The Republican Party is split between its two personalities: Predatory finance capital and angry white male faux-populism. That’s trouble enough. Add to that Gingrich’s fury at Romney’s bottomless pockets full of nasty ads, and this is a party headed for a crack-up.
November’s still a long way away, but it’s hard to imagine President Obama losing Florida after the slime-fest we’ve just witnessed. Both Gingrich and Romney are seeing their negatives go up as the campaign goes on, while Obama’s approval rating continues to climb. I think the president is largely responsible for his ratings rise, because he’s brought the fight to the GOP since the debt-ceiling debacle.
Tag Archives: 2012 presidential race
The GOP hate-off continues – Mitt Romney – Salon.com
1 FebC Steele on the Issues (2012) | We The People Reform Coalition
26 JanRobert Steele is running for nomination as the Reform Party’s presidential candidate in 2012. Here’s bullet points on his views in two out of 20+ policy areas. It’s a very promising list and should be read thoughtfully.
Robert Steele on Abortion
* This is a matter best left to the states
* Birth control medications should be available by prescription across the land
* In cases of rape and incest, woman’s right to avoid biological enslavement
Robert Steele on Budget & Economy
* Our biggest problem is a corrupt Congress and the corrupt two-party bi-opoly
* Holding banks accountable for speculation and fraud is essential
* Moratorium on all foreclosures and evictions – insure America from the bottom up
* Full year of paid training for every unemployed person, instead of bailing out banks
* FULL EMPLOYMENT is our primary objective, INFLATION our primary enemy
via C Steele on the Issues (2012) | We The People Reform Coalition.
Wall Street execs are major Obama fundraisers – Contraception – Salon.com
26 JanThe 62 bundlers who work in [the investment banking] industry have raised at least $9.4 million for Obama and the DNC. That “at least” is significant because the Obama campaign specifies only a dollar range in its disclosures, with the top category being “$500,000+.” So the real aggregate figure may be considerably higher.
Among these bundlers are employees of big-name firms including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Barclays and Citigroup.
It’s worth emphasizing that for all the talk about grass-roots fundraising by the Obama campaign, the bundlers are a major part of the effort. The data released so far shows that at least one-third of all the money raised was sent in by a bundler, according to CRP.
via Wall Street execs are major Obama fundraisers – Contraception – Salon.com.
Paul Levinson’s Infinite Regress: The Day After New Hampshire
11 JanI take Ron Paul’s strong second-place in the Republican New Hampshire primary last night as a very good thing for people like me who want more government respect for the First Amendment and an end to unconstitutional wars.
Yes, there are positions that Ron Paul holds which I strongly oppose – notably his call for a Constitutional Amendment to ban abortion, which is inconsistent with libertarian philosophy and its view that the government should stay out of our lives. And I’m not at all happy about the racist observations that appeared under his name in his newsletter two decades ago.
But there’s a lot to commend in Ron Paul. He not only opposes undeclared wars but the NDAA signed into law by Obama and SOPA now under consideration in Congress. He wants an end to the massive Federal anti-drug enforcement, which he correctly sees as an invasion of privacy.
And his Republican rivals, who share none of his virtues, share all of his serious political defects.
via Paul Levinson’s Infinite Regress: The Day After New Hampshire.
What about Ron Paul’s strong New Hampshire showing? – War Room – Salon.com
11 Jan… the marked improvement in his performance from 2008 (when he finished with eight percent in New Hampshire and 10 percent in Iowa) is a testament to the growing appeal of his message, both inside and outside the Republican Party. Particularly notable is the starling support Paul received in the first two contests from voters under 30 — 48 percent in Iowa and 47 percent in New Hampshire.
Clearly, Paul speaks to a significant and growing number of Americans, and it’s worth trying to understand what specific aspects of his platform are energizing each component of his coalition. How big a factor, for instance, is his support for relaxed drug laws in the enthusiasm of young voters? Does the surprising level of evangelical support he won in Iowa (18 percent — or second place) suggest there may be more room for dissent on Israel and the Middle East on the Christian right than is commonly assumed — or are Paul’s religious conservative backers simply ignoring his foreign policy views and supporting him for other reasons? And so on. Paul’s coalition is as funky as his platform, and Paul-ism is a political force that isn’t going away anytime soon.
via What about Ron Paul’s strong New Hampshire showing? – War Room – Salon.com.
Ron Paul and the second coming of Buchananism – War Room – Salon.com
23 DecBuchanan called Paul “an honest, principled, courageous political leader,” but stressed that he won’t be making any endorsement in the GOP primary because of his MSNBC contract. While he doesn’t think Paul can actually win the nomination, he insists the GOP is slowly moving in his direction, with the price-tag that comes with a sustained overseas presence eventually wearing down the GOP’s hawkishness.
“What’s going to bring it down is these deficits,” he said. “I think Ron Paul and Pat Buchanan are ahead of their time.”
via Ron Paul and the second coming of Buchananism – War Room – Salon.com.
Ron Paul For The GOP Nomination – The Dish | By Andrew Sullivan – The Daily Beast
14 DecAnd I see in Paul none of the resentment that burns in Gingrich or the fakeness that defines Romney or the fascistic strains in Perry’s buffoonery. He has yet to show the Obama-derangement of his peers, even though he differs with him. He has now gone through two primary elections without compromising an inch of his character or his philosophy. This kind of rigidity has its flaws, but, in the context of the Newt Romney blur, it is refreshing…. When he answers a question, you can see that he is genuinely listening to it and responding – rather than searching, Bachmann-like, for the one-liner to rouse the base. He is, in other words, a decent fellow, and that’s an adjective I don’t use lightly. …
And on some core issues, he is right. He is right that spending – especially on entitlements and defense – is way out of control. …
I don’t believe Romney or Gingrich would cut entitlements as drastically as Paul. But most important, I don’t believe that any of the other candidates, except perhaps Huntsman, would cut the military-industrial complex as deeply as it needs to be cut. What Paul understands – and it’s why he has so much young support – is that the world has changed. Seeking global hegemony in a world of growing regional powers among developing nations is a fool’s game, destined to provoke as much backlash as lash, and financially disastrous as every failed empire in history has shown.
via Ron Paul For The GOP Nomination – The Dish | By Andrew Sullivan – The Daily Beast.
When every year is election year – 2012 Elections – Salon.com
12 DecThe Presidential election season has become 4 years long. These numbers are insane! And the system is broken.
On money, the sky’s the limit. In 2000, the total federal election season cost $3 billion; in 2008, more than $5 billion, of which an estimated $2.4 billion went into the presidential campaign. With the Supreme Court having made it easier for outside money to pour in, thanks to its Citizens United decision, funding for campaign 2012 is expected to pass $6 billion and could even top $7 billion. The Obama campaign, which raised $760 million in 2008, is expected to pass the billion-dollar mark this time around (with money already pouring in from the financial and banking sector on which candidate Mitt Romney is also heavily reliant). …
It’s true that, on November 6, 2012, Americans will enter voting booths and choose a candidate for president, and that makes this an “election.” But thinking of it that way won’t get you far. It’s also true, that, on January 20, 2013, a newly elected president will step into the Oval Office. What any of this has to do with democracy, as opposed to spectacle, influence, corruption, the power of the incredibly wealthy to pay for and craft messages, and the power of media owners to enhance their profits is certainly an open question. Think, at least, how literally the old phrase “money talks” is being updated every time you hear the candidates, or see their ads, or get a robocall from one of them, or receive a geo-targeted mobile ad of theirs on your iPhone or Android.
via When every year is election year – 2012 Elections – Salon.com.
The evolution of a populist – Opening Shot – Salon.com
7 DecPresident Obama’s Tuesday speech in Osawatomie, Kan., essentially served as the kickoff of his reelection effort. He may make a more formal declaration over the next few months, but the hour-long address, which was designed to evoke the Bull Moose spirit of Teddy Roosevelt and featured a comprehensive defense of government’s role in combating income inequality and fortifying the middle class, provided a preview of the themes Obama will emphasize between now and next November.
His embrace of defiant, populist messaging also represents a final, definitive break with the bipartisan-friendly political style that defined Obama’s rise to power and the first two-and-a-half years of his presidency.
That’s all well and good, but is he still going to push for the right to detain US citizens without charges or evidence?
Why young voters love Ron Paul – 2012 Elections – Salon.com
28 NovFirst, whereas in earlier eras such establishment hostility to a politician’s position could prevent that candidate from making a serious run for president, polls show Paul’s foreign-policy message is likely getting through to a key demographic, giving him a genuine shot at his party’s nomination.
Second, whether Paul eventually wins the GOP nomination or not, the trends embedded in his current electoral coalition will affect our politics long after his candidacy is over — and even if you don’t support Paul’s overall candidacy, that’s a decidedly positive development for those who favor a new foreign policy.
via Why young voters love Ron Paul – 2012 Elections – Salon.com.
Truth and Traditions 