Wall Street Journal Advises Romney to Get in Gear
Their jumping off point is justifiable upset over Romney’s mixed messages concerning whether the mandate is a tax:
Perhaps Mr. Romney is slowly figuring this out, because in a July 4 interview he stated himself that the penalty now is a “tax” after all. But he offered no elaboration, and so the campaign looks confused in addition to being politically dumb.
This latest mistake is of a piece with the campaign’s insular staff and strategy that are slowly squandering an historic opportunity. Mr. Obama is being hurt by an economic recovery that is weakening for the third time in three years. But Mr. Romney hasn’t been able to take advantage, and if anything he is losing ground.
The Romney campaign thinks it can play it safe and coast to the White House by saying the economy stinks and it’s Mr. Obama’s fault. We’re on its email list and the main daily message from the campaign is that “Obama isn’t working.” Thanks, guys, but Americans already know that. What they want to hear from the challenger is some understanding of why the President’s policies aren’t working and how Mr. Romney’s policies will do better.
They’re right. Romney can’t “coast” in this election. Time to get with it.
Glenn Reynolds points out that the Obama campaign is using violent rhetoric that shows that all that “civility” crap a year or two back was BS.
SPQR (26be8b) — 7/5/2012 @ 7:42 amThat’s right, SPQR. All of the Obama campaign’s punches are going to land below the belt. Now, since the referee in this case — the average American voter — is NOT necessarily gonna react by crying ‘foul’ and giving the decision to the other guy, the question becomes “What is the other guy gonna do about it?”
Icy (0eb7f2) — 7/5/2012 @ 7:49 amCmon, I don’t know WTF it is? Ask Obama, then ask his lawyers that argued the case in front of the Supreme Court. He says not a tax. They say tax. I’m not President, he is.
Mitt Romney (27f28b) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:19 amI like Andrea Saul’s take that Patterico quoted a few days back. “The federal individual mandate in Obamacare is either a constitutional tax or an unconstitutional penalty. Governor Romney thinks it is an unconstitutional penalty. What is President Obama’s position?”
But Mitt take that one step further. I think it should be said that the Supreme Court has said that Obama’s “penalty” view is unconstitutional, and that enforcing the mandate while continuing to argue that it is a penalty is a violation of Obama’s oath of office.
Komissar Vladimir (33cc56) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:39 am___________________________________________
Romney can’t “coast” in this election. Time to get with it.
One problem is that Romney doesn’t lean way over on the conservative side of the divide the way that Obama leans way over in the direction of ultra-liberalism. So from a purely ideological standpoint, Romney isn’t as emotionally wedded to fighting for rightism the way that Obama is innately wedded to fighting for leftism.
Moreover, a lack of shame — common among many liberals (since their supposed compassion and love for the common man allows for the belief that the ends justify the means) — and a greater glee in being a trickster fuels a politician with the deep dogmatic roots of Obama, a lack of those same qualities tends to influence Romney.
Mark (d27584) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:53 amMr. Governor Romney is working very hard to get a mandate to not be Obama and do president stuff, some of which will involve like the economy and whatever
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 7/5/2012 @ 9:30 amhey Cap’n Ed is guzzling the kool-aid stop it Cap’n Ed there won’t be any left for the rest of us mom says we have to share and if we drink it all up that’s too bad cause we’re out of food stamps for the month already
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 7/5/2012 @ 9:44 amEven if President Obama will not model his campaign on that President Harry S Truman in 1948, Mitt Romney seems determined to model his campaign on that of Thomas E. Dewey.
Sammy Finkelman (c08134) — 7/5/2012 @ 9:48 amThe Romney campaign thinks it can play it safe and coast to the White House by saying the economy stinks and it’s Mr. Obama’s fault.
I suspect part of the problem is that Romney will have to distance himself from his record to do that. Especially in the case of RomneyCare, he’s done a horrible job of explaining (any) reason why it would make sense but writ large it doesn’t.
In one way, this makes perfect sense – Obama and crew can’t nitpick and attack (dare we say, “dog him”) illogically. They’re already using his words out of context and deceptively.
I think this is what we’re going to see – they’re hitting hard back at Obama, but they’re going to let him set the stage and then go and play there.
Still, surprisingly enough, it’s a far more agile and responsive campaign than McCain stumbled through at this point.
Unix-Jedi (e0ef98) — 7/5/2012 @ 9:51 amThere’s a wrinkle in what Romney said about the mandate being or not being a tax that we missed, but the New York Times caught.
Romney said that that Obama did is a tax, but what he did in Massachusetts is still a penalty, because a state has plenary powers!!
(well, he didn’t use such educated words)
Romney Now Says Health Mandate by Obama is a Tax by Jeremy W. Peters, (article on the front page of the New York Times of July 5, 2012)
Paragraphs 14 and 15:
In the CBS interview, he insisted that he had not imposed a tax and sought to draw an academic distinction between taxes and penalties.
” The chief justice in his opinion made it very clear that at the state level, states have the power to put in place mandates,” he said. “And as a result, Massachusetts’s mandate was a mandate, was a penalty, was described that way the legislature and by me, and so it stays as it was.
This is truly going deep into the forbidden land of the sophists. What Roberts did is legitimate, because for some purposes things can have a different LEGAL meaning than for others. Financial accounting (for the SEC) can be different than tax accounting and both can be different from cost accounting.
But when we argue over whether something is a tax or not we are talking politically, or perhaps economically, and what it is considered legally doesn’t make a difference. Actually even the mandate is a tax, although not paid to the government.
Sammy Finkelman (c08134) — 7/5/2012 @ 10:08 amI agree, Sammy, that’s not the best route to take.
This is simply a sticky issue and it’s not clear to me how Romney’s supposed to navigate it perfectly. I think his saying he didn’t agree with the majority, but now they’ve ruled it’s a tax so it’s a tax, is perfect in that no one has ruled Romneycare that way. I don’t think it’s necessary to go farther down that road, though.
Dustin (330eed) — 7/5/2012 @ 10:16 amRomney’s frankly blowing it. Jeez, the most epic clusterf-k so far this campaign.
Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) (c33a1d) — 7/5/2012 @ 10:25 amABR
mg (44de53) — 7/5/2012 @ 10:37 amABO
Dustin (330eed) — 7/5/2012 @ 10:48 am“Romney can’t “coast” in this election. “
But he can sure can try. And don’t think he won’t. This is a man who delights and spares no expense in attacking Republicans but gets all squirrely with fear around the media and the Left.
Still hoping for a brokered convention.
rrpjr (626fe6) — 7/5/2012 @ 10:49 am________________________________________
Romney’s frankly blowing it.
This upcoming election is a minefield, because I see potential upsides or downsides to the strategies that he and Obama will be pursuing.
My main concern is that lazy liberalism has grown quite pervasive in modern society, in the Western world in particular, and so that has to be kept in mind. Therefore, in a way if Romney were perceived as being too staunchly pro-status-quo (which I myself would prefer) when it came to reforming healthcare, that could turn off X percentage of squishes (or “centrists”) and non-leftists. But if he’s deemed as too spineless and wishy-washy by staunch conservatives (which they pretty much already sense is the case with him), they may now be so disgusted, that they’ll take on a survivalist, hide-in-the-bunker approach and believe that the country will implode no matter what. They’ll be analogous to the tiny percentage of conservatives trying to make a go of it in the swamps of Detroit, Michigan, or San Francisco, or Venezuela.
Based on the following, I’d say it’s now more important than ever before to get the leftists out of the White House and hope that people with at least a bit of common sense can lop and chop Obamacare, if only by doing things such as granting waivers and exceptions up the yin-yang.
Mark (d27584) — 7/5/2012 @ 10:52 amRomney and his handlers after all these years are still rookies.
mg (44de53) — 7/5/2012 @ 10:58 amDeMint/West because mass hole republicans are more or less progressive.
Mitt Romney could have skillfully avoided having the MassCare albatross around his neck, but he foolishly let that opportunity slip away and with it quite possibly his best chance to beat Obama.
Opportunity came knocking shortly after Romney announced his candidacy. He could have repudiated MassCare legislation by explaining as Governor his opposition would quickly have been overridden by an overwhelmingly Democrat legislature. So, faced with a no-win situation he negotiated the best free market provisions he could in exchange for not imposing his veto.
Simple, straight forward and convincing enough to put the issue in his rear view mirror and get on with the task of exposing Obama’s duplicity.
But, instead, Mitt Romney squandered the opportunity to distance himself from the stigma of socialized medicine and choose to brag about what a wonderful program MassCare was “for the people of Massachusetts” and what a great job he did in rolling over and playing dead.
ropelight (f10feb) — 7/5/2012 @ 11:01 amRomney needs more than a gear, he needs a spine transplant. A crankshaft from a 401 AMC V-8 would do nicely.
PCD (1d8b6d) — 7/5/2012 @ 11:02 amThat would have been nice. Also nice would have been his saying, in 2009, he tried it and it just doesn’t work.
However, this isn’t his view on the topic. This is something that many of us simply disagree with Romney on. That’s why he’s not saying what we want to hear.
Dustin (330eed) — 7/5/2012 @ 11:07 amYes, Dustin, he’s not saying what the people he needs to propel him into the Oval Office want to hear. Now, isn’t that a kick in the face?
And, doesn’t that remind you of the last GOP establishment candidate who just couldn’t quite bring himself to roll up his sleeves and throw a few punches?
ropelight (f10feb) — 7/5/2012 @ 11:34 amThis all is beginning to feel like 90s recalls of RINO reps in the CA legislature like Doris Allen. For those who don’t know, Allen was a RINO who made a deal with Willie Brown and the Democrats to become Assembly Speaker as long as she did as she was told.
PCD (1d8b6d) — 7/5/2012 @ 11:46 am==And, doesn’t that remind you of the last GOP establishment candidate ==
Well at least he doesn’t have any embarrassing dippy big-mouthed daughters. That’s a plus in my book.
elissa (472d0f) — 7/5/2012 @ 12:02 pmIt’s unfortunate, but what’s done is done and he’s our nominee. He’s not on the same page as I am on a few things, but I really hope he beats Obama.
They have some similarities for sure, but I think Romney wants to win more and I think he’s far more skilled at politics.
Dustin (330eed) — 7/5/2012 @ 12:06 pmDustin-Can you name one single example of his accomplished political skill during the last month?
mg (44de53) — 7/5/2012 @ 12:28 pmI wouldn’t mistake a bit of late June, early July “coasting” as setting the pace for his entire campaign. I believe he is taking a little R&R while he can.
The campaign will crank up into full campaign mode later this month, I think, when the second quarter GDP figures are released. That will be the death knell for the Obama campaign because I believe they will be lower than Q1 numbers and a bad Q2 number will mean there will be no recovery happening in time to save Mr. Obama.
The day those numbers are released is when I believe the campaign really starts. He will have a month from that date until the convention to prepare the ground.
Remember that Romney just about hit the wall of exhaustion during the primary. There were times when he would be in a different state every day. He went from Pennsylvania to Texas to North Carolina to California back to the East coast all in the space of a week. I think he’s taking a break.
crosspatch (6adcc9) — 7/5/2012 @ 12:40 pmRomney could pick the pumpkin of jersey to be his attack dog.
mg (44de53) — 7/5/2012 @ 12:51 pmI wonder if Mr. pumpkin knows about Pam cooking spray it has just seven calories and less than one gram of fat per serving
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 7/5/2012 @ 12:57 pmi heart the pumpkin of jersey.
elissa (472d0f) — 7/5/2012 @ 1:00 pmI get the feeling if in the debates Brian Williams or someone asks Romney, “Should the compensation of Wall Street be limited?” or some other Wall Street question, with the obvious intent of getting the debate focused on Bain, he’ll be totally unprepared. I get the feeling his strategists aren’t anticipating this type of question either.
Gerald A (e4f300) — 7/5/2012 @ 1:00 pmI know that Rico can hardly be called a fan of Mitt, but this return to wishing Willard would take a risk beyond character assassination of conservatives is vanity.
Like hoping Dannon Vanilla yogurt will get a clue and taste more like Hagen Daz Belgian chocolate.
He’d alienate some self-despised fatties who demand every one believe they are destined to be svelte.
gary gulrud (dd7d4e) — 7/5/2012 @ 1:02 pmWhy on earth do you think that, Gerald? Camp Axelrod has not laid down enough clues?
elissa (472d0f) — 7/5/2012 @ 1:03 pmThe correct answer to “Should the compensation of Wall Street be limited” is probably somewhere along the lines of “it already is”. The market decides what these companies will pay people. Just because some people do not like or are envious of that limit doesn’t mean it is the role of government to set salaries and other compensation.
crosspatch (6adcc9) — 7/5/2012 @ 1:04 pmWe are currently in two major separation of powers crises, one between the executive and the judiciary and the other between the executive and the legislature. To use this to maximum effect, neither of them can be resolved prior to November. When people start filling in their absentee ballots and all the way through in person voting day, they need to have a focused understanding that Obama has provoked two major crises, either of which could wreck the republic. If they bring things to a full boil right now, the Romney campaign could provoke Obama to solving these things and thus denying him the votes he will get because of these scandals.
The first crisis is that the executive is denying the US Supreme Court gets to interpret whether the individual mandate is a tax or a penalty. This is unprecedented for the winning side in a major case. Up to now it’s always been the losers who have vowed defiance. Not so with President Obama.
The second crisis is in stiffing the investigation of how it came to be that the Department of Justice lied to Congress. That it lied is not in dispute. That Congress has a right to find out the details in order to write further legislation in order to improve the situation is not in dispute. What is in dispute is whether Congress gets to have access to any of the tens of thousands of documents that it knows are there but are being withheld by the Attorney General.
It is unprecedented for one of these tiffs to get to the phase of a contempt order against a sitting cabinet member. It is unprecedented that the sitting chief law enforcement officer of the country will now have to negotiate an immunity deal prior to testifying before Congress from now to his departure from office for fear of being arrested by the Congress.
TMLutas (0876a3) — 7/5/2012 @ 1:05 pmThe fact he’s reportedly favoring the wealthy Sen. Porter as his running mate is another example of cluelessness IMO. On a purely mechanical level it makes sense because he’s from a battleground state but if he picks him it would show a lack of awareness of one of the Democrats’ main lines of attack.
But Romney’s probably smarter than me so maybe he really knows what he’s doing.
Gerald A (e4f300) — 7/5/2012 @ 1:06 pmIt’s early July. The voters who are persuadable aren’t even paying attention yet.
All this time, it had been quite plain to Hare that the others knew nothing about spectacles. And as for all their tempting ideas well, Hare… didn’t care.
The lost spectacles were his own affair.
Estragon (13e813) — 7/5/2012 @ 1:11 pmAnd after all, Hare did have a spare pair.
Yes and Romney has made some public statements about how it should be okay for people to get rich. I figure that would be his answer in the debate as well. Is that really the most effective answer?
Plus my point is that this would be from the media person, not Obama. I’m not sure Romney’s people would anticipate that. They seem somewhat caught off guard by the comparison between Romney’s mandate and Obama’s in the aftermath of the SCOTUS ruling.
Gerald A (e4f300) — 7/5/2012 @ 1:13 pmBarry mentioned that Trayvon “looked like” him. Since we’re playing that game during the campaign here’s food for political thought: prolly more Americans “look like” the pumpkin than “look like” either Mitt or Barry. So regardless of his current role in the Romney campaign or ultimately what it might be in a Romney administration, mocking Christie’s weight seems like a sorta stupid counterproductive thing to do.
elissa (472d0f) — 7/5/2012 @ 1:19 pmOne is tempted to reply with, I don’t know Mr, President, should be a limit on profiting from one’s efforts, like book royalties,
narciso (ee31f1) — 7/5/2012 @ 1:21 pmI like Mr. Senator Portman fine he’s inoffensive and would make a decent president one day plus he’s not a big weirdo like the last vp nominee person so that right there helps America a lot in terms of starting up a trend line away from having big old weirdos on the ticket
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 7/5/2012 @ 1:25 pmYou mean the one that was right on every issue, as opposed to the numbskull we currently have at the Naval Observatory, pikachu, yes W’s budget chief
narciso (ee31f1) — 7/5/2012 @ 1:28 pmwon’t be an albatross on this campaign, no sirree
bob.
W’s budget chief might would be an albatross *if* food stamp had ever actually signed an actual budget even one actual time
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 7/5/2012 @ 1:35 pmKlein points up the Romany dilemma leading to the mandate/tax kerfuffle. He was a crappy choice and every one knew why 6 months ago.
http://washingtonexaminer.com/republicans-shouldnt-get-dragged-into-romneys-mandate-mess/article/2501370
gary gulrud (dd7d4e) — 7/5/2012 @ 1:42 pmRomney is running like Dole in 1996.
DN (322684) — 7/5/2012 @ 2:34 pm27- Pumpkin knows butter.
mg (44de53) — 7/5/2012 @ 2:39 pm#43
I see no resemblance between Romney and Dole in 96. The economy was strong in 96 so Dole wasn’t making an issue of it and Clinton didn’t really have a specific policy Dole could effectively attack either. He was hoping the scandals would get him elected. Romney OTOH is hoping the economy and Obamacare gets him elected.
Gerald A (e4f300) — 7/5/2012 @ 3:06 pmDole falled off a stage
done and done
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 7/5/2012 @ 3:33 pmHe was a work horse not a show horse. I was there at a rally when Elizabeth said so. She was wearing a pretty blue dress.
elissa (472d0f) — 7/5/2012 @ 3:55 pmComplaining that a politician is “wealthy”, is like complaining that hurricanes bring rain: Duh!
AD-RtR/OS! (b8ab92) — 7/5/2012 @ 3:59 pmIf they’ve been in office for any appreciable time, they’ve gamed everything to ensure that their kids won’t have to take out any Student Loans.
The secret is for us to practice “stock rotation” with a vengeance.
BTW, didn’t I see mention in the news that the Romney family sort of took this week off for some R&R?
AD-RtR/OS! (b8ab92) — 7/5/2012 @ 4:06 pmOf course, it might have helped if some of the less-than-stellar “rocket scientists” running his campaign could decide on a unified message that the candidate and others agreed with, and could live with.
The Journal is right, and they’re not the first ones to bring this to Mitt’s attention.
It’s time that Mitt recognized that he has a correctable problem, and dealt with it – or he will be another Bob Dole/John McCain.
Romney is out of touch with conservatives, we are a disease to his appeasement strategy. I wonder if mittens was a cheerleader at some point in his life?
mg (44de53) — 7/5/2012 @ 4:35 pmNo, GWB and Gov. Perry, were the cheerleaders.
AD-RtR/OS! (b8ab92) — 7/5/2012 @ 4:37 pmMost pols are out of touch with those outside their little solar-system.
the one constant is the droning of gulrud.
Colonel Haiku (9beecc) — 7/5/2012 @ 4:46 pmRomney says he will work toward repealing 0bamaCare. What do people find fault with? Who cares about what was done in Massachusetts? It’s one state, not all of 0bama’s 57 states.
too much fussiness… eyes on teh prize!
Colonel Haiku (9beecc) — 7/5/2012 @ 4:49 pmmg, in November of this year, either Romney will be elected President or Obama will be reelected President.
You need to figure out which it is that you prefer between those two.
SPQR (26be8b) — 7/5/2012 @ 4:52 pm51- Obama actually worked in his community.
tye (a1a31b) — 7/5/2012 @ 4:59 pmThis is the super slow dim thick version of the regularly stupid dishonest “tye”
JD (dfaa6e) — 7/5/2012 @ 5:03 pmtye, no, he didn’t.
SPQR (26be8b) — 7/5/2012 @ 5:07 pm54- I have said I will vote for mittens, but I will not close my eyes to his progressive tendencies or stop stating my displeasure of them.
mg (44de53) — 7/5/2012 @ 5:08 pmKeep cheering Colonel, I hope he makes it to the finish line first.
SPQR – how is that community doing today? Another Obama success story?
JD (dfaa6e) — 7/5/2012 @ 5:10 pm=Obama actually worked in his community=
I’m pretty sure he was “working it”. That’s not the same as “worked” –nor does it have the same positive connotation as “work”.
elissa (b5155e) — 7/5/2012 @ 5:12 pmAltgeld Gardens, that was where they had a major disturbance, right around the time that Chicago
narciso (ee31f1) — 7/5/2012 @ 5:13 pmwas being considered for an Olympic selection, that
in itself, is a strikes 13 type statement.
Obama actually worked in his community.
Comment by tye
c’mon tyena!
Colonel Haiku (9beecc) — 7/5/2012 @ 5:13 pmBarry’s allergic to work
like Maynard G. Krebs
57- yeah he did. Romney “helped” the community by ensuring that people would be free from their jobs to roam around looking for house cleaning jobs for the rich.
tye (a1a31b) — 7/5/2012 @ 5:21 pmLike it or not, the campaign began last Thursday. That the Governor failed to grasp this speaks to his deaf ear to the common sense and motivated Right.
He had weeks and weeks to prepare for SCOTUS and BHO. He refused to fire. A senior advisor gives cover to the opposition and he remains on the team.
Romney, and the elephant’s establishment, demonstrate an assiduous avoidance of righteous and patriotic politics. If they keep this up, they will wonder how a historic, and epic, opportunity went begging.
Ed from SFV (943b25) — 7/5/2012 @ 5:23 pmCaptain Barry Ch00m
Colonel Haiku (9beecc) — 7/5/2012 @ 5:40 pmdug stupefying blasts of
intoxication
tye is now repeating Obama campaign lies that even the Wash Post found to be falsehoods. Like all of tye’s statements.
SPQR (78d7f4) — 7/5/2012 @ 5:48 pm66- no they didn’t.
tye (a1a31b) — 7/5/2012 @ 5:53 pmBasically your claim is that no person who worked at a company acquired by Bain lost his/her job? If not then I’m right and you’re a liar.
tye (a1a31b) — 7/5/2012 @ 5:54 pmSPQR – “tye” is a brazen liar, and aggressively ignorant.
JD (dfaa6e) — 7/5/2012 @ 5:57 pmBasically …. everything that followed was douchiness.
JD (dfaa6e) — 7/5/2012 @ 5:58 pmHow many people lost their jobs at Solyndra, tye? At the post office, tye? At General Motors, tye? (I’m sure you had a point there somewhere. Do you want to reframe it, or better yet just drop it as yet another failed meme?)
elissa (b5155e) — 7/5/2012 @ 5:59 pmMore of that ‘insourcing’
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/07/french-solar-company-wins-25-million-contract-after-posting-losses-of-70-million/
narciso (ee31f1) — 7/5/2012 @ 6:12 pmBasically your claim is that no person who worked at a company acquired by Bain lost his/her job? If not then I’m riBasically your claim is that no person who worked at a company acquired by Bain lost his/her job? If not then I’m right and you’re a liar.
Comment by tye — 7/5/2012 @ 5:54 pm
EPIC FAIL
JD (dfaa6e) — 7/5/2012 @ 6:12 pmRomney has no balls and is afraid to challenge Obama on almost any issue. He should have severely criticized Robertts’ decision as it was decided on spurious legal grounds and Robert’s was no longer supportive of conservative positions. Consequently, we have heard zilch from Romney on the decision, excepting to become involved in the non-issue of “tax vs. penalty”. Romney is a big bust and scared of the liberals.
Bill Dollar (274735) — 7/5/2012 @ 6:34 pmKessler at the Wash Post says:
Once again, tye, you are the incompetent / liar.
SPQR (26be8b) — 7/5/2012 @ 6:41 pmAt this stage in 1996, people were saying the same thing about Dole they say about Romney now. The Weekly Standard said, “When is Dole going to do something?”
The tactical situation in 2012 is different from 1996 but the Wall Street Journal “Advises Romney to Get in Gear.”
DN (5030ad) — 7/5/2012 @ 6:41 pmGM’s price today, $20, is effectively what it was before TARP addenda.
Tens of thousands lost their job, GM’s only profitable market is China, stockholders were jobbed and their ownership handed to unions, hundreds of dealers were shuttered and Obama supporters coddled, etc.
GM today is counting over 700K vehicles on dealer’s lots as sales bolstering fraudulent manufacturing numbers that are none the less in contraction territory.
Who cares about Bain and a lousy few billion dollars? The Manchurian and the DOE have blown $100 Billion on Green Shoots and have nothing to show except laundered donations.
We’ve lost hundreds of billions funding Arabia, Al Qaeda, the Paleos, French and Russian corruptocrats and UN pedophiles and a dead guy named Sadam.
Farm animals are more formidable debaters than tye.
gary gulrud (dd7d4e) — 7/5/2012 @ 6:45 pmthe hypo re: exec compensation is one that definitely needs to be prepared for. It’s coming, in the debates, on the campaign trail and everywhere in between.
Why not turn it around on the media?
Governor Romney, do you think it’s fair that WS exec’s make X amount? shouldn’t WS comp be capped?
the response upthread about their comp being capped by the market is a good start but that can’t be the end of the response.
best to use that as a jumping off point to describe the way the present admin has effectively capped prosperity by stifling the private sector with taxes, regulations, exec orders etc.
Chris (eafa5f) — 7/5/2012 @ 6:56 pmGlenn Reynolds labeled this story “President Thinskin”.
Obama certainly is thin skinned. Democrats need to grow up on the Fox News issue.
SPQR (26be8b) — 7/5/2012 @ 6:58 pmgary–I think tye’s intent is to get under our skins, but instead the result is that we get some unintended comedic release at his expense and reminders of the many issues at stake– which only strengthens our resolve to unseat King Barack and his court jester Harry.
elissa (b5155e) — 7/5/2012 @ 7:00 pmelissa, Bwaahaaahaa. tye probably does think he gets under our skins. Not realizing that I’ve been troll-plinking for three decades. He’s not even a warmup.
SPQR (26be8b) — 7/5/2012 @ 7:03 pm____________________________________________
That the Governor failed to grasp this speaks to his deaf ear to the common sense and motivated Right.
He reminds me too much of the Ned Flanders character in “The Simpsons.” Even so, if Romney has to struggle against a clown with the ultra-liberal “goddamn America” background of Obama, that unfortunately says a lot more about a large portion of the electorate than it says anything about Romney. In effect, X percentage of the populace is going to do to the US what a majority of French people have recently done to their country.
If I despised America, I’d be licking my chops and snickering at such a possibility.
Mark (c417dc) — 7/5/2012 @ 7:06 pmAgain, your’re overstating it, Mark, it took something this side of a civil insurrection, forthe PRI to retake the Presidency in Mexico, and my understanding is he doesn’t have a majority,
narciso (ee31f1) — 7/5/2012 @ 7:15 pmWell, I think we’ve given away the plot by limiting this to just the past month. A month that is of little consequence. He won the primary for a reason. I wasn’t a fan, as most recall I’m quite sure, but it was a hard, hard fought primary and Romney won because he can fight hard. And I do think his hesitance to jump in the Obamacare issue is itself actually skilled. This is an issue Obama loses on, but it also is perilous for Romney. I think he should walk on eggshells on this and look for ways to focus on other issues. Those who are angry about Obamacare already know why.
Dustin (330eed) — 7/5/2012 @ 7:17 pmI said nothing about the commercials or outsourcing spqr.
tye (5490ef) — 7/5/2012 @ 7:28 pmMeanwhile, none of the “green” stimulus funds’ receiving companies are solvent. Not one.
SPQR (26be8b) — 7/5/2012 @ 7:31 pmObama’s “job creation” ? Utter failure. By his own standards, after all. The unemployment rate is still higher than it was supposed to be two years ago, using White House’s own claims.
SPQR (26be8b) — 7/5/2012 @ 7:32 pm87-Romney’s job creation record : 47th in the country. Beautiful.
tye (5490ef) — 7/5/2012 @ 7:41 pm__________________________________________
for the PRI to retake the Presidency in Mexico
Narciso, you zipped through my post so quickly you didn’t notice I was actually referring to the election of Francois Hollande to the presidency of France.
If anyone perceives the US as collapsing under liberalism, you ain’t seen nothing compared with France. People there are such lazy leftists they think that raising the retirement age from 60 to 62 was a cruel and controversial bit of legislation. Hollande also does what I bet Obama has wet dreams about. In France, there are laws that make it very difficult for companies to lay off employees, including even those who are incompetent, dishonest or disruptive.
I will be very surprised if France in the next few years doesn’t become Greece Part 2.
Mark (c417dc) — 7/5/2012 @ 7:42 pmYes, although one might argue, that the last domino is Sarkozy’s fall, was the Merah affair, and crony
narciso (ee31f1) — 7/5/2012 @ 7:45 pmGeant in it, besides leftwing regimes are not so out of the question, Mitterand, Jospin, to cite two examples.
87-Romney’s job creation record : 47th in the country. Beautiful.
Nothing like beating 10 other states, of course. Better than Obama’s record of killing jobs nationwide.
SPQR (26be8b) — 7/5/2012 @ 7:46 pmIn addition, the crisis in Greece, didn’t it manifest itself, during the New Democracy period, though was exacerbated by Papandreou
narciso (ee31f1) — 7/5/2012 @ 7:48 pmActually, Romney left with a 4.6% unemployment rate. It is tough to create jobs when the rate is that low, especially when most economists consider 3-3.5% full employment.
Gazzer (ff3da6) — 7/5/2012 @ 7:59 pm==Better than Obama’s record of killing jobs nationwide==
elissa (b5155e) — 7/5/2012 @ 7:59 pmI don’t recall Romney as governor wasting untold billions of porkulus dollars and adding mightily to the national debt either.
91- not a friend of the auto industry I suppose. I guess you wouldn’t be… as a republican it must make you sick to share your country with people who sweat at their jobs.
tye (5490ef) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:00 pm“tye” is manic again.
JD (dfaa6e) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:01 pmHmmm, what was the last count for jobs lost in the automobile industry under the Obama administration, tens of thousands of jobs according to Barofsky.
In fact, that included several friends of mine who lost their jobs when the dealership they worked at was closed at Obama administration orders.
SPQR (26be8b) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:06 pmtye, I was “sweating” for a living long before you quit shitting your own diapers.
SPQR (26be8b) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:07 pmHave your friends who formerly worked in the closed auto dealerships mentioned who they plan to vote for in Nov., SPQR?
elissa (b5155e) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:10 pmthey sweat all over the seats and it’s not so much cause the GM factory is hot it’s cause they’re so disgustingly obese from eating velveeta bacon casseroles
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:11 pm97- could have been worse…. without the stimulus the auto industry would be dead… more servants for Romney!
tye (5490ef) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:11 pmHi Ford! Oh, are you still here?
elissa (b5155e) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:14 pmwithout the stimulus the auto industry would be dead…
Complete unadulterated BS
JD (dfaa6e) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:16 pmWithout the stimulus, GM would have been forced into bankruptcy.
JD (dfaa6e) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:19 pm99- ah there it is…good to see that the way republicans feel about the working class hasn’t changed.
tye (5490ef) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:19 pmwho you calling a republican god bless america
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:20 pmActually didn’t GM and Chrysler still have to go into bankruptcy subsequently, only the bondholders
narciso (ee31f1) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:22 pmwere stiffed, and the unions and FIAT split the board seats.
if piggy piggy united autoworker whores are “working class” I’m a Formula One driver with really expensive leather gloves and a vaguely scandinavian hoochie mama on my couch pouring me a tasty scotch right now
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:22 pmTye must be tired from the constant trolling. It’s never correct but at least it is usually somewhat entertaining if only for its inanity.
Gazzer (ff3da6) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:24 pmHappy, good luck in the British GP on Sunday.
Gazzer (ff3da6) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:25 pm107-Drunk conservatives are almost as funny as the gay gay-bashing ones.
tye (5490ef) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:26 pmMr Feets–I got a letter from John McCain in the mail today. It’s sitting on the credenza now. Should I open it?
elissa (b5155e) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:26 pmNarcisco – I was joking
JD (dfaa6e) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:28 pmFeets ain’t drunk
JD (dfaa6e) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:29 pmI know, but it’s good to remind for those without a copy of the home game,
narciso (ee31f1) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:34 pmShould I open it?
goodness no in fact you should probably move and don’t tell the post office
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:34 pmno I’m not drunk there’s actually nobody on my couch pouring me a scotch Mr. tye believe me I would know
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:35 pmthe trolls, are only marginally dimmer than the nutroots and the policy makers;
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/304823/dream-command-economics-yuval-levin
narciso (ee31f1) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:36 pmWhen we talk to the death panel people do you think they will be afscme operators or jessicas in Bangladore?
elissa (b5155e) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:44 pm#77… interesting info and take, Gary.
Colonel Haiku (9beecc) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:50 pmHey tye, the Guantanamo Bay detention camp is still open. Why don’t you go pester those people for awhile? Here’s a link: http://www.whitehouse.gov
Ag80 (b2c81f) — 7/5/2012 @ 8:55 pmAs of the end of April there had been 1954 U.S. soldiers killed so far in the Afghanistan war according to icasualties.
1324 of those Deaths occurred in less than 3 1/2 years under Obama while 630 of those deaths occurred in 8 years under George W. Bush. For tye’s benefit– note that’s more than twice as many deaths on Obama’s watch.
elissa (b5155e) — 7/5/2012 @ 9:10 pmNational Soros Radio used to love ticking off death stats for soldiers and such
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 7/5/2012 @ 9:33 pmTye must have toddles off to HQ for some better talking points.
Gazzer (ff3da6) — 7/5/2012 @ 10:17 pm____________________________________________
the trolls, are only marginally dimmer than the nutroots and the policy makers;
But when they’re poked, they do appear to become quite aroused. I guess it’s a cheap thrill for them.
note that’s more than twice as many deaths on Obama’s watch
But his heart is in the right place. And he’s generous and tolerant too. So the following is posted in his honor:
^ Whether Obamacare is a tax or penalty, it deserves about all the respect that Obama’s various appointees and staffers have given to the IRS. Namely, not much.
Mark (c417dc) — 7/5/2012 @ 10:45 pm51- Obama actually worked in his community.
Comment by tye — 7/5/2012 @ 4:59 pm
— New Rule: voting “present” is the same as ‘working’.
57- yeah he did. Romney “helped” the community by ensuring that people would be free from their jobs to roam around looking for house cleaning jobs for the rich.
Comment by tye — 7/5/2012 @ 5:21 pm
— So, not only did he fire them, he also turned them into gypsy maids? Man, is there NOTHING the Latter Day Saints cannot do?!
Basically your claim is that no person who worked at a company acquired by Bain lost his/her job? If not then I’m right and you’re a liar.
Comment by tye — 7/5/2012 @ 5:54 pm
— NOBODY is claiming that “no person who worked at a company acquired by Bain lost his/her job,” so basically YOU are the liar for saying that someone made that claim.
87-Romney’s job creation record : 47th in the country. Beautiful.
Comment by tye — 7/5/2012 @ 7:41 pm
— Really? You have legitimate stats that show Bain to be 47th among capital investment firms in job creation? Quick! Type up your article for HuffPo!!!
91- not a friend of the auto industry I suppose. I guess you wouldn’t be… as a republican it must make you sick to share your country with people who sweat at their jobs.
Comment by tye — 7/5/2012 @ 8:00 pm
— Excellent work, Sherlock! You found us out. Each and every one of us is a rich elitist, just like Mitt. We’ve been a-trickin’ you . . . We feel shame.
97- could have been worse…. without the stimulus the auto industry would be dead… more servants for Romney!
Comment by tye — 7/5/2012 @ 8:11 pm
— If he’s lying he’s tyeing!
99- ah there it is…good to see that the way republicans feel about the working class hasn’t changed.
Comment by tye — 7/5/2012 @ 8:19 pm
— I say, Chumley, perhaps we should take a closer look at the workers. Perhaps they may be of some use to us, someday.
107-Drunk conservatives are almost as funny as the gay gay-bashing ones.
Icy (0eb7f2) — 7/5/2012 @ 10:58 pmComment by tye — 7/5/2012 @ 8:26 pm
— Dontcha just love this kid! Now he’s got his magnifying glass pointed at slurred typing. He’s a genius!
My firearms permit went up from $25-$100 under the fees of mittens. Very progressive. Idiots of the gop unite to stab conservatism in the back. Again.
mg (44de53) — 7/6/2012 @ 3:13 amFinding middle ground is the mittens way. No fight , no guts, no service. Time for mittens and his followers to man up.
Dustin- The last time I recall mittens doing something correct was when he answered quickly after obama said the private sector is fine. Anything else?
mg, I guess you really haven’t made up your mind between Romney and Obama.
SPQR (26be8b) — 7/6/2012 @ 7:45 amMeanwhile, Obama’s destructive policies have resulted in yet another disasterous month in the economy. 80,000 new jobs is a tiny fraction of the number of jobs that should be added every month at this stage of a recovery.
Its a tiny fraction of the number of jobs that are needed to be added each month just to stay even in employment.
http://news.investors.com/article/617140/201207060851/10-reasons-jobs-market-worse-than-june-report.htm
SPQR (26be8b) — 7/6/2012 @ 7:49 amFrom that IBD piece I linked above:
The only way that Obama has been “lowering” the unemployment rate is by discouraging the unemployed so much that they quit looking entirely.
11% unemployment is actually being kind. the U6 (all those who would “like” to work plus those working parttime that want full time) unemployment rate is almost 15% currently.
SPQR (26be8b) — 7/6/2012 @ 8:18 amSPQR- I’ve never voted for a democrat in 40 plus years of voting, and would never vote for a commie. I am fed up with cosmopolitan politics, We need a large amount of progressive republicans to get with it. Compromise is bad business.
mg (44de53) — 7/6/2012 @ 8:31 amThe media’s embrace of Obama is so complete that all authority figures in commercials must be black males of his age.
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desi jokes (8fc7d0) — 7/6/2012 @ 10:15 amThe spammer makes as much sense as tye.
SPQR (26be8b) — 7/6/2012 @ 10:17 am“The media’s embrace of Obama is so complete that all authority figures in commercials must be black males of his age.”
The paranoia is strong in this one.
spointer (01dabf) — 7/6/2012 @ 10:19 amAnd it’s not a regular commenter name here either, spointer. How very convenient that you just happened to drop by to notice that it dropped its turd.
elissa (17d5c0) — 7/6/2012 @ 10:27 am“And it’s not a regular commenter name here either, spointer. How very convenient that you just happened to drop by to notice that it dropped its turd.”
Paranoia strong in this one too.
spointer (01dabf) — 7/7/2012 @ 4:50 amTeh stupidity is strong in this one ^^^
Icy (534d91) — 7/7/2012 @ 9:36 am