I know it is a few days old and I am sure this has been discussed at length but honestly, I applaud Mitt for being honest (at least to himself), because I think this is how the hard right truly feels and he was throwing them some red meat.
The Republicans are basically becoming a one issue party, not much different than the Bloc Quebecois in Canada, except instead of separation, their only ‘raison d’etre’ is now getting rid of as many taxes and benefits as possible.
One issue parties are not fit to govern the masses, they are by design a fringe element whose whole purpose is to lobby for their desired goal with the hopes of moving the needle in their direction.
The Republican Party needs to focus on governing the US in its entirety, not just the 53% who pay taxes (though tax breaks for mothers, military etc…were Republican initiatives, so they do have a responsibility for the 47% number). Unfortunately they are so tuned into Grover Norquist, Fox News and all the other stooges who distract the angered masses with their pledges and scare speech that the Republicans won’t recover if they continue down this path, they will no longer be a mainstream party and will continue to be less and less of a factor and more and more of a fringe element as their members die off and their ‘spooky banter’ gets more and more laughable as time proves it wrong over and over again. I have been in the US for the last two months and I am shocked at how ridiculous and petty the right has become in the media and every time they open their mouths (they being their leaders, both politically and in the media).
The sad thing is they should win this election, the US is ready to change leadership, the door is open for them, but the right is so clownish, so caught up in their ‘one issue’ that they have people miffed with respect to what they will do everywhere else, or what they will even do regarding the economy for that matter. Barry looks to be the much safer candidate, and because of that he will continue to poll better. Mass. governor Mitt Romney would be an acceptable candidate to many people and could even win the Presidency, but this new go for broke, flip floppy, play to the angriest sector of the base Mitt Romney is kind of a joke, pity, the guy had potential, now, not even Mormons claim him.
I often think it would be better if the US was split up into autonomous sectors , then they could all get the candidates they want voted in. After that natural selection would prune out the good and bad performance areas.
The other related problem for people like Romney, as you mentioned, is they can only choose two sides, when the solutions should be 6 sided. This election demonstrate the need for at least one other strong party and candidate in the US. The republicans should split off the tea party and then give voters a real choice. You want the tea party vote for the tea party, go for it.
Romney’s biggest problem is that he’s an obvious phoney.
And that is not to say he’s a phoney human, or a bad person, or even, as some think, scum. He’s not. In fact I’m sure he’s an excellent person - you can hear it in him every time he speaks.
No, not that. His biggest problem is that he’s a total non-ideologue in an ideological party, running for POTUS in an idealogical time - that kind of phoney. Unfortunately for Romney the candidate THAT phoniness comes across loud and clear every time he speaks, every appearance. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with him otherwise. Just the wrong kind of brainy American in these times, that’s all.
… Two WHOLE months!? Is that some Georgia red dirt I hear in you now? Is there a chance you’ll be applyin’ for citizenship?
Let me introduce you to some free loaders. My mother in law is a moocher. She is receiving social security now at age of 76. During 25 years of being a military wife she had to move every 3 years with 5 children, across US, Europe, Middle East and Asia. She is still goes to work every day at the bank. My father in law was and my brother in law is a free loader after serving in the military over 20 years. I was a freeloader that had nursing student loans when I was in nursing school and my husband was a freeloader by using the GI bill to get a college degree. We have paid back the government’s investment in both of us thousand times over by paying taxes on higher income than we would have at our minimum wage jobs. We are happy to pay taxes so the other people like us can get an college education with the government’s help.
I left my corporate job to work for a nonprofit that serves the homeless population (in US) at 1/3 of my previous pay as a Controller. (I am a CPA also). It turned out that the Baptist Republican group controlling the board, executive positions and the auditors all go to the same church. The CEO paid himself $300K annually. Pay bonuses to the executives only. Some of them refused to turn in receipts for the company credit cards. This is the true picture of conservative Christian Republican for you.
Ready for change of leadership? If you think most of us, especially the minorities are going to bow down to the white masters and say let the poor pay taxes and the 1% get the Bush tax breaks? I used to do tax returns for the Proctor & Gambell trust fund kids. I know what the 1%ers are like.
I was a nurse at Washington Hospital Center CCU at DC. I had congressmen, rich men and poor men (and some women) as patients. I can tell you what a rich man looks like in hospital bed after a heart attack. They are humans, not gods. Therefore, they don’t need special tax rates just for them so they can look down at others and said they made it to where they are by themselves.
Romney did not get there by himself. Republicans put him there. Stop whining!
The country did not end up in this mess by itself. All of us deserve what we have now. Stop looking at the other side to blame. When we said the other side is ugly, we are looking in the mirror.
Among other problems with the freeloader equation is that there are a record number of people not paying federal income taxes because of Republican lead tax cut policies. It’s a bit rich to proselitize on the benefits of low taxes and then bash the very people you have enabled to pay low taxes.
But nobody expects sense or consistency from Repubs anymore.
I posted a graphic in the other thread about this, but the states with the highest numbers of non-taxpayers are overwhelmingly Republican states in the south.
I don’t think we mean the same thing. Federal income tax rates are across the state board and are low because of among other changes Bush tax cuts. So the issue is that many people don’t pay federal income tax because of repub policies. Yes there is another hypocrisy that many blue states are highly dependent on government assistance but that’s not my point above.
My post above wasn’t in direct response to yours. Rather it was (attempting to) point out that the 47% Romney mentions are more than likely going to be voters in his base states.
The situation in Detroit has almost nothing to do with politics. Even a very cursory reading of the history of Detroit will show that. Big business built Detroit, and big business left it behind.
I hear the old stage coach station has been abandoned for even longer- ot to mention the zeppelin port- goddam Democrats, stopping people from riding trains.
