MetaFilter posts tagged with debate and election

Paul Ryan as Romney's running-mate

Rhaomi — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 05:18:26 -0800

Paul Ryan. Seven-term congressman for Wisconsin's 1st District. Chairman of the powerful House Budget Committee. Architect of the controversial Ryan Budget -- a "Path to Prosperity" [PDF - video - CBO] that would slash trillions from the federal budget, sharply curtail taxes on the wealthy, and transform Medicare into a private voucher system. Proponent (vid) -- and renouncer -- of Ayn Rand 's Objectivism. Social Security beneficiary. Hunter. Weinermobile driver. And as of this morning, the 2012 Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States of America. Romney's selection of Ryan, widely seen as an overture to his disaffected conservative base, promises an election framed by titanic questions of economic and social equity. President Obama has already declared his vehement opposition to Ryan's policies, saying in April:

"It is a Trojan Horse. Disguised as deficit reduction plans, it is really an attempt to impose a radical vision on our country. It is thinly veiled social Darwinism. It is antithetical to our entire history as a land of opportunity and upward mobility for everybody who’s willing to work for it; a place where prosperity doesn’t trickle down from the top, but grows outward from the heart of the middle class. And by gutting the very things we need to grow an economy that’s built to last -- education and training, research and development, our infrastructure -- it is a prescription for decline."

It was not the first run-in between the president and the congressman, as the two exchanged sharp words in Obama's visit to the House GOP retreat and the 2010 healthcare roundtable. Ryan also delivered the Republican response to Obama's 2011 State of the Union address. Though Ryan's plans are celebrated as bold and necessary steps in conservative circles, not all agree with his aims. A wide swath of Georgetown faculty concurred with the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in their moral criticism of the Ryan budget, writing:

In short, your budget appears to reflect the values of your favorite philosopher, Ayn Rand, rather than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Her call to selfishness and her antagonism toward religion are antithetical to the Gospel values of compassion and love.

Ryan argues his support of Rand is limited to broad individualist ideals, but the implications of the Path to Prosperity echo the harsher rhetoric of the political right in recent years. After today's VP rollout on the deck of the USS Wisconsin in Norfolk, Va., comes a swing-state bus tour, the Republican National Convention in Tampa on August 27th, and a looming debate with current veep Joe Biden in September. The race? It is on. More: Paul Ryan - On The Issues Interest group scores PolitiFact profile A Reddit-backed effort to defeat Ryan at home TDS on the Ryan budget (part two)

Scoops, Swoops, and Perry's "Oops."

Rhaomi — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 00:54:11 -0800

Texas Governor and GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry is booked on all the major morning shows tomorrow, and with good reason. After two months of gaffes, impolitic stands, and bizarre speeches that quickly waned his once-strong odds of winning the Republican nomination, Perry went into Wednesday's CNBC debate sorely needing a win... only to deliver a tortuous, cringingly forgetful attempt [video] to recall just which three cabinet departments he'd vowed to abolish, a stunning failure political scientist Larry Sabato deemed "the most devastating moment of any modern primary debate" in his memory. While Perry's slow-motion flameout has boosted the fortunes of dark horse candidate Herman Cain, the unlikely challenger is facing troubles of his own in a volley of sexual harassment claims -- an oddly ineffective scandal Cain is doing his best to (somewhat dubiously) disavow. If Cain collapses, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich may reap the benefits, but his moribund campaign has issues of its own. Pawlenty, Bachmann, Perry, Christie, Cain, Gingrich... the base is loathe to rally round him, but after so many failed, flawed, or forfeited challenges, can anyone topple Mitt Romney?

I agree with Nick: you're no Jack Kennedy.

goodnewsfortheinsane — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 11:05:36 -0800

Yesterday, the leaders of the three largest political parties in the UK engaged in a live televised election debate for the first time in history. Most commentators seem to agree that Nick Clegg, the leader of Britain's perennial third party the Liberal Democrats, made the best impression in yesterday's first of three weekly debates leading up to the general election on May 6. The progressive-leaning Guardian even goes so far as to claim that he is now prime ministerial material.

This being Metafilter you will undoubtedly ask, "how does Cory Doctorow figure into all of this?" Well, he agrees with Nick on the Digital Economy Act. Then again, Nick is agreed with quite a lot.

I have here in my hand a list...

msalt — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:53:59 -0800

40 million Iranians watched a "remarkable, no-holds-barred" and nationally televised debate between President Ahmadinejad (blog) and his rival, former Prime Minister Mousavi (Facebook). Mousavi said Ahmadinejad was moving toward dictatorship, and that his Holocaust denial had hurt Iran's dignity; the President said Mousavi had conspired with former presidents Hashemi Rafsanjani and Khatami against him. Ahmadinejad then pulled out a dossier on Mousavi's wife, saying she didn't have proper qualifications for graduate school. Mousavi replied "This is typical of your government. Instead of finding solutions, you send your deputies to make files on the people." The election is June 12th. There will be several more debates among other candidates including Ahmadinejad, Mohsen Rezai and Mehdi Karroubi . This all raises the bigger question: how democratic is Iran? Radio Free Europe says "Less than Iraq." DilbertBlog says "As much as America is." The Guardian says "Complicated."

The Moose Stops Here

you just lost the game — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:58:56 -0800

The conservative (post-election) Crack-Up. In the wake of their recent defeats, many American conservatives have formed a circular firing squad, with some arguing that the GOP needs a little less GOD, while others say it's just a matter of returning to their roots. At this point, it looks like the party is headed for civil war and electoral disaster. Democrats and liberals may be enjoying the show these days, but what does the future hold for the GOP? (Previously.) It should be added that some people saw this coming.

Because there are more important things to do on Friday night

parmanparman — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:25:27 -0800

McCain calls time! John McCain has asked that the first presidential debate be postponed and he will suspend his campaign so he can focus on the economy. No response from Obama yet. But it may be due to his approval rating, The latest FOX News/Opinion Dynamics poll shows Obama has taken a 45-39 percent lead.

John Kerry's debate prep

planetkyoto — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 03:52:12 -0800

John Kerry's debate prep session (as imagined by Harry Shearer). 90 second streaming Real Audio.

"Kerry won by a landslide"

johnnydark — Fri, 01 Oct 2004 07:19:12 -0800

The Toronto Star asked its reader to pick the winner in Thursday's debate between George Bush and Democratic challenger John Kerry.

Sigh.

CunningLinguist — Wed, 29 Sep 2004 05:36:54 -0800

Al Gore on tomorrow's Bush-Kerry duel: The debate tomorrow should not seek to discover which candidate would be more fun to have a beer with. As Jon Stewart of the "The Daily Show'' nicely put in 2000, "I want my president to be the designated driver.''

Campaigning in Oz

Ethereal Bligh — Mon, 13 Sep 2004 23:31:36 -0800

Sunday Night's Election Debate — National security issues loom large, voters are admonished not to decide to “cut and run”. Medicare and the economy were also points of contention. The greens are being attacked as “commies”. John Quiggin has some observations.

The First Democratic Debates

cjoh — Sun, 04 May 2003 09:47:28 -0800

The First Democratic Debates were last night, but you wouldn't know it from the media's coverage. Barely a story on CNN. Howard Dean stole the night, with over a hundred screaming supporters outside the debates. The only person there with supporters was the blogging Presidential Candidate. There were students there from U.C. Berkley, Washinton, Georgia, North Carolina, and Kentucky. All thanks to the power of blogspot, and meetup. Whether or not Dean gets the nomination, this will be a campaign for the history books. They'll be on c-span all day today.

XQUZYPHYR — Tue, 01 Oct 2002 10:03:58 -0800

Was Jeb Bush fed the Florida Grubernatorial debate? The governor addresses random voter "Sylvia" in regards to her question. The problem is that the moderator didn't say a woman named Sylvia has a question until three minutes later. (More inside)

Bush campaign source of debate tape smear attempt.

Joe Hutch — Fri, 15 Jun 2001 13:27:49 -0800

Bush campaign source of debate tape smear attempt. In this campaign follow-up sure to delight all you anti-Bushies--in case Rove's possible insider trading or Bush's disingenuous charm offensive in Europe hasn't sufficed--an ex-Bush campaign aide pleads guilty.

The third presidential debate

aladfar — Tue, 17 Oct 2000 18:17:37 -0800

The third presidential debate is on, and I can't stop watching it. Though I'd rather be taking in the simple pleasures of Dark Angel, my politically active mind won't allow me to do so . . . for the first time in my life, I find myself wishing for a brain annuerism.

For anybody who wanted to see an open presidential debate

capt.crackpipe — Tue, 17 Oct 2000 01:02:28 -0800

For anybody who wanted to see an open presidential debate Judical Watch is running your pony. They’ve invited all the major third party candidates and the other two guys to hash it out over ethics in government. Bush has already declined.

The Internet caused the Columbine massacre,

rcade — Wed, 11 Oct 2000 23:22:34 -0800

The Internet caused the Columbine massacre, according to George W. Bush in Wednesday night's presidential debate. Maybe Al Gore shouldn't have been so quick to claim that he took the initiative in creating the Internet.

In the NY debate

capt.crackpipe — Sun, 08 Oct 2000 14:32:30 -0800

In the NY debate between Clinton and Lazio a reporter asked them about House bill 602p. An evil bill this one, purporedtly letting the US Postal Service tax email!

queequeg — Wed, 04 Oct 2000 09:03:13 -0800

Monkeyfist has some alternate questions for the two candidates.