to give back to the community and help those in need on a regular basis. But several of us work in jobs where daily we see people with expensive phones, cars, and purses on Medicaid and reduced free lunches at school. That jades you quite a bit.

  • gretchenstreetman

    I really appreciate your perspective on this, and I hope it was clear that I wasn’t trying to say all Boomers have the same perspective on these issues. Unfortunately, I suspect you may be seriously in the majority on this. In any event, good to know we have folks like you around!

  • Melody Warbington (rwm52)

    I assumed as much.

    However, did you mean to say “minority?” That may be, but the points I made with regard to Boomers having been forced to pay into the system and expecting a return of our own money are valid. I would agree that my generation dropped the ball as far as being complacent and not demanding some changes, but you could say that about any political issue.

    If the younger generation doesn’t want to be burdened, my advice is that they first need to educate themselves on conservatism and small government and stop the blame game, or put the blame where it belongs – big government. Then, they need to get involved in the process, starting with their local GOP’s and demand SS reform. Continuing to vote for liberals sure isn’t the answer.

    As runner12 noted below, it’s the takers who are the problem, whatever age they are.

  • gretchenstreetman

    nt.

  • rightlane1111

    Well…waited over three hours and had to travel over 100 miles round trip to get the driver’s license…but I HOPE…I got it. They were having trouble with the cameras.

    So…this is what I witnessed. People were not positioned in some cases and asked why the picture was not taken correctly. The response FROM ALL of the DDS officials is that these were special photographs for facial recognition.

    This was not about illegals…this is about where you are and what they can see. Little drones abut 2 feet square…well…Big Brother is watching.

    FYI…ALL states must comply by 2017. Some guy who moved to my state…said “we don’t go through this in Colorado…because this is a Conservative state…we have to go through this”. My answer…buddy…this is a FEDERAL LAW…and believe me…I knew that…what I didn’t know was the reason behind it. So guys…forget the chip in your hand…they’ve got technology on YOUR FACE.

  • rightlane1111

    http://dailycaller.com/2012/07/19/usda-partnering-with-mexico-to-boost-food-stamp-participation/

    Will Congress do anything…NOPE. Spend…spend…spend…and nobody does anything.

  • http://impudent.edublogs.org/ kyle8

    that will buy a lot of masa and friJoles.

    MMMM now I am getting hungry thinking about Mexican food.

  • PowerToThePeople

    and so easily started.

    We do not want people to starve, even if they are lazy. But at the same time, we have to stop propping people up better than those who do work and struggle to make ends meet. So…..

    Anyone who needs financial aid to buy food is granted the following,

    10 lb bag of beans per month per person. These will be dried beans, they can choose the kind.

    1 5 lb bag of onions a month per person per month

    10 lb bag of cornmeal per person per month

    5 lb bag of sugar per month per person

    1 large can of Crisco per person per month

    This will grant them all the food they need to survive, no one goes hungry, taxpayers save billions. And I guarantee after about 6 months max of eating 3 meals of beans, folks will pull their own bootstraps up and get out and find a job. IF they don’t. no problem, we will continue to grant you the above listed items.

  • avagreen

    I believe it was yesterday that I heard that.

    Here’s what a search come up with:
    http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/outreach/coalition/resources/ExcelServ7.pdf

  • rightlane1111

    WOW…I know that Obama is a liar…i.e., Obamacare now scheduled to cost of $2 trillion but Bush…I found out a lot about what laws/bills were put into place. Senator Jeff Sessions was on the radio tonight.
    Not good.

  • gretchenstreetman

    Although i wish you were in the majority :)

    Again, I’m not saying all Boomers are guilty of this, but you’re right that it seems the Boomers were complacent and not demanding changes (for decades). The problem for many in the Gen X/Y/Millenial crowd (probably esp. Gen Y and Millenials) is that this is not just some other political issue and they do not trust Boomers of any political persuasion to actually fix it. Case in point: I was talking to a couple of my friends who work for big defense contractors and one of them (former member of college Republicans) noted that those calling for “small government” seem to have zero problems with defense spending, even though it accounts for a massive part of our budget, on par with all discretionary entitlement spending. Keep in mind that the folks arguing this with me have in their self interest to advocate for more defense spending. I argued that real conservatives want to reduce all spending and it’s just a matter of priorities. Unfortunately, this view does not break through with the younger generation, who view calls for limited government to really mean “I want government limited to the things I care about.”

    None of this is fair, but it’s the way things are. Here’s a window into how many in the young generation view the political state of affairs today: Michele Bachmann. Fairly or not, she has become the face of the Tea Party to younger people (I think this is unfair, but whatever). I’ve heard a dozen times or more over the past few days from my peers that, for them, any shred of credibility that the Tea Party has was obliterated by her “attacks” on Huma Abedin. I am making no comment on her letter or the content thereof, but what I’m saying is that older folks do not understand that events like this, appearing to launch a “McCarthyite” witch hunt, make them recoil and disregard the entire conservative message. It tars and feathers the entire Tea Party/conservative movement, and frankly, that sucks. It means that all of the energy I expend in trying to have a constructive dialogue with members of my generation is completely lost and over shadowed by an issue that does not relate in any way, shape or form to fiscal issues that we need to be talking about.

    Hope that doesn’t sound like a rant, but this lady is frustrated. Argh. Was that a Kowalski? I’m still not sure what that is, but I saw runner12 say it.