Another GOP debate but one that will likely be unlike any that have come before. Mitt Romney was the champ, he had it all sewn up, he was just waiting for his glove to be held up and the championship belt wrapped around him…then came Clubber Newt and the following conversation between Romney and his Campaign Manager:

Mitt: He’s just another fighter!

Campaign Manager: No he ain’t just another fighter. This guy is a wrecking machine and he’s hungry! Hell, you ain’t been hungry since you won that belt!

Mitt: You really don’t think I got nothing left do you?

Campaign Manager: Well, Rom, let’s put it this way. Now, three years ago you was supernatural. You was hard and you was nasty and you had this cast-iron jaw but then the worst thing happened to you, that could happen to any fighter. You got civilized. But don’t worry kid. You know, presidents retire, horses retire, Man-o-war retired. They put him out to stud. That’s what you should’ve done, retired.

Mitt Romney, who would be as comfortable participating in a boxing match as he would be befriending the homeless at a soup kitchen, has no choice but to try and look as hateful and hostile as Newt who has captured the tiny hearts and tortured souls of the core voters in the Republican Party.

Can Mitt look genuine as a fighter or will it all look so forced and unnatural, further eroding any sense of honesty and substance about him?

Newt is strongest as a counter-puncher but will he overplay his hand as the hater?

Join us here for a live blog of the NBC Debate which begins at 6:00 pm PST/9:00 pm EST and can be watched online as well as http://NBCPolitic.com.

Hope to see you then!

UPDATE: Those not in EST or CST can watch the debate live at this link:

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/rock-center/46058377/#46058377

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bito
Member

Seems that there are many disgruntled folks on the right complaining about NBC attempting to maintain some decorum during the debates.

My suggestion: next time they forget the questions and just hold a “Yo Mama” Slam.

Mitt, Yo Mama was so “country club” she wore hats! 😉

Nirek
Member

Please excuse my ignorance but all these initials confuse me. What is the POV for?

bito
Member

Mitt Romney’s tax returns shed some light on his investment wealth

Mitt Romney offered a partial snapshot of his vast personal fortune late Monday, disclosing income of $21.7 million in 2010 and $20.9 million last year — virtually all of it profits, dividends or interest from investments.

None came from wages, the primary source of income for most Americans. Instead, Romney and his wife, Ann, collected millions in capital gains from a profusion of investments, as well as stock dividends and interest payments.

The Romneys gave away $7 million in charitable contributions over the past two years, including at least $4.1 million to the Mormon Church. Romney’s family has for generations been among its most prominent members.

They sent somewhat less to Washington over that period, paying an estimated $6.2 million in federal income taxes. According to his 2010 tax return, Romney paid about $3 million to the IRS, for an effective tax rate of 13.9 percent.

For 2011, Romney estimates that he will pay about $3.2 million, for an effective rate of 15.4 percent. That’s in line with his earlier estimates, but sharply lower than the rates paid by President Obama and Romney’s closest Republican rival, Newt Gingrich.

More>> http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2012/01/23/gIQAj5bUMQ_story.html?tid=sm_twitter_washingtonpost

bito
Member

For the sake of comparison, here’s what the Obamas and Gingriches paid in taxes:

Tales of the 1040s
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/tales-of-the-1040s/2012/01/23/gIQA83IRMQ_graphic.html?tid=sm_twitter_washingtonpost

SallyT
Member

Wow, Bito, what a difference! Big donations there, Newt! I guess he gave more to Tiffany’s.

Nirek
Member

Bito, thanks for that link , I saved it for future use.
Newt sure is a nice guy giving so much *snark*.

SallyT
Member

Bito, How sweet it is! Gee, how many jobs did he creat with those profits, dividends, and interest from investments? This shows how BS their claim that the 1% creat jobs. They are not creating product just dollars for themselves.

bito
Member

Sally, quick, do the math, how much of an investment would take to make 20+ million in one year? My guess, a whole hell of a lot! And then

According to his 2010 tax return, Romney paid about $3 million to the IRS, for an effective tax rate of 13.9 percent.

SallyT
Member

OMG, Bito! How much is the interest rate on investment? I sure wouldn’t know. Wow! And, of course this doesn’t include money in the Cayman Islands or other tax shelters he has. Do these people that like him understand that this is money he is making off of interest? This doesn’t touch the principle! He is not spending that! This is not at all like your paycheck! Once you spend that, it is gone! His principle is still there! He only is spending the money that that money made on interest!
And, how can anyone after looking at this not think Newt is one of the elite insiders!!

SallyT
Member

OH, AND HE PAID AT A TAX RATE OF 13.9! OMG!

Oh, I know, I am just jealous. YOU’RE DAMN RIGHT!!!! 13.9% rate!

Nirek
Member

Sally, why do people donate $ to these people when they have so much anyway? Also , do you know what happens to the money in their “war chests”? They can use it for anything they want. Even keep it.

SallyT
Member

Nirek, too much of that money donated to them is for purchase of them should they win. Not the small people hoping that they will think of them and do good things. No, its those big corporations, the 1%, and financial institutions that are going to expect him to serve them and only them. Nirek, it just makes me want to puke but I won’t.

Nirek
Member

How is it right for people to work for $10-25 per hour and pay more than those who do nothing but put money (they probably inherited) into stocks ?
I never understood that. The lower your income the lower your tax rate should be. IMO

bito
Member

Another thing to remember is the payroll tax. With the money coming from “unearned income,” FICA taxes can be avoided.

SallyT
Member

Does anyone else see Romney’s claim of making Senator Kennedy take a mortgage out on his house as bragging that he has more money than the Kennedy’s? Among other things, of course.

kesmarn
Admin

I think he’s so materialistic-to-the-bone that he doesn’t even realize how shabby and petty and spiteful that statement reveals him to be, Sally.

He’s actually proud and pleased that he was able to produce even a low level of financial anxiety in another human being. He’s a walking case of schadenfreude of the worst sort.

Sometimes I think if someone offered a leveraged buyout of “Ann and the five sons” he’d snap it up without a second thought. He loves money. Period.

Nirek
Member

Kesmarn , he is like most of the GOPers, GREEDY.

kesmarn
Admin

‘Zactly, Nirek!

KillgoreTrout
Member

Hey Sally, sure sounds that way to me. I do doubt that Mitt’s claim is true though. I don’t think Ted Kennedy needed to take out a mortgage on his house. That sounds like pure bullshit to me.

SallyT
Member

KT, why does he say it if not to show himself as having more than Kennedy? I mean, we know that they both have money.

bito
Member

I/we need to check into this:

BWD @theonlyadult

Tweet of the day. RT@AriMelber Romney gave 2 decades of his tax returns to the McCain Campaign for VP vetting, and then they chose Palin.

Did Mitt have too much baggage on his taxes for the McCain staff or was he too moderate for them?

KQµårk 死神
Member

Looks like I’m not the only one who fell asleep and it seems like AdLib was right. A very boring debate.

SallyT
Member

A new show on the DIY Network (Do It Yourself) is Self-deportation. How to get the job done over the weekend.

kesmarn
Admin

I bet a lot of people whose unemployment benefits are about to run out would love to self-deport somewhere, but Mittens doesn’t have any suggestions for them.

Maybe the Planet Kolub?

SallyT
Member

Kes, my daughter’s unemployment is about to run out and she has been out on at least 3 personal interviews a week. No luck and she cried all weekend. I hate Newt Gingrich! and the GOP!

kesmarn
Admin

Oh Sally, that’s just too much stress for any young person. It’s really awful — the way they’ve blighted the futures of so many kids.

It’s bad enough to feel a loss of security as one gets older, but it’s so much worse to feel that all one’s prospects are dimmed and almost eliminated in some cases at the very beginning of what should be a bright career.

Best wishes to her and prayers if she’s okay with those, too.

SallyT
Member

She cried to me, “Mom, I’m 42 and living in my mom’s basement. I feel like a failure.” Of course, I told her she wasn’t any such thing. We keep hoping for something. What else can you do?

kesmarn
Admin

I know it’s small consolation to ’em, Sally, but they’re not alone! There are so many people in her situation. And they are NOT failures! This is due to external forces beyond her control. But the RW is good at the blame and shame routine. Takes the spotlight of blame off of them.

Keep on hoping. And encourage her to vote for PBO!

SallyT
Member

Kes, she is my daughter! She always vote Democrat! In fact, I keep telling her she should get more involved because she can argue a case better than any lawyer! She has taken on the school board when her children were younger. 🙂

SallyT
Member

AdLib, thank you so much and I will share this with her. There are many good people out there that are doing their best to get by on their own and there are others that need help. They are not lazy, dirty, or uneducated. No, GOP, you can’t put them in boxes you label!

choicelady
Member

Oh Sally – how awful for her! I am so sorry! This must be devastating to her, and there are no good solutions unless and until we get serious about looking after people such as she. How can the GOP be so heartless! Yes, employment is picking up some, but where are the corporations with their mountains of cash that are supposed to be the “job creators” when wonderful people such as your daughter have SO much to offer and so few chances to do it????

Please tell her that all of us here are sending her good energies and hoping the best for her. I want something GOOD to come her way and NOW!

A big, virtual <<<<<<<>>>>>>> to both of you! (That’s a hug – but it won’t SAY so.)

KQµårk 死神
Member

How did it go? I fell asleep.

kesmarn
Admin

So did we, KQ.

SallyT
Member

Most of them were asleep, too, KQ.

MurphTheSurf3
Editor

Hope we are live blogging SOTU tomorrow. What did I do before the Planet! Thanks guys.

MurphTheSurf3
Editor

Son of a Bitch….the NBC chief pundit Gregory is now switching his conclusion….Romney is on the offense.

bito
Member

Are you really shocked about Gregory at anything he says? #pudnut!