"The old Republican Party has become the Knothead Party, so named during the last Republican Convention in Montgomery when a change of name was proposed, the first suggestion being the Christian Conservative Constitutional Party, and campaign buttons were even printed with the letters CCCP before an Eastern-liberal commentator noted the similarity to the initials printed on the backs of the Soviet cosmonauts and called it the most knotheaded political bungle of the century—which the conservatives, in the best tradition, turned to their own advantage, printing a million more buttons reading "Knotheads for America" and banners proclaiming "No Man Can Be Too Knotheaded in the Service of His Country." — Love In The Ruins, Walker Percy.Follow the money; then, once you find out where the money starts, uproot its source, cut it's balls off, and get it out of our political DNA.
the base is loathe to rally round him, but after so many failed, flawed, or forfeited challenges, can anyone topple Mitt Romney?People keep saying this. At least in my echo chamber. For some reason I have a hard time convincing myself there's anything to it except that people keep saying it.
Romney had promised center-left activists he would "act as essentially a sleeper agent within the Republican Party, adopting liberal stances, rising to national prominence, and thereby legitimizing them and transforming the Party from within." But the other Republican campaigns let it slide.
Romney's health care program in Massachusetts uses taxpayer money to provide medical care to undocumented immigrants. But the other Republican campaigns let this slide, too.
Romney's policy team advised the Obama White House on how best to shape "Obamacare." But, again, the other Republican campaigns said nothing.
...his support of health care mandates. And his support for gun control. And his record supporting gay rights. And his belief in climate change.and now:
During Romney’s 2002 gubernatorial campaign, he sought the endorsement of Planned Parenthood of Massachusetts by filling out a questionnaire that made his continued support clear. The document was first circulated in 2007, but is now taking on new relevance as Romney tries to clarify his opposition to abortion rights and government-funded family planning.Even assuming staggering ineptitude, it seems clear that Romney is the only candidate actually interested in the nomination.
Romney pledged his support for Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that protects women’s choice, for laws protecting the safety of abortion clinics, for increased access to the morning-after pill and for late-term abortions when the mother’s health is at risk. Romney also indicated on the form that he supported the “state funding of abortion services through Medicaid for low-income women.”
This is about the time we’d see every other Republican presidential campaign launch their rapid-response operations, raising hell with every political reporter they can find. We’d see press releases, web videos, the works.
But in 2011, that just never seems to happen.
[The "liberal-intellectual wing" of the Democratic Party] was a section of the party not only dubious of [JFK] but staunchly loyal to Adlai Stevenson after those two gallant and exhilarating defeats [to Eisenhower]. That very exhilaration had left the Kennedys, particularly Robert Kennedy, with a vague suspicion that liberals would rather lose gallantly than win pragmatically, that they valued the irony and charm of Stevenson's election-night concessions more than they valued the power and patronage of victory.posted by kirkaracha at 6:24 PM on November 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
I don't know why you're all nyuking it up about Perry. Last time one part of the electorate were pointing and laughing at what a moron a candidate was, you got President Bush. -- rodgerdThat was during a general election, not a primary. The people laughing at Perry now are republicans.
koeselitz: Yeah, except Nixon was the last liberal president, and, save for being scrupulously dishonest and downright unpleasant, he did a pretty damn good job. So, I'd vote for Nixon over Obama. -- cthuljewNixon was liberal because congress was liberal (and what about Jimmy Carter, by the way? He was plenty liberal and came after Nixon). If Nixon had been granted immortality (perhaps with his head in a Jar) and was president today he would probably be pretty conservative.
Whoa... that was a wild ride... almost done typing this, and Windows decides to do a reboot/upgrade... and I get even more pissed off... and then it somehow magically managed to save my context and bring me right back to this page, with my text intact??-- MikeWarotSession saving. Pretty nice. Are you running firefox? I'm not sure if chrome does the same thing.
According to my back of the envelope calculations, the EPA is ~ 0.24% of the federal 2012 budget.Perry didn't want to reform it. Ron Paul "suggested" the EPA when Perry couldn't remember the third department and Perry went along with it due to his brain freeze. Not that Perry wouldn't be a disaster for the environment. He would be.
Fuck these guys. Anyone who pretends that the EPA budget is a big deal is accepting bags of cash in the background from polluters. -- benzenedream
Well, this led me to realize I am unfamiliar with what exactly the Commerce Department does, so I looked it up. Turns out Commerce is the aegis under which NOAA, NIST, the Census, and the Patent Office operate! So thanks Rick for making me look that up, but no, let's not eliminate the Commerce Department. -- Salvor HardinI wouldn't mind getting rid of the patent office.
Has presidential electioneering, including debates, always started more than a year before the actual election? I feel like we could actually get a better use of our time if we simply didn't allow any electioneering until the actual YEAR OF THE ELECTION. I mean, 10 full months seems like enough time.This is the republican primary. Also, how would this square with the 1st amendment? If I want to say people should vote for me in the 2036 election I should be able too.
I don't get it. if you are pro-Obama (or just anti-Repub) you shouldn't want the Perry's of the world to implode in the primary debates. The more unsuitable they show themselves to be, the more likely the nomination goes to Romney by default, and Romney is the candidate least likely to scare away undecideds. -- JPDThis is an incredibly stupid strategy. I don't think Cain would end up being much different from Romney, other then that he would be less effective in pushing his agenda. But while someone like Perry, Santorum, or Bachman getting the nomination makes it possible that they might actually end up being president.
Romney's the Republican Kerry - except Obama is less popular than Bush was in 2003. And Kerry still almost beat Bush. -- JPDWhich is exactly why we should want the least crazy republican to win. Politics is not a sporting even where you want 'your team' to 'win' but rather it's something that has a huge impact in hundreds of millions of people's lives. At a minimum, you want the least crazy person running things.
People keep saying this. At least in my echo chamber. For some reason I have a hard time convincing myself there's anything to it except that people keep saying it. -- adoarnsThe dude's a Mormon. For evangelical Christians he might as well be Buddhist.
I'm a Canadian and a regular Daily Show watcher. American presidential races are just fantastic as pure entertainment.Pure entertainment? If I were Canadian, I would be concerned that President Perry might accidentally invade.
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(Also, I'm loving the new Perry advice animal.)
posted by Rhaomi at 12:58 AM on November 10, 2011 [3 favorites]