Preference Cascade Underway?

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Katrina Trinko:

Romney Seven Points Ahead in Gallup Poll

In today’s Gallup, Mitt Romney has a significant lead over President Obama among likely voters: seven points. Romney is at 52 percent to Obama’s 45 percent.

So what’s going on? I talked to Frank Newport, Gallup’s editor-in-chief, who warned that poll watchers should be careful to remember that Gallup’s daily number is an average of seven days. “It takes a while for any impact, in say the debate Tuesday night, to percolate through,” Newport says. “I think we’re just still seeing the positive enthusiasm on the part of the Romney people that came out at the first debate, and I think it’s too early to tell what’s going to happen” as a result of the second debate.

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I’m not a bean counter or a number cruncher so I’ll leave that to others. My basic rule of not trusting polls still remains in effect. But I will point out that this poll covers both the first presidential debate and the match-up between Paul Ryan and Joe Biden.

So what does this mean?

Nothing.

Maybe.

The only poll that really matters is the one on November 6th.

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The real War on Women

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Obama touts fair pay for women, despite records showing women paid less in his own White House

At Tuesday’s Hofstra University presidential debate, President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney duked it out over pay equity for women, just as they have fought over female votes in the national polls.

While Obama made the empathetic case for his single mother and his belief in equal pay — pointing out that the first bill he signed as president was the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act — he did not address reports this year that demonstrated that his own White House pays women less than men.

[...]

According to a report published by the Free Beacon in April, the 2011 annual report on White House staff revealed that the median annual salary for female White House employees was 18 percent less than male employees — $60,000 compared to $71,000.

And in 2008, Scripps Howard syndicated columnist Deroy Murdock noted that as in Obama’s U.S. Senate office, women were paid less than men: While the average male staffer brought home $54,397, female staffers averaged $45,152.

Romney detailed his professional history, recruiting women into positions of power during his tenure as governor of Massachusetts. He further pointed out the economic suffering women have endured under Obama, including the loss of 580,000 jobs among women and 3.5 million women in poverty.

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Obama talks the talk, but he doesn’t walk the walk.

BTW – The Vile Progs are going crazy today over “binders”.

Go figure.

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I love the smell of desperation in the morning

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I always said that if Obama starts to lose the Vile Progs will start losing it. Guess what?

They’re LOSING IT! (By “losing it” I am referring to “barking at the moon, panties-wetting, batshit insane.”)

According to Buzzfeed, some white guy with a shaved head showed up at a Romney-Ryan rally wearing a shirt that said “Put the white back in the white house”. So far only a single photograph of this unidentified person exists.

The Vile Progs consider this to be incontrovertible proof that all Romney-Ryan supporters are racist skinheads. There is (of course) no possibility that this was a photo-shop or that the man was a false-flag Vile Prog troll pretending to be R-R supporter.

I can pretty much guarantee that this man photographed at a Romney rally in Lancaster, Ohio, is not in fact a Republican, but rather is a plant sent out by the Democrats as a dirty trick.

Clue #1: Wearing a “Romney/Ryan” sticker on the back of his T-shirt. Nobody does this. Nobody.
Clue #2: It’s kind of chilly in Ohio this time of year, and the guy’s wearing only a T-shirt, while those around him are wearing coats.

My guess is that this guy also wore a coat when he entered the rally, then stationed himself toward the back of the crowd (in front of the riser where the press photographers are stationed) and then removed his coat to expose the T-shirt, with the explicit purpose of having it photographed.

. . . aaanndd, Clue #3: No name? A press photographer is going to take a picture like this and make no effort to ID the guy? Nuh-uh.

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BTW – There really is a site that sells shirts that say “Put the white back in the White House”. It is an anti-Palin site run by Vile Progs. (Just a coinky-dink, I’m sure.)

But wait! There’s more!

Romney Rumor: GOP Wants to Ban Tampons

In recent weeks, the GOP attack on contraceptives and women’s rights has been returning to the legislative tables, and causing a stir among women’s rights activists and media outlets nationwide.

Now it seems that many within the Republican party who strive to ban contraceptive use also see it as a necessity to prohibit the use of tampons, and seek to ban the sales of these and similar products as soon as possible.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) recently put together an all male panel for discussion at the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing on the contraceptive coverage rule and excluded women from the conversation. It seems that he is set to establish a similar group of men to discuss the use of tampons within a woman’s vagina.

It is unnatural for a woman to insert a foreign object into her body for the sake of stopping the menstrual flow. I, as well as several others seek to eliminate the sales of such objects. Women should let nature take care of itself the way that our Almighty Creator intended. To try to manipulate and control such an occurrence goes against God’s plan for women.

Initial drafts of this new legislation have already been brought before Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), and several other GOP Congressmen. It is likely to come to a vote as early as next month. If passed, tampons will no longer be available to sell or purchase, and women will have to find an alternative means to alleviate menstrual excreta.

Several Democratic Congresspeople are already petitioning in dissent of this new piece of legislation, and will not give up without a fight to preserve a woman’s right to take care of her own body as she deems most effective.

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The fact that this story originated on a spoof site hasn’t kept the rumor from going viral on Twitter. From Twitchy:

Lady parts panic: Libs claim Romney will ban tampons; threaten to kill him, ‘bleed on his face’

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But wait! There’s more!

The Vile Progs are pimping a story that says Romney is taking tax-breaks to ship American jobs to China. The company involved is Sensata in Freeport, Illinois.

Mitt Romney Gets Tax Break Off Firm Sending Jobs To China

Sensata Technologies is a healthy manufacturing company that employs nearly 200 workers at a factory in northern Illinois. The company has become the focus of national attention because it has been taken over by Bain Capital, which plans to shut the factory down, lay off the workers, and outsource the production to China before the end of the year.

The workers have pleaded with GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, the founder of Bain Capital, to exert his considerable influence to save their jobs. Romney still makes millions each year in income from Bain. So far, he has declined to weigh in, and the factory is scheduled to close by the end of the year.

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Daily Kos even published a picture showing how they flew a Chinese flag over their Bridgeport factory while American workers were forced to train their Chinese replacements!

Pretty damning, isn’t it?

The Examiner:

Liberal lies and hysteria try to tie Mitt Romney to Sensata closure

The Twitterverse exploded tonight with rage over a company in Illinois called Sensata closing its doors and shipping its production to China. The big story isn’t that the company is closing but that Liberals are actually trying to blame Mitt Romney for it based on ridiculous lies being pushed by the SEIU. No shocker that the SEIU would sink this low but it doesn’t say much about Democrats that they are so easily led to believe outrageous accusations without bothering to do a quick search on the internet to discover the facts. The myths that are being perpetrated and facts are dissected below.

MYTH: Mitt Romney owns Sensata.

FACT: Mitt Romney has nothing to do with Sensata. Bain Capital Investors have a 51.8% share of Sensata stock.

FACT: Romney actually transferred what stocks he did own in Sensata to charities.

MYTH: Romney makes Bain business decisions.

FACT: Romney hasn’t made business decisions at Bain for many years now. He and his wife Ann have a blind trust with Bain which means they have zero clue where their money is invested.

FACT: The key people running Bain Capital Investors are Joshua Bekenstein, John Connaughton, Paul Edgerly, Mark Nunnelly, Stephen Pagliuca, Jordan Hitch and Matthew Levin. It seems that the majority of these ‘key people’, who make decisions like closing Sensata, are Democrats who support Obama.

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There is a bunch more, with links.

Best part:

MYTH: Sensata replaced the American flag with the Chinese flag at their plant in Illinois.

FACT: This lie is being perpetrated by people like left wing hacks at DailyKos. The photo they use as ‘proof’ is actually of the Sensata plant in China.

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There is a part of me that feels sorry for the Vile Progs. Their whole world is imploding and the are discovering that they worshiped a false idol. Poor things, this must be very traumatic for them.

But the rest of me thinks, “Fuck ‘em! It’s been a long five years putting up with their crap and payback is long overdue. I’m gonna enjoy every damn minute of this very tasty schadenfreude!”

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Time for the #NoApologyBookClub

This is our first ever Crawdad Hole Book Club post. I’m so excited!

First, some housekeeping. We have a Book Club page where you can find any links related to our Book Club. That way we can keep the Book Club discussion going alongside our usual all-politics-all-the-time threads.

On to THE BOOK!

Mitt Romney On Foreign Policy

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Mitt gets all up in Obama’s grill with “Hope is not a strategy“:

I know the President hopes for a safer, freer, and a more prosperous Middle East allied with the United States. I share this hope. But hope is not a strategy. We cannot support our friends and defeat our enemies in the Middle East when our words are not backed up by deeds, when our defense spending is being arbitrarily and deeply cut, when we have no trade agenda to speak of, and the perception of our strategy is not one of partnership, but of passivity. …

I believe that if America does not lead, others will—others who do not share our interests and our values—and the world will grow darker, for our friends and for us. America’s security and the cause of freedom cannot afford four more years like the last four years. I am running for President because I believe the leader of the free world has a duty, to our citizens, and to our friends everywhere, to use America’s great influence—wisely, with solemnity and without false pride, but also firmly and actively—to shape events in ways that secure our interests, further our values, prevent conflict, and make the world better—not perfect, but better.

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Don’t take my word for it, watch it yourself and decide.

(Transcript of prepared remarks here.)

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Mitt Gets Personal

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I hear that Mitt gave a speech today. This isn’t it.

This is from a speech Mitt gave Friday night in Virginia. He talks about himself and some of the charitable things he’s done.

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If We Disagree You Are Lying

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No, seriously.

Gretawire:

CBS Face the Nation asked David Axelrod why he and the President are now calling Governor Romney a liar (“dishonest”) about his tax cut promise for everyone being deficit neutral … and yet don’t call President Obama a liar for his 2008 unfulfilled promise about cutting the deficit in half by the end of his term (didn’t happen) and closing Gitmo (didn’t happen.)

Why is one candidate promiser (Gov Romney) a liar and the other promiser (Pres Obama) is not?

Apparently when it is his guy (Pres Obama) who makes promises that are unrealistic and or unfulfilled, Axelrod doesn’t think it a lie. (As an aside, Axelrod went further and blamed Congress for failing to close Gitmo. He did not explain the 1/2 cut in deficit unfulfilled promise.)

When it is Axelrod’s OPPONENT (Gov Romney), the campaign promise is a lie and the Governor Romney a liar.

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I’m gonna disagree with Greta here. This is not about a campaign promise, it’s about the effect of a proposal. A broken promise is only dishonest if you never intended to keep it. That’s not the issue here.

I am not a beancounter and I have not reviewed Mitt Romney’s tax plan, but as I understand it he plans to lower the top rate and eliminate some deductions, which he says would have the effect of being revenue neutral.

Some pro-Obama economists say this would be a $5 trillion tax cut. Romney denies this. I don’t know who is right but either way we’re talking about opinion rather than fact. It may be an educated, informed, professional opinion but nonetheless the outcome of the proposed plan is not an incontrovertible fact.

This is more like the Stimulus. When the Stimulus was being debated, Obama claimed it would have certain effects on the economy and on unemployment. It didn’t work out as promised, but I would not say that Obama was dishonest, just that his plan failed.

If Obama and his underlings want to attack Romney’s plan on the basis that it is a bad idea that’s fair game. But they have no reasonable basis to call him dishonest.

What is dishonest is for Axelrod to suggest that Romney blindsided Obama with lies about his tax plan. Here is the relevant exchange:

OBAMA: When it comes to our tax code, Governor Romney and I both agree that our corporate tax rate is too high, so I want to lower it, particularly for manufacturing, taking it down to 25 percent. But I also want to close those loopholes that are giving incentives for companies that are shipping jobs overseas. I want to provide tax breaks for companies that are investing here in the United States.

[...]

So all of this is possible. Now, in order for us to do it, we do have to close our deficit, and one of the things I’m sure we’ll be discussing tonight is, how do we deal with our tax code? And how do we make sure that we are reducing spending in a responsible way, but also, how do we have enough revenue to make those investments?

And this is where there’s a difference, because Governor Romney’s central economic plan calls for a $5 trillion tax cut — on top of the extension of the Bush tax cuts — that’s another trillion dollars — and $2 trillion in additional military spending that the military hasn’t asked for. That’s $8 trillion. How we pay for that, reduce the deficit, and make the investments that we need to make, without dumping those costs onto middle-class Americans, I think is one of the central questions of this campaign.

[...]

ROMNEY: First of all, I don’t have a $5 trillion tax cut. I don’t have a tax cut of a scale that you’re talking about. My view is that we ought to provide tax relief to people in the middle class. But I’m not going to reduce the share of taxes paid by high-income people. High-income people are doing just fine in this economy. They’ll do fine whether you’re president or I am.

The people who are having the hard time right now are middle- income Americans. Under the president’s policies, middle-income Americans have been buried. They’re just being crushed. Middle- income Americans have seen their income come down by $4,300. This is a — this is a tax in and of itself. I’ll call it the economy tax. It’s been crushing.

At the same time, gasoline prices have doubled under the president. Electric rates are up. Food prices are up. Health care costs have gone up by $2,500 a family. Middle-income families are being crushed.

[...]

The second area, taxation, we agree, we ought to bring the tax rates down. And I do, both for corporations and for individuals. But in order for us not to lose revenue, have the government run out of money, I also lower deductions and credits and exemptions, so that we keep taking in the same money when you also account for growth.

[...]

And finally, with regards to that tax cut, look, I’m not looking to cut massive taxes and to reduce the — the revenues going to the government. My — my number-one principal is, there will be no tax cut that adds to the deficit. I want to underline that: no tax cut that adds to the deficit.

But I do want to reduce the burden being paid by middle-income Americans. And I — and to do that, that also means I cannot reduce the burden paid by high-income Americans. So any — any language to the contrary is simply not accurate.

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Save this link. When somebody tells you Romney lied, tell them to show you where it is in the transcript.

But you better sit down while you’re waiting.

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Daddy Issues?

“Mr. President, I’m gonna beat you like an ugly step-child.”

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Roger Simon:

I doubt the president was over-confident, nor do I think he underestimated Romney.

I have quite a different explanation.

Barack Obama was afraid. In fact, on a certain level he was petrified.

Now I admit I have been making my living most of my life as a novelist and a screenwriter, so I may be no more than “creating characters” here, but consider this:

What we have before us in these debates is an almost archetypal confrontation – between a man who was and is an exceptionally good father and a man who was deserted by his.

Good fathering is the story of Mitt Romney’s life. He has five sons who are, by all accounts, devoted to him and vice-versa. These boys grew up with a father who, although wealthy and successful, worked like a demon, doted on them, and apparently devoted an extraordinary amount of time to charitable work, in which he also involved them. Indeed, I’ve never heard of a politician who did anything quite like it.

Almost the polar opposite, Barack Obama’s father abandoned him twice and then ended up an irresponsible drunken victim of multiple car crashes. This sad behavior precipitated a search by Obama that brought him in contact with several father surrogates, notably Frank Marshall Davis and Jeremiah Wright, that it would be hard to brand as anywhere near satisfactory. (Davis was a pornographer and about Wright the less said the better.) No Mitt Romneys there.

If you think this is lost on Barack Obama when he stands opposite Romney, then you think the president is stupid, which he is obviously not. But it’s worse for him yet, because he is standing opposite a father who has worked harder, has more experience, and is more knowledgeable and charitable than he and he, on some level at least, must know it.

Not only that, most of what Mitt Romney has done, including graduating simultaneously from Harvard Law and Harvard Business, is an open book, while almost everything about Obama remains purposefully hidden. (He knows this too, obviously.) Obama lives in fear of exposure – and thus in fear of Romney who, although rich, is much more the self-made man of the two, the ultimate father figure.

The face-to-face clash of these two men is almost out of Greek drama. Obama must rage against or embrace the man who represents what he most dearly needed and never had. If this really were Aeschylus or Sophocles, Obama would be caught between those conflicting goals and end up plucking his own eyes out.

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I usually don’t go much for psychoanalysis and I never really understood the fascination that so many people (including Obama) have with his father. But that’s probably because I have so much in common with Barack’s childhood.

My parents divorced when I was a baby so I have no childhood memories of my father. My mom remarried for a few years so I had a step-dad for a while but I didn’t miss him when they split up. I was mostly raised by my mom and my grandma.

I knew I had a dad. He used to send me and my sister Christmas and birthday cards with letters inside but I never paid much attention to what he wrote. I never felt a longing for a father figure – I never really even thought about it. It was just the way it was.

That’s why I really don’t understand the daddy issue thing. It doesn’t resonate with me emotionally. But this article has a psycho-babble air of truthiness about it. It sounds plausible and kinda scientific.

My analysis is similar but simpler. Leaving the daddy issue stuff aside, I focus on who those two men are. Barack Obama is a poser. He’s a narcissist with an over-inflated ego but deep in his heart he knows he’s just a con man who is in over his head.

Barack is a wannabe, but Mitt’s the real deal.

Mitt succeeded in school. Then he was wildly successful in business. He succeeded in running the 2002 Winter Olympics. Now he is succeeding in politics. His family life is successful too.

Barack knows he is a failure as president. When he faces Mitt Romney he is overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy. I am gonna predict that Obama will choke in the other two debates just as bad or worse than the first one.

It’s not about preparation. Obama is overmatched and he knows it. He’s been able to fake his way through life until now but it’s time for him to stand and deliver and he knows he cannot deliver.

Even worse, he’s not somebody who can handle losing. When he lost the primary to Bobby Rush in 2000 he was devastated and depressed. He knows he’s gonna lose on November 6th and it is eating him up inside. He’s a tin man with no heart.

I almost feel sorry for him.

(Just kidding)

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Ex Post Facto Badass

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Who was that masked man?

Feisty Obama says didn’t face “real Mitt Romney” in debate

President Barack Obama came out swinging against Republican rival Mitt Romney on Thursday after a lackluster performance in their first debate forced the Democrat’s aides to talk of “adjustments” to his campaign.

Dressed casually in khakis and a jacket, Obama told a rally of some 12,000 people the former Massachusetts governor was untruthful during their 90-minute debate, which most observers said the Republican won.

“When I got onto the stage, I met this very spirited fellow who claimed to be Mitt Romney,” Obama said.

“But it couldn’t have been Mitt Romney, because the real Mitt Romney has been running around the country for the last year promising $5 trillion in tax cuts that favor the wealthy. The fellow on stage last night said he didn’t know anything about that.”

Obama’s campaign has pressed Romney for months over his support for extending Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy, which the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center estimated could cost $5 trillion over 10 years. Romney rejected that figure at the debate and insisted his plans would not increase the deficit.

The Democratic president was criticized for not pushing back aggressively against his rival during the debate. He adopted an assertive posture on Thursday, however, taking Romney to task on everything from education policy to outsourcing.

“The real Mitt Romney said we don’t need any more teachers in our classrooms. But … the fellow on stage last night he loves teachers – can’t get enough of them,” Obama said.

“The Mitt Romney we all know invested in companies that were called ‘pioneers’ of outsourcing jobs to other countries. But the guy on stage last night, he said he doesn’t even know that there are such laws that encourage outsourcing.”

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Barack Obama had three problems Wednesday night and none of them had anything to do with Mitt Romney’s honesty.

The first problem is that Obama is a lousy debater. In 2007-2008 he didn’t win a single debate, even against John “Crypt Keeper” McCain. But that fact was mostly disguised by media. The one time he faced any tough questions was the Pennsylvania debate and afterwards he flipped Hillary the bird and refused to do any more debates with her.

The second problem is that whatever debating skills he has have atrophied. He’s been living in a bubble for four years. He prefers to give speeches and statements using a teleprompter and rarely answers questions unless everything is tightly scripted and approved. When he does answer questions it is at a Potemkin townhall or in some one-on-one interview with a friendly reporter or talk show host.

Do you know why cops make good witnesses? Because they testify a lot. If you’ve been examined and cross-examined 100 times you’re gonna be much better at it than someone who has never testified before. Cops are really hard to trip up. On the other hand most amateur liars fall apart under skillful cross examination. They aren’t used to being challenged and questioned by a hostile interviewer.

Obama is really not a very good liar, which is surprising considering how much he practices at it. He’s just gotten away with it all his life.

But Obama’s biggest problem was he had to face the Real Mitt Romney for 90 minutes. For several months now Barack Obama has been fighting a strawman dreamed up by his campaign. This candidate made of straw is a greedy corporate vulture who offshores jobs, gives women cancer, doesn’t relate well to people, makes lots of gaffes and is completely passive.

Barack introduces Strawman Mitt at his rallies and speeches. Then he stands him up on stage and knocks him down, over and over. The friendly audience loves it. Strawman Mitt takes it in silence, never complaining or resisting.

Barack Obama was expecting Strawman Mitt to be there on Wednesday night but instead Alpha Male Mitt the Stormin’ Mormon showed up to kick ass and chew bubble gum, and he was all out of bubble gum.

It comes as a complete shock when your punching bag starts punching back.

I don’t know if Mitt Romney can repeat his performance but I have confidence he’ll do okay in the other two debates. The real question is whether Obama can get his shit together in the next couple weeks.

One thing is for sure, he won’t be overconfident next time.

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Two Occupiers in a convertible get pulled over in Alabama. When the state trooper walks up to the driver’s door he pulls out his baton and whacks the driver on the head.

“What was that for?” asks the Occupier behind the wheel.

“I was just teaching you a lesson” replied the cop. “Here in Alabama you are expected to have your license, insurance and registration ready when a cop reaches your window. Next time you’ll remember.”

The cop then proceeds to write the Occupier a ticket. Afterward, instead of walking back to his patrol car, the cop walks around to the passenger side, pulls out his baton, and whacks the passenger on the head.

“What was that for?” asks the other Occupier.

“I was just giving you your wish” replied the cop. “In about one minute you were gonna say ‘I wish that cop had tried that shit with me.‘”

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Revenge of the Lapdogs

Welcome to MSNBC

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I get mail:

Myiq2xu, a media narrative is starting to emerge about last night’s debate — Mitt Romney may have won, but he only did so through repeated, flat-out lies.

Please click here for a list of Mitt Romney’s biggest lies from the debate, and share it over Facebook, Twitter or another social network. If we can spread the facts about Mitt Romney’s problems with the truth, we can more than reverse any damage the debate may have caused.

Keep fighting,
Chris Bowers
Campaign Director, Daily Kos
P.S. Please help keep Daily Kos strong by chipping in $3.

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You didn’t think the media was going to roll over and play dead, did you?

Mitt Humiliates The Media and Now They Will Seek Revenge

“Who is this guy?” tens of millions of American voters asked themselves last night. “This isn’t the Mitt Romney the media’s presented to me over the last six months.”

Free of the corrupt media’s filter; free of the spin, the lying fact-checkers, the gotchas, and the desperate effort to cover up any and all bad news that might hurt Obama — by every standard, every measure, every opinion, and every opinion poll, what we witnessed last night at the first presidential debate of 2012 was a commanding, dominating blow-out performance by Governor Mitt Romney.

Last night the GOP contender showed up to kick butt and chew bubblegum, but unfortunately for Barack Obama, Romney was all out of bubblegum. The real loser, though, was a corrupt mainstream media that had just spent months desperately crafting a Mitt Romney that doesn’t exist — a Mitt Romney voters would not find acceptable as president.

We’ve all seen what’s happened month after month after month after month: Obama’s Media Palace Guards have assured us that Romney can do nothing right and Obama can do nothing wrong. This carefully crafted media game-plan (coordinated openly with the Obama campaign) was meant to strip Romney of the single quality voters demand in a president, and that’s competence. If you’re not competent, you’re not an acceptable alternative, which means we’re going to vote for “the devil we know.”

But last night all of this blew up in the media’s face, and this morning the American people trust the media even less than they did the night before — and for one very simple reason: they were lied to … again. Where was the bumbling, elitist, out of touch, awkward, wife-killing, gay-hating, corporate vulture who tortures dogs and stumbles through Europe like Chevy Chase in a “Vacation” sequel?

Well, he didn’t show up last night because that’s not who Mitt Romney is. That Mitt Romney is a media creation manufactured out of lies and desperation by those who spend 24 hours a day crafting trip wires, fabricating gaffes, and standing before the elephant of Barack Obama’s failures and asking, “What elephant?”

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The media has a problem. Last night the country saw Mitt Romney en fuego. If you actually watched the debate live (as most of us did) you formed your impressions of what took place spontaneously as it happened in real time.

But memories are malleable, especially when they are fresh. So now the media is trying to change our perceptions of what happened – after the fact.

Remember the “Dean Scream?” How about Al Gore’s “sighs?” If you watched the two events those infamous media creations originated from, you probably didn’t pay much attention to them if you noticed them at all. But a couple weeks later after they had been edited and remixed to make them louder and then played on the air over and over you probably thought more about them than you did the rest of the events. Your attention had been drawn to them and your memory altered and reinforced.

Here is the media narrative from last night:

Mitt lied. Mitt was rude and pushy. Mitt unfairly took more time than Obama.

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For the next week you will keep hearing these narratives. You will only see unflattering (to Mitt) pictures and edited clips from the debate. They won’t talk about what Mitt did right.

I also expect a furious all-out attack on Mitt Romney – everything including the kitchen sink – because when all else fails they change the subject.

Look! Squirrel!

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WATBs Complain About Mean Ol’ Mitt

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This is a real Democratic ad that was released this morning.

Seriously.

For the record:

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The Winner By Knock-Out: Mitt Romney

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CNN Poll: Most watchers say Romney debate winner

Two-thirds of people who watched the first presidential debate think that Republican nominee Mitt Romney won the showdown, according to a nationwide poll conducted Wednesday night.

According to a CNN/ORC International survey conducted right after the debate, 67% of debate watchers questioned said that the Republican nominee won the faceoff, with one in four saying that President Barack Obama was victorious.

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I have to admit, I was really surprised last night. Not by Obama – he performed about like I expected, but then I didn’t expect much. He’s really not a very good debater. (For that matter he’s not very good at anything.) Hillary beat him repeatedly and his performance against John McCain was really overrated.

But I had fairly low expectations for Romney as well. I was unimpressed with his performances in the primary debates and he’s not a great speechifier either. I basically hoped he would look presidential and not make any mistakes. Like Rocky Balboa I just wanted him to go the distance.

So there I am expecting Clark Kent and Superman showed up instead. Someone forgot to tell Mitt he’s not a good debater. He was in full alpha male mode and he easily dominated the two beta males that shared the stage with him.

As my grandma would say, “Mitt opened a big can o’ whoopass on him.” Even the Obamafluffers at MSNBC admitted it.

But don’t take my word for it, hear what this focus group had to say:

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UPDATE: Full debate transcript here.

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Spin, spin, spin

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Remember when Obama was Mr. Smoove? Not anymore:

President Obama’s campaign spokeswoman said she’s concerned Obama will sound too “professorial” to resonate with the low-information voters tuning into the presidential campaign for the first time during this week’s debate.

“[W]hat the American [people] are looking for is not just a professorial list of facts or accomplishments or even goals,” Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said yesterday as part of her ongoing, almost-comical attempt to lower expectations going into the debates. She then lamented that Obama “has a tendency to give longer, substantive answers.” …

Maybe it has to do with their target audience. “He wants to speak directly to the families — the people who are on their couches at home, having snacks, drinking a beer, drinking soda, whatever it is, and tuning in for the first time — and that’s who he’s speaking directly to,” she said.

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Obama campaign mouthpiece Stephanie “He’s a FELON!” Cutter says that history favors the challenger in the first presidential debate. ORLY?

Who won the Carter-Ford debate isn’t clear, but Ford made a gaffe about Poland that was criticized. Carter and Reagan held a single debate. Reagan was considered the winner. Mondale won the first debate with Reagan prompting calls to “Let Reagan be Reagan” because Ronnie supposedly over-prepared. Reagan won the second. The Big Dawg kicked Dole’s and Perot’s asses, but he always wins debates. George W. Bush was declared the winner of every debate because he didn’t shit himself.

That’s a total of five “first” debates between incumbents and challengers, and the incumbent won two of them.

I’ll probably be watching the debate and I expect Romney to win, but I also expect that regardless of what actually happens Obamanation will declare that Obama pulled an upset victory.

Even if he shits himself.

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Meet Mitt Romney’s Garbage Man

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No, seriously.

Are You Kidding Me? Romney’s Garbage Man Blasts Him In New Political Ad

A new anti-Mitt Romney ad from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees features Richard Hayes, the garbageman who deals with the Romneys’ trash at their oceanfront mansion in La Jolla, California.

Dubbed by AFSCME as one of the “people who make America happen,” Hayes talks about his laborious job, and criticizes the GOP nominee for not caring about the government-dependent “47 percent” of voters who the candidate believes won’t vote for him anyway:

“My name is Richard Hayes, and I pick up Mitt Romney’s trash. We’re kind of like the invisible people. He doesn’t realize that the service we provide — if it wasn’t for us, it would be a big health issue, us not picking up trash.

“Residents do come out and shake our hands. Sometimes they give us hugs and thank us for the job we’re doing, hand us water and Gatorades. Tell us we’re doing a good job and keep up the good work. Picking up 15, 16 tons by hand, that takes a toll on your body. When I’m 55, 60 years old, I know my body’s gonna be break down [sic]. Mitt Romney doesn’t care about that.”

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Gee Richard, how much do you make as a municipal employee down there in La Jolla? Do you have a college degree in waste management? How old will you be when you retire and how much will you get each month? Do you actually pick up the trash or does the truck do the heavy lifting for you? Are you planning on getting disability at age 55? Cuz it sure sounds like it.

This is horseshit.

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How do you measure enthusiasm?

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Check out the line of people waiting in the rain to see Mitt Romney and tell me he’s losing Ohio by ten points.

Bonus footage: Heavily outnumbered protesters getting paid to chant “We are the 99%” in the rain.

(Via DaTechGuy)

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Mentirosos

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All this was inspired by the principle–which is quite true within itself–that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation. For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying.

—Adolf Hitler , Mein Kampf

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As you may have noticed, I have been feeling a little stressed out lately. Okay, I’m very stressed out. I think I figured out why.

First of all, I freely admit that I want Barack Obama to lose. When I say “I want” I don’t mean it the same way I would say “I want a Sausage and Egg McMuffin.” I really believe that it is in the best interest of the nation, liberalism and the Democratic party that Obama be defeated. I say this because I want to acknowledge the existence of bias and the possibility of wishful thinking.

History says that Barack Obama should lose. So does my gut. But “gut” I don’t mean a hunch I mean an educated guess. My gut tells me to expect a landslide victory by Mitt Romney.

This is where the stress comes in.

Data that should be objective is indicating that Obama is winning. I’m talking about polls. Every day that goes by we are treated to new polls showing that Obama has anywhere from a small lead to a virtual lock on winning. But there is evidence that all these polls are heavily slanted to favor Democrats.

Somebody is lying, but who?

Add to that a media that would put Lord Haw-Haw, Tokyo Rose and Baghdad Bob all to shame. They should be wearing short skirts and waving pom-poms. They simply will not give Mitt Romney a fair shake.

As Agent Muldur would say, “The Truth Is Out There”. But I’m not worried about my assessment of the candidates, I am concerned about my assessment of the electorate. That is what is stressing me out.

We are seeing an attempt to use the Big Lie, but is it working? Will the media be able to fool enough people to let Obama steal another term? The media can’t control people even though they try. Chik-fil-A Appreciation Day is proof of that.

Like I said, my gut tells me that Romney is going to win this thing. But the constant barrage of lies and misinformation from the media is making me doubt my gut. Normally I would deal with it by drinking heavily but the doctor won’t let me do that anymore.

I am giving everyone fair warning. If Obama wins I’m gonna lose it. I may lose it anyway.

We all go a little mad sometimes.

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The Big Dawg and Mitt

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Mitt Romney’s speech to the Clinton Global Initiative.

“A few words from Bill Clinton can do a man a lot of good.”

This is an open thread

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But he’s pro-life so he must hate women

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Cindy Gillespie:

What Women Should Know About Our Old Boss, Mitt Romney

Frankly, we were completely, totally, absolutely fed up. That’s what we told a reporter from the Milwaukee Sentinel today who asked us why a group of female executives are traveling the country telling women about our former boss Mitt Romney.

We were frustrated that so many women were getting a picture of Mitt from the media and negative ads that just doesn’t match up with the man we all know and worked with in Salt Lake and Massachusetts. We’re smart women; we know it’s a big country; and we know we’re only a few voices. But we also know we have insights and stories that women voters want to hear before they make up their minds – so we decided to hit the road and tell as many women as we can what Mitt Romney is really like from the perspective of the women who worked with him every day.

Amazingly, most women don’t know that Mitt had women at his side helping him turn around the Olympics in Salt Lake and fix the economy in Massachusetts. It doesn’t surprise me because I know how Mitt puts together his team. He hires the strongest talent he can find, so naturally he ends up with a lot of women. Mitt says he hires people who will “go through walls” to get the job done; the women who have worked with him over the years definitely fit that description. I worked with him for nine years and can tell you that my colleagues in Salt Lake and Massachusetts are as talented and incredible as any group of women in America.

Mitt was recognized every year he was Governor for having more women in Cabinet and senior positions than any other Governor in the country. Women made up half Mitt’s cabinet. Women were at the heart of the economic team he put together to create jobs, cut red-tape and streamline regulations and permitting. He personally chose and campaigned for his Lt. Governor – Kerry Healey – a hard-working, gracious, accomplished woman. His Chief of Staff, Beth Myers, was at the table with him giving advice and counsel throughout his administration – and she has continued to do that in the years since, as campaign manager for his 2008 campaign and as senior strategist in the campaign this time.

Cindy Gillespie is the Former Counselor to the Governor, Massachusetts and the Former Vice President, Salt Lake Olympic Committee.

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But he’s pro-life so he must hate women.

Seriously – if you are a single-issue voter and that issue is abortion, Mitt’s not your guy. But you’re crazy if you think you can trust Obama either, and one of them is gonna win.

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“These are not bumps in the road, these are human lives”

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Tell the panty-wetters that Mitt just got real:

Romney seizes on ‘bumps in the road’

Mitt Romney is jumping on President Obama’s description of recent events in the Middle East as “bumps in the road” to democracy — only the latest comment from the president to become a Republican attack line.

“His indication that developments in the Middle East represent bumps in the road is a very different view than I have,” the Republican candidate told ABC News. “I can’t imagine saying something like the assassination of ambassadors is a bump in the road.”

Romney gave a similar comment to NBC News. “There are extraordinary events going on in the Middle East and considering those events, either one of them or all of them collectively, as bumps in the road shows a person who has a very different perspective about world affairs [than] the perspective I have,” he said.

Shortly after the interviews, while speaking to a crowd in Pueblo, Colo., Romney declared, “These are not bumps in the road, these are human lives.”

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Jay Carney gives the lapdog media their official talking points:

The president was referring to the transformations in the region. There is a certain rather desperate attempt to grasp at words and phrases here to find political advantage. And in this case, that’s profoundly offensive.

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I am sick and fucking tired of this goddamn boo-hoo WATB concern trolling defeatist bullshit!

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John W. Smart:

Romney, unlike McCain, once gave of the distinct odor of a man who intended to win. He still does here and there. But his campaign has moved into the dangerous and often lethal “just wait till the debates” phase. This is like the fan whose football team is losing with 1 minute left yelping “Plenty of time! Plenty of time!” Sometimes 1 minute is enough – usually it isn’t. Especially when the commentators are hell-bent on calling the game with 45 seconds left.

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I am sick and fucking tired of this goddamn boo-hoo WATB concern trolling defeatist bullshit! I like John but if I was his military commander in wartime I would have him shot. The Obots I can handle, it’s the people on our side pissing in their pants that makes me sick! FUCKING GROW A PAIR!!!!!

de·feat·ism
noun \di-ˈfē-ˌti-zəm, dē-\
Definition of DEFEATISM
: an attitude of accepting, expecting, or being resigned to defeat
— de·feat·ist noun or adjective

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Defeatism is a self-fulfilling prophecy. You decide you can’t win so you don’t try. Because you don’t try, you lose.

But you wanna know the worst part?

John KNOWS the media is against Mitt Romney. He KNOWS the media is trying to convince people that Mitt can’t win. But he’s still basing his opinion of Mitt’s campaign ON WHAT THE MEDIA IS TELLING HIM!!!!

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This has been a long journey and there’s still over a month to go. I almost quit blogging two years ago. I really can’t contemplate four more years of Obama.

Seriously.

I can’t control what happens on other blogs, but defeatism will not be tolerated here. And don’t expect to see my smiling face at any panty-wetter blogs either.

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