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Was Willard a bully, or just a prankster?

11 May

Willard Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican Tea Party (GOTP) candidate for president said in a radio interview with crack journalist and Fox and Friends personality Brian Kilmeade “Back in high school, I did some dumb things, and if anybody was hurt by that or offended, obviously I apologize for that,” referring to the alleged assault against fellow student John Lauber, where Romney cut off the Lauber’s hair while his friends held him down.

“I participated in a lot of hijinks and pranks during high school, and some might have gone too far, and for that I apologize. I don’t remember that incident,” Romney said, laughing. “I certainly don’t believe that I thought the fellow was homosexual. That was the furthest thing from our minds back in the 1960s, so that was not the case.”

But wait, committing assault and battery weren’t the only allegations recently leveled against the conservative candidate, Kilmeade asked Willard specifically about having interrupted a closeted gay student in English class, Gary Hummel, by shouting, “Atta girl!”

Romney responded, “I really can’t remember that. As this person indicated, he was closeted,” Willard said. “I had no idea that he was gay and can’t speak to that even today. But as to the teasing or the taunts that go on in high school, that’s a long time ago. For me, that’s about 48 years ago. Again, if there’s anything I said that is offensive to someone, I certainly am sorry for that, very deeply sorry for that.”

What makes this potentially a lot worse for Romney is rather than confront the allegations head on and say he was wrong, he joked about it, he tried to brush it aside, “I participated in a lot of hijinks and pranks during high school, and some might have gone too far …”, Romney said.

I’m sorry, but holding people down and cutting off their hair is not hijinks, it’s bullying plain and simple; it’s assault and battery, and it’s wrong.

Why can’t Willard remember these things? If they’re isolated cases in his youth then he’d remember them, or are they snapshots in a collage of everyday incidents for Mitt?

“‘I participated in a lot of hijinks and pranks during high school, and some might have gone too far, and for that I apologize. I don’t remember that incident,’ Romney said, laughing.

Romney said laughing”, that’s the crux of this “incident”; “Romney said laughing” because this was just boys being boys? This is the point that’s troubling to me, that he laughed about it. That he laughed about someone being assaulted.

These weren’t hijinks, not under any definition I’d use: Webster calls hijinks, “boisterous or rambunctious carryings-on: carefree antics or horseplay”.

So, for the rich and wealthy set at Cranbrook Schools back in the 60s assaulting fellow students, holding them down and cutting off their hair while they’re screaming for help is just “carefree antics or horseplay”?

There’s the ongoing disconnect and the small sliver of insight into the mind of someone who would be president; that combined with laughing about it troubles me.

Mitt wants to prove he’s not the same man he was all those years ago, stand up and apologize without the dismissive laughing, without the “if I offended someone” political tag line attached. Stand up and tell that man’s family he’s sorry for what occurred and move on.

 
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Posted by on May 11, 2012 in 2012 Election

 

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Thoughts on the Occupy Movement

03 May

Most revolutions – to include our own – are, in the beginning, driven by economic disproportional perceptions (remembering that perception is reality); the Boston Tea Party was an act by petulant protesters reacting to a series of taxes (most particularly on tea) by the government …

The French Revolution was brought on by perceived economic differences between classes and resentment by peasants, laborers and the bourgeoisie toward the traditional seigneurial privileges possessed by the nobility – the French Government was dealing with staggering debt as a result of coming to America’s aid in its own revolution.

The Russian Revolution likewise was a creation of perceived economic differences between the classes and resentment of royalty, and a government dealing with staggering debt brought on by World War I.

The Occupy Movement is also a creation of perceived economic differences between the classes – except its not aimed at a political monarchy – but at a perceived financial upper class (a nobility) in our country. It’s coupled with an economy trying to recover from the worse recession since the Great Depression and a staggering debt brought on by more than a decade of war.

One of Romney’s greatest hurdles is to break the perception he’s one of “them”, something not helped by owning five homes (complete with car elevators), multiple Cadillacs, dressage horses, $990 silk tee-shirts, and offshore accounts in the Caymans and Switzerland … “perception is reality”, and with the country in the grips of perceived economic turmoil, being fabulously wealthy doesn’t help when running for the Presidency; joking that you “like to be able to fire people” doesn’t help. Romney saying he’ll overturn controls recently implemented on the Stock Market and Banking Industry doesn’t help.The political and economic reality is that today’s Republican Tea Party (GOTP) can’t survive by protecting the uber-wealthy at the expense of everyone else; when Willard Mitt Romney fails in his bid for the White House, it won’t be negative advertising that does it, it’ll be his own wealth, and his inability to shake the rich-boy born with a silver foot in his mouth image.

It doesn’t help when Governors like Scott Walker giving huge tax breaks to the wealthy and businesses and then blaming the deficit created on “special interest” groups like teachers and nurses doesn’t help the perception.

It doesn’t help when right-wing talker Sean Hannity (a millionaire) says poor people can make great big pots of rice and beans and live just fine; a definite “let them eat cake” moment.

It doesn’t help when the controlling party in the House appears to be resentful of keeping student loan interest rates low, unless it can cut health care programs primarily aimed at low income women, while fighting tooth and nail to keep tax rates at the lowest level in 60 years for the wealthiest 1%. Congressman Ryan is a mufti-millionaire, and his “budget” proposes deep cuts in social spending while increasing spending on the military and protecting tax cuts for the wealthy (his class); the perception is the ruling class (wealthy “nobility) doesn’t care about the rest of the population.

Remember, “perception is reality”; and the perception is that 1% control the wealth and the government, and some elements of the 99% aren’t staying quiet about it; it doesn’t excuse the destruction of private property, but conversely there’s no excuse for some use of excessive force used by police officers either – that only helps the protest grow, it doesn’t cow it.

Whether you agree with the Occupy Movement or not doesn’t matter, it’s here; the perceived reality for those who are struggling to pay the rent, and to pay for school, and to eat from day-to-day is there’s a huge disparity in our country between those who have and those who don’t.

 
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Posted by on May 3, 2012 in 2012 Election

 

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Arpaio claims President’s Birth Certificate is a phony?

24 Apr

Arch conservative, Republican Tea Party (GOTP) Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s planning to hold a news conference where he’ll no doubt prove beyond a shadow of a doubt just how delusional he really is; he’s claiming he’ll be releasing new findings from his ongoing investigation of President Obama’s birth certificate, which he believes is a forgery.

Reportedly, in an interview with birther-friendly website World Net Daily, the so-called, self-proclaimed, “toughest sheriff” in America says he’ll be revealing new evidence he believes will prove that Obama’s birth certificate and Selective Service documentation are bigger fabrications than he is.

Arpaio held a press conference last month where he unveiled his probe’s “initial findings” claiming there was probable cause to believe the President’s identification documents were forged.

Arpaio’s no class act, this is the same guy who’s currently under federal investigation from the Department of Justice surrounding alleged racial profiling by his department; of course with the substantial resources of the Maricopa Sherriff’s Department we might expect that his next announcement will be that he knows who killed the Lindbergh baby, and where Amelia Earhart’s been the past 75 years. It’s probably nice to know the Sherriff’s most pressing issue is to continue down the rabbit hole of birtherism and that there’s nothing more important to be worried about in Maricopa. Regarding the President’s birth certificate being a phony; who else but Arpaio would be more capable of spotting a forgery, after all he’s been impersonating a law enforcement officer for quite some time now.

 
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Posted by on April 24, 2012 in Lunatics

 

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Army cancels Nugent appearance?

21 Apr

According to news sources the United States Army has cancelled Ted Nugent’s upcoming appearance at Fort Knox, KY, citing inflammatory language while expressing his displeasure with President Barack Obama.

“After learning of opening act Ted Nugent’s recent public comments about the president of the United States, Fort Knox leadership decided to cancel his performance on the installation,” it’s Facebook posting says.

So far, the 23 Jun 12 concert remains on the Fort Knox schedule, with REO Speedwagon and Styx listed as “co-headliners,” and army personnel are saying they’ll grant requests for refunds in light of their decision to nix the opening act.

Of course, this cancellation’s simply the latest wrinkle in a controversy engulfing the aging rocker since last weekend when, speaking at an NRA convention, Nugent proclaimed he’d be “dead or in jail” if the President’s reelected in November.

Also referring to the President, as well as Democratic candidates in general, he said, “We need to ride into that battlefield and chop their heads off in November.”

As President Obama’s the Commander in Chief, and as the men and women serving at Fort Knox are his subordinates, and as it’s a violation of the UCMJ for service personnel to threaten the life of the President, the Army’s completely right to cancel Nugent, especially since he clearly has a hard time keeping his yap shut, and who knows what he’d say on an Army post. Words have meaning, and the meaning of Nugent’s misguided words were a threat to the President, hopefully with a few more cancellations he’ll learn to think before he mouth’s off.

 
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Posted by on April 21, 2012 in 2012 Election

 

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Ann Romney’s been denied the dignity of work?

16 Apr

So, last week it was the height of insult to stay at homes to merely suggest Ann Romney had never worked a day in her life, but lo and behold, who said just a few months ago that poor women who stay at home to raise their children should be given federal assistance for child care so that they can enter the job market and “have the dignity of work”?

If you said Republican Tea Party (GOTP) presumptive presidential candidate Willard Mitt Romney you’d be absolutely correct, and you’d win a cookie. In fact, Willard gave the world this pearl of wisdom just last January; sort of undercuts the whole sense of righteous indignation and extreme pique he demonstrated last week defending his wife against the unmitigated  attacks from Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen.

According to Huffington Post, Willard’s seemingly forgotten remark, made to a 1950’s era conservative Manchester, N.H., audience was unearthed by MSNBC’s “Up w/Chris Hayes,” and aired during his show this past weekend.

For Willard it appears there’s clearly a difference between stay-at-home moms supported by federal assistance and those backed by hundreds of millions in private equity income. According to Willard, poor women shouldn’t be given the choice his wife was able to afford; instead they should be required to work outside the home to receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits.

“Even if you have a child 2 years of age, you need to go to work,” Willard declared of moms on TANF.

“I wanted to increase the work requirement,” Willard mewed. “I said, for instance, that even if you have a child 2 years of age, you need to go to work. And people said, ‘Well that’s heartless.’ And I said, ‘No, no, I’m willing to spend more giving day care to allow those parents to go back to work. It’ll cost the state more providing that daycare, but I want the individuals to have the dignity of work.'”

But wait, Mitt’s January view simply echoes a remark he made in 1994 during his failed Senate campaign when he said, “This is a different world than it was in the 1960s when I was growing up, when you used to have Mom at home and Dad at work,” Romney said “Now Mom and Dad both have to work whether they want to or not, and usually one of them has two jobs.”

WHOA, HOLD THE PHONE MATE! So, in other words Willard’s admitting his wife’s never experienced “the dignity of work”?

Of course for families like the Romney’s it’s still the 1960’s and Mom gets to stay home making those tough economic decisions like, “how many car elevators do we really need?”

 
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Posted by on April 16, 2012 in 2012 Election

 

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President defends Ann Romney?

13 Apr

According to the Associated Press (AP), President Barack Obama’s sticking up for Ann Romney, the wife of Republican Tea Party (GOTP) rival Willard Mitt Romney and the apparent  target of a Democratic operative who’s suggesting she’s unqualified to speak about the economy’s tolls because she’s “never worked a day in her life.”

“It was the wrong thing to say,” Obama told WCMH-TV in Columbus, Ohio. Criticism of candidates’ spouses should be out of bounds, he added.

Polls show women lean heavily Democratic and favor Obama by a wide margin in battleground states, and unfortunately for Willard, he must win at least 40 percent of the women’s vote to have a shot at beating the President.

Willard’s keeping his mouth shut on the issue – so far – allowing Ann to comment, saying raising five sons is hard work and that while she never has worried about finances, she has faced the ordeals of cancer and multiple sclerosis.

Everyone should be able to agree on a couple of things here; first, the candidate’s wives “should” be out of bounds, however, the First Lady’s been repeatedly attacked by the talking heads on the right from the beginning of the last campaign in 2008; second, mothers work a lot harder than fathers and raising children is a full-time job; that being said however, raising children when you have hundreds of millions of dollars squirreled away in off shore accounts is considerably easier than raising kids when you’re worried about where the rent money’s coming from or if the only food your children get during the day will be from their school.

Mrs. Romney has faced tremendous challenges in her life, and she’s no doubt infinitely qualified to address those challenges as a woman; however, she’s not remotely qualified to address many other issues facing women today, or to be the person Willard turns to when he wants a woman’s opinion.

For instance:

Can she address everyday women’s healthcare issues? Nope, sorry, $200 million in off-shore accounts pretty well assure she’s never waited in clinics all day to be seen by an over-worked staff; nor have her children. On top of this, her hubby says he’s going to end Planned Parenthood and all its health programs for women. What’s Ann’s opinion on that decision affecting millions of women?

Can she address women’s employment issues? Nope, sorry, again there’s that $200 million staring her in the face; on top of that “little” issue, she’s been a stay at home mom who’s never been employed; she hasn’t had to go out and supplement the family income, she hasn’t had to leave her boys in day care or with relatives while she went to work being paid less than her male counter-parts.

Can she address women’s pay issues? Nope, sorry again, she’s never been paid less than her male-counterparts because she’s never worked.

Can she address women’s economic issues? Nope, sorry, when you have $200 million sitting in the Caymans you really don’t worry about the price of a gallon of milk, a loaf of bread, a new back pack or pair of tennis shoes.

Wait, what about the price of a gallon of gas, after all doesn’t she have two Cadillacs?

Clearly there’s a plethora of women’s issues where Ann would be just as clueless as her husband, and that’s the point being made the other day, albeit badly.

The Romney’s can’t have it both ways, they can’t live in the world of Thurston and Lovey Howell III, while trying to pretend to be Ozzie and Harriett, and then get offended when someone calls them on it. They don’t know the struggles of “the little people” because they’re not now, nor ever have been in that classification, so please spare the electorate from the pretended outrage.

 
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Posted by on April 13, 2012 in 2012 Election

 

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And then there was one; and two other guys

10 Apr

Republican Tea Party (GOTP) presidential contender Richard John Santorum has officially ended his 2012 run for the White House; in a short and simple statement from Gettysburg, PA, he said he’s done, cementing Willard Mitt Romney as the party’s – albeit somewhat awkward – standard bearer.

So, why is Ricky dropping out? Has he come to the conclusion – finally – that it truly was over, that there was no way he was going to pull this thing out? Or, has he been offered something from Willard’s camp for his withdrawal? As much as I would hope it’s the latter it’s more than likely the former. The odds were not in his favor – in any way, shape or form – and current polling showed he was falling not just behind, but further and further behind Romney in his home state of Pennsylvania.

With Santorum gone Romney’s home free as there’s next to absolutely no chance Santorum’s followers are suddenly going to rally to either Newton Leroy Gingrich or to Uncle Paul’s banners, and even if they did so, they’d still lose; Gingrich’s campaign is bankrupt and Paul’s never left the tarmac.

It’s all over; move along citizens, nothing left to see here.

 
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Posted by on April 10, 2012 in 2012 Election

 

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Newt’s sugar daddy says he’s done?

29 Mar

Various news reports are saying Republican Tea Party (GOTP) presidential “no way it’s ever going to happen” hopeful Newton Leroy Gingrich’s being told he’s done, and Newton’s sugar daddy, casino magnate Sheldon Adelson’s apparently lost any hope in his electoral prospects; that’s pretty much the end when your one chief – if not only – backer decides you’re done. To date Adelson has reportedly poured about $16.5 million down the Gingrich drain.

Adelson’s conceded his “golden boy’s” basically got no chance of winning the GOTP nomination, “It appears as though [Gingrich is] at the end of his line. Because mathematically he can’t get anywhere near the numbers [of delegates required to gain the nomination], and there’s unlikely to be a brokered convention.”

Of course even if there’s a brokered convention who outside of Newt and Callista really believes he’d ever – in a million years – be the GOTP nominee?

Anyone?

Anyone?

Bueller?

Newton’s never had a chance; he’s not just damaged goods, he’s the box that fell out of the UPS truck on the interstate overpass and got pummeled by every other vehicle for the next three hours until there’s nothing left. He’s a failed former House Speaker who resigned in disgrace; a failed former House Speaker who had not one, but at least two extra-marital affairs, while prosecuting a President for lying about an affair; a failed former House Speaker who didn’t just have affairs but who also asked for an “open marriage” and who told one wife he was divorcing her while she was undergoing chemotherapy, all while trumpeting – wait for it – “family values”; yeah, like he ever had a chance; but hopefully he sticks around for awhile if only to annoy Willard.

 
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Posted by on March 29, 2012 in 2012 Election

 

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Santorum Condemns ‘Pretend its Obama’ Comment

23 Mar

It’s being reported that while Republican Tea Party (GOTP) presidential hopeful Rick Santorum was visiting a firing range, during a campaign stop in West Monroe, Louisiana, taking a few shots at paper targets in front of an applauding group of supporters (cue the banjos) a woman called out (why am I not surprised), “Pretend it’s Obama!”

Because he was wearing hearing protection Santorum didn’t hear the moronic statement, and much to his credit he later told reporters he was glad he hadn’t heard it.

“It’s absurd,” he said. “No, we’re not pretending it’s anybody, but shooting pistols. It’s a very terrible and horrible remark, and I’m glad I didn’t hear it.”

This is one of those moments which defines a man’s character and adds to his stature and I applaud Santorum for standing up and saying the comment was wrong. It will no doubt cost him some votes with the type of people who say such things but in a tight primary season he did the right thing.

I like these little moments when I can see what his real values are, and that he knows when something is wrong. I disagree with most of what Rick Santorum believes in politically but I have a great deal of respect for him as a person and as a candidate because unlike other GOTP candidates his core values apparently can’t be shaken away and redrawn.

 
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Posted by on March 23, 2012 in 2012 Election

 

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Mathematically Improbable for Romney to win nomination

12 Mar

Being somewhat of a politics-geek I’ve been thinking why the Romney camp’s pushing the idea he’s the sole inevitable winner of the Republican Tea Party (GOTP) nominating process; the only answer I can come up with is because he’s nothing of the kind and they’re trying to weaken his opponent’s base. They’ve come to understand the longer Rick Santorum and Newton Leroy Gingrich hang on the fewer delegates their guy wins.

If you run the numbers – specifically the number of delegates yet to be won – it’s abundantly clear Romney’s the only one who can still win the nomination outright prior to the GOTP convention 27 – 30 Aug 12; but it’s not very clear at all if he’ll be able to do so, in fact the odds are fast becoming anything but in his favor. There are 878 delegates left to be picked up by the candidates and 1,144 needed for victory; Romney’s picked up 455 delegates to date and still needs to pick up 691 delegates to win, or roughly 80% of all the remaining delegates. If you eliminate the “winner take all” primaries won so far he’s averaging about 33% of delegates, and that’s not going to get it done; even if he wins all the “winner take all” primaries – which he may, but is doubtful – if Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich remain in the race it doesn’t look probable for Romney, and thus a brokered convention is looming more and more on the horizon.

There are 126 so-called “super delegates” available at the GOTP Convention, made up of state chairs and additional RNC types, but they’re not necessarily going all to Romney, especially considering his “popularity” within the party; even if we were to count all the super delegates to Mitt, he only takes the nomination at that point by a mere 50 or so delegates. Santorum or Gingrich could very much act as spoilers sending this into a brokered convention. At any rate, it’s not a foregone conclusion that Mitt’s the nominee. Not just yet.

Of course the only possible way for Santorum to win now is in a brokered convention and that’s what he’s aiming at, he knows he can’t win any other way; Newt’s reason for hanging on is pure and simple, he hates Romney’s guts for the character attacks following the South Carolina primary; so at this point it’s all about keeping Romney from winning. Ron Paul’s still hanging in there but he’s pretty much inconsequential, basically just siphoning off delegates here and there. Romney’s basically in a begging position where he needs the others to fall out.

 
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Posted by on March 12, 2012 in 2012 Election

 

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