For Republicans, today is a day to come down from the high of a few days of giddy pandering, dishonesty and watching Mitt Romney exceed low expectations (Woo hoo! That’s what we want in a President! Exceeding low expectations!!!).
For Democrats, today is a day to be able to watch news networks again without cringing at the aggressive and obvious propaganda fest that was the Republican National Convention.
The pundits are making the rounds today on news shows assessing Romney’s speech and on QVC selling a dining room set with extra empty chairs out of the Clint Eastwood collection.
Though they focus mainly on the narrow picture of whether the final night succeeded in humanizing Romney, it is the big picture of the RNC that voters should consider.
So, here are some of the key takeaways that seemed to stand out.
1. The GOP is the party of white people which tries to continue as such by fooling independent voters that they’re not.
If you watched the RNC, whenever there was a pan of the crowd it was an exploration of how many different shades of white there could possibly be. It was not at all a representative sample of America…unless you lived in a 1950’s whites-only community. Like playing an ethnic version of Where’s Waldo, if you watched long enough, you could occasionally spot a token minority delegate. In fact, Fox News would get so excited when they spotted a minority, they’d cut back repeatedly to a close up of them throughout a speech.
Then you had the Republican Parade of Racist Denialism, a cavalcade of their “thou-protest-too-much” non-white politicians who sound identical and march lockstep to the white-superiority majority in the GOP and are out of step with the majority of those of similar ethnicity. The oblivious racism here is that Latinos and blacks will vote against their own interests merely because they see a Latino or black person saying they’re Republican? And those same people are working tirelessly to harm people of their own ethnicity?
Many Republicans are so shallow and so accustomed to following others because they’re white like them and fundamentalist Christian like them, they assume everyone else is just as shallow and lacks critical thinking like they do. The reality is that those who have been mistreated because of the color of their skin see political issues with far more import than “I know, I’ll vote Republican even though they are prejudiced against me because I just saw they have a few Latinos in their party!”
2. The Republican Party is a party of lies and empty promises that will say anything to win.
In response to a universal condemnation of the lies in their ads about President Obama ending the work provision in Welfare, the Romney campaign has said flat out that it doesn’t care what fact checkers say, as long as what they say is working to poison the minds of voters against Obama, they don’t care that they are lying.
Lies about Obama were repeated without interruption throughout the convention, including that he said people didn’t build their own businesses (he actually said they didn’t build the government-built infrastructure they use to be able to run their businesses), that Obama cut the work requirement for welfare, that Obama is taking away billions in money from Medicare benefits, that he has weakened our military, etc.
There are many legit criticisms to make about Obama but you couldn’t find many of them in the speeches of those tossing red meat out to the rabid base. They lie and lie then invest energy in trying to justify their lies, with no shame at being caught, just using the opportunity to attack whoever had the audacity to point out their lies.
Paul Ryan, the alleged “policy genius” (just as warranted a title as Newt Gingrich being “The Brain of the GOP”…apparently, like Michael Jackson dubbing himself “The King of Pop”, in the GOP you just have to call yourself want you want to be called and everyone just accepts that you are that thing), gave a very strong and forcefully presented speech but it was wholly devoid of specifics about his and Romney’s plans and anything resembling the truth.
One of the most outrageous lies that the Republican Party promotes was center stage at their convention. Namely, that Obama hasn’t done enough to turn the economy around. This Republican Party vowed upon the inauguration of President Obama, to do everything they could to block him from getting anything passed through Congress. It was their primary agenda to be The Party of No and then in 2012, blame Obama for not accomplishing as much as he should have.
Many Americans have expressed in polls that they are aware that the Republicans in Congress have tried to restrain economic recovery. Voters should think about that for a moment. The Republican Party has acted to cause loss and suffering for millions of Americans over the past three and a half years…as part of a political strategy to blame Obama for it and take back power…so they can make things even worse for 99% of Americans.
It will be interesting to see if Democrats dispel the cloud of BS from the RNC by reminding Americans at their convention of the actual deeds of Republicans in Congress, the misogynist and racist planks of their party platform and such views expressed by many of their members.
As to the breathtaking absence of any specifics about what Mitt Romney would do after he controlled the Presidency, that is very telling and should be a bit frightening to voters. What we do know that Mitt Romney has pledged to do is take away health insurance from those who got it under the ACA, cut the taxes of the wealthy and raise them on the poor and middle class, remove restrictions on oil companies and Wall Street, and end Medicare as an entitlement and force seniors to pay $6,000 more a year for what they have now.
No wonder they don’t like specifics, they’d lose the election if voters knew what they planned to do so their solution is to simply hide their destructive plans and get elected so they can work against the will of the people.
Add to all of this, Romney’s and Ryan’s economic plans have both been exposed by many sources as being incomplete and unworkable, both making general assumptions that unnamed cuts in spending and vast tax cuts for the wealthy will create balanced budgets…though the amount of cuts actually needed would devastate the nation.
Dishonesty is the best policy of the GOP.
3. Mitt Romney is a failure at running things.
The RNC had difficulties from the beginning, after making the brilliant choice to have their convention in Florida during hurricane season. They have claimed it was an unforeseen problem but anyone who has been alive in America during the month of August knows that tropical storms and hurricanes can hit Florida and the gulf at this time. Bad planning, even though the purpose was to try and go after winning Florida this time around, they damaged the impact of their convention and lost a whole day and a number of speakers.
That decision can’t be blamed on Romney but everything else that happened at the convention can…and there was a lot that went wrong.
Ron Paul was locked out of the convention which caused a backlash by his supporters. Romney led the charge of passing a new rule smothering the democratic process in the GOP primaries of the future by letting the nominee throw out delegates earned by his opponents.
The keynote speaker was Chris Christie whose ego-driven, self-serving speech which only occasionally mentioned Romney, was an embarrassment and a failure. What was amusing and telling is that the day after his uninspiring speech, Christie criticized the attendees for not being more energized and cheering more. Er…that was because you failed at your job of inspiring them to do so, Christie.
As mentioned above, Paul Ryan’s speech was strong but consisted of lies and misrepresentations so the next day, instead of praise for Ryan, the MSM was surprisingly in sync (even Fox News!) on slamming Ryan for his dishonesty.
As for Romney’s big night, though his speech was regarded positively by many, it was fully overshadowed by Clint Eastwood’s genuine Republican style of rambling incoherently. Romney’s camp was so incompetent, they didn’t even vet Eastwood’s speech. And that’s the kind of incompetence we want in the White House, dealing with critical issues?
A very slick and effective video about Romney and how human he is didn’t run in the prime network hour but instead, Romney’s camp made the decision to have Clint Eastwood appear instead. This was Romney’s choice, going for the most superficial and flashy thing instead of the thing that was of more substance. And like many of his decisions, it proved to be a poor one. Eastwood’s deranged monologue tarnished the night and has sucked up all the air out of the room in the MSM today.
A President has to manage a lot of operations and make a lot of quick and crucial decisions. I would suggest that the many failures of the RNC belies that Romney is very poor and incompetent at managing a big operation and making good decisions.
The man and speech Romney selected for his keynote speaker was a failure.
The man and speech Romney selected for his VP was a failure.
The most important night so far in Romney’s political life was severely marred by his poor decisions.
What does this say about the kind of President Mitt Romney would make? How would he perform running all the programs the Executive Branch manages? How would he perform when needing to make quick decisions on urgent matters?
When the nation is faced with a critical moment, instead of Obama-like cool reasoning, will we instead witness a conversation with an empty chair?
Clint Eastwood’s misfire couldn’t have been more reflective of the GOP and Mitt Romney’s candidacy. They have been deluded, dishonest and irrational in attacking an imaginary Obama for being things he isn’t and doing things he hasn’t. They are indeed arguing with an empty chair, not the real President and they look like they’re a bit out of their mind. They talk down to this black President, they put words in his mouth which are obscene, they treat him as if he is beneath them.
What Mitt Romney proved in running this convention is that he is incompetent and unworthy of becoming President. His convention lurched from pandering to gaffe to pandering to gaffe, a rickety roller coaster ride that could hardly be called a success. Yes, some of their pandering was effective but the gaffes constantly interrupted any momentum. Every morning after a night of speeches, though there may have been positive comments about Ann Romney’s speech (“I love you women! How’s that for naked pandering!”), there were more negative comments about Chris Christie’s egotism, Ryan’s speech brought charges of dishonesty the next day, Romney got decent props for his speech last night but Eastwood’s The Old, The Senile and The Empty Chair is getting most of the attention today.
The convention that Mitt Romney ran was not well run or a real success. He has proven once again that he is not such a capable person. America can indeed do better. And will.
![](https://i0.wp.com/img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?w=696)
A simply brilliant article in Salon by a journalist who cuts to the core truths about the RNC’s lies and journalists’ penchant for being codependent about them and the psyche of Repub women and how they just don’t see their own hypocrisy. A very good read:
http://www.salon.com/2012/09/01/republicans_vs_straw_men/
That is a good article, AdLib. I have talked to Republican friends that are women and I have gotten the same responses. There are women out there that would be okay if we didn’t have the vote again! I can’t believe it.
Excellent read, AdLib. Irin Carmon is a unusually clear and logical thinker.
Which makes her pretty much poison ivy to Republican women, most of whom should have PhD’s in Stockholm Syndrome.
A very astute paragraph:
When a smart, sharp interrogator like Carmon calls them on their own inconsistencies, you can almost hear their brain circuits buzzing and snapping with overload. Then they resort to their memorized, scripted sound bites.
Here’s another, AdLib
Romney’s bounce from convention looks short-lived: Reuters/Ipsos poll
Democratic President Barack Obama regained a narrow lead on Saturday by 44 percent to 43 percent over his Republican challenger, former Massachusetts Governor Romney, in the latest daily installment of the four-day rolling poll.
http://news.yahoo.com/poll-romneys-bounce-convention-looks-short-lived-201257488.html
Following up on the convention non-bounce for Romney, Nate Silver has increased Obama’s projected numbers and probability of winning:
[img]http://planetpov.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/538-Projection.png[/img]
http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/01/sept-1-romneys-convention-bounce-appears-middling-so-far
I love the look of that chart, AdLib. And Nate Silver has a pretty solid track record, to say the least.
One comment of Romney’s has really stuck in my mind, although I don’t know of any pundit who picked up on it.
In his speech at the RNC, Romney applauded Americans who had the determination to take two jobs at $9/hr after they had lost one that paid $22.50/hr with benefits. Hmmm. Now how would that pay shift happen? I’m no brain surgeon, but I would suspect that someone had lost a union job and had had to replace it with two crummy jobs. And how would that happen? And which party is the party of getting rid of “socialist” unions and the lazy, overpaid workers they protect? Questions to ponder on a Labor Day weekend.
There is something so evil about applauding people who work 2 or 3 jobs as Bush did with that woman who had 3. And then – if she has three, what about the other people who have none because she has three and so on and so on. The hallmark of “American Exceptionalism” is not desperation but that we are all supposed to BENEFIT from our hard work. CA is making changes in future retirement benefits (meaning for people retiring very soon) – and being shoved by financiers to cut EXISTING retiree benefits – DESPITE THE FACT THAT NOT ONE PENNY OF RETIREMENT BENEFITS IS PAID BY TAXPAYERS. We have allowed the Wall Street crash to demonize working people as if they are the cause of the fund shortages. Despite that, CA retirees are drawing from the retirement FUND, not from taxpayers. Not one blessed penny. And people are screaming as if they’re having food taken out of their mouths.
The Right is great at framing – and all the major papers swallow the Kool Aid despite the fact that to tell this “story” you have to make shit up and lie. So it’s not just the GOP – it’s our “objective journalists” as well.
Exactly, c’lady. It would be one thing if the comments were on the order of: “We see you. We hear you. You’re now working two low wage jobs when you used to have one that paid decently and provided benefits. We know that’s not right and we’re going to set about fixing that.”
But as we all know, that’s not at all what’s being said. What’s being said is: “Good mule. Sturdy little mule. You’re carrying a burden that would kill another mule, but somehow you keep on providing steady service to your master. Surely you deserve a fine funeral after you drop in the harness. Sadly, though, instead of that, we’ll have to serve you to your fellow mules to keep them working a little longer.”
Gee. Thank you, sir.
Thanks for the latest on what’s going on in California, depressing as it might be. And to think they have the nerve to cut current retiree’s benefits at the same time that they’re forcing the postal service to fully fund its pension for the next 50 years in order to bankrupt it and privatize mail delivery.
Evil is the word for it.
Yup, kes. Evil is a very good word. Don’t even need the supernatural or Divvil to have it. People don’t need the help – completely capable of doing evil all on their own.
The people who screw up the world get paid millions, even billions. We all volunteer to fix it. No WONDER we’re tired!
CL: Saw your comments yesterday (or day before) about “so what Romney is nice to his family” (or something like that). I was sitting with friends earlier in the evening having the same exact conversation about it’s easy to be kind and generous to people who love us, or who are like us, or who share our values and beliefs. But does that mean you are a kind person? I think not. The true test to me is how kind you can be to one so very different from you. It’s why – right after 9/11 (a Guiliani moment there), I rushed out to meet actual living Muslims, not just newspaper stereotypes. And why I spent three years talking folks into taking Muslims (one strike) from Afghanistan (two strikes) into their lives and homes for a year of high school. Ended up being a home run, and made me many, many friends who are staunch conservatives and Republicans and evangelical Christians. I still love them, for opening their hearts and homes to the most unlikely of candidates. They still love those children, and I think they even love me (even though I’m – gasp – a progressive and a Democrat and maybe God forbid a socialist). We are people whose lives were forever changed by these children. And I am most proud of my children. They taught us all very well.
So once again, same page. Your friend, Biff. Now send me an email, please, so we can get on with some serious work. – AB
Hi-
I asked AdLib to hook us up, but I think he didn’t see the email I sent him. I will try again.
I got pretty queasy when all those Mormons talked about how Mitt had helped them – so what? I have to know whom he helped who was not convenient, easy, part of the tribe. That IS why the riff against Palin works here, too:
Jesus was a community organizer.
Pontius Pilot was a Governor.
Obama has spent his life in the company of “not me” people. He lived with white people and API people and Black people. His life was filled with the experiences that make a man easy in his own shoes – because he’s walked in those of other people.
Racism and xenophobia have haunted this nation from day one, and it’s beyond stupid since not a one of us was wanted here. OK – maybe Einstein, but ther rest of us? Meh.
If we’re going to be the hope of the future as we have been of the past, we have to stop thinking we’ve hit the pinnacle of perfection and now can begin discriminating against “them” whoever they may be. Of course we thought that in the 1840s, 1850s, 1880s, 1890s, 1920s, 1950s… Sigh.
Americans do not actually LIKE being a democracy. They’d give it up in a trice if they could be absolutely sure THEY would be the rulers. It’s only that uncertainty that keeps us going. We’d adopt a monarchy, an open ruling class, and limited engagement of the ruled if we could. Thank God enough people fear being left out that we don’t go that way.
Yet.
Exactly! One of the jobs they took was probably at Staples. You know the HUGE success Romney always points to when he was at Bain.
You’re so right, KQ. I knew someone who worked at a competing office supply chain (but they all follow the same template) and his $14/hr position was eliminated. He was invited to apply for a job at the same store — doing basically the same work — at $8/hr.
That’s a classic Romney tactic.
Just saw where Obama spoke to a crowd of 10K in Iowa, while Mittens had 3K in Ohio. Whoop! Ass. Sweet dreams, Planet people.
Sweet Dreams to you, too, AB! Have a great holiday weekend!
Hey AB! One MSM report just whitewashed that and said both campaigned to big crowds. Aw, what the heck do numbers matter in an election anyway?
Sleep well, AB!
Well, AdLib – hate to break it to them, but size DOES matter. Let’s see – Iowa has a population of just over 3M and Obama drew 10K. Ohio has a population of 11.5 million – about 4 times Iowa – and Romney drew 3K, or less than 1/3 the size of Obama’s crowd. Now I’m no genius in math -unlike Kes’ amazing son -but these numbers are hard to – what was that Palin word? – refudiate??? – AB
AB, the Republicans are mostly men, that is why they say “size doesn’t matter”. 😉
In their dreams, Sally.
Running polls released today from Rasmussen and Gallup show no real improvement for Romney since the convention. On 7/31, the Republican slanted Rasmussen was the only poll showing Romney with a lead, of 3%. Today’s slanted Rasmussen poll? Identical, 3% lead.
Gallup’s slightly Repub leaning poll on 7/31 had Obama up by 2%. Today? Obama up by 1%.
Obama remains ahead of Romney, as he has been, in national polls and in most swing states.
So…no real bump for Romney from the RNC? Still a little early to state that categorically but if a bump doesn’t materialize this weekend, when would it? And if it isn’t reflected in Friday polling, after Romney’s speech, when would it? The DNC begins Tuesday so Obama will be in the positive spotlight then and Romney will be out of view so the window for Romney to enjoy a temporary surge seems to be closing quickly.
And if Romney can’t improve his numbers greatly after a week long national propaganda fest promoting him…sure bodes well for Obama.
Also, I think it is in fact Obama who is in a position to gain more of a sustained bounce from his convention since it will be his opportunity to knock down the Romney lies that have been weighing him down in polls.
We’ve got to work hard to fight against the onslaught of Rove and Koch SuperPAC ads and continued attempts at voter suppression but there may be good cause for optimism about Obama’s re-election in the poll numbers this week and next.
Another pretty damn funny Daily Show segment on Mitt Romney’s speech and Clint Eastwood’s invisible Obama debacle:
If you haven’t already seen this Democracy Now video, please take the time to watch it. Why anyone would want this man to be our President is beyond me. Well, I guess if you are already rich, maybe. Romney will leverage us, bankrupt the country, and than leave with his billions for the Cayman Islands or wherever his billions are.
Matt Taibbi: The Secret to Mitt Romney’s Fortune? Greed, Debt and Forcing Others to Foot the Bill
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/8/30/matt_taibbi_the_secret_to_mitt
Sally, thanks for this, I saw it and agree, it really explains so much about Romney’s sleazy business practices and hypocrisy on debt.
I predict that if R&R win, we will be in the Second Great Depression within a year. And we will have none of the social programs we need to survive it.
And, CL, I predict that if that happens, I am heading for Belize! 😉
I think what Eastwood did was very cowardly. I’m sure he doesn’t see it that way, but to stand there in front of millions and denigrate the president, without the president being there to defend himself was morally cowardly. Big bad Clint should be ashamed of himself.
To add insult to injury, he lied. Like a typical GOPer, he blamed Obama for things that happened even before Obama was elected the first time.
I expect that sort of cowardice from Romney/Ryan and most of the other RWers, but it was a real disappointment to see Eastwood stand there and do the same.
KT, I reviewed that speech of Eastwood’s again today, because I hadn’t seen it since the live version from the convention. It looks even worse in review. On second glance, I see less senility and more sheer meanness in it. When you actually give words to what he was implying the (imaginary) President had said, it goes something like: “Oh, shut up.” “Tell Romney to go fuck himself.” and “You go fuck yourself as well, Clint.”
Three things the President would never say.
And then there are all the lies you mentioned as well.
When I looked at it again today, it seemed much less spontaneous rambling. It looked quite calculated.
My friend who teaches film theory and history, and had formerly somewhat admired his film skills, told me yesterday that she would never show/teach another one of his films to her students again.
I know I’ll never go to see another one.
CL, I use to like Mel Gibson but I can’t watch anything he is on or in anymore. I have to put Clint Eastwood with Mel now. That will be hard since Clint is one of my husband’s favorites. He’ll have to watch Clint in the other room by himself. 😉
Just loved this. “This seat’s taken”
US election: Barack Obama responds to Clint Eastwood’s bizarre attack
Barack Obama’s team responded to Clint Eastwood’s bizarre speech at the Republican Convention, mocking the actor and director for his attack on the President that featured an empty chair
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9511396/US-election-Barack-Obama-responds-to-Clint-Eastwoods-bizarre-attack.html
FACTS MATTER: The Ultimate Guide To Mitt Romney’s Convention Speech
http://mittlies.com/
Adlib
It is so delicious that we go second this year. I cannot wait for the DNC convention now.
Sue, I’m also kind of amazed that the Dems are getting to go 2nd. In 2008, I remember McCain stomping on the Dem’s convention by announcing Palin as his VP the day after Obama’s acceptance speech. Then they had their convention.
It’s always better being the home team and having the last ups. In this case, with the Repubs having built the Romney/Ryan campaign on a platform of lies and cemented them into that in their convention, Obama and the Dems have a real chance to severely and permanently destroy their standing and credibility.
I know there will be a ton of money spent by SuperPACs to slander Obama but if Romney and Ryan are seen as an untrustworthy alternative, it’s all for naught.
Like you and Sally were discussing below I hope debunking the lies continues. I have to admit the media has done a much better job debunking the lies, especially with Ryan’s speech than I thought they would. Of course my expectations were low too but the media really nullified any positive impact Ryan’s speech could have had by making the leading narrative that Ryan was a dirty liar in the biggest speech of his career. In fact I think Mittens may have even toned down his lies just a touch for that reason but with that being said WashPo did a nice fact check on Romney’s speech I will share.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/fact-checking-mitt-romneys-acceptance-speech-at-the-gop-convention/2012/08/31/70c3d8de-f31f-11e1-adc6-87dfa8eff430_blog.html
Yep, it has been refreshing and surprising, how openly the MSM has been about identifying Ryan’s lies.
So, Christie’s BS falls flat because it’s so self-serving. Ryan’s speech collapses because it’s wall-to-wall dishonesty. Rubio came off self-serving too and Romney’s vague but acceptable speech was drowned out by Eastwood’s insanity.
The press may not be too thrilled with a campaign which is attacking them too, saying that their work as the press is meaningless, their fact checking, questioning and reporting is garbage and irrelevant. Maybe the gall of the Romney campaign to lie so much and attack any that point it out is playing against them?
IMHO, the effects of The Newsroom have come to play. In fact, on one of the shows on MSNBC, I saw Steve Kornacki have an honest to God Will McAvoy moment. I rewound it and made the Blov come watch, since we are McAvoyphiles (instead of Limbaughpiles). I really wonder how much of this new found “truth seeking” came about – if any – as the result of Aaron Sorkin’s genius undertaking.
AB, that would be pretty fascinating if it ends up having that kind of influence.
I wonder if it’s part of a number of things, including the Romney/Republican spite for truth telling and the press and the flood of SuperPAC propaganda.
If the press doesn’t stand up now, they pretty much make themselves irrelevant.
Excellent synopsis AdLib.
The biggest reason I would never vote for Willard is #2, all the lies he tells. With Ryan echoing those lies it makes the choice more obvious. To me like I said in an early post the ability to tell the truth is the absolute start of where a person’s character starts. I mean normal political spin is one thing but time and time again I see Romney and Ryan lie and many times they even choose the lie over a truth that would be more effective. With GWB we saw where lies lead and the result was hundreds of thousands of needless lives lost.
I’m glad you brought up #3. Romney has run a terrible campaign, especially considering the money advantage he’s had. Allot of it has to do with the fact that Romney’s intellect is overrated and he’s had such an insulated life that he lacks true wisdom.
Just today he made a major gaffe that showed the true Romney when he called the country a ‘company’. It exemplifies the fact that he does not even understand the basic rolls and other differences between government and business.
Then tack on while he makes an amazing ignorant joke about Climate Change when talking to Jindal he actually asked “Did the water come from the sky, or the rivers, or the ocean?” That’s a question an insurance adjuster would ask to avoid covering customers because where the water damage comes from is covered by different riders. But it’s probably worse than that because if Jidnal answered sky or rivers than Romney would justify his denial of Climate Change even further.
But Romney’s personal gaffes aside Romney’s aids are just a collection of recycled Bush and McCain lackeys. I’ve said it before and it applies now. The GOP loves to say government is bad because it’s the perfect self fulfilling prophecy for them since they are so bad at governing. At least they use to be competent enough to run effective campaigns but now it seems they can’t even do that.
On the point #1 all I can say is for most GOP voters it’s become the white identity party. That’s why GOP leaders don’t need new ideas or even need to tell the truth. No matter what the GOP does or says a major swath of white, especially male and older voters will back them out of racial resentment. They view the Democrats as being some kind of diverse mongrel horde that needs to be stopped at all costs because God forbid all people in this country may have social and economic equality and the game will no longer be fixed. The ironic part is the biggest white resentment vote comes from the very people, the white working class voters that are one of the groups who are most severely oppressed by the fixed games played by people like Romney.
KQ, thanks for summing up Issue 2, I think I neglected to make the point that this ticket is one of liars and for that reason alone, they have proven themselves unfit to be in the WH. Who would knowingly elect people who you know are abject frauds and deceivers?
Aside from the white voters you describe, of course.
What’s a bit disconcerting at times is how easily the MSM can label something as reasonable that is an outrage. The abject racism of the Repubs should make the party an outcast from a reasonable society yet the MSM bends over backwards to avoid calling them out for what they are and accept the BS camouflage they offer.
In reality, it is true that the GOP is the party of White Power. That’s not to say that anyone who is Republican is racist but the thrust of the party is unquestionably pro-white and anti-minority.
You put it so well that many of these white people see the Dems as the “mongrel” party, the party representing those non-white inferiors and criminals who want to take away all that being born white should entitle white people to.
It is awful that we are living in such times, Obama’s election only brought to the surface and intensified the bubbling raciism that continues to brew in America.
This country isn’t what it represents itself to be. Every once in a while, it’s good to get a reminder that the Emperor has no clothes on.
Somebody commented on another site (I can’t remember which one) about how annoying Mitt Romney was in his acceptance speech because of his sing-song delivery. There was also something odd about the way he kept looking at the camera/ reading the teleprompter. I could not put my finger on it but it looked so phony and unnatural. One thing Mitt is soon going to learn is that debating a man like Obama will quote a bit different than talking to an empty chair.
Nomadic View, IMO, that sing-songy and scanning around performance comes from over-rehearsal. This speech was rehearsed over and over and so managed, this is what overdoing all of that looks like.
So true, Romney won’t have an empty chair to pick on in the debates. I do expect him to be very rehearsed for those too but am hoping that Obama and the moderators can throw him a curve or two because he’s terrible when it comes to speaking anything that’s not rehearsed.
I totally agree. One thing that Romney can NOT do is think on his feet. Obama on the other hand has always shown excellent composure under stage stress. Anytime I need a smile I know I can always go back and watch Mitt pleading with that hostile guffawing Iowa crowd, saying, “Corporations are people, my friends!”
So the debate ought to be fun to watch.
And he tends to get flustered easily- even to the point of showing his anger. If you’ve every watched the Kennedy-Romney debates of 1994, you can clearly see Mitt about to lose his temper over minor (but witty)
remark. (The multiple choice candidate.)
Mitt could always pull a Bush (so to speak) and wear a transmitter on his back. After all, is there nothing he won’t stoop to? Do you remember that? It had to be the craziest thing in US political history!
[img]http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/200410/jpg23rdJX9L4E.jpg[/img]
Nomadic, that was amazing, how Bush was able to cheat like that and get away with it merely by saying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Nowadays, you could do the same with much smaller and undetectable equipment and I wouldn’t put it past Romney to do that. Still, since as you say, he is easy to anger and bad at impromptu discussion, he can be thrown off balance and mess up as we’ve seen in his previous debates.
Just hope Obama and his team have a clever question or two up their sleeves because Romney will be so rehearsed on likely attacks.
Is Vox on for tonite? Or not because of the holiday weekend?
Nomad you are so good at remembering these things. My thought on the debate is that Obama has this way of almost chuckling then answering the question. It will drive Romney crazy and he will lose it. I would think the transmitter thing would be caught now and stopped. At any rate with the way his team has responded to things now I would not want them talking in my ear.
Whomever asked Clint Eastwood to speak, please give them a cookie! AdLib, I hope that the DNC convention will be positive and up lifting after all this week’s downers and negative speeches. We have much to be proud of and we are a party that is still at work to make things even better. No going backwards. Forward and we will help you build it! We won’t take away from you but work to help you keep all you have and more, give a hand up, and never turn our backs on you if you are down, in trouble, person of color or female, hungry, ill, or getting old. Our guy is still in the chair and we will keep him there!
Agreed Sally, I do want to see a little time spent debunking the main Repub lies but yes, I do want to see a very positive DNC touting Obama’s many achievements, the creation of millions of jobs he’s already presided over, the economic disaster he stepped into and how he saved the nation from going over the cliff but most of all, specifics on what he wants to accomplish in the next four years.
They’ll debunk them, AdLib. The truth does that. Especially focusing on that Medicare Lie they are spreading. Someone will give a presentation of the facts on that I hope. But, I have no doubt that the Dems have it covered.
Indeed Sally. In fact all I hear people talking about today is Clint’s bazaar rantings to an empty chair. All this convention will be remembered for is all the lies and an old white guy yelling at a chair.
Most of all it gets me excited for the DNC. It will certainly be a breath of fresh air in comparison.
KQµårk 死神: I was surprised to learn Clint Eastwood is still (sort of) alive. I REALLY TRIED just now to watch his rant and got as far as 2 minutes, 20 seconds (not including the 16 second CNBC commercial) before giving up due to self-induced narcolepsy. In that time, however, I did learn that there’s another conservative in Hollywood: Jon Voight. If I missed anything vitally important, please share! 🙂
Thanks AdLib and Sally T for just being who you are! (and everyone else here). You and Jon Stewart are the voices of sanity! Sally, I think you’re right. We’re going to win this thing simply because the GOP has gone completely over the edge and hit the rocks below; and even I who don’t have much faith in our general voting public just can’t believe they’re all that stupid. Recent developments seem to indicate a real shift in the media towards critically examining some content rather than just giving “equal” time to right wing lies.
The Daily Kos’s recent email listing the broad media coverage exposing Ryan’s lies.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/30/1125935/-LYIN-RYAN-ALL-THE-MEDIA-PUSHBACK?detail=hide
The David Brooks hysterically funny piece on “The Real Romney”:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/28/opinion/brooks-the-real-romney.html?_r=1&emc=eta1
And last night’s Jon Stewart Show when we were treated to more stunning footage of Reince Priebus making a complete idiot of himself, followed by Michael Steele as guest – who actually offered some candid comments regarding his having been thrown under the bus by the GOP.
I also admire your strong constitutions in being able to watch the GOP convention. On the first day I tried to for about three minutes before realizing it was a mentally unhealthy pursuit and my TV set wouldn’t survive having heavy objects thrown at it.
Cyrano, I did watch more than I could really stand. I didn’t throw anything at my TV set but I did go through a bottle of Windex after splitting at it so much. And, my poor dog is still hunker down on the floor and hasn’t gotten up because of me shouting SHUT UP so much. He keeps looking at me with a face that says, “I wasn’t barking, Mom….”
Cyrano, thanks for the kind words!
Talking about Jon Stewart, I posted his Romney Bio parody video from last night, which you no doubt saw, in another comment. For those who haven’t seen it, follow this link, it’s brilliant and hilarious: http://planetpov.com/2012/08/30/exclusive-sneak-peak-at-mitt-romneys-speech-tonight-at-the-rnc/#comment-188877
I didn’t watch much of the RNC Lie-Fest 2012 because I too didn’t want to have to replace a broken tv screen or get a sore throat from yelling at it. I have kept up with it though and am really looking forward to the DNC as an antidote to the Repub poison we’ve been inundated with.
I am a bit of an optimist but I do think that it’s possible that the DNC, in contrast with the disastrous and ugly RNC, could provide a turning point for Obama to extend a sizable lead over Romney and never have to look back.
The Reubs have certainly teed this all up, they’ve set up all their attacks and lies and even those who are undecided must be at least a little curious to see how Obama and the Dems respond. That being the case, I expect that the DNC will have a greater viewership and if executed well, could powerfully chop down the Repubs and Romney by exposing their lies and their true destructive plans for the country.
The debates will be key but if Obama and the Dems play it right, their convention could give them enough of a lead that could assure their victory.
Adlib that was so funny. I posted it to facebook
Agreed on Stewart! I don’t know what I’d do without his show, especially now, really!! Samantha Bee outing the anti-abortion convention attendees by parroting their remarks about the GOP mantra of freedom of choice in whether or not to adhere to the GOP platform – and not a single one of them understood their own hypocrisy, much less that it was being aired for laughs. John Oliver last night building a whole piece on “We Built That” combined with their new mantra, “We Can Change That” had me collapsed on the floor! Absolutely brilliant!
But beneath it all, it’s still horrifying, sad, and depressing that there are so many idiots out there who’ve bought into the corporate-created simplistic bumper sticker diversions and lies.
That NYT by Brooks was funny. He once did a similar one on William F Buckley and Buckley liked his style so much he offered him a job.
Sue: Good to know! I thought it was not characteristic of Brooks, so it surprised me with its spot on off-the-wall humor.
Adlib needs to put favorite so we can fave a post. I faved yours look down at the bottom.
XXOOXO
Sue, that’s what the “thumbs up”s are for!