Patterico's Pontifications

8/10/2012

Reports: Romney Picking Paul Ryan for VP

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 11:18 pm



It shows seriousness about the budget.

Also: MEDISCARE!!!!

UPDATE: The L.A. Times obliges with a Mediscare angle so pro-Obama, it could have been written by Obama:

Because, but for Paul Ryan, Medicare and all other out-of-control government spending would last FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!1!!!

1,244 Responses to “Reports: Romney Picking Paul Ryan for VP”

  1. WSJ editors will be happy. They just got through pushing Ryan a couple of days ago.

    Patterico (501fad)

  2. It’s an excellent choice anyways given how smart Ryan is. It would be a huge improvement over Joe Biden given how senile he is.

    Kaitian (4aadeb)

  3. This is golden, with powdered sugar and a cherry on top.

    Jamie (ee4a20)

  4. Now we can have an honest battle between the makers and the takers, straight up.

    Michael Gersh (d9007c)

  5. How is Ryan a “maker?” Ever held a private sector job? Ever created a job? Career living off the govt?

    tifosa (0470de)

  6. Also, if they turn it all around Ryan is young enough to go for his two terms. Sweet! Expects Dems to get even uglier now. If that’s even possible.

    Gazzer (0fd2af)

  7. i expect a full court press to Palinize him, but since he’s been in the house so long, and Romney, for all his faults ISN”T McLame, he has a chance.

    it may be the RINOs in DC actually want to win for once…

    what they do with the win is a different subject.

    my guess is they will play suckor with the Dems, lose, then declare victory and go home with their perks after two or four years, max.

    redc1c4 (403dff)

  8. Thank you for not picking Portman, Pawlenty, or whats his name from Virginia.

    mg (44de53)

  9. Tina Fey is already in talks w/Lorne Michaels to play Ryan on SNL.

    “FIDO says it couldn’t be any better.”– NASA PAO, STS-1, 4/14/81

    DCSCA (9d1bb3)

  10. !!!!!! Yippeee !!!!!

    MayBee (b26c9f)

  11. UPDATE: The L.A. Times obliges with a Mediscare angle so pro-Obama, it could have been written by Obama:

    Because, but for Paul Ryan, Medicare and all other out-of-control government spending would last FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!1!!!

    Patterico (7dfa08)

  12. Finally, we can get to entitlement abuse.

    mg (44de53)

  13. 100,000,000 are on some kind of federal welfare

    instead of picking a job creator, we picked someone who is on record to cut these people off the rolls (but voted for tarp and has a McCainish voting record)

    I would strongly advise to concentrate to win the Senate rather than burn through all of our dollars to watch Romney lose.

    EPWJ (2a58f7)

  14. To get his campaign flyin’
    Mitt picked a guy named Ryan
    He’s very smart
    But deep in my heart
    I’m worried that we will be cryin’.

    The Limerick Avenger (3e4784)

  15. If you’re not worried than you are lyin’
    To yourself, about Paul Ryan
    The Dems are no fools
    They’ll say he’s too cruel
    To the black, to the poor, to the dyin’.

    The Limerick Avenger (3e4784)

  16. 8. With no intent of negative vibe, the TEA worry is entitlements will be vanquished and government ‘saved’:

    SS has funded government corruption and largesse for 3/4 of a century and all we might see is the end of its tenure.

    Not saying that is Ryan’s hope(clearly Alan Simpson’s), have only high regard, just that may be the result given progressive Congress.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  17. Want want want.

    MayBee (b26c9f)

  18. Powerline waxes eloquent about Ryan. The most significant House member since Jack Kemp. Humm. Seems to me the Dole-Kemp ticket did just bonkers against Clinton in 1996?

    So, we have two privileged, nice, clean-up, rich, white, male, nerdy type speakers that come across as boringly dull. However, according to wikipedia, Ryan did get elected Biggest Brown-Noser in his HS class. Oh, and he kills women with his Medicare proposals. Can’t wait for Ryan’s spreadsheet report on the Soptic ad.

    At least they might be able to get a gig at GM as CEO and CFO if they lose. What could go wrong?

    Go ahead.

    cedarhill (59eb9c)

  19. Romney-Ryan 2012 !

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  20. The Obama campaign has to do something, anything, everything it possibly can to make this election about something other than President Obama’s actual record. If the election is about Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, President Obama could very well win; if the election is about Mr Obama’s actual performance as our President, he loses. If the election is about 8.3% unemployment, then Barack Obama loses. If the election is about a $16 trillion national debt, then Barack Obama loses. If the election is about over $1 trillion deficits, then Barack Obama loses. If the election is about 45 million people on food stamps, then Barack Obama loses.

    What this (supposed) selection does is to bring the focus of the campaign right where Messrs Romney and Ryan need it: on the economy. The Ryan Plan is about the economy, about saving us all from going over the economic cliff as our national debt is not about 100% of GDP, and growing a lot faster.

    This is an energize-the-TEA-Party selection, and it was the grassroots TEA Party types who won the election for the GOP in 2010. Not only will we have candidates talking about ending the ridiculous spending spree in the federal government, but we’ll have a plan, and a passionate advocate of that plan, put front-and-center to actually do something about it.

    The economist Dana (3e4784)

  21. Energizing TEAs will require a change of coarse(sic.) to substance, or at least include conservative red meat.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  22. What I find delicious is how the trolls (and the MSM, which is pretty the saw thing) are already carrying on that Ryan hasn’t done this or that, to which I respond in two words: Joe Biden. Y’all defended that incompetentent, plagarizing, nasty (remember the IQ vdeo),and gaffe-tastic jerk for years.

    There aren’t enough dog treats in the world to prepare Biden for a debate with Ryan.

    Concern trolls like you know who in this comments section are petrified.

    Ryan was a good choice. Right there shows the difference. Obama picked Biden. Biden?

    Simon Jester (15026e)

  23. TEA party, how will they support two guys who dont vote their way

    Ryan voted for Tarp and every single bush budget which seems to be a bellweather litmus that the TEA fiolkes are going to go in deep for the ticket

    News I’m seeing on the web is that they are going the senate routwe as well, that the prospect of getting the presidency doesnt mean a whole lot when two Obamas are running

    EPWJ (4380b4)

  24. Simon,

    There are the nasty teenage jerks (The democrats) and the adults in the room.

    Ryan, is an unserious person who has wonderfully positioned himself into a lifetime of political largess while actually achieving nothing

    Look at his record, look at his voting, look at what he has done (oh thats right you wont find anything)

    We needed a job creator on the ticket – people are looking for jobs, not lets move 500 billion here, and then carry the two…. Budget talk

    The sheer stupidity of the whole thing is that budget talk never energizes voters

    Lowering taxes, ending regulations to create jobs excite people

    EPWJ (4380b4)

  25. The conservatives in Norfolk seem very happy with Ryan, Eric.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  26. DRJ

    He hasnt had a tea party challenger has he?

    EPWJ (8a4ca7)

  27. BREAKING: People who don’t want Romney elected president unimpressed by his pick for VP! “I’ll never vote for Romney now,” said one stout Democrat. “Ryan plans to kill women with his Medicare cuts.”

    Others were also put off by the Ryan selection. “What’s with picking a white guy?” said one lifelong Republican voter who is nevertheless taking a look at the Obama ticket. “I’m not sure the nation is ready for a Vice President who’s white. What would the French say?”

    Pious Agnostic (ee2c24)

  28. Yes Pious. And the only way for Romney to win those voters back is by releasing more tax returns!!

    MayBee (b26c9f)

  29. DRJ

    I mean looking at the litmus test hwew DRJ – Ryans votes are identical to McCains who is loathed and not supported.

    Its problematic to nominate someone who represents a small district, who other than a fortiutous chance to diss Obama to his face, has no achievements

    This is why we dont have Pawlenty, and got Bachmann who helped in her way to gety the real conservatives to quit the race and now we have Obama lite unning against Obama

    He also had several STRONG WOMAN candidates as the father and husband of outstanding woman – it was unexcusable to not even consider all of the accomplished women out there.

    That in itself is a reason to diregard Romney as a serious candidate

    EPWJ (8a4ca7)

  30. Because, but for Paul Ryan, Medicare and all other out-of-control government spending would last FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!1!!!

    hahaha well said. Am SO thrilled over this pick. What a great choice. The distractions aren’t going to work anymore and we will finally be having that debate on entitlements with someone who’s very hard to argue with, because, go figure, he actually knows what he’s talking about.

    Two bonuses:
    –He gets under Pres. Obama’s skin like few other people, which as we all know leads to some very entertaining visuals
    –the end of the VP debate, as a wag over at Hot Air put it, will look like the elevator scene in The Shining.

    no one you know (7ecbf6)

  31. Thanks, MayBee…it was too early for me to come up with a good third graph.

    Pious Agnostic (ee2c24)

  32. Well sorry for typing to fast but my employees are here but Myself as a father and husband of outstanding women I cannot support somone who ignores the own wishes of his own Spouse and picks someone without a hope in hell of getting him elected

    Romney is done and I hope Ryan the man child with him

    Ryan should have taken this political capital he thinks he had and run for higher office – I hope he does then I will gladly eat my man child insult/fact

    EPWJ (8a4ca7)

  33. I’m sorry DRJ if I was raining on the parade – I was hoping that Romney would have taken this thing seriously – apparently he’s just happy to be the nominee which means he going to run again in 2016

    great…

    EPWJ (8a4ca7)

  34. Negative Nellies out in force with their talking points already.

    PatAZ (5ef80e)

  35. Did everyone notice that EPWJ has gone insane again? I really think he is an incompetent Moby.

    When you say Romney = Obama…well, you need medication, dude.

    Also, he reuses attacks: the “unserious” charge about Ryan sounds familiar. Paul Ryan is many things. Unserious? Um.

    Oh, I don’t care to argue with him. Over the years he has displayed an unusual relationship to reality. He just wants four more years of Obama.

    Simon Jester (15026e)

  36. I liked this, from Commentary:

    http://www.commentarymagazine.com/article/ryans-hope/

    Too bad Ryan hasn’t done anything, huh?

    I think it is a good choice. And I cannot wait to see Biden in the debate!

    Simon Jester (15026e)

  37. Every time Dems attack Paul Ryan they focus the spotlight on Obama’s economic failures and by extension on ObamaCare. Now, Obama won’t be able to attack Romney/Ryan without revealing the economic elephant on his back.

    Paul Ryan = Obama’s economic failure!

    ropelight (c01f8e)

  38. This is an excellent choice.

    Romney is showing courage, too. Ryan was the best choice he could have made, but doing so is risky because of the entitlement meme the MSM and democrats rely on.

    This choice will have long term positive consequences for conservatism.

    Dustin (73fead)

  39. I just watched Hayes, Klein, Maddow, etc. on MSNBC. Hysterical. Offended by military backdrop. Complete histrionics about how horrible Ryan is. We know where epwj got his cues.

    JD (142098)

  40. I think these folks were all journalisted up, JD. They didn’t expect this. Who did they think? Portman?

    Simon Jester (15026e)

  41. I think Ryan is a great choice. It will be a close elections. I heard a D clown on CNN say that he does not have any private sector experience or foreign policy experience and said to the tv, Gee, that sounds just like our beloved Commander In Chief (Peace Be upon Him) after 3/12 years in office.

    Ipso Fatso (1e3278)

  42. Sorry for the typos above. It should be close election and 3 1/2 years.

    Ipso Fatso (1e3278)

  43. truly cut from mold
    tells it like is no bullsh*t
    smells like victory

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  44. and you probably read it here first.

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  45. ha… HA!!!

    http://youtu.be/zPxMZ1WdINs

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  46. Simon–the mobys, trolls and trollettes are up early and out in force. They are obviously worried. And Eric’s @6:15 lays aside once and for all any doubt of who and what he is and what his goals are. That settles that. Calling Ryan “an unserious person” when he is quite possibly the most serious person in Washington (which is why Dems and even some Repubs fear him) is what finally put Eric over the top in idiocy.

    My question now is what day will Biden “find” he has a health crisis and need to be replaced on the Dem ticket. That should be worth some “sympathy” for the Dems and a few more weeks of distraction from the policies and failures of the Obama administration.

    elissa (3eb66e)

  47. except that Paul Ryan looks like Mr Shuster from “Glee”, it’s a great pick.
    More intellectual brain power in the White House since Thomas Jefferson dined alone…
    He’ll make Joe Biden sound more idiotic than he already does, maybe steals Wisconsin/Michigan from the Demos, and if Rubio can lock down the Italian vote, maybe there’s a chance…

    Frank

    Frank Drackman (da969f)

  48. Great choice. Let’s see the talking heads try to pull “what kind of books do you read” or “do you agree with the Bush doctrine” on Ryan.

    Wisconsin has been on a decidedly libertarian road lately, which included sending Ryan to Congress. I tended to credit the better quality of the beer, but Romney doesn’t drink. 😉

    nk (875f57)

  49. The whole foreign policy thing is bullshit. What has Joe Biden actually contributed to the White House? All we’ve seen is that they’ve kept Joe Biden in the closet since he embarrasses the hell out of the administration. So they chalk it up as dementia or senility and ignore him.

    Besides the whole VP – private sector experience? That’s hilarious considering that Romney has a ton so Romney needed public sector experience to support him which Ryan has a handful of that. So the Private/Public team vs the Public/Senility team

    Kaitian (4aadeb)

  50. My question now is what day will Biden “find” he has a health crisis

    No! Not after Romney stopped his health insurance!

    nk (875f57)

  51. Ryan is undoubtedly smart, deeply steeped in policy knowledge and fully qualified for the VP job. But — bottom line — he does not help Romney to win the race. And, at the end of the day, that’s all that matters. He plays right into the Dems’ hands, in fact. Now, we not only have filthy rich job outsourcer Romney leading the ticket (Dem meme), we have Paul “I want to put children and seniors out on the street” Ryan. The Dems will hammer this theme mercilessly throughout the campaign. And, as ridiculous as this line of attack is, I guarantee it will resonate effectively with middle-class voters who are already wary of Romney’s wealth and who are lapping up Obama’s class warfare demagoguery like lemonade on a hot summer day.

    First off, let’s get down to brass tacks — one doesn’t have to be a sagacious political strategist to understand that the GOP ticket faces an uphill battle right out of the gate to defeat President Obama. This is a matter of simple mathematics and acknowledging the undeniable truth that the national electoral map favors Democrats, with so many highly-populated states lying squarely in the “blue” column. It is also worth acknowledging that, despite Obama’s hideous economic record, he remains personally popular with much of the populace, able to draw support from his personal charisma, oratorical skills, well-oiled class warfare message, and ruthless campaign machinery.

    Two “white guys” on the GOP ticket will be a recipe for sure defeat. It’s that simple. I’ve played around with electoral scenarios ceaselessly (and you can too on the interactive electoral map at 270towin.com) — even under the most optimistic scenario for Romney, I have him winning the race with a total of only 272 electoral votes — and to get to that total, he must win NH, NC, OH, IN, CO, and FL (I give VA to Obama; the huge influx of liberal young professionals to Northern VA makes it likely that he will win that state). Needless to say, a winning outcome will be very tough for Romney to pull off. He has zero margin for error and he has to play his cards perfectly. The only leeway that Romney has is that he MUST win EITHER VA or NC — but he does not need both. He does, however, need all of the aforementioned states to win. By contrast, Obama has the luxury of being able to lose a slew of swing states that he won in 2008 and yet still win by a comfortable margin.

    Which brings me to my thesis: the ONLY rational, sane choice for VP on the Romney ticket would have been Senator Marco Rubio. His intellect and intelligence are formidable and are readily apparent whenever he speaks. His life story and rise to success as the son of Cuban immigrants has powerful resonance for all Americans, irrespective of race or economic status. Most importantly — Rubio’s total personification of the American Dream would have helped to offset the negative baggage that Romney’s wealth (unfairly, but undeniably) causes in terms of his efforts to overcome Obama’s relentless class warfare attacks and his efforts to connect with working-class “Joes.”

    The Romney ticket needs votes from outside the traditional GOP tent in order to win the race. The GOP base alone will simply not be enough; it’s mathematical fact. We need to reach out to voters who are located outside of traditional GOP “hunting grounds.” Ryan doesn’t help with this. In contrast: I think Rubio would have locked up FL for Romney, allowing campaign resources to have been concentrated in other badly-needed regions; he would have brought undeniable appeal to the Latino vote in swing states, as well as some much-needed charisma to the ticket (yes, admittedly, one downside of his selection is that he will upstage Romney, personality-wise, but we just would have had to live with that). But, let’s face it — the demographics of the country have changed — two white guys on a GOP ticket just will not cut it. Not anymore. Rubio would have helped Romney make the race closer — but, even his appeal would not have guaranteed victory; he merely would have given Romney a fighting chance.

    I will support the Romney ticket wholeheartedly, but I harbor no illusions about its very slim chances of defeating Obama in November.

    Guy Jones (851e14)

  52. he’s so dreamy I’m a go to Rite-Aid and see if they have the new Paul Ryan Tiger Beat with bonus pin-ups

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  53. Thanks Colonel.
    Game On!!!

    mg (44de53)

  54. teh VP “debate”
    flop sweat river runs thru it
    joe’s hair plugs explode

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  55. EPWJ,

    Earlier this week, you were bad-mouthing Ted Cruz for not having any legislative experience. Now you’re bad-mouthing Paul Ryan for not having any private sector experience. And that comes a few days after you bad-mouthed Mitt Romney for having too much private sector experience.

    No matter what experience a conservative has, you’re going to bad-mouth him or her.

    Of course, your beloved Obamessiah has no experience in anything and no record to stand behind—not even college records or medical records, apparently—but you’re just tickled (Code)(P)ink with him.
    Those of us who listen to talk radio are quite familiar with the “seminar callers” who call in a show claiming to be “a lifelong Republican, but…”

    If you lefties had any confidence in your policies, you’d opt to debate us head on as opposed to dressing up like Alger Hiss and attempting to whisper sweet nothings about ‘the other team’ into people’s ears in the State Department lunchroom while eating a ham sandwich.

    But you know in your heart of hearts that your utopian big state policies are inevitably doomed to fail, thus, cannot be defended in legitimate debate, so your only ‘hope’ (pun intended) is to put on your disguise.
    Rock Hudson (a very, very, underappreciated actor) may have allegedly fooled Doris Day, but we won’t be convinced by your mask.

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  56. Sorry to disagree, Guy. I’m an iced-latte drinker but I want a President and Vice-President who at least look the part. And there’s no doubt that Romney and Ryan do.

    nk (875f57)

  57. I don’t think Mr. EPWJ has any particular affection for president food stamp Mr. Elephant

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  58. Maybe we’ll see some more loud drum banging, thuggery, intimidation, destruction of private and public property, and rabid mis-spelled signs from those angry aroused Dems in Wisconsin. That’ll certainly help matters for Obama.

    I predict Anne Althouse and Meade will be very busy for the next couple of months and that Anne’s blog will be very entertaining.

    elissa (3eb66e)

  59. How is Ryan a “maker?” Ever held a private sector job? Ever created a job? Career living off the govt?
    Comment by tifosa — 8/11/2012 @ 12:23 am

    — Grasp at straws much, tiffy? Yes, he has held a private sector job. And his career has been spent as an economic hawk. Quite the opposite of tax-and-spend Biden.

    Icy (c91e24)

  60. apparently National Soros Radio is very keen for us to understand that this Paul Ryan person is very young and very controversial

    Romney, in picking a young and controversial star of the conservative right, has gambled that Republicans who may have been inclined to stay home in November will now vote – and vote in numbers that will more than offset the votes he may lose by picking a young and controversial star of the conservative right.

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  61. “The man who has added more than $5 trillion to the federal debt, who is running an annual deficit of some $1.4 trillion, who has burdened American business with a nightmare of stifling regulations, who has squandered hundreds of billions of dollars on failed “green” energy initiatives and non-stimulating “stimulus” packages, who has insinuated government into the private sector in blundering unproductive and fiscally ruinous ways and foisted on an unwilling public the horror of ObamaCare… that chap is going down and going down in a landslide.”

    – Roger Kimball

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  62. I’m afraid Elephant Stones has taken PeeWee by teh short n’ curlies…

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  63. Even if we lose, this election will be about ideas, and the American public will have to start thinking hard about the future.

    Somebody had to do it — so thank you, Mitt. Just watch Ryan taking down Obama at his phony summit, and you will see that he’s The Man!

    Patricia (e1d89d)

  64. ==I don’t think Mr. EPWJ has any particular affection for president food stamp ==

    His words and arguments strongly suggest otherwise. Eric actually seems quite focused on trying to assure that, for another four years, Barack and Michelle will be able to sleep in the White House where they will continue play golf, take trips, and mooch off the American taxpayer. And don’t forget the economy raping they’d be able to manage between now and 2016. Think on all these things, Mr.Happyfeet as you defend Mr. EPWJ’s bad acting skills.

    elissa (3eb66e)

  65. Romney has made Tim the happiest boy on the Internet today. I kept hoping he would pick Ryan and then thinking there’s no way he’d officially tie himself to something as unpopular as Ryan and his plan AND the he did it.

    Yay for Romney and the Republicans. Such a bold pick

    Timb (8f04c0)

  66. HappyHourFeet,

    EPWJ is the only “conservative” who has trashed both Ted Cruz and Paul Ryan.

    …just like those “other” conservatives are known to do—you know “conservatives” such as Rachel Maddow, Chris Matthews, EJ Dionne, Charles Blow, Maureen Dowd, et al.

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  67. “Because, but for Paul Ryan, Medicare and all other out-of-control government spending would last FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!1!!!

    Comment by Patterico — 8/11/2012 @ 3:08 am ”

    No, they will stop in about three years when we run out of Chinese money.
    What cannot continue, won’t.

    Mike K (4c76c8)

  68. Comment by EPWJ — 8/11/2012 @ 4:51 am
    100,000,000 are on some kind of federal welfare
    — Oh Good Allah! What ARE you going on about now? There isn’t any third of the country on welfare, idjit.

    instead of picking a job creator, we picked someone who is on record to cut these people off the rolls
    — WHAT people has he said that he would cut from WHAT rolls?

    I would strongly advise to concentrate to win the Senate rather than burn through all of our dollars to watch Romney lose.
    — Ryan is a losing choice, is that it? And your pick for a winning VP choice is?

    Comment by EPWJ — 8/11/2012 @ 6:11 am
    Ryan voted for Tarp and every single bush budget which seems to be a bellweather litmus that the TEA fiolkes are going to go in deep for the ticket
    — TEA Partiers are opposed to any candidate that voted for a Bush budget? Where do you get this stuff? Have you been sampling the poppy crops over there in the Middle East?

    We needed a job creator on the ticket – people are looking for jobs, not lets move 500 billion here, and then carry the two…. Budget talk
    — That’s funny. I thought that Romney was the job-creator on the ticket.

    The sheer stupidity of the whole thing is that budget talk never energizes voters. Lowering taxes, ending regulations to create jobs excite people.
    — And while I would be loathe to contradict the UNDENIED EXPERT on sheer stupidity, I will anyway: What leads you to believe that Ryan will not work to lower taxes and reduce regulations?

    Icy (c91e24)

  69. Just like those millions of Christians in the Emirates or something,

    narciso (ee31f1)

  70. He plays right into the Dems’ hands, in fact. Now, we not only have filthy rich job outsourcer Romney leading the ticket (Dem meme), we have Paul “I want to put children and seniors out on the street” Ryan.

    Guy (if that is your real name), you seem to think that there is somebody that Romney could pick that wouldn’t be vilified by the Democrats, using one of their sad, tired, old slogans and slurs.

    Pious Agnostic (ee2c24)

  71. Time for the Billy Madison link again, somedays it’s the fort on Klendathu here,

    narciso (ee31f1)

  72. If Romney and Ryan play to their potential, they win. Mitt’s campaign has to be one about positive ideas and action, not trying not to lose. The Ryan pick is an excellent first step.

    EBL (f71fce)

  73. ==I would strongly advise to concentrate to win the Senate rather than burn through all of our dollars to watch Romney lose==

    This phrase sounds very familiar. Like I’ve read it verbatim several times before. Help me out here. Anybody?

    elissa (3eb66e)

  74. Icy

    Fox new said it yesterday

    100 million on welfare or some kind of federal assistance

    http://clinicalcynicism.blogspot.com/2012/08/100000000-americans-on-welfare.html

    EPWJ (8a4ca7)

  75. ROMNEYRYAN WILL END MEDICAREASWEKNOWIT AND KILL OLD PEOPLE DEAD IN THEIR WHEELCHAIRS OFF CLIFFS AND MAKE THEM HOMELESS BECAUSE OF TAX CUTS FOR RICH WHITEYS THAT IS ALL

    JD (142098)

  76. Yes, elissa. It sounds like Lanny Davis talking points, doesn’t it?

    Simon Jester (15026e)

  77. Treacher: Fortunately Biden wears depends or else there could’ve been an embarrassing scene when he heard the news.

    elissa (3eb66e)

  78. E-stone

    Nope, I didnt “trash” Cruz or Ryan just pointed out they are in the wrong spots at the wrong time.

    Judge Roberts is all the justification that I need to not trust Cruz until I see some votes

    I’m not stupid nor naive enough to trust someone who was outside funded coming out of nowhere with a puffy resume (most of those”achievements” thatwere attributed to Cruz were actually accomplished by Greg Abbott who Cruz and conceded that I am correct on his own website)

    http://www.tedcruz.org/bio/

    Ryan had a low conservative voting record by the ACU and actually strong armed many conservatives into voting for TARP

    great Mr. Medicalman joining hands with the bailout king

    All those posts bitching about people losing their pensions were brought to you by “Paul Ryan”

    Voting for TARP because, courage means cutting not printing more money

    EPWJ (8a4ca7)

  79. Treach – Ryan vs Biden – Does math vs sponge bath

    JD (142098)

  80. Ironically, elisaa, Uncle Joe thinks he is plenty smart:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1j0FS0Z6ho

    Funny part? He lied like a Persian rug throughout even this little video.

    And this was before the silly hairplugs.

    Simon Jester (15026e)

  81. “You know what will end Medicaid as we know it? Medicaid as we know it.”

    – Iowahawk

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  82. All of you who though Ryan was a conservative read this

    http://wmugop.blogspot.com/2012/08/paul-ryan.html

    Also Erickson and Michelle are having none of this as well – so go over there and call them liberals

    Look all the moaning is the back of your head realization that Obama’s whining is going to go on for another 4 years but not really – he’s doing the Clinton world tour thing and wont be in Washington most of his next term

    Its getting the Senate and sending dirty harry back to the bleachers

    EPWJ (8a4ca7)

  83. and Paul will highlight
    Zer0’s Record of Failure®
    and do it in spades

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  84. Maybe EPWJ thinks that Ryan has also made death threats against him. They just come out of nowhere and only his superior perception can pick up on them.

    Machinist (b6f7da)

  85. release teh short n’curlies, Elephant Stones!

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  86. JD

    If they have a lead they maynot debate or they will have a short debate with Charlie “pound my fist” Rose screaming at Romney’s tax evasion and asking Obama questions like “now that you saved American – could you please save the world/”

    So there will be no debate whether they attend one or not

    Ryan will get picked apart for all his answers they will ask him why he made everyone vote for Tarp

    Biden will be blathering on and dancing naked with a rubber chicken

    Ryaqn will be plucked like one

    EPWJ (8a4ca7)

  87. Do you guys and gals recall the 2000 Presidential Debate between Bush & Gore when Gore kept name-dropping the Dingell-Norwood Bill, as well as a couple other ‘inside baseball’ statistics ?
    Gore was doing that to establish to apolitical and uninformed voters that he’s well-versed in the nuances of Washington, while that big dummy from Texas didn’t know any of this stuff.

    This strategy was the entire premise behind Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric trying to play “Gotcha !” questions with Sarah Palin in 2008, and it was similarly played out in another example of the 2000 election when a journalist asked then-Governor Bush to name the President of Uzbekistan (or something similar.)

    It’s all to play to apolitical, undecided voters that these Republicans don’t know anything, while, “Hey, that Al Gore was over there quoting scripture from the Dingell-Norwood Bill !”

    It is analagous to the way that Bob Costas will drop some random baseball stat (“No lefthanded pitcher whose surname begins with the letter ‘Q’ has ever been the winning pitcher in a World Series game played on a Tuesday against a team from the central time zone that wears red uniforms.”)while broadcasting during the playoffs in order to impress casual fans that he actually “knows” baseball.

    My point is, with Paul Ryan, you have a guy who has a lot of stuff stored in his head, and can not only whip out some “stats,” but he can speak eloquently about the conservative philosophical case that needs to be made. He’ll never be the butt of a “Gotcha !” question, and in fact, he can be the one to speak off the top of his head about bill X, or bill Y, and how the CBO scored it for fiscal year 2013, and what the federal revenue projections are after reducing this agency’s budget, and on and on.

    See, Palin and GWB were governors, and therefore inherently not well-versed in all of the nuances and ‘inside baseball’ of Washington.

    Ryan, on the other hand, has been on the frontlines in DC, and as a result, can recite some pretty nuanced stats, keeping in mind, that a campaign is about winning those numbskull apolitical uninformed clueless swing voters.

    Paul Ryan is going to impress a lot of “independent,” and “moderate,” and “undecided,” and otherwise apolitical uninformed voters that he knows what he’s talking about…and hopefully convince them that ‘what he’s talking about’ is the right course for getting the nation back on track.

    I agree with Guy Jones that Rubio would have been an outstanding pick, as well, perhaps locking up Florida so they could focus their energies and treasure in other swing states.

    Alas, we must deal with the hand we’re dealt.

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  88. Col,

    have you donated?

    machinist

    have you donated?

    EPWJ (8a4ca7)

  89. Good to see you Machinist.

    elissa (3eb66e)

  90. let teh Dems have their
    know-nothings and gimmee-mores
    we’ll take teh thinkers

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  91. I can see that a heritage rating of 75 and a club for growth rating of 88 (way up in the last two years) a c+ on immigration why Ryan is just the second coming of all that is conservative

    I can also see why the personal attacks are coming instead of what Ryan actually did

    Oh thats right – he hasn’t done anything

    EPWJ (8a4ca7)

  92. E-stone

    has e created a job yet?

    I think the economy and taxes are the main drivers and Obama did use Tarp illegally but you have to admnit he bailed out an industry (I’m totally against that BTW)

    Policy wonks never get elected – to emotion driven national office especially in times of great concern

    Ask Kemp, Adlai, Muskee, Tsongas, Perot, Ford, how that worked out

    EPWJ (8a4ca7)

  93. “Ryan’s budget got 228 votes… Obama’s got 0.”

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  94. “Paul Ryan represents Obama’s most horrifying nightmare: math.” – Iowahawk

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  95. Colonel Haiku,

    If you continue to write all these hilarious stanzas, you’re going to find yourself in front of a Senate confirmation committee in February, awaiting a “yay” or “nay” vote to become Romney’s head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

    I particularly enjoy your ‘registered trademark’ of Zero’s Record of Failure.

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  96. Flying through the comments, I don’t see Daleyrocks yet. I know he’ll come by because this is a big effin deal, to borrow from the stupidestest vp in American History.

    Hey, Daley, I mentioned you in my article. And I hereby invite you to give me an assist. (In basketball terms (Olympic Basketball is playing in the background at my house) that would be giving a dime).

    John Hitchcock (d1b9fb)

  97. Col

    Did it pass?

    Oh that right it didnt

    Just Like GWB’s very conservative budgets that never passed that puty Ryans to shame but everyone is convinced that GWB is a Rino

    Ryans budget didnt make a SINGLE MEANINGFUL CUT for ten years – bravery – just breathtaking

    Bush lost a congress over his sticking to cutting budgets and reforming social security

    but we all call him a rino with glee

    makes me wonder if anyone in the comment section here actually pays attention besides dustin and Happyfeet and JD

    EPWJ (8a4ca7)

  98. Heh, my 9:40 to Daleyrocks should at least provide a link.

    John Hitchcock (d1b9fb)

  99. John – This selection is going to force the Obama campaign go even more negative and tell even pore proven lies about its record which should make it easy pickings for a higher ground Romney campaign once it can begin spending big bucks after the convention.

    The failure of Obama’s budgets in Congress, the cowardice of Senate Democrats, Obama’s unwillingness to address Trustee Reports from Medicare and Medicaid about their impending insolvency as required by law, all provide red meat campaign issues that Ryan is in a perfect place to address.

    Ryan will be an incredible asset to the campaign. He’s accustomed to taking flack and giving back better.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  100. John – Thanks for the reference. I had no idea my Nancy Pelosi word picture was that powerful.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  101. 1200 days without a budget thanks to Democrat irresponsibility.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  102. Andrew Sullivan says that Paul Ryan is Trig Palin’s father!!!!!

    Ipso Fatso (1e3278)

  103. I’m just sitting here thinking of the contrast.

    Obama/Biden – shallow ideologue now the very illustration of utter failure combined with a plagiarizing mediocrity

    Romney/Ryan – success combined with a man setting an adult tone about the budget

    SPQR (26be8b)

  104. I see the Wikipedia page is a perfect example of how their vaunted “Biography of Living Persons” rules fail when it comes to conservatives. The amount of snark that has been added today alone is amazing: over 200 changes in the last few hours.

    Kevin M (bf8ad7)

  105. A bold move, if Romney closes with the enemy and makes the case for systemic reform and true sacrifice.

    If Romney can’t do that, then this was a colossal and fatal mistake.

    Amphipolis (e01538)

  106. _____________________________________________

    Thank you for not picking Portman, Pawlenty, or whats his name from Virginia.

    The thought that Romney was on the verge of selecting Tim Pawlenty in particular made me cringe. And that’s not even due to Pawlenty’s record or philosophy, but merely on the superficial qualities of such a person all by themselves. Most people ultimately favor a politician based on whether he or she melds with one’s own biases. But a good number of voters also are influenced by the intangibles of a politician’s personality, by his or her persona. Speaking of which…

    Tina Fey is already in talks w/Lorne Michaels to play Ryan on SNL.

    That reminds me of one reason the Republican ticket’s previous candidate for VP, Sarah Palin, made some observers (who weren’t leftwingers) unsure about her. Namely, the purely external qualities she often projects, certainly when in a one-on-one interview and her bubbly-news-anchor-lady demeanor comes to the surface. I’d still happily vote for her in a second, and think she would have been (and is) 1,000 times better than Slow-Joe Biden, but I’m forced to consider the reactions of a large cross-section of the public.

    BTW, the very fact that something as bad as SNL is still on the air decades after its prime makes me think of the way that liberalism manages to hang around, no matter what. So regardless of how screwed up it is, regardless of how — for example — Detroit, Michigan is Detroit, Michigan due in part to the chronic leftism of its city government and populace, leftist-voting habits (or a crummy TV show) keep rattling on.

    SNL’s ongoing popularity or survival is as baffling to me as is the likeability quotient and approval of X-percent of the electorate towards Barry Soetero. But that’s reality, strange or otherwise.

    Mark (0644af)

  107. This will be the second Presidential election in a row in which I’m voting for the Vice President, but I credit Romney for picking Ryan. I hope it’s a sign of what he will do as President.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  108. They have made the election a stark choice:

    Courage and an attempt to fix the many problems versus denial and a willingness to augur it in.

    They could well win just by running against California.

    Kevin M (bf8ad7)

  109. Obama and Democrats – Paul Ryan would end Medicare as we know it!!!!!!!!!11ty!!!!!!!!

    Do you have a plan for addressing the pending insolvency of our major entitlement programs?

    Obama and Democrats – Uh, uh, uh, no fair asking that. That’s a racist question. Uh, uh, uh, raise taxes? Uh, uh, uh, we don’t like the Ryan Plan. Uh, uh, uh, we’ll get back to you.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  110. _______________________________________________

    EPWJ is the only “conservative” who has trashed both Ted Cruz and Paul Ryan.

    I believe EPWJ has been a big booster of illegal immigration run amok and rationalized away the peculiarities of Islamic extremism. That doesn’t necessarily make someone like him a “moby,” just as Patterico’s support of same-sex marriage doesn’t make him a stealth liberal. But such quirks in the philosophy of various people out there — and the fact the biggest blunders of just about every Republican White House since Herbert Hoover has been when they allowed their left-leaning reactions to rule the day — should always be kept in mind.

    The darkness that lurks in the nooks and crannies of the brain of virtually all humans often isn’t conservatism run amok but dumb-dumb liberalism run amok! Many “centrists” in particular often don’t realize or want to accept that.

    Mark (0644af)

  111. This will be the second Presidential election in a row in which I’m voting for the Vice President, but I credit Romney for picking Ryan. I hope it’s a sign of what he will do as President.

    Comment by DRJ

    I guess that’ll work, although you do have a stark contrast between the choices at the top o’ the ticket… whether it’s recognized or not.

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  112. Reagan successfully tarred Carter’s folk as “tax and spend” Democrats. Romney has to label Obama & Co as “crash and burn” Democrats.

    Ryan has to go on every last talk show and hammer this point.

    “It’s us or disaster!”
    “Reform it or lose it.”
    “Things that can’t go on, won’t.”

    Kevin M (bf8ad7)

  113. daley–

    They don’t have a plan. They just don’t like ours.

    Kevin M (bf8ad7)

  114. Scroll up if you are interested in debating Eric, because I just found and released several of his comments. I’m not sure why they were in the filter so it may happen again, but I’ll try to catch them.

    PS to Eric #88: You didn’t ask me but I just donated to Romney-Ryan 2012. It was my first donation to this Presidential election.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  115. “They don’t have a plan. They just don’t like ours.”

    Kevin M – Obama votes present again. Plan beats no plan. Were runaway entitlement program costs cited in our debt downgrade? Funny you should ask, yes, yes they were.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  116. Col,

    have you donated?

    Comment by EPWJ — 8/11/2012 @ 9:25 am

    Yes, PeeWee, I have made several donations to the Romney campaign… did back in ’07/’08 as well.

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  117. Somebody should ask EPWJ if this campaign is going to interfere with Ryan’s book tour or if he agreed to do it just to increase book sales.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  118. Colonel,

    I almost didn’t leave that comment because I didn’t want to hurt your feelings. You know I think Romney is a very honorable man and a leader. I think you also know that I was going to vote against Obama in this election, no matter who the GOP nominated.

    However, as a conservative, it feels good to vote for someone and I can do that with Ryan. Romney needs to prove his conservatism to me. I hope I will feel as good about Romney in 2016 as I feel about Ryan now.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  119. “Scroll up if you are interested in debating Eric, because I just found and released several of his comments.”

    DRJ Thank you SO much. Heh.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  120. that never passed that puty Ryans to shame

    I taught I taw a puty tat… I did, I did!… and he wuz cuhwying…

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  121. “EPWJ is the only “conservative” who has trashed both Ted Cruz and Paul Ryan.”

    Elephant Stone – He’s also trashed Joe Miller, Marco Rubio and Sarah Palin among others. It is quite a lengthy list.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  122. What I am wondering is why Ron Paul is not the presumptive presidential nominee of the Republican Party.

    Michael Ejercito (2e0217)

  123. 0bama-Slow Joe 2012: Debt and teh Deficit… Auger In!

    #118… c’mon, DRJ, I made it thru primary season and teh Perry/Gingrich sm00chfest… I think I can weather a few naysayers. In the end, it’s ALL good, as long as 0bama is given teh b00t.

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  124. Gosh! Why on Earth were Epwj’s comments in moderation? Please tell us more!

    Simon Jester (74d285)

  125. she could tell PeeWee was plussed and typing through a river of tears…

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  126. ==That doesn’t necessarily make someone like him a “moby==

    What outs him as a moby, in my opinion, is that he has no core or consistency in his comments. He’s a pure rabble rouser not a sincere commenter. He’s always whining and hand wringing. No matter what the facts on the ground are he wants different facts. He always says that something or somebody different would have been better, even past the point that that “something else” is remotely possible. He’s a downer and a defeatist and tries to convince others to be too. Dooom! All is lost!!! Woe is us!!!

    I prefer to be a big tent Republican because I think that’s the way to build coalitions and win elections especially when the stakes are highest–like now. Most people recognize by now that Eric is not even in that tent, but is pretty likely a sneakover from another opposing camp. Enough.

    elissa (3eb66e)

  127. EPWJ – Ryan is a big supporter of the Wisconsin fossil fuel industry.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  128. Or nuttier than the proverbial PayDay bar, elissa.

    Simon Jester (74d285)

  129. “If the camel once gets his nose in the tent, his body will soon follow… unless his head is up his own ass.”

    – old Arab proverb

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  130. Daley

    No one’s going around touting anyone of those elected achievements

    I didnt trash Rubio – I said he had two no show state jobs on which after a three year investigation just I think last week the ethics commission said there wasnt enough evidence to prosecute Rubio
    Thats not something that the democrats wouldnt use if he was picked for VP was it?

    Also, why not a woman?

    We have enough lawyers, enough males in office – time to let the other 50% get some representation

    Also now more allegations against Rubio are swirling:

    His use of campaign funds to pay companies run by his family members has also been questioned

    http://www2.tbo.com/news/republican-national-convention/2012/aug/10/rubio-trending-as-veep-talk-rises-ar-459831/

    We need people who have run business’ and created business environments for their states running Washington,

    Not Lawyers – we had 200 years of Lawyers

    EPWJ (e83e82)

  131. “He’s a downer and a defeatist and tries to convince others to be too.”

    elissa – He has Paul Krugman like accuracy and contradicts himself regularly so he has that going for him, which is nice.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  132. Daley, what I enjoy about this silly troll and the MSM is how they contradict themselves and think no one sees it.

    Simon Jester (74d285)

  133. Daley

    Ryan is a conservative, he voted for TARP – no correct that – he helped draft the legislation and convinced people to vote it in.

    I cant have someone who SCREAMED like chicken little everytine this country has a swing in the markets

    Yes, even if they are like warm conservatives like Ryan.

    Palin “Supports” the oil industry and so does Al Gore. So do I

    Support as you can see is very different and can mean wildly different things

    EPWJ (e83e82)

  134. elissa

    Gut check – it is a downer – no one is jumping for joy right now

    My sister in law who I dearly love is a staunch democrat told me this

    Both parties have presidential candidates no one wants, its a question of lung power: can you hold your breath long enough in the voting both to finish voting for all the other races before you lose it….

    EPWJ (e83e82)

  135. Picking Marco Rubio would have been better electoral politics, but it would have opened Romney to charges of expediency. After all, a VP should be able to step-in and run the Executive Branch if the President is incapacitated.

    With Paul Ryan on the ticket Dems can’t make a valid case that Romney selfishly shortchanged the country in order to pander to Hispanics and illegal aliens. Rubio, for all his talents, just hasn’t been around long enough to qualify as a legitimate replacement for a sitting POTUS.

    ropelight (c01f8e)

  136. AS you’ve seen from the Huff Po link, facts have little to do with it, had he picked Rubio, they would have used Andrea’s comment when she worked
    for Crist, this is the party of Kimberlin and Ayers, as much as it Obama and Warren,

    narciso (ee31f1)

  137. Here’s the gut check. Both of the tickets are now set, Eric. It is what it is. Assuming you’re registered, vote for whom you want– or don’t vote– or continue to pound your tiny fists and stay as miserable and unhappy as you want to. But please stop posting this nonsense.

    elissa (3eb66e)

  138. EPWJ,

    not sure what Michelle you’re speaking of being dissatisfied with Mr. Ryan as the pick, but it’s not Michelle Malkin. I went over to her site and she’s happy with the pick and says “And the Right decision.”
    So you must be talking about Michelle Obama being unhappy. That’s no surprise. But I don’t think you’ll find any non-trolls on here that care what she thinks.

    NJRob (139a0e)

  139. he Ryan selection is not without its risks, but I’m glad he chose someone known for smarts and competence. He SO had to choose someone no one could credibly accuse of being like Palin.

    Random (edf1d2)

  140. *The

    Random (edf1d2)

  141. elissa

    I’m voting for romney

    But sure we cant criticise and if I’m not mistaken, most of the delegates didnt get elected in a contested contest and if they choose – they can – at the convention – pick someone else

    They really need to

    So its not set – no ballots have been printed and if Romney has problems – which is looking like he may actually have – then we reserve the right to remove him.

    EPWJ (e83e82)

  142. “So its not set – no ballots have been printed and if Romney has problems – which is looking like he may actually have – then we reserve the right to remove him.”

    How’s Fantasy Land today?

    Random (edf1d2)

  143. _____________________________________________

    What outs him as a moby, in my opinion, is that he has no core or consistency in his comments.

    I tend to think of a moby as someone who is masquerading as something he or she really is not. I often immediately recognize that whenever such a person begins a comment with words similar to “I’m a registered Republican but…” Or “I’m a conservative but…”

    At the very least, a moby, assuming he’s not a flat-out phony, may be such a squish — and doesn’t want to admit that aspect about himself — that he deludes himself into believing he has reliable, core convictions. In that case, I think of people along the lines of Justice John Roberts, who did such a contortionist routine to justify Obamacare that even Houdini couldn’t have duplicated it.

    Mark (0644af)

  144. NJRob she was just on the radio saying he was a tarp baby and the front she put up in her article is one of someone who hates Obama

    Like Elissa, who only wants the best – I cant help but feel from the responses that everyone (except Beldar) is deeply dismayed

    Ryan wasn’t going to accomplish anything except tap into the TEA electricity while being the type of politician that the TEA has been looking to send into retirement.

    EPWJ (e83e82)

  145. elissa #137: good luck with that. For whatever reason, Walter Mitty of Arabia (ta-pocka ta-pocka) loves to spread either defeatist blather or teh crazee.

    Sometimes both.

    Simon Jester (74d285)

  146. ==then we reserve the right to remove him==

    Who is this “we” of whom you speak? You and the rat in your pocket?

    elissa (3eb66e)

  147. Our very strange troll wrote:

    “…NJRob she was just on the radio saying he was a tarp baby and the front she put up in her article is one of someone who hates Obama…”

    So, just to be clear, here is what Michelle Malkin wrote:

    http://michellemalkin.com/2012/08/11/this-is-what-forward-really-looks-like/

    It’s worth reading, since Ms. Malkin, according to our crazoid friend, thinks Ryan is a poor choice.

    I kind of wonder if the “radio” this character heard was transmitted through his fillings, and blocked by tinfoil.

    It wouldn’t be the first time.

    Simon Jester (74d285)

  148. elissa, I see him more as a fellow with sock puppets on both hands, having a three way discussion.

    Simon Jester (74d285)

  149. EPWJ,

    Paul Ryan is fresh, young, energetic, smart, courageous, and ready for prime time.
    Paul Ryan is a policy wonk AND a front-line warrior whose budget and long-term entitlement reforms have the entire Dem-Soros-lapdog media machine unhinged.
    Paul Ryan is ready to fight false media narratives.
    Paul Ryan is battle-tested against the White House.
    Paul Ryan won’t cut and run when the going gets tough.

    Those are Michelle’s comments about Mr. Ryan with links supporting the comments at her site. Cannot see how you claim she’s not supporting him.

    He is a TARP baby. He’s a Republican who’s been in the House for a long time and risen to prominence within the party. It’s no surprise he’s made some poor voting decisions based on party loyalty. That said, he’s still one of the best options available when it came to choosing a VP who’s going to look at trying to limit the behemoth called the Federal Government budget.

    NJRob (139a0e)

  150. Your candy bar theory is looking better and better, Simon. His 11:18 and 11:23 pretty much cement it.

    elissa (3eb66e)

  151. The relevant portion;

    WALLACE: You’re not a very good analyst.

    PALIN: Fire me then, Roger. Sorry. I already failed. But listen, no, we have some strong, some young terps (ph) in this party. Paul Ryan, I’m very impressed with Paul Ryan.

    WALLACE: Congressman from Wisconsin.

    PALIN: Yes. He’s good. Man, he is sharp, he is smart, articulate and he is passionate about these common-sense solutions that America has got to adopt to get us on the right road.
    I can name a whole lot of people.

    Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/02/07/transcript-fox-news-sunday-interview-sarah-palin/#ixzz23GPxN3BY

    narciso (ee31f1)

  152. Thanks Simon Jester.

    Glad someone else went over to the site and actually read what Michelle wrote instead of taking someone else’s 3rd party comments at face value.

    And Erick at RedState doesn’t have a problem with selecting Mr. Ryan as VP either. He’s just saying that choosing Mr. Ryan alone isn’t going to solve all of Mr. Romney’s problems. More must be done to win the election.

    http://www.redstate.com/erick/2012/08/11/not-enough/
    and
    http://www.redstate.com/erick/2012/08/11/paul-ryan-where-things-stand/

    NJRob (139a0e)

  153. Paul Ryan is not enough. Mitt Romney does need to prune and fertilizer his campaign team

    He’s been running for this job since 2006

    Erickson was just saying – its over – when he says he’s not worried – it means he’s worried

    Otherwise he wouldnt have written that piece

    Romney can raise money – thats all he is doing

    Its over – it never really began

    He wasted all his money on bulletpoints to defeat Rick and has nothing left

    EPWJ (e83e82)

  154. __________________________________________________

    Comment by NJRob — 8/11/2012 @ 11:29 am

    Comment by narciso — 8/11/2012 @ 11:32 am

    I’m impressed. Maybe Elissa is closer to the truth than I am. If so, “d’oh” to me. LOL.

    Personally, I’m so appalled that this nation even put someone like Obama in the White House to begin with, that I’m still reeling from that, and everything else therefore is of secondary importance. IOW, even if the Republican running against Obama were like a combination of Washington/Lincoln/Reagan/Coolidge/Jefferson/Eisenhower all rolled into one, my strongest reaction still would be one of the necessity of getting President “Goddamn America” out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

    Mark (0644af)

  155. It’s funny to watch EPWJ flail about when caught misstating what others say.

    I’m not convinced he listens carefully to the radio in his head.

    I know he doesn’t read carefully. Years of his posts have proved that.

    So, just like the DNC, he is trying to create a Narrative. And, again, like the DNC, his narrative is to give us four more years of the current leadership.

    Poking fun at his silliness and combating false narratives is necessary.

    Simon Jester (74d285)

  156. NJRob–I don’t think you need worry about people here taking that particular person’s comments at face value. He’s known for making stuff up, selective editing, ignoring context, and outright misrepresenting what people say–(like right here on this thread today at 11:23)

    elissa (3eb66e)

  157. Oh, elissa, little troll will be angry soon and spew some bile. Just like before.

    But it sounds like you and I are on the same page: if it makes Axelrod smile, it’s not good.

    Simon Jester (74d285)

  158. “Glad someone else went over to the site and actually read what Michelle wrote instead of taking someone else’s 3rd party comments at face value.”

    NJRob – EPWJ prefers not to provide links to support his assertions because they often turn out to be Greenwaldian junk as you have just shown. It’s a feature of his commenting, not a bug.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  159. _______________________________________________

    He’s just saying that choosing Mr. Ryan alone isn’t going to solve all of Mr. Romney’s problems.

    If the blogger at Redstate is coming at it from the angle of developing tactics that help Romney with non-conservative, non-Republican voters, then in some ways that shows just how way too liberal too much of this society has become. IOW, if that were not the case — and it instead was only a matter of ensuring an even larger victory by bending over backwards to please the right — then it should be a cakewalk for Romney in November.

    Not wanting to re-elect Barry Soetero is a no-brainer to me. But I observe how ultra-liberalism has infected countries like France, Mexico, the UK (their squishy Tory prime minister ultimately beat the lame Laborite Gordon Brown by a much narrower margin than polls originally predicted), etc, and regrettably I suspect that human nature in those societies isn’t totally different from what’s found here in the US.

    Mark (0644af)

  160. “Its over – it never really began”

    BOOK TOUR!

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  161. no ballots have been printed and if Romney has problems – which is looking like he may actually have

    Nonsense

    I cant help but feel from the responses that everyone (except Beldar) is deeply dismayed

    Nonsense on steroids.

    JD (142098)

  162. Thanks elissa and daleyrocks.

    There are just too many people who feel they can misrepresent what others say and get away with it because no one actually reads the source material anymore. It’s how we ended up with Obama in 2008 with people buying his “Hope and Change” platform as a “moderate” and how they’ll try and tar Mr. Romney and Rep. Ryan with a negative brush.

    We’re just doing the job the media won’t.

    NJRob (139a0e)

  163. EPWJ lost any credibility years ago. My favorite remains his claims about what the cellphone video of the Border Patrol border crossing shooting showed, that were complete fabrications when you looked at … the cellphone video.

    EPWJ is simply a concern troll with no credibility whatsoever. Never given him the benefit of any doubt, question all his assertions … or don’t even bother anymore as I don’t.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  164. EPWJ at #154: “Erickson was just saying – its over – when he says he’s not worried – it means he’s worried” So, you are now speaking for Erickson? I’m sure he appreciates your help.

    You are a Debbie Downer (as elissa said) and a liberal DemocRAT. You fool noone on here. Give it up.

    PatAZ (5ef80e)

  165. “EPWJ lost any credibility years ago.”

    SPQR – One surefire way to lose credibility as a commenter on this blog, IMHO, is to post objectively false information and claim it is the truth and then lack the courage to admit you were wrong after proof surfaces. EPWJ continually disappoints in this area.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  166. The Vice Presidential debates will be hilarious. Slow Joe Biden against Paul Ryan?

    SPQR (26be8b)

  167. Silly me, what the Romney campaign should consider is a Paul Ryan / Obama debate. Ryan has already wiped the floor with Obama two years ago, another shot would be hilarious.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  168. You know, Willard chose Ryan because he likes him, not to go bold, per se.

    Still I think hoping against hope the WI contingent can reform the GOP from within is a shallow enough hook to get me to pull the lever.

    I know they weren’t waiting for my Ok, just sayin.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  169. “The Vice Presidential debates will be hilarious. Slow Joe Biden against Paul Ryan?”

    SPQR – They will probably only agree to one, with a slaughter rule in effect.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  170. It is analagous to the way that Bob Costas will drop some random baseball stat (“No lefthanded pitcher whose surname begins with the letter ‘Q’ has ever been the winning pitcher in a World Series game played on a Tuesday against a team from the central time zone that wears red uniforms.”)while broadcasting during the playoffs in order to impress casual fans that he actually “knows” baseball.

    Elephant Stone, you might recall that Dan Quisenberry of the KC Royals was the winning pitcher agsinst the red-clad St. Louis Cardinals of the Central time zone in a World Series game played on Tuesday, October 29, 1985.

    OK, all of the above is actually true, except that it was actually a Saturday game, October 25, 1985.

    JVW (edec8d)

  171. “I know they weren’t waiting for my Ok, just sayin.”

    gary – Holy crap! Did you just say something halfway nice? Are you feeling Okay?

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  172. PJ Media has this link to video of Paul Ryan schooling Geitner on how unserious the admin’s budget was two years ago.

    and the best is this video where he shows just how out of league Obama is in a serious discussion of his own pet signature legislation.

    There is no reason to believe that Obama has gotten any smarter, and in fact some reason to believe that Obama is less prepared on key issues today because of the Democrats intentional campaign of avoiding them.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  173. 154. Actually, the way Urkel has been foundering and flailing, no one was “worried”, I sure wasn’t.

    But Ryan makes two in a row since the Blood Bank Thief where the VP candidate outshines the Nominee.

    Time to throw in the towel BootBlack, no shine left in that rag, “I do not seek nor will I serve”.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  174. 172. I’m cheaper than I let on, still can’t play poker to save my life.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  175. 172. Cont. My fervent hope is the pick will not waste Ryan on ‘the most pointless, ineffectual job’ in DC and Romney will go one and out.

    Victory lap and roses are enough approbation.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  176. I like all the bragging, personally: his lake house, his employees, etc. I think he once claimed to have a fleet of vehicles, but that might have been DCSCA.

    Hmm. Compared to DCSCA’s “Commander McBragg” stories, EPWJ is quite the beginner.

    Simon Jester (74d285)

  177. Lawrence Auster had this to say at View From The Right (http://www.amnation.com/vfr/archives/023021):

    “And the same problem that affects conservatism and Republicanism as a whole applies specifically to Romney. In his announcement this morning of his selection of Paul Ryan as his VP candidate, Romney’s trademark plastered-on weak smile never left his face. I can’t stand looking at him. The man’s a blank. There’s nothing there. Obama, on the other hand, is tough and wants to win re-election so as to complete his fundamental destruction of America. Between Obama, who passionately wants to destroy America, and Romney, who stands for nothing and is nothing, who do you think is going to win?”

    DN (d1a4f3)

  178. [SPQR]: “The Vice Presidential debates will be hilarious. Slow Joe Biden against Paul Ryan?”

    [daleyrocks]: SPQR – They will probably only agree to one, with a slaughter rule in effect.

    While I take a backseat to no one in my disdain for Joe Biden’s intellect (or lack thereof), let’s face it: there is no way the Democrats and their media allies will structure that debate in a way where Biden’s blowhardiness is exposed. He will be given softball questions for which he will be well-prepared, and there won’t be any follow-up from the major news outlets when he exaggerates or lies.

    Moderator: “This question is for the Vice President from Dana Millbank of the Washington Post.”
    Millbank: “Thank you. Mr. Vice-President, what do you think have been the Administration’s key accomplishments in battling al Qaeda?”

    Moderator: “This question is for the Vice President from Andrew Rosenthal of the New York Times.”
    Rosenthal: “Thank you. Vice-President Biden, in a campaign appearance in Des Moines last week you accused the Romney-Ryan budget outline of ‘shredding the safety net that our most vulnerable citizens rely upon.’ Can you explain the reasoning behind your claim?”

    JVW (edec8d)

  179. Gary – Fly over country to the rescue.

    mg (44de53)

  180. Did everyone notice that EPWJ has gone insane again?

    I never noticed him going sane. I must have blinked. If you notice him not being insane, give me a heads up, Simon.

    Two “white guys” on the GOP ticket will be a recipe for sure defeat.

    Of course, Eric. It always has been. It’s just never worked, and it’s insane to think that this sure fire recipe for disaster will lead to any different outcome in 2012.

    Bush/Cheney was a loser until Dick agreed to the sex change.

    I am curious to see how the media deals with Ryan’s six pack abs and his pecs. They couldn’t shut up about Obama’s pecs (his beach shots reveal definitely no six pack). Also, unlike Obama, Ryan doesn’t throw like a prom queen.

    If the media has to deal with a shirtless Paul Ryan warming up for bow season or noodling for catfish, do you think “Tingles” Matthews will drool over him? Or does he just like dark meat?

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  181. Steven Hayward over at Powerline says that Ryan on the ticket shows that economic Conservatives want to have an adult conversation about entitlements and will put themselves on the line to try to force one. It will be difficult if not impossible to have an adult conversation, Hayward acknowledges, considering the infantile nature of the current Democratic party and the shallow lapdog media. But with the increasing number of voters every four years ready and willing to vote themselves more government largess, this may be the last election where it will ever be possible to tip the scale back. We’ve got to try.

    elissa (3eb66e)

  182. Anyone who colors WI on an electoral map anything but a shade of Red is an azz.

    MN is now in the ‘too close to call’ category.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  183. Once in a blue moon
    the loons
    come home to roost!!

    mg (44de53)

  184. “I am curious to see how the media deals with Ryan’s six pack abs and his pecs.”

    Steve57 – Still a day left at the Wisconsin State Fair. Maybe Ryan can oblige the homophobic ninnies of the left by sneaking in a corndog shot.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  185. It will be difficult if not impossible to have an adult conversation, Hayward acknowledges, considering the infantile nature of the current Democratic party and the shallow lapdog media.

    That’s just silly. Of course we can have an adult conversation with the democrats.

    It’ll just have to be about how many ghosts of suffragettes can give Nancy Pelosi a lap dance at one time.

    Or the concerns aired by Dingy Harry’s tax adviser. A parakeet named “Frito Bandito” whom Reid dispatches to fly into the windows of the corporate offices of the banksters to peek at their tax returns.

    We can have a very adult conversation about just how old Ryan was when he discovered he enjoys pushing elderly wheelchair bound women off of cliffs.

    Just as soon as the Romney/Ryan express finishes it’s black church burning/Jim Crow lynching tree tour of the midwest.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  186. Steve57 @12:49–

    That was good, and made me laugh.

    elissa (3eb66e)

  187. It would be really hard to back the GOP tickets in 2008 and 2012 if you live in a family that hates conservatives like Palin and Ryan. The conventional wisdom is that women are more likely to believe conservatives are heartless or stupid, but I wonder if those women are actually envious.

    Some women seem to have an especially hard time accepting that Palin and Ryan have a strong spouse/family and a successful career. They also come from humble backgrounds, so they could be any of us. It must be hard not to feel envy, anger and resentment if you want those things and you don’t have them.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  188. Then again, from a small-government libertarian perspective, he voted for Medicare Part D, No Child Left Behind, TARP, auto bailouts, and all the wars waged by George W. Bush. So even as he makes the 2012 election race more interesting and hotly contested, he underscores the fact that today’s GOP is offering an echo of the Democratic Party, not a real alternative.

    – Nick Gillespie

    EPWJ (2925ff)

  189. 182,186. The quiet folk will be speaking loudly enough some GOP locals will hear.

    The four candidates for WI Senate include in last place State Sen. Fitzgerald. One of the sisters from Ryan’s district called this AM to suggest Ryan’s seat would fall to his bud Walker for appointment.

    Don’t know if its true, but WI is going to rock & roll.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  190. DRJ

    I am going to answer that one – I dont hate Palin or Ryan

    They are conservatives – but have problems when in office maintaining their conservatism in the wake of financial crisis

    I’m sure that all they did they meant with best of conservative intentions

    Just didnt come out that way

    EPWJ (2925ff)

  191. It’s always nice to be appreciated, elissa.

    In case you haven’t noticed, I can’t take the handwringing seriously.

    OMFG! Two white guys! And one actually looks like he’s young and fit enough to personally oppress minorities and women on behalf of the capitalist system!

    We. Are. Doomed.

    Of course it’s a racist choice. If Romney doesn’t bow out and swear allegiance to Obama by the end of the month, it will be proof of his limitless racism, too.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  192. Busy little squirrel found him a nut. Nick Gillaspie, current editor of “Reason,” is a lot of things. A Republican or a Conservative is not among them.

    Here is the link he chose not to share:

    http://reason.com/blog/2012/08/11/are-paul-ryans-budget-plans-radical-or-w

    So, EPWJ, are you now a “Reason” libertarian? Perhaps Brother Bradley would welcome you?

    Except helping the President get re-elected is, um, not optimal.

    Simon Jester (74d285)

  193. Some people today are writing that “Ryan is Romney’s Palin”. I don’t believe that holds up to any scrutiny.

    Ryan is a better interview but he is very conventional, just the best inside the box pick conceivable.

    That Romney made the pick is to his credit but it was not “courageous”.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  194. Simon beat me to it but here’s a link to the Nick Gillespie article excerpted in Eric’s comment 191.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  195. Eric,

    I appreciate your answer but I’m curious if, in theory, it changes things when a person lives with people who hate Palin and/or Ryan?

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  196. ezraklein: “The degree to which most Americans don’t know much about Paul Ryan is humbling for we media folk.”

    quick, ezra… does Ryan have any horses or maybe “dogs on vacation” stories?!?!

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  197. EPWJ quotes Nick Gillespie to attack Ryan?

    Well, gee, that’s a real fucking surprise, EPWJ. Gillespie, who I enjoy reading, is a Libertarian. He’s not supposed to like Ryan who would be the VP nominee of the Republican party not the Libertarian one.

    Sheesh, the lame crap that EPWJ posts here. If you are trying to compete with tye and still seeeeeping for stupid troll of the month, you are on track.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  198. I look forward to many of those “0bama-in-teh-headlights” looks on Big Zer0’s narcissistic puss.

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  199. I forgot to add, Ryan is one of those godbothering Catholics.

    So clearly he’s out to deprive women of their contraceptives and make it his personal mission to punish Sasha and Malia Obama with babies.

    If you know what I mean, and I think you do.

    I believe that once the Obama SuperPACs make the connection between Ryan’s rabidly Catholic hatred of women and Romney’s grandparents’ anti-Hispanic Mexican polygamist commune of involuntary female servitude and shame and degradation, the Joe Soptic add will be looked back upon as mild.

    If you vote for Mitt Romney, killer of middle class women married to white unionized workers, you are also voting for Paul Ryan to force Malia and Sasha Obama to bear his children and make them work for less than minimum wage as bare footed scullery maids in the White House.

    Racists!

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  200. 201. Second.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  201. Yeah, the faces that Obama makes when Ryan called him for the BS in that clip are really hilarious. I think they illustrate his lack of character pretty well.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  202. iowahawkblog: #BidenDebateLines “I’m Joe from Scranton Pee-Ay. Why am I here? Where is the big f*cking beef? J-O-B-S. In conclusion, high speed rail.”

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  203. quick, ezra… does Ryan have any horses or maybe “dogs on vacation” stories?!?!

    No, but I have it on good authority that the WaPo has a breaking front page story for tomorrows edition.

    Apparently, Ryan got a C in third grade math. Clearly, we can’t trust him as an authority on the budget with that kind of academic record.

    In other news, no reporter has been seen on campus at Occidental, Columbia, or Harvard in living memory.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  204. ==ezraklein: “The degree to which most Americans don’t know much about Paul Ryan is humbling for we media folk.”

    That self important quote form the little juice boxer made me throw up a little in my mouth. Please enlighten us oh vainglorious Ezra. Show us the way!

    elissa (3eb66e)

  205. With Paul Ryan on the ticket Dems can’t make a valid case that Romney selfishly shortchanged the country in order to pander to Hispanics and illegal aliens. Rubio, for all his talents, just hasn’t been around long enough to qualify as a legitimate replacement for a sitting POTUS.

    Comment by ropelight — 8/11/2012 @ 10:57 am

    Not qualified as a legitimate replacement for a sitting replacement – Why does everyone feel the need to insulting obama

    Joe (a00dc1)

  206. The best thing about Ryan is that, win or lose, now someone will talk about the long-term fiscal problems we face as a nation.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  207. The second best thing is the VP debate. Sometimes I feel like they should pay me to watch these debates, but I’d actually pay money to see that one.

    DRJ (a83b8b)


  208. The best thing about Ryan is that, win or lose, now someone will talk about the long-term fiscal problems we face as a nation.

    Comment by DRJ — 8/11/2012 @ 1:27 pm

    AMEN. They were dying to avoid it at all costs and hoping to scream “racist! hater of the poor! women-oppressor!” and have that be enough. Now at least the media will *have* to let people hear the case for entitlement control. And Ryan is more than good at making it.

    no one you know (7ecbf6)

  209. “Why does everyone feel the need to insulting obama”

    Joe – Failed presidency.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  210. SPQR

    Sean Trende

    This probably improves Obama’s chances of winning. The Ryan plan doesn’t exactly have a great track record winning elections: It played a large role in the Republicans’ defeat in a special election in upstate New York in early 2011.

    In fact, it opens up an Obama landslide scenario for the first time

    These types of picks rarely end well. When we think back on the “bold” or “unexpected” picks in history, they rarely have good outcomes. Agnew in ’68, Eagleton in ’72, Ferraro in ’84, Quayle in ’88, Kemp in ’96, Palin in ’08 are all looked back on with disfavor

    EPWJ (2925ff)


  211. The second best thing is the VP debate. Sometimes I feel like they should pay me to watch these debates, but I’d actually pay money to see that one.

    Comment by DRJ — 8/11/2012 @ 1:28 pm

    Skipped most of the debates last time but there is no way I’m missing that one. Heh heh heh.

    In fact am suspecting the Obama campaign may be checking into all possible excuses for Biden to skip the debate. He’ll be pulverized and they know it.

    no one you know (7ecbf6)

  212. Nick Gillespie, the Libertarian also had nice things to say about the ticket. From the article in the link provided by DRJ and Simon.

    Rep. Ryan (R-Wis.) has distinguished himself as a serious politician who was ready and willing to talk substantive budget issues years before even his own party’s leadership wanted to have that conversation

    elissa (3eb66e)

  213. 212. “Why does everyone feel the need to insulting obama”

    Joe – Failed presidency.

    Comment by daleyrocks — 8/11/2012 @ 1:32 pm

    Plus, I hear he’s not very good at golf.

    You’d think a guy who plays as much as he does would have improved more.

    I am curious, though, as to what experience Ryan supposedly lacks that would prevent him from stepping in as a qualified President if needs be?

    Is it that he doesn’t use a teleprompter? He hasn’t nationalized whole industries? He hasn’t screwed over former salaried workers and stole their pensions to pay off the unions? He hasn’t smuggled guns into Mexico? That we haven’t seen him shoot hoops with the NCAA women’s basketball champs? He hasn’t handed the Russians a mistranslated “overcharge” button, hung the flag of the Republic of the Philippines upside down as an insulting distress symbol? Or that he hasn’t promised to hand over to the Russians our missile defense secrets, insulted the Poles and the British on occasions to numerous to count, as well as the Turks by staging a photo op with him holding a baseball bat while apparently attempting to order their PM around?

    I agree, Ryan lacks all those skills. But are they really necessary?

    I’m sure if Ryan applies himself he can play just as much golf as any President alive.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  214. Comment by EPWJ — 8/11/2012 @ 1:35 pm

    And we all know that New York is the last bastion of Conservatism and if Romney cannot win New York we might as well give up now.

    And those 2010 House and Senate races, all those Governorships and State Houses in 2010 and 2011, they don’t count because it doesn’t fit the narrative.

    NJRob (fe68e7)

  215. EPWJ, you just remain full of crap. Wow, it “played a role” in a defeat in a single special election according to this clown you googled up. Light election turnout, the splintered TEA Party support between different candidates … that had nothing to do with it.

    No, it was all Paul Ryan’s fault.

    Full of crap.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  216. 208. “Why does everyone feel the need to insulting obama”

    Respect is accorded the total stranger, it is our default disposition toward others.

    BHO has earned every inch of his desparagement. He is our enemy, and that of our progeny.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  217. Why does a Libertarian qouting that Ryan did indeed vote for massive liberal programs get people upset

    All he had to do was vote no!

    Ryans so called Budget left cuts for decades after he was out of office

    Thats another reason why it wasn’t seriousunless they are happening in the next or current busget cycle no following congress can be bound by them

    EPWJ (e83e82)

  218. It played a large role in the Republicans’ defeat in a special election in upstate New York in early 2011.

    Holy crap, Batman! You mean New York is no longer in the bag for the GOP?

    I suppose this pick means Kali is now in play for the Democrats, too.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  219. disparagement*

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  220. EPWJ, your comments show your utter lack of seriousness. Do you really think your trolling does any good here? Even the more right wing of the group thinks you are a clown.

    Admit it, you are voting for Obama.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  221. Steve57

    Argue with the well paid conservative professional writers at RCP – they wrote that

    And yes we gave up senate seats, house seats and New York has large conservative regions

    EPWJ (e83e82)

  222. EPWJ has never been anything but a Moby “conservative”.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  223. The mimosas are kicking in. It won’t be long now.

    elissa (3eb66e)

  224. 220. Ryan is a team player and in the House a 6 term member is just entering insider status where he will by dint of seniority be listened to–Ryan by force of his ideas and persistence enjoying power beyond his years.

    He is not a maverick, a game changer, but indeed, a reformer-from within.

    TEAs are for real change, any way we can get some.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  225. Here’s a link to the Sean Trende article that Eric excerpted in comment 213.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  226. Trende does sound many cautionary notes, but he ends with this:

    As a final, overarching thought: Democrats should be careful what they wish for here. While I think it is tougher for Romney to win this election with Ryan on the ticket than without, the truth is that vice presidential picks rarely matter, and this race will always have the configuration of a referendum on the incumbent. Ronald Reagan didn’t exactly offer a mushy concoction of focus-group-tested platitudes, and yet he was still able to frame the election by asking people if they were better off than they were four years ago.

    Democrats rubbed their hands gleefully at the prospect of facing Reagan in the general election, and the truth is that Reagan probably offered them more targets than, say, Gerald Ford would have. But the result was that the national conversation moved rightward for the following 30 years.

    If the Romney-Ryan ticket wins, the message will be that you cannot only touch the third rail of politics and win, but that you can douse yourself in water, put steel boots on, and jump repeatedly on the track. A lot of Republican fears from the 1995-96 debacle will dissipate, and the prospect that Romney will have a consequential presidency will increase dramatically.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  227. I want, as proof of good faith, the GOP to layoff 250K Federal employees in the first 100 days, 200K from US Postal.

    I may have to take less.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  228. A nice summing up:

    http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2012/08/11/flashback-paul-ryan-vs-barack-obama-february-2010

    Don’t miss the videos.

    Simon Jester (d5ba30)

  229. Obama’s campaign statement about Ryan included this howler:

    “As a member of Congress, Ryan rubber-stamped the reckless Bush economic policies that exploded our deficit and crashed our economy. Now the Romney-Ryan ticket would take us back by repeating the same, catastrophic mistakes.“

    The Obama administration is running deficits twice the size of Bush’s, and predicts them to continue as far as the eye can see and they write this crap?

    The Obama campaign has nothing but hypocrisy and lies to offer Americans.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  230. “The Hill” is reporting the Romney camp raised $2M since he announced Ryan as his VP pick.

    Come on, EPWJ, admit you donated to them. We know you really care.

    PatAZ (5ef80e)

  231. 230. Gallup had in their tracking poll yesterday, Ogabe at 43% approval, 51% disapproval.

    With 57-58% not voting Ogabe for any reason, Willard really only needs a few percent of those thinking he’s a reasonably competent manager but useless otherwise to pull the lever.

    That will put him in landslide territory, say 48% to 43%. Landslide in an electoral sense, 355 to 225.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  232. 315 plus a fudge*

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  233. Great speeches from both Ryan and Romney at the rally this afternoon.

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  234. STRIKE ONE: “I grew up reading Ayn Rand, and it taught me quite a bit about who I am and what my value systems are, and what my beliefs are.” -Paul Ryan. Ryan went on to say that Rand’s works are required reading for his staff. “I think the announcement is great news,” Aaron Day, CEO of the Atlas Society, told Politico. -source- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/11/paul-ryan-ayn-rand_n_1767766.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

    What a gift.

    STRIKE TWO: “In 2008 and 2009, Ryan voted “yes” for TARP, Economic Stimulus HR 5140, the $15 billion bailout for GM and Chrysler. Ryan voted for the Iraq War, for No Child Left Behind, for the Patriot Act. It could be argued that each of these votes represent expanded government, not small government. Certainly, they each expanded spending, much of it hidden from view (secret spending is the military’s stock in trade) and a fair share of that spending was off-loaded to the states in the form of unfunded mandates.” – source, Seattle Times

    Oops. Naughty boy. A ‘Rand Man’ expanding government is sacrilege.

    @#179- foul tip.

    STRIKE THREE- the ol’ screw ball:

    “I worship the ground Paul Ryan walks on.”– Dick ‘deficits don’t matter’ Cheney.
    source- content.usatoday.com/communities/…/dick-cheney-paul-ryan

    Game over.

    Obama wins term 2. Hillary wins in 2016 & 2020.

    By 2024, Ryan will be just 54 year old, a seasoned ‘Goober’ by then (see his official Congressional photo; the resemblance to the late George ‘Goober Pyle’ Lindsay is striking.) Still young, this ‘also-Rand’ can run for the top spot on his own, something he balked at this cycle because he said he wasn’t ‘ready.’ Yet Romney decides he’s ready to be a ‘heartbeat away.’

    Coulter was right.

    The wrong candidate heads this ticket. You should have run Governor Soprano.

    DCSCA (9d1bb3)

  235. Never forget it was Nick Gillespie who claimed conservative opposition to the appointment of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court was based on chauvinistic fear of strong women.

    ropelight (c01f8e)

  236. Just when I thought we’d had enough fatuous nonsense from EPWJ, DCSCA, the International Man of Parody arrives.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  237. Did Von Braun tell him this, or Cronkite?

    narciso (ee31f1)

  238. Nick is too cool for school he’s perspicacious!

    happyfeet (928ad9)

  239. He heard about it while playing soccer at the Amerian Embassy, after sniffing Rush Limbaugh’s armpits.

    Simon Jester (d5ba30)

  240. : “In 2008 and 2009, Ryan voted “yes” for TARP, Economic Stimulus HR 5140, the $15 billion bailout for GM and Chrysler. Ryan voted for the Iraq War, for No Child Left Behind, for the Patriot Act.”

    DSCA – What were the Deomocrat votes for those bills, can you remind me?

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  241. Never cared for mittens as the leader of the commonwealth, but will work the land lines for him in this do or die election.
    After watching the vids of Kid Ryan he is more than capable of handling the chicago hate.

    mg (44de53)

  242. 0bama gaffes…

    “When I meet with world leaders, what’s striking — whether it’s in Europe or here in Asia…” -mistakenly referring to Hawaii as Asia while holding a press conference outside Honolulu, Nov. 16, 2011

    “We’re the country that built the Intercontinental Railroad.” —Cincinnati, OH, Sept. 22, 2011

    “We’re not trying to push financial reform because we begrudge success that’s fairly earned. I mean, I do think at a certain point you’ve made enough money. But, you know, part of the American way is, you know, you can just keep on making it if you’re providing a good product or providing good service. We don’t want people to stop, ah, fulfilling the core responsibilities of the financial system to help grow our economy.” —on Wall Street reform, Quincy, Ill., April 29, 2010

    “Let me be absolutely clear. Israel is a strong friend of Israel’s. It will be a strong friend of Israel’s under a McCain…administration. It will be a strong friend of Israel’s under an Obama administration. So that policy is not going to change.” –Amman, Jordan, July 22, 2008

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  243. “Polish death camp” – Barack Hussein 0bama

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  244. “Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.” – Barack Hussein 0bama

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  245. Has anyone seen EPWJ and DCSCA in the same place at the same time together?

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  246. JVW, (#173)

    Wow, nice work on applying the Bob Costas paradigm, and coming within an inch of finding specs to fit it to a “T.” Obviously, I made it up off the top of my head, but I totally forgot about “The Quiz” and his 1885 mustache and his submarine delivery ! I was a bubble-gum chewing kid during that particular World Series, and I do remember him. I also remember the blown call at first base when Todd Worrell beat the runner, but the runner was called ‘safe’ in Game 6.

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  247. I like the pick.Both Romney and Ryan are doer’s.
    Time for everyone to not only vote for this ticket but at least double your vote.Lets get hopping with the friends and family and make sure they double their votes and so on and so forth.
    It’s only a great ticket if they win.

    Drider (34ed7e)

  248. They had to go and make it hard to vote for him, didn’t they. Well, I can vote against him next time.

    htom (412a17)

  249. Such a smart choice. Tea party voters wary of Mitt will come in the fold and perhaps there’s a fighting chance of the right finally becoming a united front and force to contend with. Yay Romney/Ryan!

    Dana (292dcf)

  250. My guess is conservatives who say they can’t vote for Romney probably still won’t vote for him. I assume getting those people on board is the reason for the selection.

    Gerald A (f26857)

  251. What a Tea Party Inauguration day will be.

    mg (44de53)

  252. Aren’t the extreme conservative Christians the significant group not willing to vote for Romney because he’s a Mormon? Most TP people were wary of his old school GOP ties and possible affection for large government in some areas…

    Dana (292dcf)

  253. There’s an inspiring candidate for US Senate from Maryland named Dan Bongino, who I think people need to become familiar with. Maryland is hopelessly a blue state, so he’s facing an uphill battle, but he’s someone we could use as a spokesman who can articulate the case for free markets and their benefits.

    He makes an important point about how if he can make a competitive race with incumbent left wing nut Senator Ben Cardin, it may force the DNC to pour money into his race that would otherwise be put to use in vital swing states.

    Bongino is very impressive…a former NYPD officer, and a twelve year veteran of the Secret Service where he personally protected GWB and Obama. He also has an MBA, and a master’s degree in psychology.

    Check out this speech he gave at a restaurant in Maryland a couple months ago.

    The GOP has had too many inarticulate, dispassionate people rise thru the ranks who simply cannot explain conservative principles to the “independents” + clueless uninformed apolitical voters who inevitably decide close races.

    Check out this speech at YouTube;

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf78iOXx1wY

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  254. “Because, but for Paul Ryan, Medicare and all other out-of-control government spending would last FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!1!!!

    Comment by Patterico — 8/11/2012 @ 3:08 am ”

    No, they will stop in about three years when we run out of Chinese money.
    What cannot continue, won’t.

    Exactly.

    I assume you picked up on my sarcasm.

    Patterico (7dfa08)

  255. The Democrats position will be that the spending will last forever but for those scrooge Republicans.

    That’s why we must wrest government away from the hands of the irresponsible, lying Democrats.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  256. “If you vote for Mitt Romney, killer of middle class women married to white unionized workers, you are also voting for Paul Ryan to force Malia and Sasha Obama to bear his children and make them work for less than minimum wage as bare footed scullery maids in the White House.”

    – Steve 57

    u mad bro?

    Leviticus (102f62)

  257. “Still young, this ‘also-Rand’ can run for the top spot on his own, something he balked at this cycle because he said he wasn’t ‘ready.’ Yet Romney decides he’s ready to be a ‘heartbeat away.’”

    – DCSCA

    Romney would have to have a heart for Ryan to be “a heartbeat away.” So that’s reassuring, at least.

    Leviticus (102f62)

  258. Leviticus, your comments work well as sarcasm, of course, ridiculing DCSCA. Whether you intended that or not.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  259. Pretending that Leviticus was serious about Romney not “having a heart” …

    I would much rather have Romney as a neighbor than Obama. No contest.

    I know who of the two I’d trust to do things like check on my wife if she didn’t answer the phone or feed my pets if I couldn’t get back to the house or other neighborly help.

    Seriously, you can tell who would be a neighbor and who would be the block prick.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  260. I was serious.

    Leviticus (102f62)

  261. And I don’t think I could afford Mitt Romney’s neighborhood, as far as the neighbor thing goes.

    Leviticus (102f62)

  262. “What we have been living through is a breakdown of the great American jobs machine. Jobs have long been the best social program, the best economic program, and the best family program in America. No longer. The jobs are not there. Unemployment today is the worst since the Great Depression. . . . All the net jobs created during the Obama administration have been part-time jobs. An estimated 35 million Americans are trapped in jobs they would have left in better times. Fewer Americans are working today than in the year 2000, despite the fact that our population has grown by 31 million and our labor force by 11.4 million since then.”

    – Mort Zuckerman

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  263. and once more the luck falls Mitt Romney’s way, leviticvs.

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  264. speaking of “block pricks”…

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  265. Leviticus, you may not care for Mitt Romney’s politics but to claim he has no heart is really, really showing a lack of insight about Romney.

    And the snark about affording his neighborhood is just low rent snark. You can’t afford Obama’s neighborhood – indeed neither could he without a payoff by Rezko.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  266. “And I don’t think I could afford Mitt Romney’s neighborhood, as far as the neighbor thing goes.”

    Leviticus – At least Romney wouldn’t eat my pets. With Obama, you never know.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  267. 269 – thanks for the laugh, Colonel.
    271 – thanks for the laugh, daleyrocks.

    mg (44de53)

  268. And I don’t think I could afford Mitt Romney’s neighborhood, as far as the neighbor thing goes.

    What makes you think you could afford Barcky’s neighborhood?

    JD (142098)

  269. “And the snark about affording his neighborhood is just low rent snark. You can’t afford Obama’s neighborhood – indeed neither could he without a payoff by Rezko.”

    – SPQR

    Well, as you obviously know, low rent snark can do wonders for a powerless little prole’s digestion.

    Leviticus (102f62)

  270. “What makes you think you could afford Barcky’s neighborhood?”

    – JD

    Nothing. Why is that relevant? F*ck him too.

    Leviticus (102f62)

  271. I am just tired of the Romney is rich nonsense, as though Barcky isn’t.

    JD (142098)

  272. @ Levitcus,

    Romney would have to have a heart for Ryan to be “a heartbeat away.” So that’s reassuring, at least.

    Because you clarified that you’re being serious here, I’m compelled to ask: what on earth are you trying to say because it’s ridiculous to believe he has no heart (is heartless, ruthless, without compassion, whatever your def is).

    Judging on his merits or lack thereof is reasonable and what voters should do. But to accuse him of heartlessness is an emotionalism typical of liberals.

    Dana (292dcf)

  273. I’d wager it makes him feel heroic, Dana. Taking it to teh Man and all that rot.

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  274. Allah has a great take on it also looks like he’s changing his mind about Ryan even though he’s starts strong he realizes that Ryans taken/taking us over a cliff

    EPWJ (d84fb0)

  275. If choosing Ryan is any indication of the kind of President Romney is going to be, then there’s a lot of reason to be hopeful for this country.

    He couldn’t have made a better choice.

    A Romney Ryan administration grooms Ryan to be quite the Tea Party presidential candidate in 2020 when many Tea Party legislators will be in leadership positions and, with any luck, there will be many more junior Tea legislators.

    It’s a long, hard road, and I hope the GOP has a unified front. Romney has done his part to ensure one.

    Dustin (73fead)

  276. As the arguments in the primary made abundantly clear, it offends Colonel’s Lickspittle that anyone would question his fanatic devotion of the Robot Overlord.

    Leviticus (102f62)

  277. Leviticus-Barty in 2024

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  278. Haiku,

    How did you know so early?

    Dustin (73fead)

  279. I have to say… it must make you weary to crawl out of your rack in the morning, leviticvs… must really suck being you.

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  280. All the signs seemed to point in that direction, Dustin. And I had a premonition.

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  281. EPWJ, have you analysed Paul Ryan’s relationship to Trig Palin?

    SPQR (26be8b)

  282. Patterico, please do us a favor: transmit EPWJ’s opinion to Ace and ask him to reply? I’m getting very tired of EPWJ repeatedly misrepresenting others (like Malkin and Ericson today).

    Maybe humiliating this troll directly would help.

    Simon Jester (74d285)

  283. Cruz and Ryan are awesome.

    EPWJ is entitled to his opinion, and I don’t think he’s any kind of moby, but we have to be reasonable here.

    Ryan in particular has been the most effective and serious communicator about our nation’s main problem for several years. He has that one extra trait that makes him dangerous to the left: he’s realistic. Unlike the hard liners, Ryan comes up with an actually attainable path out of the mess. That’s why the left is scared of him. It’s one thing to be like me and bleat on blogs about a balanced budget. It’s quite another to actually craft something that could actually pass congress that will lead us in that direction.

    If these types of folks do not meet one’s standard, then that standard is not realistic.

    Dustin (73fead)

  284. The socially moderate party switchers of my acquaintance(MN) are upbeat about the Ryan pick.

    In doing so Romney telegraphed he was serious about the Debt. Second, Ryan is a man’s man, no way he rolls over for the genius imbecile Sununu or the like.

    Oh, and he shuts down talk of Third Parties.

    By showing some balls Willard will pull in more Independents than he ever would as the wind vane triangulator Massachusetts Lib fellator.

    So he doesn’t know the kid has more spine than $2 Million worth of consultants? He was born lucky.

    Now to head off the VAT and/or Carbon Tax.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  285. 288. Indeed, pragmatic, not progressive, not believing passing any old garbage is getting things done.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  286. Remember the sunscreen next time you’re out on teh lake, Gary.

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  287. and your derby.

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  288. GALLUP: More Seniors Prefer Ryan Budget Plan than Obama’s…

    “A new Gallup/USA Today poll contains a counterintuitive finding: the age group most receptive to House Budget Chair Paul Ryan’s plan to deal with the budget – seniors.

    The poll finds 48 percent of seniors (those 65 and over) support Ryan’s plan over President Obama’s plan, while 42 percent back the president.

    That’s the highest total among the age groups tested – a 47 percent plurality between the ages of 50 and 64 backed Ryan, and a 45 percent plurality of those between 30-49 backed Ryan. But young voters overwhelmingly sided with Obama by a 23-point margin, 53 to 30 percent.

    Overall, 44 percent back Obama’s plan, while 43 percent support Ryan.”

    http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/148424/

    Republicans hold a double-digit lead over Democrats in public perception of which party would do a better job dealing with the federal budget, according to the survey. 48 percent prefer Republicans, while 36 percent prefer Democrats in Congress.

    Colonel Haiku (08e459)

  289. Even if the Weetard in Chief were to get re-elected now, he will be sending his surrogates to court in a new trial bi-weekly.

    He is a total joke, and he will not slow our governments local and state from running out of money in a cascade of bankruptcies.

    The mortgage rates have broken free of the 10-year T Bill price and the latter are rising. In 2013 like 80% of corporate bonds renew over 2 years. The EU will be history and U6 here over 15% as now. Homes will still be trolling bottom.

    No way Beelzebub’s avatar helps in any way whatever.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  290. elissa

    I’m voting for romney

    Yeah, sure you are Eric. Just like you supported the turncoat and in your words “true conservative” Dede Scuzzeyfavor, who then went on to endorse and support the liberal demoncrap in the election. Have fun pulling that lever for the “true conservative” in this election, your hero Barak O’beyme.

    But sure we cant criticise and if I’m not mistaken, most of the delegates didnt get elected in a contested contest and if they choose – they can – at the convention – pick someone else

    They really need to

    So its not set – no ballots have been printed and if Romney has problems – which is looking like he may actually have – then we reserve the right to remove him.

    Comment by EPWJ — 8/11/2012 @ 11:18 am

    Yeah Eric, let’s do exactly that. While I would much rather have had someone that is more conservative on the ballot, let’s throw out the results of a legitimate election, and have the good ole guys get together in a smoke filled backroom and choose our candidate, just like the Chicago machine and commie governments have done.

    Whoever was chosen, be it Palin, Ryan, West, Rubio, etc., they would totally be seen as illegitimate by the American electorate. Can you say, hand the election to President O’beyme? Oh, that is what you really want isn’t it?

    To others on this site, I can support Ryan, especially as he made O’beyme look like the total jackass he is in the budget debate. I would have preferred Allen West myself, as he would have made the lamestream media’s heads explode, and would have loved to see them contort themselves into knots trying to call him racist.

    peedoffamerican (8888b7)

  291. Mr. Ryan don’t know he’s beaauuutiful

    happyfeet (a12946)

  292. As peedoffamerican explains, the brokered convention concept just won’t work. We just won’t win that way. Maybe he’s right that it would be wrong, too, given Romney actually won the votes.

    I had plenty of that sore loser feeling as the primary didn’t go the way I wanted, but the stakes are so high for our country. The GOP needs to be united or we’re going to have to deal with four more years of Obama. And I don’t think we can.

    And hey, Romney’s already making great decisions. Maybe I was wrong about him.

    Dustin (73fead)

  293. Leviticus,

    You’re a guy still in law school—so why is it some injustice of the universe that you are yet to be able to afford to live in Romney’s neighborhood ?
    That’s like a college kid who works part-time as a delivery driver at Domino’s lamenting he’s yet to be named Regional Vice President in charge of Marketing for Domino’s Inc.
    Or the local pub band who plays for free drinks on Tuesday nite lamening they’ve yet to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

    I know your generation is low on patience, but let’s try to be reasonable in our expectations.

    I think we should judge people by their actions and character—not their zip code or the fashion label sewn into the inner-lining of their suit jacket. There are nice guys and jerks of every social and economic strata.

    The horror stories about the behavior exhibited by many of Hollywood’s “compassionate liberal millionaires” would shock you.
    Harvey Weinstein (who just hosted a fundraiser for Obama in Connecticut) treats people terribly.
    Barbra Streisand does not even want hotel staff to look at her, much less speak to her.

    This DNC meme that rich folks are inherently bad—unless their surname happens to be Kennedy, Kohl, Feinstein, Rockefeller, Kerry Heinz, Edwards, Clinton, Obama, Boxer, Weinstein, or Streisand, et al is just cheesy.

    Romney’s reputation is that he’s impeccably polite toward people, and they can’t find anyone he’s worked with who reports he’s a jerk, or that he threw his secretary against the wall, as recalled-California Governor Gray Davis was alleged to have done.
    Romney is known to have donated millions of his own money to charity.

    Your party re-elected Ted Kennedy for forty years after he left a woman to drown. He even was competitive for a short while with incumbent President Jimmy Carter in 1980.
    Kennedy was worth millions, and he was a jerk. But he was mourned as “the conscience of the Senate.”
    Are you kidding me ? A man who left a woman to drown and didn’t report it to authorities—and not even to the desk clerk at his hotel—until afternoon, the next day is characterized as “The Conscience” ?

    I think that lefties such as yourself often conflate opportunity with outcome.
    Just as in the Olympics there are athletes who are a little faster, more agile, or stronger, there are going to be people within society who perform better than others, and they should be “allowed” to enjoy the fruits of their labors. People such as Romney carry their own weight—as well as the weight of literally thousands of others. His tax dollars singlehandedly pay for all those roads and bridges.

    I do not understand why lefties harbor anger toward people who carry other people’s weight, while harboring sympathy for people who do not even carry their own weight—the handicapped, the infirmed, the elderly are “obviously” exempt from that paradigm.

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  294. one minute Pebbles Long Nose is insulting me about where s/he/it thinks i live, and then, next thing you know its spouting babble like this:

    I think we should judge people by their actions and character—not their zip code

    i submit that the actions & character of this recent arrival deserve the title “mendoucheous twatwaffle” with Nerf swords and cubic zirconia clusters.

    redc1c4 (403dff)

  295. 291. Not the prob Hai. Our organic garden got dusted with lorspan like Friday evening.

    Waiting for sample testing by the state and an independent lab, so no sun for a couple weeks.

    What I like best about the pick is when the scheiss hits da fan we’ll have someone with a brain in the room.

    Not that it won’t be hitting B4 Jan. 20, it will continue.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  296. lorsban*

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  297. I don’t gather Leviticus’ party is Belial’s, rather Disaffected.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  298. At least with the Ryan selection, the American people will have a choice between serious people facing serious problems versus rainbows, unicorns, eldercide and magical cancer.

    The choice now has never been more clear.

    Either way, we’ll finally have a clear answer from a nation of people about the future of the country.

    I know how I will vote but, quite frankly, I don’t worry about the outcome. The final die will be cast and I can live the rest my life knowing what will eventually happen one way or another.

    It will be up to my kids, now almost adults, to enjoy the happiness of freedom or the drudgery of government. They can then make their own decisions about which is best.

    Ag80 (b2c81f)

  299. Oops, I meant to say that I think I made up a new word “eldercide.” Feel free to use it regardless of political affiliation.

    Ag80 (b2c81f)

  300. He takes Charles ‘Mary Kopechne would be happy,’
    Pierce too seriously, but otherwise;

    http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/timstanley/100176259/romney-picks-paul-ryan-for-veep-this-thoughtful-conservative-is-a-cautious-but-clever-choice/

    narciso (ee31f1)

  301. DRJ, JD Elissa, Simon, Daley, Col,

    I just wantto apologize for my comments this week. I know all of you want only the best for youyr fellow Americans and I do too. I just feel that this isnt it. I hope Cruz votes the way he talks and if Romney would finally get out of his brilcream womb and mud wrestle with the obanimation and puin him face down in his hubris then things are just beginning. The courage to be Perry or dewhurst – to be reviled by left and right while saying no to everything isnt for anyone.

    If they win expectations will be sooo high…

    EPWJ (d84fb0)

  302. Raaaaaacists!

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  303. BOUDIA!!!!!

    JD (318f81)

  304. _______________________________________________

    Romney would have to have a heart for Ryan to be “a heartbeat away.”

    Oh, so you would rather that Romney have one of those fake bleeding hearts that limousine liberals (and most on the left, regardless of their income level, do fit that label) love to display to the world?

    Moreover, almost every big screw-up that Republican presidents have been guilty of since the 1930s, including the origins of Reagan and his Iran-Contra mess, can be traced to when they fell for the notion that “heart” is a perfect substitute for common sense.

    Enough with all the BS of do-gooderism and faux compassion, certainly in today’s era, since it now translates into nothing more than a sense of self-entitlement run amok, big-government greediness (ie, employee unions at city halls, state capitols and throughout the federal bureaucracy salivating over their pensions and comfy work schedules), and political correctness off the deep end (Hi, Nidal Hasan and the US military!). All combined with the idiocy and lunacy of a Greece/France/Venezuela/Spain, sprinkled with a bit of the cutoff-head-butchery and glory of a Mexico, and salted with the decadence and dysfunction of a Detroit, Michigan.

    Mark (0644af)

  305. Ok, you’re going to have to explain that one, JD.

    narciso (ee31f1)

  306. “It would be a huge improvement over Joe Biden given how senile he is.”

    from all the way back near the top.

    Hell, there are things growing on damp bread that would be a huge improvement on Joe Biden.

    C. S. P. Schofield (4feea2)

  307. David Boudia is a local kid and just upset the Chinese and GB diver in platform diving.

    JD (318f81)

  308. I enjoyed reading this NYT piece about Romney having a heart (which of course was not their intention – see para 3 – however, it might make Leviticus reconsider his statement regarding Romney’s heartlessness). How many stories like this are there still waiting to be told? Maybe none or maybe a whole lot of them.

    After Romney’s initial investment in five rental properties went south, he ended up holding on to them for more than a decade, often renting them at a loss. The Times notes it’s one of few miscues in Romney’s investment history. When he did offload the homes, the renters were given first dibs, but Timothy and Betty Stamps were unable to get a loan for the home because Timothy had recently lost his job.

    Then I got this phone call, personally, from Mr. Romney, asking if we really wanted to buy the house,” Mr. Stamps, 63, said in an interview the other day at the barbershop he now runs. “I said, yes we did. And he said he would loan us the money. He really helped us when we needed it.”

    Nearly lost among the blizzard of hedge funds, thoroughbred horses and other gold-plated investments in Mitt Romney’s personal financial disclosures, the interest from the $50,500 mortgage is loose change to Mr. Romney, whose net worth has been estimated at close to a quarter-billion dollars.

    Yet for the Stampses, who have been writing $600 monthly checks to “Willard M. Romney” for 15 years, the money they borrowed from him to buy their home in 1997 was life-changing…

    When Mr. Stamps took the call from Mr. Romney, he and his wife, a nurse, had all but given up hope of being able to buy the house they had been renting for five years. Mr. Romney told him it looked like the couple had been taking good care of the property and that “we would be good people to buy it,” said Mr. Stamps. Mr. Stamps said he never heard from Mr. Romney again, and only became aware of who he was when he started running for president four years ago.

    “His name came up somewhere,” he said, “and my wife and I said to each other, ‘That’s the guy we bought our house from!”

    Dana (292dcf)

  309. That’s a very interesting insight into Romney, Dana. Thanks for sharing. I sure wouldn’t have found my way to the NYT on my own.

    Dustin (73fead)

  310. Prof. Jacobson brings us the first accusation of racism against Paul Ryan.

    So it begins.

    Dana (292dcf)

  311. Oh. Dustin, forgot to include the link. I got to it via Hot Air. Here’s the NYT story. The article is better than I wou
    ld expect a NYT re Romney to be.

    Dana (292dcf)

  312. Alright, that’s gotten very silly indeed,

    narciso (ee31f1)

  313. “Anchor babies” is a semantic trap we built for ourselves. U.S. citizens cannot sponsor their parents for a family unity visa until they are 21 years old, and then they wait in line until a visa becomes available. Currently, the line for Mexico is more than 20 years long. A more nearly realistic anchor baby is someone who sneaks over the border and marries a U.S. citizen. In five years or so he/she will be a U.S. citizen and then sponsor his/her parents. But still, get in line.

    nk (875f57)

  314. The anchor baby thing is quite desperate.

    But as the DCCC tells me in its email today, it’s critical to define Ryan quickly to all those who do not know him. To the ignorant, it’s urgent that their heads be filled with garbage immediately just as they managed with Palin.

    It won’t work, though. Ryan has always been a careful and thoughtful speaker. People can see just how authentic and serious he is about the range of issues he discusses.

    Dustin (73fead)

  315. Good point, nk.

    The law is the law, and people who are born here are Americans and may sponsor citizens. As Ryan noted, if the border were enforced it wouldn’t be much of a problem.

    But we need a better immigration policy than what we have now, which is senselessly bureaucratic. One problem is that our economy has put too much pressure on… everything, so the time for that kind of reform is probably not now.

    Dustin (73fead)

  316. I’d read that earlier, Dana, and had considered posting the link, but figured a heavy dose of Acetaminophen and 6 shots of tequila would be a better cure for what ails young leviticvs.

    I do think there are many other similar stories that could be shared regarding Romney’s generosity. But I don’t think it would ever occur to Romney that that sort of stuff could be exploited to enhance his standing.

    Just one more area where he’s a much better man than his opponent.

    Colonel Haiku (487169)

  317. summer lovin happened so fast
    summer lovin candy crowley’s aghast
    cause he had eyes blue as can be
    then she checked out his fiscal policy

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  318. If “anchor baby” as a racist slur is all they’ve got I’m not too worried. It’s about as inane as the “no person is illegal” argument or the “we are not aliens” argument. Not going anywhere.

    Gazzer (0fd2af)

  319. “so why is it some injustice of the universe that you are yet to be able to afford to live in Romney’s neighborhood ?”

    – Elephant Stone

    I have no desire whatsoever to live in Mitt Romney’s neighborhood. What gave you that impression?

    Leviticus (102f62)

  320. that would be so cool to be walking your dog and here comes Mitt you’d say morning Mr. Mitt that was neat how you picked Mr. Ryan and he’d say thank you and good morning to you too

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  321. I guess Leviticus is buying into the lunatic Bain narrative about how they, and private equity firms generally, made tons of money by buying companies which lost money and then closing them, which nets them a huge windfall in some mysterious fashion.

    He does know some fancy words though.

    Gerald A (f26857)

  322. I don’t really care where Mitt lives.

    I do care about this.

    So, who will take care of that? I have seen nothing to indicate the current President will do so.

    I have seen plenty that Romney/Ryan will.

    Ag80 (b2c81f)

  323. No rhyme or reason to his comments, elephant stones, he’s obviously taken a bad beating or three and seems to be overly fond of lashing out in an intermittent fashion.

    Colonel Haiku (487169)

  324. EPWJ:
    If they have a lead they maynot debate or they will have a short debate with Charlie “pound my fist” Rose screaming at Romney’s tax evasion and asking Obama questions like “now that you saved American – could you please save the world/”
    — First of all, the chance that there will be no debate at all is exactly ZERO. Secondly, when has Charlie Rose (of all people!) EVER ‘screamed’ at anybody? And your point about the debate questions being partisan-left is WHAT? that regardless of who Romney picked he would be toast in the debate(s)? Does this all come down to yet another one of your stupid “should’ve nominated Perry” rants?

    Ryan will get picked apart for all his answers they will ask him why he made everyone vote for Tarp
    — Ryan “made everyone vote for Tarp,” did he?
    Since when?

    I can also see why the personal attacks are coming instead of what Ryan actually did
    — Which candidate for VP would NOT be subject to personal attacks?

    Policy wonks never get elected – to emotion driven national office especially in times of great concern
    — Romney is a ‘policy wonk’ now, is he?
    Since when?

    Just Like GWB’s very conservative budgets that never passed that puty Ryans to shame but everyone is convinced that GWB is a Rino
    — Citations, please!

    Bush lost a congress over his sticking to cutting budgets and reforming social security, but we all call him a rino with glee
    — Who’s “we”, binky?

    Ryan is a conservative, he voted for TARP – no correct that – he helped draft the legislation and convinced people to vote it in.
    — You do know that TARP is different than the stimulus; right?

    But sure we cant criticise and if I’m not mistaken, most of the delegates didnt get elected in a contested contest and if they choose – they can – at the convention – pick someone else
    — Gad, you are dumb!

    So its not set – no ballots have been printed and if Romney has problems – which is looking like he may actually have – then we reserve the right to remove him.
    — See you at the convention!
    Will you be the one lurking near the Texas delegation, holding a clicker in your hand and counting Jooos?

    Like Elissa, who only wants the best – I cant help but feel from the responses that everyone (except Beldar) is deeply dismayed
    — Couch that as being what you “feel” all you want. It’s an outright f***ing lie, and you know it!

    Ryan wasn’t going to accomplish anything except tap into the TEA electricity while being the type of politician that the TEA has been looking to send into retirement.
    — They’ve been running candidates against him, have they?

    Icy (ed486a)

  325. the TARP Ryan voted for all got paid back except for the part Obama flushed down the General Motors toilet

    and then as it got paid back Obama frittered the monies away

    but the original TARP was just moving piles of money around mostly just to make people feel better

    not exactly a hill to plant your flag on

    unless you can make the case everybody should have known Obama would pervert the original intent

    which, ok

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  326. Icy… I think PeeWee might be chewing that khat stuff… he seems to have weird dream-like interpretations of actual events.

    Colonel Haiku (487169)

  327. 261. – Steve 57

    u mad bro?

    Comment by Leviticus — 8/11/2012 @ 5:12 pm

    Not at all. I’m just trying to help the Democrats brainstorm what their next few ads ought to look like, now that Romney has picked Ryan as veep.

    Two concepts spring to mind. They ought to show them kidnapping Sandra Fluke and passing her around on the campaign bus from aide to aide like a bag of potato chips, with her only breaks coming when they let her off the bus to force her to withdraw cash from an ATM to make her pay for her own contraceptives and as well as the beer for the crew.

    I also picture the campaign bus doing donuts on the lawn of a black church Ryan has set afire by tossing a molotov cocktail out the window.

    Both set to Led Zeppelin’s immigrant song.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  328. Sandra Fluke is nasty they should kidnap someone cute like one of those girls what play vampires on tv

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  329. ==EPWJ is entitled to his opinion, and I don’t think he’s any kind of moby==

    Dustin –just checking. You don’t still believe in the tooth fairy do you?

    elissa (606e88)

  330. when did this blog become such a hotbed of tooth fairy denialism?

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  331. Actually, they should just make a series of variations on the scene in “Lord of the Rings” where Frodo looks into the mirror and sees what the future will look like if the dark lord wins.

    One with blacks in chains getting whipped by the GOP orcs. One with Hispanics. One with women. Whatever.

    Set to Led Zeppelin’s immigrant song.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  332. David Axelrod is telling me that – “Ryan cosponsored a bill that would ban common forms of birth control, in vitro fertilization”

    Anybody know what he’s talking about?

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  333. 334. Sandra Fluke is nasty they should kidnap someone cute like one of those girls what play vampires on tv

    Comment by happyfeet — 8/11/2012 @ 9:42 pm

    Yes. But you wouldn’t want one of those cute vampire girls ending up buried in the same stretch of desert where Romney’s buried all the others, would you?

    ‘Romney Murdered JonBenét Ramsey,’ New Obama Campaign Ad Alleges

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  334. 338. Anybody know what he’s talking about?

    Comment by daleyrocks — 8/11/2012 @ 9:53 pm

    daleyrocks, not even David Axelrod knows what he’s talking about.

    It’s a skill he’s carefully cultivated. It insulates him from libel suits.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  335. gosh Mr. Steve it’s an ethical conundrum as imagined by m.c. escher

    but if we bury the c.v.g.’s we need to make careful note of where they are cause them one you can dig back up and feed em a pigeon or whatever and bam they’re good to go

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  336. them *one’s* I mean

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  337. Any Republican vice presidential candidate is going to be broadly anti-abortion, but Ryan goes much further. He believes ending a pregnancy should be illegal even when it results from rape or incest, or endangers a woman’s health. He was a cosponsor of the Sanctity of Human Life Act, a federal bill defining fertilized eggs as human beings, which, if passed, would criminalize some forms of birth control and in vitro fertilization. The National Right to Life Committee has scored his voting record 100 percent every year since he entered the House in 1999. “I’m as pro-life as a person gets,” he told the Weekly Standard’s John McCormack in 2010. “You’re not going to have a truce.”

    i think that’s what Axelrod is yammering about

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  338. they should be happy once he’s vice president he won’t be able to co-sponsor silly lifeydoodle bills no mores

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  339. More EPWJ:
    He’s been running for this job since 2006
    — And?

    Romney can raise money – thats all he is doing
    — He’s not winning anyone over? No one?

    Its over – it never really began
    — The polls say otherwise.

    He wasted all his money on bulletpoints to defeat Rick and has nothing left
    — He has no money left? But you just said . . .

    Ryans so called Budget left cuts for decades after he was out of office
    — After WHO “was out of office”?

    The courage to be Perry or dewhurst
    — Wait a second . . . DEWHURST is in the closet?

    Icy (ed486a)

  340. wow getting between Sarah Palin and The Obvious is really taking your life into your hands huh

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  341. Nothing like a link to Michelle Goldberg, who did the ‘Attack of the Christianists’ and getting the name wrong in the process, two bits is about the asking price for the Daily Basilisk.

    narciso (ee31f1)

  342. 341. gosh Mr. Steve it’s an ethical conundrum as imagined by m.c. escher

    but if we bury the c.v.g.’s we need to make careful note of where they are cause them one you can dig back up and feed em a pigeon or whatever and bam they’re good to go

    Comment by happyfeet — 8/11/2012 @ 10:02 pm

    Now, thanks to the miracle of GPS tracking we don’t have to make such careful note. We just plant transmitters in them.

    Like the ones Eric Holder put in all those Fast & Furious firearms. We all know how well that turned out.

    We have the satellite data confirming the exact location one of those guns was used to gun down the brother of Chihuahua’s attorney general. Within three feet.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  343. good thinking now we just need a “back ho”

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  344. 350. good thinking now we just need a “back ho”

    Comment by happyfeet — 8/11/2012 @ 10:12 pm

    That’s not a nice thing to call Sandra Fluke, Mr. feets.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  345. Icy… I think PeeWee might be chewing that khat stuff… he seems to have weird dream-like interpretations of actual events.
    Comment by Colonel Haiku — 8/11/2012 @ 9:38 pm

    — And the worst part is that he has to count two million Persian Jews each night just to fall asleep . . .

    Then, the dreams come!

    Icy (ed486a)

  346. my bad

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  347. Does this make Jennifer Lopez the baby-got-back ho?

    Icy (ed486a)

  348. 353. my bad

    Comment by happyfeet — 8/11/2012 @ 10:17 pm

    Ain’t no thang, Mr. feets.

    I had to restrain myself from using the term “ditch witch.”

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  349. Gingrich: Romney should run as the “paycheck president” to Obama’s “food stamp president”.

    elissa (606e88)

  350. 354. Does this make Jennifer Lopez the baby-got-back ho?

    Comment by Icy — 8/11/2012 @ 10:19 pm

    Just as soon as she testifies before congress that she’s having so much sex she’s going broke paying for her own contraceptives the title is hers.

    And I never took you for a Sir Mix-alot fan.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  351. It’s a little ironic, since unlike Ryan, she had avoided explicit legislative policy stances on the life question, that didn’t matter,

    narciso (ee31f1)

  352. And I never took you for a Sir Mix-alot fan.

    — Perhaps I am just a fan of the same things that he is a big fan of.

    Icy (ed486a)

  353. Thank you,
    on behalf of the democratic party for whom I have only somewhat less contempt than I have for the republican.
    Willard has just guaranteed Obama’s victory.

    still sleeeeepy (b5f718)

  354. Icy, Who isn’t?

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  355. Icy
    Fox new said it yesterday
    100 million on welfare or some kind of federal assistance
    Comment by EPWJ — 8/11/2012 @ 9:00 am

    — Still waiting on that link to the real numbers.

    Keep looking.

    Icy (ed486a)

  356. 300 – gary, Find a new crop duster.

    mg (44de53)

  357. Mr. Feets @344 – OK, so Mr. Axelrod and the fetus flensers are getting cute over how morning after pills and IUDs actually work.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  358. Thanks for dropping by with your totally meaningless ad hom, still sleeeeepy.

    Icy (ed486a)

  359. “Willard has just guaranteed Obama’s victory.”

    sleeeepy confirms Romney made a good choice.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  360. Ditto, they really stock up on the bath salts over there;

    http://babalublog.com/2012/08/they-are-scared-very-very-scared/#comments

    narciso (ee31f1)

  361. Mr. Axelrod doesn’t want to talk about jobs Mr. daley

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  362. And by the way, though the Democrats claim that Romney paid no income taxes recently, under Ryan’s plan that would be a given. Accordingly, by your faith,, Romney must have paid income taxes, but you celebrate the future when he won’t

    Republicans don’t really care about deficits.

    still sleeeeepy (b5f718)

  363. daley, did you catch the whole “I’m not a real leftie” claim from the troll? Silly.

    Simon Jester (74d285)

  364. Sigh. Who knew that trolls could get so tired carrying POTUS’ jockstrap as to make silly claims.

    Do you think the trolls are getting paid? It’s the difference between political prostitutes and lazy sluts, perhaps.

    Simon Jester (74d285)

  365. 366. “Willard has just guaranteed Obama’s victory.”

    sleeeepy confirms Romney made a good choice.

    Comment by daleyrocks — 8/11/2012 @ 10:44 pm

    I dunno, daley. I hear that the dems are working on an ad revealing the shocking news that when Ryan goes noodling for catfish, he first chums the water by gutting adorable puppies.

    On the plus side, he’s not all that unpopular among seniors.

    For even more counterintuitive results, look at Ryan’s standing among seniors. Despite the attacks on Ryan over his budget plan, he’s easily the most liked of the short-listers among likely voters 65 years of age and over, with a 52/29 favorability rating.

    Apparently when Paul Ryan is wheeling granma toward that cliff he intends to dump her over, he can’t stop talking about how wonderful the milk and cookies were.

    Old people like that sort of stuff.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  366. Did you all see Saletan’s essay about Paul Ryan?

    http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/frame_game/2012/08/paul_ryan_for_vice_president_he_s_the_fiscal_conservative_a_republican_should_be_.html

    He goes on and on about unsustainable debts and how it must be dealt with.

    Then he finishes with he will need to vote for Obama again. But in the election after this one—with, and I quote, “…a stronger economy and a runaway debt”? Maybe a Republican.

    I believe that this is the textbook definition of cognitive dissonance.

    Simon Jester (74d285)

  367. Comment by EPWJ — 8/11/2012 @ 6:35 am
    Well sorry for typing to fast but my employees are here but Myself as a father and husband of outstanding women I cannot support somone who ignores the own wishes of his own Spouse and picks someone without a hope in hell of getting him elected
    — Keeping in mind that this is the corrected version of this paragraph, I still have to ask: WTF are you babbling about now? Ann wanted him to pick a woman? Ann wanted him to pick someone other than Ryan (maybe a woman, maybe not)?

    Ryan should have taken this political capital he thinks he had and run for higher office – I hope he does then I will gladly eat my man child insult/fact
    — Start munching, sunshine, ’cause he happens to be on a “run for higher office” as we speak! Last time I checked, VP is still a higher office than congressman.

    Icy (ed486a)

  368. Because his view of ‘austerity’ is raising the tax like the LD’s in the UK, of course, that stalls economic activity, curtails revenue and causes unrest, as with the riots last year,

    narciso (ee31f1)

  369. Republicans don’t are the ones that really care about deficits.
    Comment by still sleeeeepy — 8/11/2012 @ 10:50 pm

    — FTFYSTINLAL
    (Fixed that for ya so that it’s no longer a lie)

    Icy (ed486a)

  370. “Mr. Axelrod doesn’t want to talk about jobs Mr. daley”

    Mr. Feets – Why do they want to keep Obama’s economic miracle a secret? I know Paul Ryan wants to talk about it.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  371. 283. Comment by Dustin — 8/11/2012 @ 6:13 pm

    Haiku,

    How did you know so early?

    I thought so, although not with certainty, even earlier than he did. I thought it now probably wouldn’t be Portman.

    I left the comment late in a somewhat older thread. Maybe you can find it.

    285. Comment by Colonel Haiku — 8/11/2012 @ 6:16 pm

    All the signs seemed to point in that direction, Dustin. And I had a premonition.

    There’s almost always logic behind a premonition, although maybe it could also be like trying to explain how you rcognize a face.

    What started me was the Tuesday, August 7, Morning Jolt whicvh mentioned what Bill Kristol has said on Fox News and mentioned what was in the weekly Standard.

    Bill Kristol thought the announcement would be on Thursday afternoon or Friday morning because Mitt Romney had a hole in his schedule then. He thought also such an announcement would be good for the Friday morning talk shows and he’d also get his pick on the Sunday morning interview shows.

    Then on Friday I thought – this is not happening – the hole in the schedule must have been or could have been for picking or deciding on the vice president, not announcing it.

    I was suprised at the timing of the announcement because I thought: Would he did it in the middle of a campaign trip, that wasn’t in a possible nominee’s home state – but didn’t McCain do that? So that was stupid. I also had bought into the idea that it probably wouldn’t be right now, because since they started naming vice presidents in advance of the convention in 1976 and 1980 only John Kerry had named a Vice President so far ahead of the convention, when he chose Gephardt Edwards in 2004. And so long as a nominee wasn’t named Romney had more important surrogates at fund raisers.

    As for who it would be, I thought it was most likely going to be Ryan. When those other names were mentioned by Kristol,that is, Rubio (or the out of contention Christie) I thought Ryan was the one because he was a logical alternate choice to Portman. And it wasn’t Portan because Portman had said he was thinking about anything, and at this late date he would not be not thinking about it if he was in contention or wanted to be.

    Another way of zeroing in on Ryan is an old trick for multiple choice tests (this works better if you look at the answers before looking at the question) – what choice makes all the other wrong choices make the most sense?

    Portman and Ryan had being interested in the budget in common. And Ryan and Rubio had “fresh face,” “rising star” in common – in fact so did all the other alternate choices like Jindal. So if you ask yourself what choice would have the most similar possible alternates, the answer is Ryan, because Portman and Rubio have nothing in common besides being members of the Senate. (even in this Ryan was also in Congress and served for some time)

    I don’t know at what stage Romney began seriously considering Ryan. Earlier Paul Ryan couldn’t be talked even into running for the Senate – but maybe he thought the primary was too chancy, or maybe he thought House Budget Committee Chairman is better than freshman Senator, with a greater chance of being in the minority party.

    Sammy Finkelman (609c6a)

  372. 1.
    Comment by Patterico — 8/10/2012 @ 11:19 pm

    WSJ editors will be happy. They just got through pushing Ryan a couple of days ago.

    Couple of days ago? That was just Thursday, August 8 (probably posted late Wednesday)

    Also Bill Kristol of the Weekly Standard. Now he’s named two Republican Vice Presidential nominees, although I don’t think his coming out in favor of Paul Ryan was anywhere near as early, or as much of a longshot as his endorsement/proposal of Sarah Palin.

    Sammy Finkelman (609c6a)

  373. when did this blog become such a hotbed of tooth fairy denialism?
    Comment by happyfeet — 8/11/2012 @ 9:49 pm

    when Toluca Lake left The Valley, like totally, fer sure.

    /ask your Neighborhood Council and Tom LaBonge

    redc1c4 (403dff)

  374. Let’s shoot for 1000 on this thread!

    I’m doing my part by directing comments on the latest Ryan thread to this one.

    Sammy Finkelman might call that cheating, and maybe it is. Oh, well, what are ya gonna do.

    Patterico (7dfa08)

  375. 1.
    Comment by Patterico — 8/10/2012 @ 11:19 pm

    WSJ editors will be happy. They just got through pushing Ryan a couple of days ago.

    Couple of days ago? That was just Thursday, August 8 (probably posted late Wednesday)

    Yeah. Couple of days ago.

    August 8 to August 10 is two days. Put another way, a couple, which is slang for roughly two.

    Couple of days.

    Patterico (7dfa08)

  376. Comment by Patterico — 8/12/2012 @ 12:58 am

    August 8 to August 10 is two days. Put another way, a couple, which is slang for roughly two.

    Couple of days.

    hat’s true. A couple is a minimum of two.

    Except that that was Thursday’s editorial (in the August 9, 2012 paper) , and you wrote that late Friday (Pacific time) (11:19 PM PDT)

    On the East Coast, where the Wall Street Journal is located, it was already past midnight. It’s really stretching things to say it was two days.

    A case can be made if we figure from the time the editorial was posted online, which was 7:34 P.M. Eastern time Wednesday August 8, 2012.

    It was 2 days and 6 hours and 45 minutes (54 3/4 hours) till you left that comment.

    But was it two days since you read or heard about the editorial, or did you assume it was older?)

    Sammy Finkelman (609c6a)

  377. The lead Friday Wall Street Journal editorial was also very much worth mentioning.

    It was about Obama’s presidential campaign.

    The Postmodern President / the challenge is finding anything his campaign says that is true

    So Mr. Romney is to blame because of decisions he didn’t make at a business he didn’t run that may or may not have set in train a series of random unconnected events many years apart that included Ilyona Soptic’s illness. Even more culpable is the butterfly in Peking that flapped its wings and forever altered the course of history.

    And

    The same pattern tessellates across the entire Obama campaign….to the President’s serial genuflections about Mr. Romney’s “sincere beliefs” that neither he nor any other normal person actually hold.

    And:

    The point is that more than any President we can recall, Mr. Obama isn’t trying to persuade voters that he deserves to stay in office because of his philosophy, record or positive vision for the country. Rather, his case is that he deserves re-election because Mr. Romney is worse, and he is so very much worse because of things that were invented in the West Wing but are detached from reality.

    Sammy Finkelman (609c6a)

  378. Comment by Patterico — 8/12/2012 @ 12:56 am

    I’m doing my part by directing comments on the latest Ryan thread to this one.

    Sammy Finkelman might call that cheating, and maybe it is. Oh, well, what are ya gonna do.

    No, it’s not cheating, but it mightm ean that it deserves an asterisk.

    Actually, that is a good idea. It collects all comments on the same topic in one place. There are number of little comments I have thought of makin. I will try to make them.

    Sammy Finkelman (609c6a)

  379. 11. Comment by Patterico — 8/11/2012 @ 3:08 am

    Because, but for Paul Ryan, Medicare and all other out-of-control government spending would last FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!1!!!

    Well, actually, Obama would cut costs under Obamacare, only the way he wants to do that – arbitrary limits of payments, and then after 2017, these medical panels to approve or not approve medical practice, is the wrong way to go about it.

    But Obama is not planning on the status quo either, at this point.

    Sammy Finkelman (609c6a)

  380. The drawbacks of Paul Ryan:

    1) No foreign policy experience,. This matters, not because Vice Presidents are so important, but because of the idea that the Vice President should be capable of taking over as President.

    Now actually experience isn’t needed. What is needed is to show some expertise or basic familiarity. This is actually a problem for Romney himself too.

    2) Ryan is supposed to be anti-union. Not a real problem, but the unions will tell this to their members.

    3) Ryan risks stepping on his own lines. The need for limitations on entitlements is based in part on the idea that they cannot continue, and the argument that they cannot continue – Medicare and maybe college costs excepted (where there is inflation) is based strongly on the idea that there will not be too much economic growth (that’s the projections used say)

    Yet Romney and Ryan want to increase economic growth and are complaining about slow growth.

    But if economic growth takes off, Social Security and some other entitlements will not be in trouble!

    They are only in trouble if economic growth is anemic.

    Sammy Finkelman (609c6a)

  381. That’s too honest and subtle a point for the Obama campaign or any of its surrogates to make, but it might be made by the press.

    Sammy Finkelman (609c6a)

  382. We have inflation and/or too high prices not on two major expenses but in three things (all things that are not paid out ofcurrent income)

    Not just medical costs and education costs (which are paid for by insurance or taxes or loans for college education)

    But also for housing.

    Yet it’s almost the consensus that housing should cost more than it has to.

    Because of all the loans outstanding.

    Sammy Finkelman (609c6a)

  383. I never saw Romney the way AllahPundit saw Romney. He is a problem solver, and I believe he has always thought he could help fix the way the government runs.
    That’s why he so easily flip flops on minor things. He doesn’t care. He isn’t an ideologue. He just wants to look at the flaws in the system that keep things from working the way they can, and modify them.

    That’s his history. That’s his skill.

    MayBee (b26c9f)

  384. 305. Another great link from narciso. Journalism still lives in English, on foreign soil.

    The ‘validates his opposition to and dispatches the O’Romanycare issue’ is insight I covet.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  385. About an Ryan-Obama debate: that won’t happen, but maybe Ryan can challenge someone else to debate him.

    Biden actually isn’t such a good sparring partner – he won’t talk much about the economy or the budget.

    Sammy Finkelman (609c6a)

  386. The ‘Ryan is a risky choice because of Mediscare’, a la Trende’s analysis, is just buying into Wanker think.

    Ryan’s approval with seniors is 52 to 29 dis, probably the best on either ticket(sorry Gary Johnson-you just sank to 4% lest you pick Nor Luap).

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  387. The New York Times had a poll (and a column by Charles Blow) on the op-ed page Saturday.

    The poll illustrates exactly what the problem is that Romney has right now.

    The question was:

    Regardless of how you would vote, how comfortable would you be with…

    Barack Obama as President for four more years

    Only 41% said either “extremely comfortable” or “somewhat comfortable”

    Negative ratings, right?

    But when the alternative was asked:

    Mitt Romney as President

    Only 26% said “extremely comfortable” or “somewhat comfortable”

    This is partially because he is new to the scene, and also he can raise his ratings by how he handles himself. But this is his problem.

    Sammy Finkelman (609c6a)

  388. 333. Not mad, ecstatic.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  389. That was a Fox News poll.

    http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/08/09/fox-news-poll-obama-lead-grows-as-romney-support-slips/

    http://www.foxnews.com/politics/interactive/2012/08/09/fox-news-poll-presidential-race/ (26 pages)

    With “extremely comfortable” alone, 21% said they would feel that way in the case of Obama – but only 8% said the same thing about Romney!

    That’s where he stands right now.

    They polled 1,045 registered voters (750 landline, 295 cellphone) Sunday August 5 to Tuesday August 7,

    A separate CNN poll question was about whom do you think will win the election (regardless of how you would vote and trying to be as objective as possible) – it split was 63 to 33 Obama over Romney.

    Obama is still generally expected to win. (although I heard someone say he would lose by landslide. This person also thought Obama had an IQ of 85. When I demurred, he raised it to 87)

    Of course there could be a slightly biased sample there.

    Sammy Finkelman (609c6a)

  390. Comment by JVW — 8/11/2012 @ 12:47 pm

    Moderator: “This question is for the Vice President from Andrew Rosenthal of the New York Times.”

    Rosenthal: “Thank you. Vice-President Biden, in a campaign appearance in Des Moines last week you accused the Romney-Ryan budget outline of ‘shredding the safety net that our most vulnerable citizens rely upon.’ Can you explain the reasoning behind your claim?”

    Ryan would love to have Biden asked that question. It forces Biden to explain, and he can tear the answer apart afterwards. It does require some condensing skills to do so, and Ryan should mention web sites and things as well in answering that.

    Now it’s no good to say it won;t take effect for ten years. The question goes as to the principle of the thing.

    So for Medicare an answer is needed to the question: What happens if the voucher turns out to e too low? ow you could answer the alternative is cutting costs from the top, or competition has worked with prescription medicines or the Obama Biden cost cutting proposals are worse. It neds to be something. It can’t be “Well this won’t affect anybody now over 55”

    Sammy Finkelman (609c6a)

  391. 389.

    1) No one has any positive foreign policy experience. VP ain’t all that.

    2) Public union’s income in WI is 48% of pre-Walker level and no teachers were laid off. Death blow.

    3) As Dusty pointed out, Ryan is simply moving the ball forward in Congress on entitlements, he is not wed to his plan, he knows we will default long before 2040 even if it became law.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  392. Comment by daleyrocks — 8/11/2012 @ 9:53 am

    This selection is going to force the Obama campaign go even more negative and tell even pore proven lies about its record which should make it easy pickings for a higher ground Romney campaign once it can begin spending big bucks after the convention.

    Easy pickings – if the issues can be dealt with with intelligently and somebody can stop the ads from being moronic – or uninformative. A Romney ad now about “war on religion” does not inform anybody who doesn’t already know what this is all about.

    There’s a great temptattion on the art of people who make these ads to not make any claims that anybody would react to by saying “I think the other side’s right” – they tend to be evaluated, I think, irrespective of the truth behind them.

    The failure of Obama’s budgets in Congress, the cowardice of Senate Democrats, Obama’s unwillingness to address Trustee Reports from Medicare and Medicaid about their impending insolvency as required by law, all provide red meat campaign issues that Ryan is in a perfect place to address.

    Ryan will be an incredible asset to the campaign. He’s accustomed to taking flack and giving back better.

    Sammy Finkelman (609c6a)

  393. 398. “Obama is still generally expected to win.”

    The average IQ is between 100 and 105.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  394. 51. Comment by Guy Jones — 8/11/2012 @ 8:04 am

    I’ve played around with electoral scenarios ceaselessly (and you can too on the interactive electoral map at 270towin.com) — even under the most optimistic scenario for Romney, I have him winning the race with a total of only 272 electoral votes — and to get to that total, he must win NH, NC, OH, IN, CO, and FL (I give VA to Obama; the huge influx of liberal young professionals to Northern VA makes it likely that he will win that state).

    I see, you’ve given NM to Obama and Nevada to Romney.

    Virginia is a problem maybe not so much because of some more liberal professionals, but because there’s a third party conservative candidate running there on an anti-immigration platform. I think he was polling around 9%.

    Since they are on the ballot on some states and not on others, that can throw off the projections

    Americans Elect

    http://www.americanselect.org/

    I read, has pulled out of the race so there’s no counterbalance. Although no such sign on their website.

    But they haven’t got, and aren’t going to get a candidate.

    The only leeway that Romney has is that he MUST win EITHER VA or NC — but he does not need both.

    Democrats are said to be very pessimistic about North Carolina – the convention won’t help.

    He does, however, need all of the aforementioned states to win.

    Now Romney has a somewhat better chance in Wisconsin – which was very close both in 2000 and 2004. But the Romney campaign must watch out fror all kinds of voter discouragement, campaign interference and fraud. If the election is very close, this could go into extra innings in Wisconsin, and the outcome won’t be as clearcut as Florida was in the year.

    But all this is assuming it will be very close. It doesn’t have to be.

    By contrast, Obama has the luxury of being able to lose a slew of swing states that he won in 2008 and yet still win by a comfortable margin.

    Which brings me to my thesis: the ONLY rational, sane choice for VP on the Romney ticket would have been Senator Marco Rubio. His intellect and intelligence are formidable and are readily apparent whenever he speaks. His life story and rise to success as the son of Cuban immigrants has powerful resonance for all Americans, irrespective of race or economic status. Most importantly — Rubio’s total personification of the American Dream would have helped to offset the negative baggage that Romney’s wealth (unfairly, but undeniably) causes in terms of his efforts to overcome Obama’s relentless class warfare attacks and his efforts to connect with working-class “Joes.”

    The Romney ticket needs votes from outside the traditional GOP tent in order to win the race. The GOP base alone will simply not be enough; it’s mathematical fact. We need to reach out to voters who are located outside of traditional GOP “hunting grounds.” Ryan doesn’t help with this. In contrast: I think Rubio would have locked up FL for Romney, allowing campaign resources to have been concentrated in other badly-needed regions; he would have brought undeniable appeal to the Latino vote in swing states, as well as some much-needed charisma to the ticket (yes, admittedly, one downside of his selection is that he will upstage Romney, personality-wise, but we just would have had to live with that). But, let’s face it — the demographics of the country have changed — two white guys on a GOP ticket just will not cut it. Not anymore. Rubio would have helped Romney make the race closer — but, even his appeal would not have guaranteed victory; he merely would have given Romney a fighting chance.

    I will support the Romney ticket wholeheartedly, but I harbor no illusions about its very slim chances of defeating Obama in November.

    Sammy Finkelman (609c6a)

  395. 384. Why would Hill take the gambit? She’s left off making herself up, taking a hiatus is a given.

    Barry must fall on his sword, repeatedly.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  396. 367. Kruggie the druggie munches face, his.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  397. 403. “Obama has the luxury of being able to lose a slew of swing states that he won in 2008 and yet still win by a comfortable margin.”

    The ones on the dark side of the moon.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  398. The left is about to go violent.
    Racism will be there rally cry.
    Time for the American people to tell the mainstream media to fluck off and die.

    mg (44de53)

  399. I didn’;t chop off the quote.

    Continuing…

    By contrast, Obama has the luxury of being able to lose a slew of swing states that he won in 2008 and yet still win by a comfortable margin.

    He won by a large margin of Electoral votes in 2008, including the second district of Nebraska (Omaha) worth 1 Electoral Vote.

    What tyou need to do is compare this to the election of 2004 (or 2000, the results were almost identical – Florida of course was not as close, and Bush gained 7 Electoral votes from reapportionment, Iowa and New Mexico flipped from Democrat to Republican (12 Electoral votes) and New Hampshire went the other way (R -> D) 4 Electoral Votes.

    Wait that means your 272 should not have included New Hampshire.

    WIth the current apportionment, the 209094 results would have been 292 to 246. Adding VA to the D column gets you 259. New Mexico I think has 5 = 264. You projected 266 with NH is the R column which means 262. Nevada is 5. How do you get 272-266 in favor of Romney?

    I get 27 with Obama carrying Iowa, New Mexico and Nevada. I think Iowa is also a swing state though, maybe moe than New Hampshire,

    Which brings me to my thesis: the ONLY rational, sane choice for VP on the Romney ticket would have been Senator Marco Rubio. His intellect and intelligence are formidable and are readily apparent whenever he speaks. His life story and rise to success as the son of Cuban immigrants has powerful resonance for all Americans, irrespective of race or economic status. Most importantly — Rubio’s total personification of the American Dream would have helped to offset the negative baggage that Romney’s wealth (unfairly, but undeniably) causes in terms of his efforts to overcome Obama’s relentless class warfare attacks and his efforts to connect with working-class “Joes.”

    Rubio had all kinds of baggage and n real positives. On the surface it maybe looked good but was bad. Ryan on the surface maybe looks bad but is good. Rubio had problems with his biography, and it doesn’t matter anyway.

    I think Rubio would have locked up FL for Romney,

    What did polls (and logic) show

    he would have brought undeniable appeal to the Latino vote in swing states

    No, he wouldn’t help, except among Cubans.

    I will support the Romney ticket wholeheartedly, but I harbor no illusions about its very slim chances of defeating Obama in November.

    The problem is Romney is simply more unpopular than Obama.

    Sammy Finkelman (609c6a)

  400. “Obama has the luxury of being able to lose a slew of swing states that he won in 2008 and yet still win by a comfortable margin.”

    He can lose some states he won in 2008 of course, but what states are swing states depends on how close the race is. What you should call swing states is states that are very close when the national race is close.

    Sammy Finkelman (609c6a)

  401. The end of #403 is a unitalicized quote from #51.

    Sammy Finkelman (609c6a)

  402. The last two paragraphs from #399 are also not mine.

    Sammy Finkelman (609c6a)

  403. I checked EPWJ when I read his citing of a place because it sounded wrong.

    Erick Erickson didn’t object to Paul Ryan.

    The link to Michelle Malkin was to something she wrote in 2009.

    Ryan was to the right of the middle of the House Republicans – he was only more liberal on immigration but drifting right.

    He was more conservative or borders, illegal jobs, the visa lottery, refugee fraud and “rewards” – he was more toward the liberal side on chain migration, worker visas (against cutting them) and amnesty

    Sammy Finkelman (609c6a)

  404. Comment by gary gulrud — 8/12/2012 @ 2:25 am

    1) No one has any positive foreign policy experience. VP ain’t all that.

    He’s got to sound capable. This remains to be determined. If he can sound informed, it is enough.

    Sammy Finkelman (609c6a)

  405. New York Daily News reports Sunday : the Romney VP app sent a notification 7 AM Sat – long after news outlets had widely reported it was Ryan, (remember also the USS Wisconsin clue).

    Sammy Finkelman (609c6a)

  406. Someone writing “Why Romney chose Ryan” linked early by HotAir wrote that the kid is exactly the sort Willard hired at Bain.

    “We pay very well and tend to land the cream of the crop”.

    “He never saw Ryan as a risky choice”.

    Take a gander at the last video, interviewing Turbo Tax Tim:

    http://hotair.com/archives/2012/08/11/videos-paul-ryan-is-totally-ready-for-his-close-up/

    Face Plant and Bite Me are stumblebums, every one, even their die hard fans will be painfully self-aware of the dumbassdom of continuing with these looozers.

    One authentic person, a consumate wonk will allow Indies on the left and right to look their kids in the face Nov. 6 AM and vote for Ryan, eff the rest.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  407. Bring on the pant suit darling, Ryan will take her apart on both foreign and domestic challenges.

    mg (44de53)

  408. 413. “He’s got to sound capable.”

    Personally, I sound out the words as I write. I’m kind of a half-wit that way.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  409. Damn, I feel good about this ticket. Never thought I’d make it to this point. Great pick Mr. Romney. Now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of their party. I love fly over country.

    mg (44de53)

  410. It’s interesting to watch much of the media focus on the horse race aspect of this and ignore the importance of Paul Ryan’s selection on the substance of the debate, other than all the toads who claim that the election of Romney/Ryan would lead to unmitigated disaster. This will be the ugliest presidential race in history: the Tavis Smiley’s, Al Sharpton’s, Andrea Mitchell’s, Ed Shultz’s of the world will make it so.

    John Casteel (7542fd)

  411. Another perfectly good thread shot to Finkelman analyze-it-with-a-fine-tooth-anal-probe hell.

    Icy (ed486a)

  412. Sammy

    Michelle doesn’t change her mind she has always thought Ryan was a TARP loving liberal

    Allah think ryan will lose us our chances to win the senate and hold the house

    People are projecting their hopes – in their analysis of ryan and in the end Allah stated the reality – Ryan is a terrible gamble that the payoff is minor but losing is horrific

    The RomneyRyan express will kill their bounce with some comment in less than 14 days – like the one that Romneys government funded health care tax would have saved that dead women

    then I will be back to collect all of your RomneyRyan broken yard signs….

    Ryans a horrible campaigner – he has run virtually unopposed – he had one scripted moment and that was it

    It was a great moment – but anyone could have done it – opposing the democrats and Obama is a no brainer – except to Romney – but thats right – he’s just another Obama anyway

    EPWJ (2925ff)

  413. I never saw Romney the way AllahPundit saw Romney. He is a problem solver, and I believe he has always thought he could help fix the way the government runs.
    That’s why he so easily flip flops on minor things. He doesn’t care. He isn’t an ideologue. He just wants to look at the flaws in the system that keep things from working the way they can, and modify them.

    That’s his history. That’s his skill.

    Comment by MayBee

    SPOT. ON.

    Colonel Haiku (9e0102)

  414. I’m amused comments under the Allahpundit quote are turned off to keep this thread going.

    He’s right. Romney’s choice has made this election about something important. Romney could have coasted on Obama’s incompetence, but instead he’s going to have a major spending reform debate. That’s why this selection doesn’t seem like a cynical stunt, and seems like a bona fide example of leadership that doesn’t fit with the concept of Romney as simply a good politician that conservatives are concerned about.

    Dustin (73fead)

  415. One with blacks in chains getting whipped by the GOP orcs. One with Hispanics. One with women. Whatever.

    Set to Led Zeppelin’s immigrant song.

    Comment by Steve57

    Noooooooooooooooooo!!! Do NOT try to improve on teh Viking kittens videos!

    Colonel Haiku (9e0102)

  416. Sammy… I was thinking Romney-Rubio until I had my “Ryan premonition” electoral wet dream in June.

    Colonel Haiku (9e0102)

  417. Those polls, were +9D, and +17D, respectively,

    narciso (ee31f1)

  418. “Oh, dear. President Obama’s Twitter feed is a hot mess of scared.”

    Colonel Haiku (9e0102)

  419. Good God! It’s like EPWJ is drunk or on khat. My favorite bit is the claim that Ryan is a poor campaigner. It’s like the troll doesn’t even look things up, even on Wikipedia.

    Second favorite is that Michelle Malkin really thinks Ryan is a liberal, despite what she writes.

    Voices in his head. Or from Axelrod.

    Simon Jester (74d285)

  420. “Let’s shoot for 1000 on this thread!”

    – Patterico

    Why would we shoot for an arbitrary number of comments in a particular thread? What’s the point of that?

    Leviticus (102f62)

  421. I think it’s just for fun, Leviticus.

    However, sources tell me it’s also a conspiracy by the government.

    Dustin (73fead)

  422. Comment by EPWJ — 8/12/2012 @ 6:47 am
    Michelle doesn’t change her mind she has always thought Ryan was a TARP loving liberal
    — From the lead story at MichelleMalkin.com:
    “the Romney campaign made the right decision.”
    THAT would be the important part.

    Allah think ryan will lose us our chances to win the senate and hold the house
    — Then Allahpundit is wrong AND you are wrong for agreeing.

    People are projecting their hopes – in their analysis of ryan and in the end Allah stated the reality
    — Boy, it’s a good thing that YOU have never projected your hopes onto a particular candidate! ’cause that could be embarrassing or something.

    Ryan is a terrible gamble that the payoff is minor but losing is horrific
    — Methinks thou may hath written something quite similar in 2008. Post-election, of course.

    The RomneyRyan express will kill their bounce with some comment in less than 14 days
    — Meanwhile, the Jew-Counter Expres rolls ever on.

    then I will be back to collect all of your RomneyRyan broken yard signs….
    — Remember, you have to go around and collect all of your Perry signs first! [And some of THEM have become very moldy and gross by now.]

    Ryans a horrible campaigner
    — With only seven consecutive victories to show for it. God, he sucks!

    opposing the democrats and Obama is a no brainer – except to Romney – but thats right – he’s just another Obama anyway
    — Romney’s “just another Obama”. If you TRULY believe that, then any hope of redeeming your political soul has pretty much flown out the window.

    Icy (ed486a)

  423. _____________________________________________

    Keep adding your comments to the first Ryan post.

    Good! I like postings being funneled and directed in that manner for topics like this. Helps keep existing, ongoing conversations stay continuous instead of splintering them off or segregating them under different blog entries. I hope you use the same format in the future.

    Mark (0644af)

  424. Catching up with the thread over coffee. How did this comment-

    306.DRJ, JD Elissa, Simon, Daley, Col,
    I just wantto apologize for my comments this week. I know all of you want only the best for youyr fellow Americans and I do too. I just feel that this isnt it.
    (Comment by EPWJ — 8/11/2012 @ 7:35 pm
    )

    in the space of 12 hours morph to *this* comment:

    Michelle doesn’t change her mind she has always thought Ryan was a TARP loving liberal
    Allah think ryan will lose us our chances to win the senate and hold the house
    People are projecting their hopes – in their analysis of ryan and in the end Allah stated the reality – Ryan is a terrible gamble that the payoff is minor but losing is horrific
    The RomneyRyan express will kill their bounce with some comment in less than 14 days – like the one that Romneys government funded health care tax would have saved that dead women

    then I will be back to collect all of your RomneyRyan broken yard signs….
    Ryans a horrible campaigner – he has run virtually unopposed – he had one scripted moment and that was it
    It was a great moment – but anyone could have done it – opposing the democrats and Obama is a no brainer – except to Romney – but thats right – he’s just another Obama anyway (Comment by EPWJ — 8/12/2012 @ 6:47 am
    )

    I speak only for myself but –apology not accepted.

    elissa (594ca4)

  425. Why would we shoot for an arbitrary number of comments in a particular thread? What’s the point of that?
    Comment by Leviticus — 8/12/2012 @ 7:41 am

    — Tell the truth now. You just wanted to beat Sammy and ask that question first, didn’t you.

    Icy (ed486a)

  426. the first question somebody should ask this Mr. Ryan is who best has the knowledges and ability to take your place in the House on budget issues

    I’m very curious what he will say

    picking Ryan was a sign of seriousness… another sign of seriousness would be getting rid of our failed and cowardly boehnermcconnell leadership in congress

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  427. Why would we shoot for an arbitrary number of comments in a particular thread? What’s the point of that?

    Comment by Leviticus

    Cuz it leaves some scratching their heads and gnashing their teeth. Other than that, we just like to piss some people off.

    Colonel Haiku (9e0102)

  428. Icy, a little back-up support for you—

    First, if Ryan is an extremist and his proposals are so unpopular, how has he won election seven times in a Democratic district? His lowest share of the vote was 57 percent — in his first race. He routinely wins over two-thirds of the vote. When Obama swept the nation in 2008, he carried Ryan’s district by four points. But at the same time, Ryan won reelection with 65 percent of the vote, meaning that a fifth of Obama voters also voted for him. (John Fund National Review.)

    The 10 electoral votes of Wisconsin may well be in play.

    elissa (594ca4)

  429. Ryan’s a great campaigner. One merely needs to watch him debate or give a speech to see that. It’s self evident.

    But I have to ask: who really cares about a VP selection?

    I think mostly people who are more informed on politics. People who know Ryan is the real deal. Democrats and Republicans alike respect Ryan’s intelligence and sincerity on spending. Those who have no idea and can be fooled… they weren’t worried about who our vice president was anyway. They will simply vote based on the economy or identity politics.

    Romney’s decision will get out the vote and undo some of the damage from a very harsh primary (from all sides). It’s wisely aimed at those who actually pay attention.

    Dustin (73fead)

  430. ______________________________________________

    I will support the Romney ticket wholeheartedly, but I harbor no illusions about its very slim chances of defeating Obama in November.

    The very fact there should be that much doubt about the outcome in November indicates an assumption that this society has become tilted quite far to the left. After all, it’s not like Obama is competing against an ultra-conservative, meaning it’s not like various voters are trapped in the middle in dealing with a race that’s between two extremists.

    I know if I despised the US (perhaps if I were a power-hungry citizen of China, India, Brazil or an envious, misery-loves-company resident of France or Britain) — and secretly desired it going down the same path as a Greece or Spain, or it becoming a variation of an urban American area like Detroit — I’d be rooting for Obama’s re-election.

    On a smaller scale, I remember snickering at the notion of Michael Bloomberg in New York not getting his wish to end term limits a few years ago and his instead being replaced as mayor by a very generic, faceless leftwinger. Or similar to what happened to London not long ago when it elected a flat-out ultra-liberal Socialist to be its mayor, who promoted legislation that didn’t exactly help the competitiveness of that city.

    When one wishes to crash something, pray for ultra-liberals (eg, someone with the sentiments of “goddamn America”) to be in charge and remain in charge.

    Mark (0644af)

  431. Very seriously, how Ryan deals with Axelrodian lies will be important. Historically, he calmly lays out the facts under such circumstances (remember the commercial with the Ryan lookalike pushing an old lady in a wheelchair off a cliff?). He has a history of dealing with character assassination effectively.

    It helps our chances, I think.

    Simon Jester (74d285)

  432. Ha Ha Ha. Sexy beast Soros (82) is planning to get married to his 40 year old girfriend next year. At least thanks to Sandra and Barry now they’ll be able to afford birth control.

    elissa (594ca4)

  433. Elissa – it was never intended as an apology. He trots that same rhetoric out every single time he goes crazy, and then predictably, goes right back to the crazy.

    JD (142098)

  434. _______________________________________________

    I speak only for myself but –apology not accepted.

    I do admit that EPWJ is way too enthusiastic in casting doubts about the Republican ticket. There is something odd or suspicious about that. Sort of a variation of the meaning behind the phrase of “methinks he doth protest too much.” He either is ideologically schizoid (ie, he’s sort of a Sybil) or is a very clever moby.

    Mark (0644af)

  435. The one adjective that does NOT accurately describe our Eric is “clever”. I don’t think he’s a Moby either, just an extremely narrow-minded partisan. To his way of thinking, Perry was such an obvious choice to be the nominee, every other candidate was by comparison unworthy; therefore, even though Perry is long gone from the race, the trashing of his competition continues.

    Icy (ed486a)

  436. Hey, since this thread has more or less petered out, let’s try to get the Allahpundit thread to 499 comments!

    Leviticus (102f62)

  437. Liberal sock puppet

    JD (142098)

  438. Huh?

    Leviticus (102f62)

  439. one hot mess of student loan debt…

    Colonel Haiku (9e0102)

  440. JD

    Oh my apology wasnt intended to roll back comments

    My apology is for the poor way I present them and the anger this causes – i need to find away to disseminate my concerns without kicking up the usual responses and offending people – something i am committed to trying to change everyday

    Ryan – there is a Difference between capability and electability

    Romney – there is a timing issue – in a depression or ultra deep recession – people in finance, overly wealthy people have vulnerabilities that are beyound their reason or control

    Also we are trailing among women, not picking a woman among the legions of more capable women than Ryan is an unforgivable mistake, I dont care how you spread manure on Ryabns completely undistinguishable record, being not a personal success – he would be the first non-successful person to ascend to the Whitehouse.

    We have to expect more from our nations leaders – there are people who have said the same things as Ryan and written restaurant napkin budgets that stoke the fires of fiscal conservatism – bur getting anything passed is what we call an achievement

    Ryan has and never will achieve anything and he never intended to, if he was this smart and this brilliant – we first would lose him to th private sector or he would have tailored approaches to cut ouyt current waste like Pawlenty did, Perry Did, and several other governors who had no choice and made the tough choices.

    We uignored those and choose as poorly as we could to deliberately lose this race to the worst president ever,.

    Remember, people said the only path Obama had to the whitehouse was a Romney nomination – you know they were right

    EPWJ (8a4ca7)

  441. it’s Marching M0r0ns
    against peeps who want future
    and no gub’mint cheese

    Colonel Haiku (9e0102)

  442. #442… it’s teh Peter Pump Principle, elissa!

    Colonel Haiku (9e0102)

  443. elissa

    Ryan won re-election because he was a left leaning moderate – wait until the you-tube speeches from 14 12 10 years ago get posted

    Can anyone point to anythin in the Ryan budget that would have given any tax relief especially the kind that creates jobs?

    EPWJ (8a4ca7)

  444. Leviticus – I was mocking that troll that kept accusing you of being a liberal sock puppet.

    JD (142098)

  445. Hey I’ve got an idea…let’s find someone who attends a third-tier law school in New Mexico, and ask him if he’s pissed that he can’t yet afford to live in Mr. Romney’s Neighborhood !

    Then we can ask the millions of Americans who’ve dropped from the workforce and don’t even appear as part of the Labor Department’s “unemployment” monthly statistics, and ask them if they can even afford to live in their own neighborhood, much less Mr. Romney’s.

    Then we can go to the Illinois Department of Corrections, and speak to prisoner # 8675309—er, I mean, Tony Rezko, and ask him if he helped anyone acquire property in the “tony” neighborhood of Hyde Park in Chicago.

    Nah, forget it…let’s just write snarky comments about getting this thread to 499 comments.

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  446. Obama will end Medicare as we know it. We need the adults in the room, Romney/Ryan, to have a conversation about the issues, not the personalities.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  447. 421. Comment by EPWJ — 8/12/2012 @ 6:47 am

    Sammy

    Michelle doesn’t change her mind she has always thought Ryan was a TARP loving liberal

    She may still think that his endorsement of TARP was a bad thing – (she never called him a liberal) but in the context of this election, she thinks he is a very good choice. I don’t see why you have to get this wrong.

    Sammy Finkelman (609c6a)

  448. My problem with Ryn is that he took out the private sector as being the solver of Medicare.

    There are two bold approaches that we could take

    Privatize in 5 years siocial security and Medicare

    Get rid of the post office

    Get rid of ag subsidies

    Ryans plan isnt one, projections that last 50 years are not worth 50 cents

    Let him talk about ending social security and medicare/caid and replace it with tax breaks and tax free savings and dividends then see how many people are going to want a dubious govt check or their own wealth creation

    You make the health industry tax free and limit medical and drug liabilities – the cost of healthcare will plummet, the need for free healthcare will be met by a large netwoek of military hospitals that people can wait in line for care after the veterans are treated.

    ryans plan continues entitlements, bushes plan ended them

    Romney’s plan seized private industry like Stalin did the farmers

    I cant express alot of enthusiam to vote for the Commisar and the Kid but I will…..

    EPWJ (8a4ca7)

  449. EPWJ:

    in the end Allah stated the reality – Ryan is a terrible gamble that the payoff is minor but losing is horrific

    Someone on Face the Nation said anything that makes this election about something other than the general state of the economy is bad for Romney.

    But the problem is this: long term issues exist anyway. The tax cliff is this December. Obama’s campaigning on raising marginal taxes, which he tries to pretend will solve all kinds of dfficulties. Now he is not pretending it will stimulate the economy…or wait, maybe he is!!!

    Bill Clinton will make that case at the Democratic convention. That is the plan that Obama claims worked. Not his own plan – the gigantic stimulus – but Bill Clinton’s 1993 plan of raising taxes. Clinton will claim that balanced the budget and restored growth..

    Sammy Finkelman (609c6a)

  450. “Democrats are supposedly happy about Mitt Romney’s choice of Paul Ryan because it helps them transform the election from a referendum on the last four years (which Obama cannot win) into a choice about the next four (which Obama hopes to win by labeling Romney-Ryan “extreme” — the word used three times by David Axelrod in his mass email yesterday).

    But the referendum on Obama has already been held. The 2010 election was a personal rebuke (Obama referred to it the next day as the “shellacking … I [took]”); two years later, the verdict on his performance is, if anything, worse: his approval rating among likely voters is at 45 percent, and 43 percent of them “strongly” disapprove – the same “strongly disapprove” percentage George W. Bush had in January 2009; likely voters want ObamaCare repealed by a lopsided majority (55-39); and Obama has been reduced to claiming he always said things would take much longer to get better, when he never said anything of the sort.”

    http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2012/08/12/obama-romney-referendum/

    Colonel Haiku (9e0102)

  451. teh liar Bill Clinton… he tried to squelch welfare reform twice, had to be dragged kicking and screaming to sign it and then – typical lying Democrat – claimed all credit.

    Colonel Haiku (9e0102)

  452. Sammy,

    you are dodging the facts by claiming the non-sequitar

    when faced with problems, minor problems, Ryan exploded spending without hesitation, nor consideration on its effect upon America yet to end the gushing torrent of red debt spewing from his earlier voting – but his plan to end it is going out to 2050? Why can he not just turn that spigot off?

    Because he wouldnt be re-elected?

    Ryan – is he still running for the house – sure he is – his own private fiscal house isnt in order and he needs a job – he’s got bills he needs to pay

    EPWJ (8a4ca7)

  453. Anyway, this issue of the dlong term eficit comes up anyway.

    The difference between this year and 1996 is that:

    1) Bill Clinton did his attacks the year before the election, and he avoided the media markets of New York Washington and Los Angeles, so many many political people never even knew about them.

    This year it is coming later, and Virginia is a swing state so the plitical class can’t miss them.

    Now it could be some ads are being shown in Iowa and Ohio and Colorado that aren’t showing up in Virginia. here might be a reason for calling so much attention to that “Romney maybe caused my wife’s death” ad. Something else actually is running in Ohio and Iowa and working.

    2) Barack Obama is no Bill Clinton. When he tries lying about the issues, he implodes.

    3) Jack Kemp was kind of a has been and tired by 1996. Also he let all other Republicans be damned by Al Gore’s faint praise of himself.

    4) Paul Ryan is better able to defend his points than Jack Kemp was (maybe Newt Gingrich is even better)

    The RomneyRyan express will kill their bounce with some comment in less than 14 days – like the one that Romneys government funded health care tax would have saved that dead women

    That’s accepting that she died from lack of medical care.

    Debbie Wasserman Schultz talked about wellness visits to doctors. That gets it 100% wrong. What is needed is more unscheduled visits when people feel sick or that something is wrong with them.

    Wellness visits tend to prevent that kind of thing, plus not paying for telephone consultations, plus house calls by nurses.

    Sammy Finkelman (609c6a)

  454. speaking of liars… Debbie Poodleman Shultz

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afIG0Vgd0aY&feature=youtu.be

    Colonel Haiku (9e0102)

  455. Sammy

    Democrats will only have the ability to raise taxs until we create enough good jobs that the core of their voters fall into the tax brackets

    Ryans Romneys rhetoric isnt strong enough on the jobs end and all the anticipated talking about “2 months a yr-untilage 67 then carry the 3, of course divide in the year 2040 by the index located on page 11 theory nonsense – is not going to win over the single 32 yr old mom looking for affordable daycare and a job to pay for it.

    Just sayin

    EPWJ (8a4ca7)

  456. It turns out that Bill Kristol really was right- that the hole in Mitt Romney’s schedule on Thursday afternoon and early Friday meant that the vice presidential nominee would be announced Thursday or Friday.

    Mitt Romney had in fact already decided on Ryan a week ago one paper says.

    The announcement was postponed, the New York Times says because of the Sikh temple massacre. The murders took place in (or next to) Ryan’s district.

    Ryan was attending a memorial service on Friday.

    So the announcement was postponed one day.

    The butterfly effect. We don’t know what it will do.

    Romney telephoned the others Friday night. Word began leaking (at least as to who was not the pick)

    And the multiple choice method – look at the answers before reading the questions – might also be legitimate.

    Romney already liked Ryan back in April. he argued with his political advisers over whether this was a good or palatable idea.

    So the other vice presidential nominees might indeed have been selected as alternatives (wrong answers) to Ryan.

    One (Portman) is also an expert on the budget. One (Rubio) is also fresh face. So are some others.

    Ryan was in the fact the one in the bunch for whom the others made the sense as wrong answers.

    By the way, the Petreaus leak? Petraeus was ruled out and ruled himself out long ago by the way. The leak to Drudge cane from the Romney campaign. We’ve known that Drudge is close to some people in the Romney campaign.

    Just why anyone at Romney HQ had to play this game is not clear.

    Sammy Finkelman (609c6a)

  457. 456. Allah is a left of center moderate. He is occasionally brilliant like Ace, but often off the reservation.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  458. 384. Biden is not going to be replaced. The last time a vice president was replaced by a president running for his second term was 1944.

    Well, Ford also announced he wouldn’t select Nelson Rockfeller but that was well in advance.

    Sammy Finkelman (609c6a)

  459. If Obama is desperate, he’ll replace Biden with Hilary. Of course, one hasto be pretty desperate to be the heartbeat between Hilary and the Presidency.

    Kevin M (bf8ad7)

  460. Bob Dole made a tremendous mistake in resigning from the Senate in 1996. It was stupid and crazy. But at least he recovered by naming Jack Kemp, which brought him back to where he was before.

    Sammy Finkelman (609c6a)

  461. There’s a Perry Mason marathon on Hallmark (HALLD on Comcast).

    nk (875f57)

  462. Obama isn’t really repeating 1964 (turning Romney into someone as unacceptable as Goldwater – very very hard to do)

    And he isn’t really repeating 1948 with himself in the role of Truman and Romney in the role of sitting on his lead Dewey.

    He’s attempting to repeat 1996.

    When you try the same thing over and over again, sometimes you get a different result.

    Sammy Finkelman (609c6a)

  463. “Hey I’ve got an idea…let’s find someone who attends a third-tier law school in New Mexico, and ask him if he’s pissed that he can’t yet afford to live in Mr. Romney’s Neighborhood !”

    – Elephant Stone

    You’re pretty hung-up on that. I mean, being that we’re just talking here. And what’s this “yet” sh*t? Why would I ever want to live in Romney’s neighborhood? Go google “x-files, arcadia” and get back to me.

    Leviticus (102f62)

  464. When you try the same thing over and over again, sometimes you get a different result.

    More pointedly: Sometimes you can pound round pegs into square holes, but mostly you can’t.

    Kevin M (bf8ad7)

  465. i think that’s what Axelrod is yammering about

    Comment by happyfeet — 8/11/2012 @ 10:05 pm

    So in other words, he’s a devout Catholic.

    NJRob (fe68e7)

  466. So, EPWJ, are you now a “Reason” libertarian? Perhaps Brother Bradley would welcome you?

    I would welcome BHO himself, if he became a “Reason” libertarian. (I know, fat chance of that!)

    Ryan, while libertarian-ish on fiscal matters, also has supported some very un-libertarian positions:

    “He voted for the Iraq War, No Child Left Behind, the Medicare expansion, TARP, and the auto bailouts. He’s no friend of civil liberties, either, voting for the Patriot Act, warrantless wiretapping, and the NDAA. (Images like this one are already making the rounds of /r/libertarian.) Ryan looks remarkably like a typical Republican who supported expanding government under Bush and then under Obama came down with “anti-government religion,” that peculiar form of fiscal restraint that hates all forms of government spending Democrats like while still handing out money for anything that involves the wars on terrorism and drugs.”

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (3b09f3)

  467. I don’t know, Bradley. He certainly seems to see the issues with deficits, based on his speeches.

    You aren’t going to get a Libertarian, period. So the choices are clear. What you should try to avoid is the nonsense that calls Romney/Ryan “Obama-lite” or indistinguishable.

    We need the current crew out.

    And Ryan did come up with *a* budget. Unlike the Democrat-controlled Senate. For three years.

    Funny how the press doesn’t seem to care about that.

    Simon Jester (e0230e)

  468. For a more positive view on Ryan, actually in Reason:

    “On the other hand, Ryan also champions a voucher-style reform and other ideas that are excellent starting points. If there is any time to champion free market ideas on that front, it’s before Obamacare is codified. His budget may be wrong, but it’s a lot less wrong than, say, Obama’s proposed budget, which would add $11 trillion to the debt over the next 10 years.”

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (3b09f3)

  469. So…do you focus on the 25% that isn’t what you want…or the 95% that isn’t what you want? Heck, even if Romney-Ryan is 40% of what you want, and the Obama-Biden ticket is 5% of what you want…that is a reason to pull the lever to clear this crew out.

    I see that as the issue in every election.

    I mean, watch how the press will be after Ryan on gay marriage…when actually, his position was no different from the President’s until recently. Jeez.

    Simon Jester (e0230e)

  470. Teh Finkelman Chronicles… sort of like teh ol’ Kiplinger Newsletter without the interesting stuff.

    Colonel Haiku (9e0102)

  471. Simon Jester,

    California is virtually certain to go for Obama. So those of us of a libertarian mindset who live in the Golden State might as well vote for who they really want. It won’t affect the electoral vote.

    The same reasoning applies for those in any state where either Obama or Romney is the overwhelming favorite, who in their hearts prefer a third party.

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (3b09f3)

  472. The one adjective that does NOT accurately describe our Eric is “clever”. I don’t think he’s a Moby either, just an extremely narrow-minded partisan. To his way of thinking, Perry was such an obvious choice to be the nominee, every other candidate was by comparison unworthy; therefore, even though Perry is long gone from the race, the trashing of his competition continues.

    Comment by Icy — 8/12/2012 @ 8:32 am

    What’s strange is that none of the candidates running this year, Perry included, were conservative. Perry came from Texas, but still had a ton of issues. Ryan would be considered, policy wise, more conservative than any of them. But instead of accepting the ticket we have, I just see a lot of whining and gnashing of teeth. This is going to have to be an adult election, no more time for kids crying and whining.

    NJRob (fe68e7)

  473. “And Ryan did come up with *a* budget. Unlike the Democrat-controlled Senate. For three years.”

    Simon – Sammy doesn’t like budgets, so that’s a negative.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  474. Rich Lowry is one more in a long line of opinion pundits who shows Rachel Maddow for the empty pantsuit she is… Woody David Gregory has to intervene to allow her to pick up the pieces of her self-esteem…

    http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2012/08/12/national-reviews-rich-lowry-destroys-msnbcs-rachel-maddow-meet-press#ixzz23LfPVrnA

    Colonel Haiku (9e0102)

  475. #476… Onanism or Die!

    Colonel Haiku (9e0102)

  476. If Obama is desperate, he’ll replace Biden with Hilary. Of course, one hasto be pretty desperate to be the heartbeat between Hilary and the Presidency.

    I don’t think either Hillary or Bill’s egos could handle second seat to Obama in the form of veep. SoS is a different entity. Plus, if Hillary were veep, that would put The Escapades of Naughty Bill far too much in the public eye. I don’t think they can afford that…although, he would bring an amusement factor like no other. There is that.

    Dana (292dcf)

  477. 373.

    Did you all see Saletan’s essay about Paul Ryan?

    http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/frame_game/2012/08/paul_ryan_for_vice_president_he_s_the_fiscal_conservative_a_republican_should_be_.html

    He goes on and on about unsustainable debts and how it must be dealt with.

    Then he finishes with he will need to vote for Obama again. But in the election after this one—with, and I quote, “…a stronger economy and a runaway debt”? Maybe a Republican.

    I believe that this is the textbook definition of cognitive dissonance.

    Comment by Simon Jester — 8/11/2012 @ 11:00 pm

    We all know, or should know by now, that leftism can’t survive without cognitive discipline. We see it displayed all the time.

    For instance, leftists decry the “unequal” distribution of wealth, and demand socialism so that they be put in charge of redistributing it. Yet where ever socialism has been tried, it results in a far more unequal distribution of wealth than capitalism because the socialists what’s in charge redistribute it mostly to themselves.

    And these western socialists know it! And talk about it!

    What’s the term that immediately came to mind when average Londoners were told they couldn’t use all those special lanes reserved for the “Olympic family” and would instead have to put up with inconvenience and gridlock?

    Zhil lanes.

    The special lanes reserved for high ranking Soviet party members and their limousines so they could be whisked by the commoners waiting in their bread lines.

    They know, then, that socialist reality means there is a very wealthy class of socialist royalty, with dachas and limos and vacations at black sea resorts, and everyone else just trying to avoid the gulag while eking out a miserable existence that they can only “vacate” with the help of a liter of vodka.

    Of course in North Korea most people have to get by without the vodka. A good day for many people in North Korea is when they find a few kernels of undigested corn in a pile of horse or cow dung. A feast!

    Meanwhile, chubby new dear leader is cruising in his Benz from one villa to another that he inherited from dear old dad. Where he no doubt keeps his “pleasure brigades” of dancing girls and concubines, also inherited from dear old dad.

    This is the system of “fairness” western liberals fantasize about when demonizing Romney.

    Unbelievable. And they do know it’s a fantasy. Just like Saletan says in his op-ed. He isn’t ready to give up living in his cocoon of a dream world just yet. But after another four years of living in his alternate universe, he may be forced by reality to give it up. He admits that.

    Yet promises first to vote to make the problems he occasionally has to acknowledge are looming in our future much, much worse before voting to make them better.

    Again, unbelievable. What’s even more unbelievable is that someone thought this character deserved a job where he can publicize his lunacy as if it were a valid, thoughtful opinion.

    Of course, that someone is one of the geniuses overseeing the rapid cratering of the dinosaur media, who also clearly doesn’t understand what the hell is going on.

    Which reminds me, isn’t it high time some pro-Romney PAC made some commercials about all the workers whose lives were ruined by the idiots on the editorial boards of the NYT, WaPo, LAT, et al. Guys who used to run the presses, drive the forklifts on the loading docks where the bales of paper and barrels of ink were delivered, etc.

    Just to remind folks that the people who want them to know that Romney is a bad guy are, by the same standards, evil incarnate.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  478. @ May Bee,

    I never saw Romney the way AllahPundit saw Romney. He is a problem solver, and I believe he has always thought he could help fix the way the government runs.
    That’s why he so easily flip flops on minor things. He doesn’t care. He isn’t an ideologue. He just wants to look at the flaws in the system that keep things from working the way they can, and modify them.

    That’s his history. That’s his skill.

    I think so. And, I think this explains a lot of why he selected Ryan. They are problem solvers first and foremost, before ideology. It’s in their nature to dismantle, assess, and find a more workable solution. They almost seem single-minded in this sort of unique focus. Funny how it is the antithesis of the political workings of Washington at large, no?

    Dana (292dcf)

  479. Hmm. So you guys are saying that running a government is a practical matter and not a philosophical/rhetorical exercise in-between games of golf? How refreshing. Quaint, but refreshing.

    nk (875f57)

  480. There once was a guy named Mitt,
    Whose looks were as good as his wit.
    He said, “A king cannot alone be a lion,
    He needs a wise elephant like Ryan,
    With him I know I’ll score a hit”.

    nk (875f57)

  481. My view of Romney is that he is very much of leader, with the attendant consequence of being a loner. He goes his own way, not the way of the steering committee, and in the end he listens to his intelligence and experience and not the yammering of the mob. Ryan complements him.

    nk (875f57)

  482. 483. I think so. And, I think this explains a lot of why he selected Ryan. They are problem solvers first and foremost, before ideology…

    Comment by Dana — 8/12/2012 @ 11:16 am

    This is also how I’ve seen Romney. His history at Bain backs this up. Bain specialized in finding bargains; companies in distress that could be salvaged. Of course, not all could be as the Obama smears over the fact the Kansas City steel mill went bankrupt. But that’s beside the point for the sake of this discussion. Like the companies he used to buy, he sees this country as a salvageable entity he can turn around into a going concern.

    But this is also what’s worried me about Romney. He’s a technician who’ll try to fix what’s broken. And I don’t want a man who’ll try to fix the liberal machinery. That’s always been the dig against the most common type of Republican. They’re tax collectors for the welfare state.

    He’ll work with a Democratic Senate. He’ll compromise on all the wrong things.

    Of course, he’s worlds better than Obama since he isn’t a leftist ideologue hell bent on leaving this country a third world train wreck. So it isn’t like I have a choice.

    The best I can do to do my part to address Romney’s weaknesses is to see that he doesn’t have a Democratic-led Senate to compromise with. Give him as many conservatives to deal with; then he can compromise to his heart’s content.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  483. 486. My view of Romney is that he is very much of leader, with the attendant consequence of being a loner. He goes his own way, not the way of the steering committee, and in the end he listens to his intelligence and experience and not the yammering of the mob. Ryan complements him.

    Comment by nk — 8/12/2012 @ 11:31 am

    In the business world, yes. But he’s not a natural politician. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing all in all. But I wouldn’t expect him to demonstrate quite the same leadership qualities when he’s not in his element.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  484. I believe Ryan will help very much in that aspect, Steve. He has twelve years experience kicking B.S. artists’ behinds.

    nk (875f57)

  485. nk, so do I. I know Eric will be along to say Ryan isn’t a conservative, but I’ve heard him talk about Catholic social teaching enough to know that his isn’t the bastardized liberation-theology infused nonsense you get from a lot of leftist priests.

    Like Obama’s favorite Catholic priest, Father Pfleger of St. Sabines. The priest that no doubt convinced Obama the Catholic Church would have no problem complying with a contraceptive, abortifacient, and sterilization mandate.

    Learning your Catholic catechism from a priest like Pfleger is like being taught the meaning of loyalty by Benedict Arnold.

    We already know Ryan is a fiscal conservative. Given his grounding in traditional, old-fashioned Catholic social teaching (which would make him, if not more Catholic than the Pope, more Catholic than most American Bishops) he’ll be conservative enough on the other issues. Far better than what we’ve had in the WH since Reagan left and the Bush wing of the GOP was ascendant.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  486. Of course all long term budgets are nonsense, and the problem isn’t just the scoring system. But Congress makes it worse.

    Right now the Ryan plan would reduce the federal deficit till about 2023, then it would stay about the same and go into balance by the year 2040, and then start paying off the federal debt, which would be paid off about 2063.

    Nobody can predict five years (Reagan was against these ten year budget projections) and they do 50 years?

    Sammy Finkelman (09b090)

  487. I think (I hope!) Ryan is too intelligent and well informed to believe in his budget.

    I have a proposed constitutional amendment which would make reality the only test.

    Sammy Finkelman (09b090)

  488. On Face the Nation, Gingrich said Ryan listened. (He changed his Medicare plan)

    That’s the problem with honest discussion: You opponent can modify his plan.

    The Democrats would hate to discuss something real.

    They prefer completely made up charges. There’s no chance your opponent will concede the point.

    Sammy Finkelman (09b090)

  489. Nobody can predict five years

    Bull. The only thing unpredictable is the military budget, for a war declared by a foreign power.

    nk (875f57)

  490. Daleyrocks: I owe you a reply on business plans.

    Sammy Finkelman (09b090)

  491. Everything else (I know what “everything” means) is discretionary spending.

    nk (875f57)

  492. SF: “Nobody can predict five years”

    Nk: Bull. The only thing unpredictable is the military budget, for a war declared by a foreign power.

    Nobody can predict recessions either.

    All the projections made in the 1990s and later were way off, and not just because of decisions made by Congress to tax or spend.

    Sammy Finkelman (09b090)

  493. Or cut taxes.

    The basic strength of the economy was not predicted right, and can’t be.

    Maybe you can a little bit if you watch the Fed.

    Now what can be predicted, somewhat, is population. It;’s the most predictable thing there is. And it isn’t so predictable.

    Sammy Finkelman (09b090)

  494. take heart for we work
    for living while teh Dem folks
    vote for a living

    Colonel Haiku (964a05)

  495. Fine. We’ll fight the war with E-Bonds, if the taxes are not high enough.

    nk (875f57)

  496. What are you taking about, Sammy? Government tax and spend is not the economy.

    nk (875f57)

  497. The economy affects the deficits. If it improves, more taxes get collected and less gets spent on entitlements. Of course how the entitlements are written also affects things – some entitlements are like a roach motel.

    The California budget was so off because the economy was worse than projected.

    When taxes are progressive – that is a higher percentage is collected on the top brackets, government revenue becomes supercyclical. (because the income, or total combined income, of rich people fluctuates more)

    Sammy Finkelman (09b090)

  498. “Daleyrocks: I owe you a reply on business plans.”

    Sammy – No you don’t. You already stated they were worthless.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  499. Hubert Humphrey said sometimes around 1976 that a 1% change in in the unemployment rate, changed the federal deficit by $16 billion. It would be much more now.

    Sammy Finkelman (09b090)

  500. You keep changing the subject, Sammy, (or is it moving the goalposts?)

    nk (875f57)

  501. “SF: “Nobody can predict five years””

    Sammy – And actuaries have no business looking at things like entitlement programs, right?

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  502. Let me go back, more clearly. There is never, not ever, ever, ever, a need for a deficit unless we are is a desperate war.

    nk (875f57)

  503. 503. I want to cite a source – an old book about cost accounting. To me it’s basically saying that business plans cannot be made – you can only make what we would now call IF THEN projections. If we sell so much we’ll make a profit. If we sell so much that’s the break even point. If we sell less we are losing money.

    Sammy Finkelman (09b090)

  504. Teh Uncertainty, it kills!

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  505. Comment by daleyrocks — 8/12/2012 @ 12:40 pm

    Sammy – And actuaries have no business looking at things like entitlement programs, right?

    Well, they have to be very careful about not making assumptions, or they’re just guessing. A lot depends on imponderables.

    Sammy Finkelman (09b090)

  506. “If we sell so much we’ll make a profit. If we sell so much that’s the break even point. If we sell less we are losing money.”

    Sammy – That doesn’t tell me plans cannot be made. That tells me the business has planned enough to calculate its breakeven point and has to crank up a sales effort to surpass it. If it doesn’t believe it can, it should not be in business.

    This is basic stuff.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  507. “Well, they have to be very careful about not making assumptions, or they’re just guessing.”

    Sammy – They are actually trained to make assumptions in their models and professional standards govern their behavior in that regard.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  508. 464. Comment by Kevin M — 8/12/2012 @ 10:15 am

    If Obama is desperate, he’ll replace Biden with Hilary.

    No, if he’s desperate, he’ll imitate Lincoln and replace his Vice President with someone who is a little bit from another party.

    Or a certain general who gets appointed to everything.

    BUT OBAMA IS NOT DESPERATE.

    What some people see as acts of desperation are really acts of political calculation.

    He is still leading in the polls.

    Of course as I said on the radio in 1996 on a show I called in election day or the day before: The polls are wrong. The polls are wronger than they were in 1948. But the question is, are they wrong enough??

    Sammy Finkelman (09b090)

  509. And they was true. they were more wrong than they were in the year 1948 when they said Dewey defeats Truman.

    THE SAME ELECTORATE THAT ELECTED A REPUBLICAN CONGRESS, RE-ELECTED BILL CLINTON.

    Sammy Finkelman (09b090)

  510. “He is still leading in the polls.”

    Sammy – Correction – He is leading in some polls when you include leaners.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  511. “You keep changing the subject, Sammy, (or is it moving the goalposts?)”

    nk – No, Sammy just keeps defending Obama.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  512. Just to follow up on Simon Jester’s post on liberal cognitive discipline on display in the press, here’s another highlight from the Boston Globe:

    It’s rare for Tyagi to upstage her media-savvy mother, now a Democratic candidate for US Senate. But last week, the daughter leapt into an uncomfortable spotlight when US Senator Scott Brown accused her of meddling in a voter registration issue to benefit her mother’s campaign.

    As chairman of the board of Demos, a liberal think tank, Tyagi was tied to a lawsuit filed against the state for failing to comply with the National Voter Registration Act. The resulting settlement, reached in July, called for the mailing of voter registration forms to welfare recipients — a move Brown contended was designed to get more Democrats on the rolls before the November election.

    Warren’s campaign and Demos staffers say Tyagi was not involved in the lawsuit and that it had nothing to do with her mother’s Senate race. The Warren campaign declined to make Tyagi available for an interview, and provided only selective answers via e-mail to questions from the Globe about her biography.

    Got that? Tyagi had nothing to do with the lawsuit brought be organization, the board of which she chaired. And the lawsuit had nothing to do with her mother Elizabeth Warren’s campaign.

    And the Warren campaign is hiding her from the press.

    Nope. Absolutely no coordination there. So there’s no hint there was prior coordination between the campaign and Demos. At least, none a libtard reporter can discern.

    While reporting on it!

    I know it seems unrelated to the topic at hand, but it isn’t as it shows the media’s plan to elect Democrats at all costs.

    1. Blame the GOP for every crime committed by a loon like the guy who shot up the Sikh temple.

    The people who are calling Mitt Romney a murderer, a vampire, and making ads showing his running mate throwing elderly women off cliffs when they’re not linking the GOP to burning black churches and Jim Crow lynchings would like you to know that any act of violence can be blamed on Sarah Palin and her inflammatory rhetoric.

    Nuff said on that.

    2. Report that you have the truth in your hand, and are burying it. As this Globe story is doing, and as the Politico did when it reported the fact that the Obama campaign denied it knew the details of Joe Soptics story (headline) but revealed that they featured him in a campaign conference call back in May in which he told the same story (a few paragraphs in the body).

    These people have such low regard for their readers (probably well deserved if you’re talking of their few remaining subscribers) they don’t expect them to get too far into the story before their attention wanders.

    They can say the reported it. Which is technically true. Then move on.

    This is only a slightly more refined version of the patented Gibbs/Carney WH spokesman two-step.

    When asked about an uncomfortable story, claim ignorance about it and say you’ll look into it. When the same subject comes up again, claim you’ve already discussed it and have nothing to add.

    Technically true. You mentioned the topic while denying knowing nothing at all about it. And the lapdog press will do your bidding and drop it. Just as they’ll spew the talking points you issue them in an email each morning.

    I don’t know if this is truly cognitive dissonance, as that requires the ability to believe in two opposite concepts at the same time.

    I don’t know what these reporters believe. I know what they’re willing to say.

    That there’s no reason to believe Elizabeth Warren’s daughter had anything to do with a lawsuit that could only benefit her mother’s campaign just because she was chairman of the board of the liberal group that brought it, while claiming there’s every reason to believe Mitt Romney personally made sure Joe Soptic was terminated and used his Mormon cooties to give his wife cancer because he signed some SEC filings as CEO while on a leave of absence from the company.

    That Elizabeth Warren’s daughter was acting completely independently of her mother’s campaign with no intent to benefit one candidate over the other, while reporting that this denial is coming from the Warren campaign which is hiding the woman from the press.

    I gather they believe each thing as they’re saying them. They believe themselves when they claim to have never held the opposite position.

    And vice versa as they switch back and forth.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  513. MayBee, Dana, and Colonel Haiku,

    I always thought of Romney as a technocrat, too, which is why his candidacy worried me. However, his shift in tone/themes coupled with choosing Ryan as his running mate makes me wonder if he’s also an idealogue. Specifically, I’m hopeful that Romney strongly believes in capitalism and its principles, and he feels threatened by what Obama is doing to our government and country. Of course, believing in capitalism is not exactly the same as being a conservative idealogue, but it’s close enough for the purposes of this election where the major issues are jobs, the economy and the national deficit/debt.

    Thus, when it comes to presidential politics, I want an idealogue who believes in certain principles so much that when the important and difficult questions arise — those moments when a President is prone to rely on his core beliefs — I want those core beliefs to be capitalism and conservatism.

    Romney the technocrat scares me because that means he wants to use government to accomplish his goals. We’re supposed to like it when he does it because he’s a Republican, but I submit that is no different from George W. Bush when he pushed the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 or when Bush followed Bernanke’s advice in 2008.

    I think this could also be related to Eric’s fears about Romney — specifically that Romney will disappoint us in the same way that John Roberts, David Souter, etc., betrayed conservative principles. There’s something especially galling when that happens. We expect liberals like Obama to disappoint us but we don’t expect “our side” to betray us. I submit that the fact some conservatives almost expect this to happen with moderate Republican candidates is not their fault or flaw but the logical consequence of years of disappointment.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  514. Teh Uncertainty, it kills!

    Comment by daleyrocks

    with a certainty…

    Colonel Haiku (9cff74)

  515. Souter was Reagan believing that a closeted homosexual was a conservative. Possibly from his experiences with Ray Cohn.

    nk (875f57)

  516. Hubert Humphrey said sometimes around 1976 that a 1% change in in the unemployment rate, changed the federal deficit by $16 billion. It would be much more now.

    Comment by Sammy Finkelman

    teh Hubert would be “as pleased as punch” if that’s what it was now… unexpectedly.

    Colonel Haiku (9cff74)

  517. Re: #518… let’s all hope – and work toward – giving Romney an opportunity to show what he’s made of, DRJ.

    Colonel Haiku (9cff74)

  518. DRJ

    exactly what Ifeel. Most democrats believe in capitalism, they just fail to understand how its done, and hurt it more than they help.

    Romney used gov to achieve healthcare, Ryans bdget uses govt to reduce the deficit.

    Jobs cures most ills. Reagan the moderate believed in the private sector and defeating communism.

    With Romney?Ryan we have two people who strongly believe that we need gov’t solutions to help us.

    This is not the scenario that can have the most positive impact on our lives

    Will we sacrifice funding close senate races now? Had Romney picked a strong accomplished Woman which there are many, we wouldnt need to be reassuring ourselves we would be on the offensive in blue states

    EPWJ (719277)

  519. “Ryans bdget uses govt to reduce the deficit.”

    ????????????

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  520. 520) Souter came from the esteemed advice of Sununu and Rudman, that worked out great, sarc.

    narciso (ee31f1)

  521. 513. “Still leading” continued.

    As daley suggests this canard has already been decapitated.

    The day prior to the pick, Gallup had Bumbledork approval at 43/51. Sabato published his results on “swing voters”: 10% of the electorate they are almost as negative as Republicans, their moderate neighbors, towards Urkel-14% approve versus 9% of GOP.

    And numerous pollsters had undecideds at 4%.

    So Allah and Sammy think what exactly, 1) that Ryan will swell the ranks of undecideds 2) that the VP will change those disapproving of GayProstitute to reluctant supporters or 3) that Willard’s share of the vote totals will ebb away to stay at homes?

    Now please break the movement down by state, that’s a good chap.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  522. 523. “With Romney[&]Ryan we have two people who strongly believe that we need gov’t solutions to help us.”

    I’m thinking you’re not going to be able to sell me on the second addend of your sum.

    My take is the Ryan will be the strongest personality in a Romany administration, prove me wrong.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  523. 520. Souter was Reagan believing that a closeted homosexual was a conservative. Possibly from his experiences with Ray Cohn.

    Comment by nk — 8/12/2012 @ 1:22 pm

    Reagan had nothing to do with Souter. Souter received all his nominations to the federal bench from Bush1.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  524. 514. “THE SAME ELECTORATE THAT ELECTED A REPUBLICAN CONGRESS, RE-ELECTED BILL CLINTON.”

    Horse apples and oranges. Clinton benefited by the dot com bubble-my 410K never reached that height again-having moved to the center in a big way.

    Those days are long, long gone and never to return.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  525. We all remember how EPWJ supported the last conservative woman VP candidate. Yesterday he claimed no women were even considered, which is Hairy Reed-esque in it’s mendacity.

    JD (318f81)

  526. “Mitt Romney Would Pay 0.82 Percent in Taxes Under Paul Ryan’s Plan”
    http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/08/mitt-romney-would-pay-082-percent-in-taxes-under-paul-ryans-plan/261027/

    Take from the poor, and give to the rich…

    “Economists to Romney campaign: That’s not what our research says”

    With interviews:

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/08/08/economists-to-romney-campaign-thats-not-what-our-research-says/

    Romney acted out of desperation. He’s just going to tack back and forth more furiously now, for and against everything he once stood for as a moderate. And Ryan is a nut-job.
    It’s going to be a fun campaign season.

    still sleeeeepy (b5f718)

  527. “Woulda shoulda coulda” That’s our Eric.

    elissa (594ca4)

  528. WOW!

    Been on the road on the MV, and heard the speculation over a pick on Friday, but was nowhere near a news source (well, I deliberately stayed away) until just returning, and cranking-up the old desk-top.

    WOW!

    Who would have thought that he would “Go All In” on a Veep pick?

    Now we’ll see what an evil world Axelrod lives in:
    After the “Throwing Granny off the cliff” ad from two years ago, many said it would be really hard for the Dems to sink any lower; they are about to show us how low they can go.

    If, after the coming campaign of desperation from the Dems, the American Voter casts their lot with the Dems again, they deserve (in the words of H. L. Menckin) the democracy they get, and to get it hard!

    AD-Restore The Republic/Obama Sucks! (2bb434)

  529. ==And Ryan is a nut-job==

    More proof that Progs do not understand Conservatives or conservative economic policies– at all. “Desperation” is in the eye of the beholder. Progs don’t get that. They listen to Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Rachael Maddow–the left’s nut jobs.

    elissa (594ca4)

  530. It’s one thing to disagree with Ryan, but he is obviously no nutjob. He can offer understandable and true reasons for his opinions. The fact is that many government programs are too expensive to continue as things are. It is nutty to ignore that and call attempts to fix the problem ‘trying to kill’ entitlements.

    There’s nothing nutty whatsoever about trying to budget what we want within a number we can actually afford. Calling that nutty is… nutty.

    Dustin (73fead)

  531. REPORT: Obama fundraiser in Chicago. ‘Admission only $51, but room is half full’…

    https://twitter.com/jodikantor/status/234747381097328640

    Colonel Haiku (52687a)

  532. The “favorite son” losing his shine, Haiku.

    elissa (594ca4)

  533. Crowds Swell at Romney Rallies After Ryan Pick

    MOORESVILLE, N.C.—The crowds at Romney rallies swelled to the thousands and grew more raucous in the wake of his vice presidential pick—and the running mates’ Midwestern roots became a major theme.

    Colonel Haiku (52687a)

  534. Big Zer0 losing his shine in ChiTown… wonder how it plays in Peoria?

    Colonel Haiku (52687a)

  535. Col.–Local news says O gave a 25 minute speech to about a thousand supporters after being introduced by PFluffy. Can you even imagine having to pay to sit through that?

    elissa (594ca4)

  536. I freely admit I have read some and skimmed most up to this point.

    My thoughts on Ryan (who I did not think would be the pick or want to be the pick):
    1- as noyk said, he gets under Pres. Obama’s skin like few other people, which as we all know leads to some very entertaining visuals
    2- as also alluded to by someone, it shows me that Romney is serious about governing the country and getting elected through discussing substance and facing facts, not playing politics for the sake of getting power.

    I think the discussion over this pick here on this website and elsewhere confirms opinions as to who to take seriously as thoughtful people who want to address the country’s problems, and those who have another agenda. Even if one doesn’t like the pick or has strong disagreements with Ryan, if you can’t discuss the pick with reason and good will you just aren’t serious.

    Only someone seriously interested in reality and truth or the best psychological manipulator in history would stake his political capital and future on the kind of budget plans Ryan is known for. I don’t think he is that brilliant of a manipulator, but someone serious about making the country work.

    I think the major question is how many people are convinced to come out and vote with some glimpse of reality as opposed to how many want to listen to the siren’s song.

    MD in Philly (9fa3fb)

  537. Comment by Colonel Haiku — 8/12/2012 @ 2:57 pm

    The report I heard said traffic was so backed up people left their cars on the road and walked the rest of the way to get there.

    MD in Philly (9fa3fb)

  538. Ryan as VP gives me hope, but don’t discount the ability of the average Dem to ignore inconvenient facts. My parents are very intelligent people (father is an internationally known expert in his scientific field) but if you bring up the inability of us to continue paying for these entitlements, they just start spouting the party line about how “Republicans just want to cut taxes for the rich. They don’t care about the poor or the middle class.” They can accept any single fact on the economy, but when you ask them to string them together and come up with the logical conclusion, their eyes glaze over, and if we just elect the Dems again and raise taxes on the rich all will be well in the world. Point out that most companies will drop insurance and pay the fine if Øcare stays put and all my mother can say is “no company that wants to keep good employees will do that”. or “It won’t happen, Americans wouldn’t stand for it”. Show her the various surveys which show that indeed the majority of companies will do this, and she just denies it, and goes on. She can’t explain why they wouldn’t do something that will make it easier to stay solvent, so since it goes against her personal ideology, she pretends it doesn’t exist.

    I’m afraid we’re going to have to deal with a lot of willful blindness the next few months.

    LibraryGryffon (7c94db)

  539. Col.–Local news says O gave a 25 minute speech to about a thousand supporters after being introduced by PFluffy. Can you even imagine having to pay to sit through that?

    Comment by elissa

    I can’t even imagine sitting thru it, let alone paying for teh pain, elissa.

    Colonel Haiku (52687a)

  540. back in teh day, I wouldn’t pay to see the Black Moses – Isaac Hayes – and he had real talent. I could never sit still for the Black Jesus.

    Who has none to speak of…

    Colonel Haiku (52687a)

  541. Party of Reform
    versus Kick-Teh-Can Party
    real as real can get

    Colonel Haiku (52687a)

  542. I know it… you know
    it, American peeps?… well
    let’s just hope they do

    Colonel Haiku (52687a)

  543. 535. It’s one thing to disagree with Ryan, but he is obviously no nutjob. He can offer understandable and true reasons for his opinions. The fact is that many government programs are too expensive to continue as things are. It is nutty to ignore that and call attempts to fix the problem ‘trying to kill’ entitlements.

    There’s nothing nutty whatsoever about trying to budget what we want within a number we can actually afford. Calling that nutty is… nutty.

    Comment by Dustin — 8/12/2012 @ 2:43 pm

    Like the troll who called Ryan a nutjob, the Obama campaign will have to resort to even more obvious, moonbat crazy lies.

    I am convinced the dems chose DWS to head the DNC for the above reasons. They realized that defending Obama would require preposterous lies in biblical proportions, and only DWS was industrial grade stupid enough for the task.

    Have you seen DWS’s latest highlight film? She tells an interviewer on TV that she doesn’t know the party affiliation of the people at Priorities USA, the people who put out that despicable ad accusing Mitt Romney of killing Joe Soptic’s wife.

    Not even the media can deal with this with a straight face. Bill Burton, former Obama admin assistant press secretary and 2008 campaign official, runs the PAC. Paul Begala, former Clinton administration official, is his senior advisor. And Obama campaign and administration officials have been participating in the PAC’s fundraisers since February. (Hmm, when the PAC says it filmed the Soptic ad; coincidence?)

    And as far as DWS is concerned, she doesn’t know Priorities USA’s affiliation. She thinks this is believable.

    Oh, and then she goes on to embrace the ad and all its attendant lies.

    The people who picked DWS to head the DNC realized they had no one with the acting ability to play a role requiring them to look that stupid and oblivious. Which I’m sure they thought might be a problem until they realized they had several candidates who wouldn’t have to act. They really are that stupid and oblivious. DWS was the cream of the crop, so to speak.

    The Soptic ad was bad; a negative for Obama. But it won’t be the worst. Not by a long shot. The lies will get worse, ever more unbelievable, and DWS will defend the party while convincing herself she’s not coming across like a bad Hollywood caricature of a snake oil huckster.

    Also, the denials that the campaign(s) and the party have nothing to do with the blatant disgusting smears will be ever more transparent.

    So we’ll be treated to more press coverage like that Boston Globe report about how Elizabeth Warren’s daughter denied the non-profit that she headed sued the state to register welfare beneficiaries to vote in order to benefit her mother’s campaign.

    A denial issued via the campaign. Which is making the daughter unavailable to the press for further comment.

    Basically, the press is OK with the democratic party and democratic candidates lying to them. To the point where they’ll actually mention the reasons a sentient being would strongly suspect these democratic party animals are lying through their teeth.

    Right before unquestioningly printing their press releases.

    So they probably don’t see anything nutty about all this, as they all issue from the same nuthouse as still cooooomatose.

    It is entertaining though.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  544. LibraryGryffon:

    I’m afraid we’re going to have to deal with a lot of willful blindness the next few months.

    Not to mention a few more years … or even decades.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  545. Another thing about the Ryan pick, IMO, is it shows a seriousness about what to do after the election. Elections have consequences karma. Romney/Ryan getting elected with a serious discussion about the future of the country suggestions the oft-wished mandate to fulfill campaing promises.

    In some ways it is a very simple comparison- do you want people running the country who are so irresponsible that they ignore the practical and legal necessities to even propose a serious budget, or people serious about being realistic about the budget now instead of more “kicking it down the road”?

    Do you want someone who disrespects Churchill and insults allies by returning his bust, or someone who quotes Churchill, “Today we need to take new inspiration from Churchill the leader, who saw what was at stake in the choices the people of his country had to make. For we are in our own ‘Churchillian moment’ – threatened, not by foreign aggression, but by a titanic fiscal imbalance that has the potential to crush America’s prosperity and diminish its capacity to lead the world.”
    http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/08/our-churchillian-moment.php

    In addition, it appears that if Hitler had a fit about Palin being picked as a VP choice, hegoes frighteningly berserk over Ryan:
    http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/08/hitler-finds-out-ryan-is-the-vp-pick.php

    MD in Philly (9fa3fb)

  546. You’re right, Steve.

    The contrast between Paul Ryan and DWS is, on its own, incredibly entertaining.

    That’s who the democrats wanted to represent themselves with?

    I hadn’t really considered this, but by elevating Ryan, Romney has selected an excellent representative of the conservative movement. He is reliable in a way Biden or Barney Frank never would be.

    But then, all Ryan has to do is honestly explain our problems and the most practical solutions he is aware of. He doesn’t need the moral gymnastics DWS or other Obama supporters require, so he’s got a serious advantage.

    the blatant disgusting smears will be ever more transparent.

    I hope you’re right. I think you’re right. The way Palin was treated has impressed me with the left’s remaining ability to smear people, but I think it will be quite difficult to convince people Ryan is evil or racist or stupid (those seem to be the typical memes).

    Dustin (73fead)

  547. The people who picked DWS to head the DNC realized they had no one with the acting ability to play a role requiring them to look that stupid and oblivious. Which I’m sure they thought might be a problem until they realized they had several candidates who wouldn’t have to act. They really are that stupid and oblivious.
    Comment by Steve57 — 8/12/2012 @ 3:42 pm

    I will not directly say that I disagree with you, but the alternative is that they have people who are that willing to tell lies, which would often be thought of as a sociopathic “virtue”. Personally, I think I would rather be that dumb instead of that dishonest.

    MD in Philly (9fa3fb)

  548. Doc, I will not directly say that I disagree with you, but I will point out that stupid and sociopathic are not necessarily mutually exclusive traits.

    I’m sure DWS is willing to tell lies in oil tanker type volumes.

    But for some reason I can’t fathom she seems to have convinced herself she’s really good at it. That’s where the industrial grade stupid comes to the fore, in my opinion. In that video I linked to, the interviewer basically asks her, “do you really expect me to buy that crap?”

    And she essentially answers, “of course I do.”

    She’s lying. She knows she’s lying. And she comes across as if she’s totally convinced no one else will ever figure it out.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  549. I see your point, MD.

    Some of them really are that dumb. Joe Biden is a great example, and this is why he occasionally sticks his foot in his mouth.

    Some of them are simply so sure of the overall righteousness of the democrat party that they resort to smears and deceptions.

    But our real tyrant is voter apathy. That’s why I’m inspired by the Ryan selection. If this country has any hope at all, then a sincere debate on spending and entitlements will shake enough people to actually get things fixed. There’s no other way.

    Dustin (73fead)

  550. Personally, I think I would rather be that dumb instead of that dishonest.

    If I had to pick, I’d do the same.

    But thanks to the DNC and the miracle that is DWS, we have living proof periodically broadcast to the world that not everyone is required to make that choice.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  551. for some reason I can’t fathom she seems to have convinced herself she’s really good at it.

    I’ve had a similar impression. She doesn’t come across well at all, partly because she thinks here routine is effective. It’s fairly entertaining.

    Dustin (73fead)

  552. Well it’s the George Costanza problem, Dustin, I think they have internalized the meme, so it isn’t a lie to them,

    narciso (ee31f1)

  553. it’s the George Costanza problem

    Yep.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vn_PSJsl0LQ

    Dustin (73fead)

  554. If there is cosmic justice/karma, DWS will lose her seat this Nov.

    AD-Restore The Republic/Obama Sucks! (2bb434)

  555. ==I will not directly say that I disagree with you, but the alternative is that they have people who are that willing to tell lies, which would often be thought of as a sociopathic “virtue”. ==

    I believe they have much bigger problem. They have no farm team–no emerging brainpower–no rising stars. Go ahead and try to name two or three rising stars in the Democratic Party who can (or will) go on air and be able to speak intelligently and authoritatively. People for their future. You can’t. Their “stars” are all tired aging boomers or septuagenarians. Why do you think Axelrod has to run back and forth between studios on Sunday mornings? They have no “trustworthy” surrogates who are actually elected officials. DWS is the best they can do from the current congress and statehouse crop?

    Look at all team R’s terrific up-and-comers inside our big tent. Look for some-any-from their side. Well, I guess Castro is still hanging around at age 85. Maybe that’s their inspiration.

    elissa (594ca4)

  556. But Steve’s description is illustrated here.

    How do you come back from fooling yourself into believing you’re not lying?

    Dustin (73fead)

  557. They have no farm team–no emerging brainpower–no rising stars.

    VERY true. Romney had a lot of choices here.

    And it’s very early yet. The real shift was in 2010, after all. We have Walker, Rubio, Christie, Cruz… many more rising stars.

    The democrats have… Obama basically as far as new blood goes. That was part of the reason he was surprisingly able to win the nomination.

    Dustin (73fead)

  558. they have that fluffernutter guy what’s gonna speak at their convention

    it was on npr

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  559. narciso, I’d agree as long as we settle on terms. The meme is the Stalinist version of truth. A lie in service to the truth is the truth.

    It’s like Dan Rather’s fake but accurate report based upon a forged TANG memo. It doesn’t matter if the memo was a forgery, and that his story was based upon a lie. As far as Dan Rather’s concerned, the story was true. So, what’s the problem if they have to manufacture the evidence to support a true story?

    Or, as so often is the case, bury the evidence if it’ll hurt Barack Obama, liberal Messiah, and his chances of reelection.

    Like the Rasheed Khalidi tape the LAT has locked in its vault.

    I’m sure Levrenty Beria was convinced he never told a lie in his whole life. Right up until the system he propped up put a bullet into the back of his skull in gratitude.

    Only in terms of socialist morality can DWS be said not to be lying. She is merely concealing unhelpful bourgeois facts while serving in the vanguard of the revolution.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  560. JD

    My views are known and were expressed after she lost her bid

    I did want her to run for the senate and still do

    EPWJ (2a58f7)

  561. 563. they have that fluffernutter guy what’s gonna speak at their convention

    it was on npr

    Comment by happyfeet — 8/12/2012 @ 4:14 pm

    In preparation for his comeback, former Rep. Anthony Weiner will be sending out a special Tweet illustrating his support and enthusiasm for the party’s ticket.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  562. EWPJ:

    it was unexcusable to not even consider all of the accomplished women out there.

    That in itself is a reason to diregard Romney as a serious candidate

    We had a strong woman candidate but some cowardly establishment Republicans joined with the Democrats to trash her reputation. Thanks to them, my guess is there won’t be very many opportunities for women in the next 5-10 years.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  563. It’s a YouTube parody, bye the bye.

    But you still may not want to go there if you’re really sensitive.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  564. Top Comments

    only an idiot would believe at this point that his account was “hacked”.

    – ramrants in reply to milowent (Show the comment) 1 year ago 53

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  565. Thanks to them, my guess is there won’t be very many opportunities for women in the next 5-10 years.

    I had never considered this. Has 2008 made it less likely for another woman to be our presidential nominee or the VP selection?

    Probably.

    But didn’t Romney consider Condi? Should Romney consider more women simply because they are women? I would like Romney to consider people based on their merit. His Ryan selection suggests he had merit very high on his list of priorities.

    And Romney’s the GOP nominee. There is no question as to his seriousness as a candidate. It was a tough primary. No one was going to emerge triumphant from that without being a serious candidate.

    I don’t understand the point in trashing Romney now. Many sincere and patriotic people had reservations during the primary, but we all know we’re in for a tough, tough general election requiring a unified GOP (And yes, that includes activists in non-swing states!). We all know it. So are we serious about beating Obama or not? It’s time to start seeing what’s right about this ticket.

    Dustin (73fead)

  566. Has 2008 made it less likely for another woman to be our presidential nominee or the VP selection?

    Probably.

    no Mr. Dustin the next one has to be qualified for reals is all

    Condi woulda cleared that bar easy peasy

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  567. Dustin–if Gingrich and Pawlenty can support (even stump for) Romney now, one would certainly think that EPWJ might try to find a way.

    elissa (594ca4)

  568. I hope you’re right, Happyfeet (disagreement aside).

    I think our culture is ridiculous about identity politics. The next black candidate will be compared to Obama. Ryan and Romney will be considered ‘white guys’. Bachmann will be compared to Palin. There is no justifiable reason for this.

    BTW, though I’m a fan of Condi, she wasn’t as prepared for the presidency as Palin. Executive leadership experience and conservative principles are important credentials.

    Dustin (73fead)

  569. in point of fact Romney is a mormon actually (it was on NPR) if he wants to run as a white guy he’ll have to drink beer

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  570. if Gingrich and Pawlenty can support (even stump for) Romney now

    I’m not surprised that these men love this country enough to put the primary behind them. It is an impressive display of patriotism that reminds me of Romney making some compelling arguments for Mccain after the 2008 primary.

    Let’s all recognize that this is going to be a hard won election. We need a unified GOP that is spirited and motivated to get the vote out. That includes attitudes from folks who think their non-swing state vote is an excuse to not get on board. It’s not. We need to win this.

    Dustin (73fead)

  571. Thanks to them, my guess is there won’t be very many opportunities for women in the next 5-10 years.

    I think the issue will be as much women won’t want to take those opportunities as the lack of opportunity. Smart conservative women saw what the media did to Palin, and what the party let them get away with, and we’re all thinking, why the hell would we put ourselves and our families through that? Especially if we have children who haven’t left the nest yet?

    I know I certainly would think a lot more than twice, and would probably turn down such an opportunity.

    LibraryGryffon (7c94db)

  572. ==though I’m a fan of Condi, she wasn’t as prepared for the presidency as Palin==

    I do believe that Romney considered Condi. One could argue that Condi doesn’t have the personality for campaigning or the killer instinct/social attributes of a Palin. She’s more cerebral. But Condi’s many years of statecraft, and foreign relations experience, and knowledge of world politics and history does put her in pretty rarefied air. Hard to compare the two IMO.

    elissa (594ca4)

  573. Marco Rubio and Bobby Jindal also expressed support for Paul Ryan and Romney-Ryan. This doesn’t surprise me but I thought I’d mention it since we’re naming people who were passed over for VP.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  574. You don’t turn down a chance to be VP. If you do, you probably aren’t going to be a politician.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  575. Or you think the ticket is going to lose.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  576. But Condi’s many years of statecraft, and foreign relations experience, and knowledge of world politics and history does put her in pretty rarefied air. Hard to compare the two IMO.

    Both are great points.

    There are areas where Condi blows a whole lot of folks out of the water. Almost everyone in the world, even. Her depth of knowledge is indeed rare, and it pertains to some of the most important issues a president would have to consider.

    One could argue that Condi doesn’t have the personality for campaigning or the killer instinct/social attributes of a Palin.

    It’s hard to say, but that would be my guess. She isn’t a politician, so we wouldn’t know.

    Anyway, I’m a fan of both of them. I think Ryan is a better choice than either, but that’s not saying much as I think Ryan was the best choice period.

    Dustin (73fead)

  577. DRJ

    All the more reason to not spin Ryan

    The women of America do not look at a shrine of governor Palin and whine – they go out and do great things despite her not because of her.

    EPWJ (2a58f7)

  578. A lot of people gave Sarah Palin credit for Ted Cruz’s win in Texas, but I disagreed because Texas is such a red state. We didn’t need a national figure telling us how serious things are and that we need conservative solutions and politicians.

    However, I absolutely give Palin credit for helping change the national dialogue to a fiscally conservative/Tea Party debate. I even give her some credit for the fact that putting Ryan on this ticket was feasible, desirable, or necessary.

    But all the blame goes to Obama for getting us in such a deep hole.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  579. He is still leading in the polls.

    Sammy, which polls? The ones that value their name like Gallup or Rasmussen? 46-46 & 46-44 (Romney) today.

    Or do you mean the ones that take 38% D’s and 25% R’s and find the President leading by 10%?

    Kevin M (bf8ad7)

  580. Wow. Ted Cruz nominated and Paul Ryan selected.

    It’s been a great couple of weeks for me, as far as political news goes.

    Dustin (73fead)

  581. EPWJ,

    I must have missed the official Republican women’s shrine and whine-fest, and I don’t think the women commenters here are the ones who are whining.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  582. Gov. Romney showed his leadership by not taking the p.c. avenue.
    He picked who he thought was best for us.

    mg (44de53)

  583. There is a real life character, like our Jakarta junketer, a used car dealer, Andrew Halcro who ran against Palin, garnered 9% of the vote, but hammered her incessantly from his radio show, helped promote the tasergate, and even the earliest
    of the Trig denialist rumors,

    narciso (ee31f1)

  584. == I don’t think the women commenters here are the ones who are whining.==

    Heh, DRJ— as always you are the the master of subtlety and understatement.

    elissa (594ca4)

  585. You don’t turn down a chance to be VP. If you do, you probably aren’t going to be a politician.

    Comment by DRJ — 8/12/2012 @ 4:51 pm

    Not disagreeing with you, though I am one at the local level at the moment.

    But this sort of crap certainly makes me think twice about trying to move up the food chain, so to speak. Right now I suspect we are turning a lot of capable women off from running, because they are smart enough to read the message that unless you are a democrat woman, you and your entire family will . be . destroyed . and virtually no one will defend you.

    I was talking about national stuff with my 14yo daughter earlier this year and, bless her, she asked why I didn’t run for President. I told her what the media had done to Palin, and more importantly to her family, and asked if she thought she could deal with that sort of stuff.

    She hasn’t asked why I’m not trying to run for higher level office right now.

    LibraryGryffon (7c94db)

  586. You don’t turn down a chance to be VP. If you do, you probably aren’t going to be a politician.

    Or you think the ticket is going to lose.

    So, if asked, what would Hillary do?

    Kevin M (bf8ad7)

  587. Recall the absolute flood and subsequent wipeout in 2010. I sincerely think that our side is way more psyched-up than the Left is during this cycle. I sincerely think it is going to be a landslide.

    mouell@msn.com (57cfea)

  588. Obama has his birthday celebration at his home in Chicago. Only $40K to attend. What a guy!

    PatAZ (5ef80e)

  589. Kevin,

    I don’t know what Hillary would do, but the prospect of a President Hillary scares me even more than Obama — and he scares me a lot.

    LibraryGryffon,

    Kudos to you for getting in the political arena. I’m not directing this at you but, in general, I think you’re right that some women would be wary of what politics would do to their families. Thus, some might delay getting involved until their children were grown, or some might delay starting a family, or (like you) some might get involved but avoid taking the next steps.

    Of course, there are parallels to this phenomenon in business, too. My field of law sees the same patterns with women attorneys, as does medicine and probably other fields, too. So I’m not sure this is a result of Palin as much as women’s inclination to give family issues more weight than most men.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  590. Hillary is hugely popular among hispanics in a way food stamp can only dream of

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  591. There are parallels in business, too. My field of law sees the same patterns, as does medicine and probably other fields, too. So I’m not sure this is a result of Palin as much as women’s inclination to give family issues more weight than most men.

    Comment by DRJ — 8/12/2012 @ 5:23 pm

    I’m sure that’s part of it. But the attempted destruction of Palin’s family has to be part of the calculus of any woman looking to run for something other than local office. It’s in addition to the regular family issues which she would be considering in any other career path.

    LibraryGryffon (7c94db)

  592. But wouldn’t every Republican running for national office feel that concern for their family — that they and their family are likely to be targeted mercilessly? It’s not just women candidates who have to worry.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  593. EPWJ, your comments are not becoming more valued.

    SPQR (388d92)

  594. But wouldn’t every Republican running for national office feel that concern for their family — that they and their family are likely to be targeted mercilessly? It’s not just women candidates who have to worry.

    Comment by DRJ — 8/12/2012 @ 5:39 pm

    True to an extent, but we haven’t seen Romney’s children attacked the way Palin’s were. We’ll have to wait and see what the media and the various progressive/democrat attack dogs try to do to Ryan’s family, and more importantly what the the republican political establishment lets them get away.

    LibraryGryffon (7c94db)

  595. At some point the people will have to take down the m.s.m.

    mg (44de53)

  596. Comment by elissa — 8/12/2012 @ 4:49 pm

    “Rarified air?”
    You bet, she joins a small number of SecState’s that have minimal successes to talk about.
    Her tenure as National Security Advisor, and as the SecState, were – if not disasters – at a minimum VERY Disappointing!

    AD-Restore The Republic/Obama Sucks! (2bb434)

  597. Palin and family’s crucifixion represented the desperate yet vapid world of a rapid media who carries water for the opposition and grabbed at anything to destroy her: her physical attractiveness (did you ever hear Andrea Mitchell, Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, etc., say anything positive about her?) blue collar family, peculiar and somewhat grating cadence and syntax, even her Downs Syndrome child was fair game.

    Any conservative woman who goes into national politics clearly knows that nothing is off limits, no matter the outcry. The cruelty toward Palin became the modern standard. So I believe any woman entering the arena above local level, should definitely think twice about the price.

    Dana (292dcf)

  598. LibraryGryffon,

    I agree the attacks against Palin were beyond the pale but the Romney family have been targeted, too. In addition to numerous articles about Ann’s expensive horse, liberal Bill Maher criticized Ann for not working outside the home. The very next week he described her sons as “shiny and remarkably lifelike boys”.

    Also, in Romney’s 2008 campaign, his sons were heavily criticized for their lack of military service and Saturday Night Life parodied them in March 2012. The media hasn’t been able to do as much with them, tho, perhaps because they’ve been through this before and because they are so clean-cut.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  599. Sarah Palin is too damn rich to make a good martyr really… good martyrs are include School Bus Lady and Chicken Sammich Girl as well as that guy what got beated up by the purple shirted piggy piggy union thugs and Joe the Plumber after Ohio got all nazi on him

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  600. It was a collaborative effort, one expects that from the Democrats, but Schmidt and Wallace, you don’t expect those daggers in the back, or that of other desperate staffers who ‘threw her under the bus’ as just as giving Obama the keys to the WH,

    narciso (ee31f1)

  601. So I’m not sure this is a result of Palin as much as women’s inclination to give family issues more weight than most men.

    I don’t think this is fair to men, or at the least it’s painting men with a broad brush. A lot of men do give the same or even more weight than women to decisions impacting their families. Often the mother/wife is typically more available to children and/or able to be at home with them. Also, it seems couples typically make a decision about which parent is able to have more flexibility in their careers to be meet their children’s needs. In today’s world, where women are accustomed to being in the upper echelons of business and other professional worlds that once dominated by men, I would imagine conversations about which spouse’s career is more important to pursue at a particular time happens more frequently than ever before in our history as both parents recognize their children’s priority.

    Dana (292dcf)

  602. That’s true, Dana. I can only speak about Texas men because they’re the ones I’ve worked with. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to learn men in other parts of the country are very different.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  603. Women, too.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  604. Does Ryan come under the LBJ rule or is that only for Senators?

    nk (875f57)

  605. For those upthread who expressed concern over several decisions Ryan made while a new and young member of congress during the Bush years, this is helpful and reveals a man who is introspective, able to see where he failed himself and his core beliefs, and made strides to change. In other words, he matured in his position and his character was revealed.

    Ryan won his seat in 1998, at the age of twenty-eight. Like many young conservatives, he is embarrassed by the Bush years. At the time, as a junior member with little clout, Ryan was a reliable Republican vote for policies that were key in causing enormous federal budget deficits: sweeping tax cuts, a costly prescription-drug entitlement for Medicare, two wars, the multibillion-dollar bank-bailout legislation known as TARP. In all, five trillion dollars was added to the national debt. In 2006 and 2008, many of Ryan’s older Republican colleagues were thrown out of office as a result of lobbying scandals and overspending. Ryan told me recently that, as a fiscal conservative, he was “miserable during the last majority” and is determined “to do everything I can to make sure I don’t feel that misery again.”

    In 2009, Ryan was striving to reintroduce himself as someone true to his ideological roots and capable of reversing his party’s reputation for fiscal profligacy.

    Dana (292dcf)

  606. There is a very funny opinion column in the NYT titled ‘Al’ and ‘Joe ‘ Lead the Spam Squad. It is about the hideous daily dose of silly emails asking for contributions that go out to those unfortunate souls on the Dem’s mailing lists. I won’t link it but those who haven’t seen it and are interested can get it through google search. It really is a hoot. Makes me wonder how many people are getting very turned off by the hounding and mercenary nature of this campaign.

    elissa (594ca4)

  607. DRJ,

    I wonder if that’s a Texas thing? Roles seem to be more traditionally defined there in the conservative state, whereas here in Cali (and especially Southern Cali…), it’s a really mixed bag. I think we pride ourselves on that or something… which matters not a whit when one takes every other cultural/social phenomena here into consideration as well.

    Dana (292dcf)

  608. It’s a personal thing. I take great pride in my first wife’s accomplishments and nothing has ever made me happier than being with and looking after my baby daughter. My father was the same. He and my mother worked different shifts so one would always be with us when we were young. Essentially, they saw each other only on weekends and holidays.

    nk (875f57)

  609. On the peer culture question, my mother said it best: “Nothing is important outside of my house, not even my brother.”

    nk (875f57)

  610. dana

    so it sounds like Ryan – who was a senators legislative director in the mid 90’s was an “establishment” republican for over a decade until the tea party came along and he saw the results with Johnson’s nomination and had a “conversion” to fiscal conservatism

    EPWJ (2a58f7)

  611. You know, with EPWJ’s history of not simply weird stuff, but misrepresenting what others say, repeatedly, I guess that I shouldn’t be surprised that he shamelessly keeps trying.

    But it is kind of sad.

    Anyway, I hope you all saw this:

    http://www.therightscoop.com/awesome-romney-responds-to-heckler-in-wisconsin-then-tells-obama-to-get-his-campaign-out-of-the-gutter/

    Simon Jester (e0230e)

  612. 582. “The women of America do not look at a shrine of governor Palin and whine – they go out and do great things despite her not because of her.”

    The Gospel according to gg: Palin is hated by most women for one reason alone–she has five kids, she carried a Down’s syndrome to full term with full knowledge, she has a brain, sure but–she is flat out stunning.

    Which brings us to the engima: howcomezit some ostensive Y-chromosomers treat he with the identical cattiness?

    You know who you are, and we have noticed.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  613. Well, Mr. Gulrud, I’m pretty sure that Andrew Sullivan has a Palin costume in his, um, closet.

    Simon Jester (e0230e)

  614. enigma*

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  615. But no worries. Our betters will tell us how to vote.

    http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2012/08/10/Michelle-Obama-To-Black-Radio-Get-Out-There-And-Convince-This-Confused-Knuckleheads-to-Vote-Obama

    It takes a village, doesn’t it?

    Simon Jester (e0230e)

  616. 620! OMG.

    AZ Bob (1c9631)

  617. I would not feel the least little bit less manly on the bitch pad of Sarah Palin’s Harley. A lot more so, actually.

    nk (875f57)

  618. Yes, but nk…I get the impression that your concept of manliness has not a thing to do with the opinion of others.

    Simon Jester (e0230e)

  619. 621. I used to refer to the lady as First Tranny but decided maybe God would get me for it.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  620. Comment by Dana — 8/12/2012 @ 6:43 pm

    All those awful things that are listed in the quote only cost a small fraction of the “five trillion” in debt cited. And are even tinier portions of the current deficits. Which are what? Since the Bush deficits are “enormous”, what are Obama deficits? Sooper Enormous? Family Size Enormous?

    SPQR (26be8b)

  621. The Stimulus, ARRA, each of the QE’s, cost as much
    as the major campaigns in South Asia, and the Near East, the Dems complaint was only that Medicare Part D wasn’t big enough, as with NCLB.

    narciso (ee31f1)

  622. Who remembers what a strong, prosperous, vigorous economy the U.S. had in the 70s, even though it was a recession? It’s a good measure of how far in debt we are. We would have to pay the GNP of 1970 America sixteen times over, just to get back up to being only broke.

    The Sanity Inspector (93bc4f)

  623. Gary, I presume the lady you are referring to is Michelle not Sarah? Michelle has her bitch riding a bicycle, not a Harley.

    nk (875f57)

  624. The good news is that the veep pick is Ryan.
    The bad news is that Ryan is the veep pick.
    Meaning, this might all just wind up being symbolic. “Talk conservative, vote liberal” is a trusty stratagem in national politics, and its cheat never seems to go stale.

    The Sanity Inspector (93bc4f)

  625. Ryan returns to WI with the boss early(vacation shot to hell) to my hometown. 10,000 rabid knuckleheads on the County Fairgrounds.

    Sensenbrenner’s turf BTW.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  626. 628. You are correct Sir, glad you cleared up any confusion.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  627. I’m not sure I understand your question, Simon, but please never believe a word I say. I am manipulative and deceptive with enough erudition to get away with it.

    In truth, I am a genetically engineered white mouse with electrodes implanted in my brain and connected to the lab’s computer. I am waiting for the lab’s mistake to implant additional electrodes in my motor centers and then “look out world”.

    nk (875f57)

  628. So which are you, nk?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJPFSNu_QNs

    Or more like this:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR_LHlFwlhk

    Simon Jester (e0230e)

  629. say hi to Mrs. Frisby

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  630. Now, if anybody could explain to me how predestination is Christianity?

    nk (875f57)

  631. Mr. Feet, I read that book to my sons.

    But I thought you would enjoy the second link.

    Simon Jester (e0230e)

  632. Sort of related to Calvinism on steroids, nk?

    Simon Jester (e0230e)

  633. Sort of related to Calvinism on steroids, nk?

    Simon Jester (e0230e)

  634. It must have been predestined that I post that twice.

    Simon Jester (e0230e)

  635. cause of He is the Alpha *plus* the Omega Mr. nk

    not a lot of wiggle room there for surprise twist shalamalamalah endings

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  636. That’s old science, Simon. My first wife and her boss, who implanted electrodes in humans with Lou Gehrig’s disease, are far more advanced.

    nk (875f57)

  637. pinky rocks he has his own agenda and don’t you mess wit it

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  638. I type slow. I told them to use octopus nerve tissue instead of gold wire. How are we doing on the 1,000 mark, BTW?

    nk (875f57)

  639. I just remember what happened in “The Deep Blue Sea” with all that “giant brains in killer sharks” technology. Yes, Saffron Burrows in a wet suit, and Samuel L. Jackson eaten in the first real.

    While preparing for crazy EPWJ and sleeeeepy and Tye type slurs, let’s get ahead of their talking points:

    http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2012/08/oh-noes-mitt-romney-once-ran-nazi-death.html

    Simon Jester (e0230e)

  640. #VotingForObamaBidenIsLike is like going back in time and telling Franklin: “Yeah, about that Republic: we sucked too much to keep it.”

    SPQR (26be8b)

  641. take heart for we work
    for living while teh Dem folks
    vote for a living
    Comment by Colonel Haiku — 8/12/2012 @ 12:19 pm

    — Hell, some of them vote long after they’ve stopped living!

    Icy (8fbe96)

  642. 627, 629. We certainly understand your concern and any deep seated cynicism.

    However, if you go to the link at 632, Ryan really is WYSIWYG. Well above is a link to HotAir with his committee interview of TTT Geitner.

    He understands it is only a matter of several months before the bond vigilantes focus in on us having made the tour to everyone but Norway.

    Our cost of financing the debt is going up, and Willard will hear that fact every day Ryan and he discuss economics.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  643. Sort of related to Calvinism on steroids, nk?

    Comment by Simon Jester — 8/12/2012 @ 7:59 pm

    Well, yes. So Christ comes down and says “I am the Way and the Life….” And Calvin says, “No, You’re not, Your Daddy already picked whom He will save. Just get on that Cross and fool those suckers so they’ll tithe.”

    nk (875f57)

  644. Hmmm…nk, that whole business of “your fate is set” sounds awfully familiar in today’s political arena, doesn’t it? They just gave up one religion for another.

    Simon Jester (e0230e)

  645. My daughter, at ten, really asks questions like this.

    nk (875f57)

  646. always remember
    we are teh sumb*tches that
    we’ve been waiting for

    Colonel Haiku (1a8e05)

  647. My father said that, Simon. That both religion and communism promise an always full cafeteria tray.

    nk (875f57)

  648. Colonel, you surely are familiar with the fantastically bizarre John Carpenter movie, “They Live”?

    Let’s let Rowdy Roddy Piper set the tone:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp_K8prLfso

    Simon Jester (e0230e)

  649. 649. Calvin made my head hurt so I just said no. Zwingli was more my speed, I’ll get around to him some day.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  650. When asked about Mitt Romney’s selection of Paul Ryan as VP, Vice President Joe Biden reportedly told CNN, “He’s articulate, bright, clean-cut, and a nice looking guy.”

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  651. Yes, Simon… a very entertaining movie, except for the blue eyes on that one gal (Meg Foster?)… very disconcerting.

    Colonel Haiku (1a8e05)

  652. Joe Biden followed up those statements about Paul Ryan by inquiring of the CNN reporter, “So, ol’ Mitt didn’t choose that Indian guy down there in, uh, where is it—Mississippi ?—oh, Louisiana, pardon me—you know, you can’t walk into a Dunkin’ Donuts or a 7/11 without running into someone with an Indian accent these days—and not the Tonto kind—the Gandhi kind.”

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  653. It does bother me that Ryan likes Ayn Rand.

    I hope it’s only because they share the letters in their names. Ayn Rand was a drug-addicted, alcoholic, adultress, who called herself the perfect woman; and basically plagiarized Nietzsche, a 98-pound weakling, too timid to even look a woman in the eye, whose one homosexual encounter gave him terminal syphilis, but who nonetheless considered himself the perfect man.

    nk (875f57)

  654. Well, that was quick:

    http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/08/11/paul-ryans-views-and-record-higher-education

    See? Academics MUST hate Ryan, as Instapundit suggests.

    Of course, like EPWJ, I am wondering how closely the conclusions match the source material.

    Simon Jester (e0230e)

  655. National Soros Radio for one is doing yeoman’s work in the effort to palinize Mr. Ryan like the hicktarded bitch we all know he is

    here’s their “significant quote” what of course perfectly encapsulates his thinkings:

    “They come up on your hand, and you just squeeze wherever you are in that fish and pull it out. … I know it sounds a little crazy, but it’s really exhilarating.” – Ryan, on the appeal of catching catfish by hand, another hobby.

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  656. I remember in catechism class some argument to the effect “If God is all powerful can he make a box so efficacious he can’t get out?”

    Kinda seems what Feets was alluding to for Calvin, double predestination.

    I think nk’s daughter should prolly be directed to Karl Barth, a heavyweight in that nexus. Never got to him, Tillich messed me up good junior year in HS.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  657. I remember in catechism class some argument to the effect “If God is all powerful can he make a box so efficacious he can’t get out?”

    Kinda seems what Feets was alluding to for Calvin, double predestination.

    I think nk’s daughter should prolly be directed to Karl Barth, a heavyweight in that nexus. Never got to him, Tillich messed me up good junior year in HS.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  658. “They Live” had that lady with the amazing eyes what was her name? She was in The Abyss too I think

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  659. If we’re going to talk about John Carpenter, the best vampire movie ever is his Vampires. Free on the Crackle Channel on YouTube.

    nk (875f57)

  660. Noodling is generally illegal, these days. I agree with the law. Let the fish breed, unless you’re starving.

    nk (875f57)

  661. There were some interesting symmetries in Ayn Rand’s life, nk. The gods punished her appropriately; she insisted that she could take another woman’s husband, and that the other woman’s complaining was unevolved…and then it happened to her.

    Also, nk, a story you might enjoy by Dave Brin. Seriously, it reminds me of some of the things you have said…

    http://www.davidbrin.com/loomofthessaly1.htm

    Simon Jester (e0230e)

  662. no not The Abyss she was in Leviathan her name is Meg Foster and she’s still working and boy she still has a distinctive look to her boy howdy don’t she

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  663. 660. Ditto for Shopenhauer, that Random was flogging a couple back, ended in tertiary syph, mad as a caged lynx.

    Fleming coulda saved the Aryan race had the wackos died in public instead of sanitariums.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  664. Mr. Feet, you mean Meg Foster, she of the glacial eyes:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meg_Foster

    Yes, that’s a good Carpenter film, nk, but I am partial to “In the Mouth of Madness.” Nobody does full bore crazy like Sam Neil.

    Simon Jester (e0230e)

  665. “I type slow. I told them to use octopus nerve tissue instead of gold wire. How are we doing on the 1,000 mark, BTW?”

    – nk

    If we leave this as the only thread long enough, we’ll get there. One way or another. For some reason.

    Only [339] comments to go!

    Here, lemme help Patterico out:

    Palin sucks.

    Am I right, feets, or am I right?

    Leviticus (102f62)

  666. Yes, we’re trying to block out all memory of Leviathan, and so I imagine Peter Weller’s agent,
    she struck me like a creepy version of Kirsty Alley.

    narciso (ee31f1)

  667. Mr. Feet, entropy lies heavily upon us all, but this is how I remember Meg Foster best:

    http://www.nndb.com/people/902/000024830/meg-foster-2-sized.jpg

    Simon Jester (e0230e)

  668. Gary, Fleming is a Greek saint, even though not Greek born. He lived in a Salonica. Streets are named after him. He could be considered a modern Asclepius alongside Barnard.

    nk (875f57)

  669. hah she was in a Rob Zombie “movie” Mr. Jester it’s gonna come out next year

    hah again it has Dee Wallace in it too – she is almost for sure the hardest working woman in the whole business god bless her she’s a trooper

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  670. EPWJ:
    Romney used gov to achieve healthcare, Ryans bdget uses govt to reduce the deficit.
    — Let me see if I’ve got this straight: Ryan wants to use the GOVERNMENT to reduce the GOVERNMENT’S deficit?
    Oh no! The horror . . . the . . . horror . . .

    With Romney?Ryan we have two people who strongly believe that we need gov’t solutions to help us.
    — Or, they strongly believe that the government needs to be shrunk and reformed. One or the other. It’s a coin toss, really, as to which one of us is right.

    Will we sacrifice funding close senate races now? Had Romney picked a strong accomplished Woman which there are many, we wouldnt need to be reassuring ourselves we would be on the offensive in blue states
    — 1) WHO said that funding for Senate races is going to be ‘sacrificed’?
    2) WHAT was it that convinced you Romney should have picked a female running mate? Historical precedent?

    The women of America do not look at a shrine of governor Palin and whine – they go out and do great things despite her not because of her.
    — Name ONE ‘great thing’ that the women of America do “despite her”.
    GO!

    so it sounds like Ryan – who was a senators legislative director in the mid 90′s was an “establishment” republican for over a decade until the tea party came along and he saw the results with Johnson’s nomination and had a “conversion” to fiscal conservatism
    — Leaving aside the fact that a change for the better IS a change for the better, WHERE is your proof that Ryan has ever been anything other than a fiscal conservative?

    Icy (8fbe96)

  671. Mr. Levi when you’re right you’re right

    she’s every bit as contrived as food stamp I think

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  672. Palin sucks.

    Am I right, feets, or am I right?

    Comment by Leviticus — 8/12/2012 @ 8:44 pm

    I doubt happyfeet would know, Leviticus. Why don’t you ask her husband?

    nk (875f57)

  673. Oh, he would know.

    Am I right, feets, or am I right?

    Leviticus (102f62)

  674. Keep in mind, nk, that I’m just doing my part to help us reach this seemingly important 1000 comment mark.

    Leviticus (102f62)

  675. Richard Lynch is still alive, and creepy as ever,

    narciso (ee31f1)

  676. Here, lemme help Patterico out:
    Palin sucks.
    Am I right, feets, or am I right?

    — You WISH you were right.

    Icy (8fbe96)

  677. I always like getting heckled by kids younger than pairs of socks in my drawer.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  678. Let’s stop there. My fault for that one more comment.

    nk (875f57)

  679. You guys are being very immature about this “sucks” business. Get your heads out of the gutter.

    Leviticus (102f62)

  680. It does bother me that Ryan likes Ayn Rand.

    — nk, you are a bit behind the times. Ryan liked her when he was younger. He has matured since then.

    Icy (8fbe96)

  681. How many was that? 15 comments?

    Alright. we got this fo sho.

    Leviticus (102f62)

  682. You WISH your head was in “the gutter”.

    Icy (8fbe96)

  683. Leviticus, instead of postulating about the intimate details of Vice Presidential candidates from elections past, why don’t you go increase your education with some of the university co-eds ?

    There must be some Sandra Flukes around campus who have nothing to do on a Sunday nite but fantasize about the day their life will finally be complete when the government gives them free contraception.

    Be the proverbial government bureaucrat who is there with free contraception !

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  684. Crikey, that films screams straight to D TV, bypassing video.

    narciso (ee31f1)

  685. Believe or not, Icy, when I had the news-stand, two lifetimes ago, “Atlas Shrugged” was on the very top of the rack and always on order. Why? You can never underestimate stupidity.

    nk (875f57)

  686. Is that what you kids are calling it these days?

    These are indecent times.

    Leviticus (102f62)

  687. Last email I sent to my Rep., I reminded Michele that should no better opportunity present itself, Al Frankenstein’s up for re-election next go.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  688. Elephant Stone. Shut up.

    Leeviticus, if you like a girl just get close enough to her for her to see it. Then get a clue.

    nk (875f57)

  689. I hate repeating myself. Elephant Stone, leave Leviticus alone.

    nk (875f57)

  690. “Why don’t you go increase your education with some of the university co-eds ?”

    – Elephant Stone

    Why don’t you increase your education with some of nursing home co-eds, OLD MAN.

    BOOM.

    Leviticus (102f62)

  691. Sh*t, at this rate… let’s go for two thousand comments. Why the heck not?

    Leviticus (102f62)

  692. I apologize, Leviticus. It’s none of my business and I’m sorry for talking out of turn.

    nk (875f57)

  693. Middle sister is acquainted with the frontrunner for WI GOP Senate candidate Hovde, capable of self-financing his run. He’d be a distinct step up from Tommy Thompson or Mark Neumann, currently tied in second place.

    Opponent Baldwin is a flake, one of the first lesbians in Congress, NTTIATWWT.

    That leaves in fourth place a Walker associate, Fitzgerald, to be named to fill Ryan’s shoes.

    A three-fer! WI, your ship has come in.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  694. No worries, nk, no worries.

    Leviticus (102f62)

  695. Sh*t, at this rate… let’s go for two thousand comments. Why the heck not?

    Comment by Leviticus — 8/12/2012 @ 9:20 pm

    Because Patterico pays for the bandwidth? My money goes to my eye surgeon? What’s your excuse?

    nk (875f57)

  696. Ok, I did not turn my shark totally off.

    nk (875f57)

  697. These days we call it “going rogue”.

    Icy (8fbe96)

  698. Old man sure beats the alternatives.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  699. No worries.

    Leviticus (102f62)

  700. “Richard Lynch is still alive, and creepy as ever”
    If Ryan tripped out on acid and set himself on fire…
    they do look kind of similar

    Ryan’s Life.
    Quoting another fan:
    “Public high school.
    Public university.
    Worked for family business.
    Congressional staffer, with service jobs for additional money.
    Speechwriter for Jack Kemp.
    Staffer for Sam Brownback.
    Member of Congress.
    Capitalism, just as Rand envisioned.”

    I’m gonna take my social security and go Galt.
    Or as Craig T Nelson Said
    “I’ve been on food stamps and welfare. Anybody help me out? No.”

    still sleeeeepy (b5f718)

  701. “Old man sure beats the alternatives.”

    – gary gulrud

    Sure beats something, anyway.

    /rimshot

    (OK, sorry sorry sorry. That’s my last childish joke for this thread. I’m quite fond of Mr. gulrud, but that set-up was too good to resist).

    Leviticus (102f62)

  702. Believe or not, Icy, when I had the news-stand, two lifetimes ago, “Atlas Shrugged” was on the very top of the rack and always on order.

    — There are always those that confuse anarchy with libertarianism.

    Icy (8fbe96)

  703. You’re smart. Use it.

    nk (875f57)

  704. It looks like still sleeeeepy has been ‘beating the alternative’ again.

    Icy (8fbe96)

  705. One of the things I realize most often these days is that I’m not that smart.

    Leviticus (102f62)

  706. 707. Things you may have missed in no particular order:

    Prom King, voted “Biggest Brown Noser”, father worried he’d become a ski bum, handled marketing for a couple years in family business, I believe including road construction, elected to House of Representatives at 28, given point man position as head of Budget Committee by leader who cut and ran on CR2011, CR2012, and Debt Ceiling, and left hung out to dry managed to not sink either his boss, his party or himself, cut dipsh*t Imbecile in Chief to ribbons over d*ckwads own budget.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  707. Like, I speak one language, don’t know math, haven’t read enough, and display a consistent over-reliance on profanity.

    “Work in progress”, I guess is how you’d put it.

    Leviticus (102f62)

  708. if you squint your eyes mr. sleeeeepy’s comment looks like a shel silverstein poem

    he was from Chicago you know

    I went to a college where you didn’t have to take math they let you substitute “logic” or a foreign language

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  709. Leviticus,

    This site is not for you. Nor any other internet site. You are smart, you do not need spelling out.

    nk (875f57)

  710. I don’t want to say the wrong thing here, Leviticus, but that was a good exchange. I often tell students that the three most important words in science are “I don’t know.”

    When I came up for tenure, I had colleagues toast me on that concept, but I am not wrong. It’s when a person thinks they know something, and are incorrect, that causes real problems. If they understand what they don’t understand (odd as that sounds syntatically)…well, that can be fixed. But pride often stands in the way. The advantage of being a good scientist, as I try to be, is that I am reminded of what I don’t know whenever I do research.

    Socrates said something like what I have written, but he was being snarky. I’m serious.

    My roundabout way of saying that I admire what you wrote.

    Simon Jester (e0230e)

  711. Like, I speak one language, don’t know math, haven’t read enough, and display a consistent over-reliance on profanity.
    “Work in progress”, I guess is how you’d put it.

    — Future replacement host for the Ed Schultz show is what that ^^^ sounds like.

    Icy (8fbe96)

  712. All I know is that I know nothing. As much truth as manipulitive self-deprecation by a failed mason too lazy to work.

    nk (875f57)

  713. Simon,

    Thank you. I understand the sincerity; and I regret that I’ve been so combative in the past as to require its emphasis.

    Leviticus (102f62)

  714. 720. Yeah, and if I did think maybe I sorta knew something the wife is there telling me different, in triplicate.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  715. this is as good as time as any to remember that Mr. P. Ryan made a far far stronger statement than limpdick Romney about how the uber-masturbatory John Roberts gets off on making stuff up

    “I’m very disappointed in the ruling. I think the chief justice had to contort logic and reason to come up with this ruling,” the Republican from Wisconsin said. “So one man decided against the dissenting opinion, against what I, you know, thought were his — his principles and judicial jurisprudence, he decided to leave this up to the American people. So now the stakes of this election could not be higher.”

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  716. We’re getting to 1000 comments by hook or by crook.

    Patterico (83c503)

  717. I don’t know why I ever thought the Shrub would ever pick anybody who did not do what the government wanted, as CJ of SCOTUS, either, happyfeet.

    Goodness knows, I had enough warning with the little girl going to jail in handcuffs for eating a french fry on the subway, but she was black after all and you know nits breed lice.

    nk (875f57)

  718. The girls ran away. DRJ, Dana, SarahW, elissa, this is not only boy talk.

    nk (875f57)

  719. “We’re getting to 1000 comments by hook or by crook.”

    – Patterico

    HELL YEAH WE ARE!

    Leviticus (102f62)

  720. For whomever did not get the sarcasm: Stupidity is not unconstitutional. Vote for a smarter government.

    nk (875f57)

  721. Mr. President Shrub’s stupid court nominees are just one more nail among scores in Rick Perry’s political coffin, if you follow

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  722. Statist is the word, and nobody did it better than Reagan.

    nk (875f57)

  723. Comment by Simon Jester — 8/12/2012 @ 10:00 pm

    “The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they’re ignorant: It’s just that they know so much that isn’t so.” – Ronald Reagan

    AD-Restore The Republic/Obama Sucks! (2bb434)

  724. Although, according to Scalia, I would have to pay wergild for saying that, under King Harald’s decree of 1002.

    nk (875f57)

  725. I understand anterograde amnesia, therefore I understand knowing only the law before the Revolution.

    nk (875f57)

  726. Oh, c’mon, Patterico. No matter who Romney picked for VP, Obama would not have said he was worried. Of the major candidates, Ryan has the fewest negatives, I think.

    Portman: GWB connections.
    Jindal: poor speaking, exorcisms.
    Christie: bullying, gaffe-prone.
    Pawlenty: colorless, bad comments about Romney during campaign.

    Mind you, each of these would be fine VPs.

    But you could replace Ryan’s name with any of the others, and the Obama machine would use the same sentence.

    Simon Jester (e0230e)

  727. My contribution to 1000 comments. *friendly wave to nk @10:36,, returns to reading thread*

    no one you know (7ecbf6)

  728. 722. Excellent fetch. Do coffee?

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  729. Issa isn’t waiting for the iron to cool:

    http://www.rollcall.com/news/darrell_issa_to_sue_eric_holder_mondayby_jonathan_strong-216844-1.html?pos=hln

    Another party regular I can’t complain about, and early endorser of Romany.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  730. ut you could replace Ryan’s name with any of the others, and the Obama machine would use the same sentence.

    Comment by Simon Jester — 8/12/2012 @ 11:04 pm

    I think they’re scared witless, and if they aren’t they shortly will be. I think they’ve seriously miscalculated the effect of negative attacks coming from (in the mind of the average voter, what may as well be) the office of the President

    And underestimated the power of a basic shrugoff of such attacks followed by a calm return to the math. Over and over again.

    Since we’re finally going to be forced to have a high profile conversation on the merits of each side’s worldview and economics, in a way that frankly wasn’t possible without one of the main architects of the conservative side’s details in the co-pilot’s seat, I have hope for the first time that the grifting thugs are toast.

    no one you know (7ecbf6)

  731. 733. I woulda rolled for Jindal. He’s still smoking over BP.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  732. Actually, in retrospect, we were better off with Miers, who does come from the Texas bench, maybe
    the fact that Roberts was also taught by Tribe,who was Obama’s mentor, should be taken into account,

    narciso (ee31f1)

  733. One would think the radar profile, would prevent
    such an occurrance, but in a fairly narrow channel
    like Hormuz, it apparently not so surprising.

    narciso (ee31f1)

  734. Uh oh:

    http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2012/08/10/butter-popcorn-chemical-linked-to-alzheimers/

    Squirt loves her some popcorn, bet organic is still bad.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  735. 742. She’s gonna blow by the end of Sept. I’m not thinking Urkel is up to the challenge.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  736. Ryan is off to IA where Razzie thinks he puts them up 2 over Dog. Rasmussen still thinks their behind in WI. I do not believe it.

    Romany is headed for Florida. Bask in the love narciso.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  737. G’night, better tomorrows.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  738. #101, daleyrocks:

    Ryan will be an incredible asset to the campaign. He’s accustomed to taking flack and giving back better.

    Nitpick: You meant to write “flak”. Which will be coming from the flacks.

    #106, Kevin M:

    I see the Wikipedia page is a perfect example of how their vaunted “Biography of Living Persons” rules fail when it comes to conservatives. The amount of snark that has been added today alone is amazing: over 200 changes in the last few hours.

    Of course there are going to be many changes when news like this breaks, as every Tom Dick and Harry tries to get their oar in. Nothing prevents you from doing the same. And there will be a lot of crap that doesn’t belong, as well as attempts to delete good stuff that does belong, and it will take time to clean it up. That’s the nature of the beast, and doesn’t prove a left-wing bias on the part of the admin cabal.
    (There is such a bias, but they’re mostly unconscious of it; unscrupulous lefty editors are aware of it and take advantage. But there’s nothing you can point to to prove that the cabal itself is biased, or even that it exists in the first place. It just becomes obvious if you edit such articles for long.)

    #109, DRJ:

    This will be the second Presidential election in a row in which I’m voting for the Vice President, but I credit Romney for picking Ryan. I hope it’s a sign of what he will do as President.

    Glad you added “in a row”. Had I voted for Bush in 2000, it would have been because of Cheney. (And if I’d been in a state that had the slightest chance of mattering, I would have done so.) But I fear there’s no reason to suppose it is a sign of what he’ll do as president. We already know that he has no principles, so he’s doing what he thinks he needs to do. And as president I don’t see him as the delegating type, like Clinton and Bush; I see Ryan shunted into a nothing role, like Biden (and famously like Nixon). Which is a great pity. I’ll still happily vote for him, even though the result in NY is in no doubt.

    #128, Elissa:

    What outs him as a moby, in my opinion, is that he has no core or consistency in his comments.

    Yes, he does: whatever is good for Big Oil is good for America. The Republican Party should be the bought-and-paid-for slave of big business in general, and Big Oil in particular, and how dare anyone in it disobey. EPWJ is a prime example of what we have known for 200 years, that big business is an enemy of free enterprise. Adam Smith taught us that. Big business loves big government, so long as it controls it; when someone like 0bama is in power, big business’s agenda doesn’t see what he does as proof that government power should be reduced; instead it admires his imagination and wishes only to have that power for itself.

    #129, daleyrocks:

    EPWJ – Ryan is a big supporter of the Wisconsin fossil fuel industry.

    An upstart industry that dares to compete with Big Oil. Therefore an enemy.

    #132, EPWJ:

    I didnt trash Rubio – I said he had two no show state jobs on which after a three year investigation just I think last week the ethics commission said there wasnt enough evidence to prosecute Rubio

    In other words, it wasn’t true and you had no business trashing him by pretending that it was.

    Thats not something that the democrats wouldnt use if he was picked for VP was it?

    A discredited allegation?!

    His use of campaign funds to pay companies run by his family members has also been questioned

    Questioned by whom?

    #192, gary gulrud:

    One of the sisters from Ryan’s district called this AM to suggest Ryan’s seat would fall to his bud Walker for appointment.

    Um, what?! First of all, what do you mean by “one of the sisters” from his district? A nun? More importantly, is this sister under the impression that Ryan is a senator?! (How could she think that if she identifies herself as from his district?)

    #193, EPWJ:

    I dont hate Palin

    That’s a lie. You’ve slandered her often enough.

    #213, EPWJ:

    The Ryan plan doesn’t exactly have a great track record winning elections: It played a large role in the Republicans’ defeat in a special election in upstate New York in early 2011.

    Bulldust. It did no such thing. And who the @#$% is Sean Trende? Am I supposed to have heard of him?

    Milhouse (15b6fd)

  739. Speaking of the LA times, check out Robert Lloyd’s review of the closing ceremony.

    headline (or is it byline)

    “Review: From Madness to the Spice Girls to One Direction, the 2012 London Olympics’ closing ceremony-cum-dance-party was like three hours of MTV, good and bad. Now on to Rio.”

    lee (f7dedd)

  740. Oh, c’mon, Patterico. No matter who Romney picked for VP, Obama would not have said he was worried. Of the major candidates, Ryan has the fewest negatives, I think.

    Portman: GWB connections.
    Jindal: poor speaking, exorcisms.
    Christie: bullying, gaffe-prone.
    Pawlenty: colorless, bad comments about Romney during campaign.

    Mind you, each of these would be fine VPs.

    But you could replace Ryan’s name with any of the others, and the Obama machine would use the same sentence.

    I know. That’s what I said. Read it again?

    Patterico (7dfa08)

  741. To be sure. I’m still adding to your super thread.

    But check out the hard hitting journalism—should I say journolisting—here:

    http://www.nationaljournal.com/2012-presidential-campaign/obama-team-salivates-over-ryan-pick-20120811

    Margarita machines? I’ll bet Biden’s staff as a different feeling.

    Simon Jester (e0230e)

  742. Brother-in-law should have reached Montenegro by now. Don’t tell anybody I used that word.

    nk (875f57)

  743. 750- Major Garrett is alive?

    mg (44de53)

  744. Comment by Simon Jester — 8/13/2012 @ 1:32 am

    “salivates over ryan pick* Typo. They skipped the *r*.

    nk (875f57)

  745. #682 narciso- Richard Lynch died June 19, 2012 at age 76.

    The rest of you are spared the constant local media drumbeat of approval for the words of Debbie Schultz Wasserman in her lies in support of Choom. The local rags are wont to run pictures of delirious with joy libtard Japs swooning over Urkel. Words such as “South Florida’s love affair with Obama” sure don’t convince me that the Jews won’t be any less supportive of him. But I have managed to undermine Urkel enough with one woman who remains convinced he is sincere and wants to genuinely help people but is not strong enough, like Hillary would have been. She was talking about sitting out the election but now may well vote for Mitt and tells me Jews in Long Island are also abandoning Obama. So I wonder how correct the polls actually are? I guess I’ll never understand the mindset of the limo liberals. Of course I don’t get why someone part negro is still worshipped by blacks even though blacks have suffered disproportionately under him. And we know several black celebrities have stated he’s not an actual full blood black. Not sure the color isn’t less important than the far left dogma. Allen West is far more black than Obama but uniformly despised here as an Uncle Tom and race traitor. Obama puppeteer Soros is intent on defeating West this election.

    Calypso Louis Farrakhan (e799d8)

  746. Milhouse

    I will repeat I dont hate Palin, Sean Trende is a well respected conservtive writer.

    My point was and your long angry post like soo many others is:

    None of you have met the challenge of what the path to prosperity would have cut in the immiediate next years budget that would have had any inpact on spending.

    Also I missed any tax cuts in Ryans path.

    Tax cuts, ending regultions are more important in the long run than spending cuts which always seem to be temporary

    The more people that move from govt asst to the workforce do shrink spending as they no longer qualify for assistance.

    Ryan uses govt regulation to reduce/shift spending not the private sector

    EPWJ (4380b4)

  747. Ryans not a job creator in fact he’s yet another establishment conservative who has lived his whole life in Washington after graduation and saw the light only when colleagues were sent home packing.

    His votes, his advice in the mid 90’s as a legislative director – this is a recent and quite fortuitous conversion to the reduced spending religion.

    Too bad he wasnt worried about that a handful of years ago when he voted to expand govt and give the unions all that TARP money.

    As far as I am concerned Romney and Ryan are not going to be a different driver of the cart than Obama except on that green energy nonsense.

    EPWJ (4380b4)

  748. This is typical of the category error served here, Calypso;

    http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/08/11/2945280/romney-and-scott-offer-up-clashing.html#morer

    ‘hit and run’ johnson doesn’t point out or probably care, that he’s talking about Rivera, not Rubio,

    narciso (ee31f1)

  749. Epwj’s nonsense never gets old

    JD (142098)

  750. So, the argument clinic proferred above, is just because Scott has stabilized some of the bleeding,
    Romney can’t use it as an argument against Obama,

    narciso (ee31f1)

  751. Leviticus,

    I’m sorry if I offended you by suggesting you should improve your education by seeking out some co-eds at your school.
    I should have been more considerate of diversity by not using the gender-specific inference of “co-eds.”

    Anyhow, whomever you should seek out, I hope you do safely, and that you think of the taxpayers you’re screwing whose money is paying for the free contraceptives.

    By the way, it’s funny you think I’m “old” with your nursing home crack.
    I’m actually probably one of the younger posters here.

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  752. Tax cuts, ending regultions are more important in the long run than spending cuts which always seem to be temporary
    Comment by EPWJ — 8/13/2012 @ 4:24 am

    Spending cuts shouldn’t be temporary if entitlements are reformed as opposed to just trying to trim some discretionary spending.

    What’s permanent about a tax cut? And why can’t regulations be put back? Nothing is really permanent. Entitlements are what drive taxes in the first place.

    The unwillingness to touch entitlements is why conservatives have said talk about shrinking govt. has not been credible. Now we have someone who wants to finally address entitlements and you say forget about spending. Romney’s proposing tax cuts and rolling back regulations like Dodd – Frank too.

    I’m starting to see why people say you’re a Moby.

    Gerald A (f26857)

  753. Gerald makes an excellent point in response to EPWJ’s painfully naive comments about the alleged “permanence” of taxes and regulation and spending.

    The fight against the imposition of lefties in neverending. It’s like trying to keep ants out of your kitchen…you block off access to this little crack in the wall, or windowsill, and they just re-group to find another route.

    Fukiyama’s assertion that the end of the Cold War meant we could now sit in a hammock and drink a cold lemonade was wrong.

    Just as EPWJ does not give up in his fight to bad-mouth conservatives, his fellow lefties do not give up in chasing their dream of an arcadian state where bureaucrats are increasingly in charge of our lives.

    Fighting against taxes, spending, and regulation is not like the Olympics, where your reign as “champion” is safe for four years. The battles on Capitol Hill and in each of the fifty statehouses is a constant re-litigation of these issues.

    While we conservatives are relaxing, the Alinskyites are meeting in someone’s mom’s basement, plotting to smash windows or shut down a bridge with a protest or demand spending and regulation of their legislators.

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  754. Leviticus,

    I don’t know why the 1,000 comments goal bothers you so much but since it does, let me offer a response. Patterico makes blogging look easy but it isn’t. From a blogger’s standpoint, it can be disappointing and even depressing to sometimes work for hours or days reading, researching and writing — only to generate 10 comments here and 100 comments there. Not only is it refreshing and reinvigorating to see a post generate a lot of comments, it makes blogging see m like less of a chore and more fun.

    I know it isn’t as much fun for commenters to wade through hundreds of comments, but think of it as an exercise in patience or as a chance to take a break — your choice.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  755. EPWJ,

    Do you think Romney would have picked Kagan or Sotomayor for the Supreme Court?

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  756. Also, Leviticus, you of all people should realize that we learn from questions, dialogue and debate –perhaps even more than from lectures.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  757. Epwj’s nonsense never gets old

    Comment by JD — 8/13/2012 @ 6:03 am

    Au contraire.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  758. Dana,

    Red states probably do embrace more traditional views when it comes to families and gender roles.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  759. Well-stated, DRJ.

    Especially since Patterico has been the target of the emotionally deranged left wing terrorist nutjob Brett Kimberlin & His Freak Show, it is important for us all to continue to show strong support for Patterico’s blog.

    The lefties such as Kimberlin wish to shut us all up, whether it’s with the “Fairness Doctrine” applied to radio, or Media Matters constantly bashing Fox News, or the sponsor boycott against El Rushbo, or the way that Sheldon Adelman is being investigated by DOJ, or the way that conservative student newspapers at universities have been reported stolen on an epidemic basis throughout the years, the lefties want to intimidate us to the point that we’re afraid to speak up or contribute money to various candidates, causes, and PACs.

    We are Breitbart, and we are Patterico.

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  760. I think your comment will make Patterico’s day, Elephant Stone.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  761. If We = B
    And We = P
    Then B = P

    It is known.

    Pious Agnostic (7c3d5b)

  762. EPWJ reminds me of Kevin Kline’s character in “A Fish Called Wanda.”

    Simon Jester (e0230e)

  763. DRJ

    Do you think Romney would have picked Souter or Roberts?

    Gerald A

    Newt Gingrich is the only politician in US history to end an entitlement. Oh, he ran for president – who did we pick again?

    Also he called the Ryan budget social engineering – which it was

    EPWJ (4380b4)

  764. Yup. He’s kind of like “Otto,” isn’t he.

    I’m afraid to ask about the London Underground.

    Simon Jester (e0230e)

  765. Or the principle tenet of Buddhism, which i’m pretty sure isn’t ‘everyone is out for themselves’

    narciso (ee31f1)

  766. EPWJ,

    I don’t think Romney would pick Souter or Roberts knowing what we know now.

    Now how about answering my question?

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  767. Good luck on that one, DRJ. He really does seem like “Otto” in that movie. I didn’t see it at first.

    Simon Jester (e0230e)

  768. As to the supposedly draconian nature of Paul Ryan’s Medicare cuts, they’re only exceeded by the severity of the Medicare cuts in…Obamacare.

    Neo (d1c681)

  769. We all recall how much epwj supported newt.

    JD (142098)

  770. I just wish we could have Michelle Malkin’s response to EPWJ telling us what she “really” meant.

    Simon Jester (e0230e)

  771. ______________________________________________

    Not sure the color isn’t less important than the far left dogma. Allen West is far more black than Obama but uniformly despised here as an Uncle Tom and race traitor.

    Your assumption is pretty much answered when it comes to politicians like West. If ideology were a race, then THAT would be THE race that was the most important to a fairly large number of people throughout black America and, of course, white liberals. Nothing else is quite as important to most of them, which is why their promoting the idea of diversity and its importance easily ends up mostly insincere cant.

    I know it isn’t as much fun for commenters to wade through hundreds of comments,

    It’s more of a problem for me at patterico.com than just about any other message board on the Internet. The format here makes my eyes wobble and stumble, and I wonder if a similar reaction among other people, particularly if they’re totally new and never seen this site before, is a major reason this blog hasn’t attracted as many new posters as it otherwise would. I remember when I first came across this forum I went “uh, maybe next time,” and shied away from it for quite awhile. The person who designed it deserves to have his or her eyes gouged out.

    Mark (0644af)

  772. Ogabe’s share prosperity poverty:

    http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2012/08/13/obama_a_new_vision_of_an_america_which_prosperity_is_shared.html

    Lowering the common denominator raises the divisor.

    Anything divided by infinity is zero.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  773. 776. John Sununu for press secretary.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  774. Mr. Gulrud, JS sure seems to enjoy mixing it up. And I fear that Team R will need that whole pugilistic thing until journalists quit being journolisters.

    Simon Jester (e0230e)

  775. Ryan on the ticket has me tickled pink.

    It would be great for Ryan to come down here to Florida and just be honest with the seniors here.

    Ask the seniors if Obamacare was designed with them in mind, when some say yes then tell them the real reason Obamacare was passed……………..To give “More people” access to health insurance……Period.
    And to do that Obama raided the medicaid fund of 714 BILLION dollars.
    He should then smile and ask “How is adding 45 million people going to boost your healthcare quality”.
    The honest to God fact is, seniors already had in place a decent healthcare structure, Ryan can simply divide 45 million people between 50 states and ask if it is even possible for them to continue to receive quality care that they are accustom too.
    Everyone seems to fret about Romney/Ryan being scorched by the media, they will but as long as they are honest and use common sense and logic it will provide those who are worried a clear picture.You can use honesty in almost all situations on policy that Obama has touched and paint a realistic picture of the man.

    So instead of fretting over which lib media person will say about this or that about R/R, point out all of the bad that comes without them and the good that comes with.This is a fight that falls to us, not some media dolt and not just for R/R to fight.We gotta get in the game ourselves, that will have huge impact.

    Drider (b003e1)

  776. Patterico–I think the design of your site is fine. More than fine. I like it.

    I’ve often thought I’d love to see an automatic word count limit which might help commenters who like to paste walls of words and unfocused stream-of- consciousness essays to be a bit more concise. But it is your blog and I would never presume to ask you to make changes to it.

    elissa (b40bbe)

  777. And Gerald sure I wish the cuts were permanent – but on this very blog Pat has pointed out that trillions can be spent we dont have in a year with a quick vote but months of deliberations yield small cuts that are laughably small and even those were to be phased out

    EPWJ (d84fb0)

  778. DRJ

    Yes I’m answering the question and I do think that Romney would have picked Roberts over a Bork

    thats why – Remember creating jobs is mostly out of the reach of the supreme court.

    When people are working they prefer not to be on the dole,

    EPWJ (d84fb0)

  779. EPWJ:
    I will repeat I dont hate Palin,
    — Repeat it until the end of time, repeat it two million times (hmmm, I wonder where I came up with that number?); it will remain difficult to credit, given what you have said about her in the past.

    Sean Trende is a well respected conservtive writer.
    — Let’s see here . . . “Sean P. Trende is a journalist and political analyst with RealClearPolitics specializing in American elections analysis. He has regularly appeared as a guest on Fox News, NPR’s All Things Considered and CNN Radio. Washington Times called him “a premier political number cruncher”. He is the author of Lost Majority.” And the part where he is a conservative in his writing is WHERE?

    None of you have met the challenge of what the path to prosperity would have cut in the immiediate next years budget that would have had any inpact on spending.
    — It takes a fair amount of skillful craftsmanship to write a thirty word sentence that is grammatically correct while simultaneously having it come off not sounding like a pretentious run-on.

    Also I missed any tax cuts in Ryans path.
    — Pay attention next time.

    Tax cuts, ending regultions are more important in the long run than spending cuts which always seem to be temporary
    — You don’t think they should bother trying to enact spending cuts? How fiscally responsible of you.

    The more people that move from govt asst to the workforce do shrink spending as they no longer qualify for assistance.
    — Good! And what did you learn on your second day in class?

    Ryan uses govt regulation to reduce/shift spending not the private sector
    — Either explain IN DETAIL what you mean, or feel free to drop this idiotic “Ryan wants to use government to fix government” meme.

    Ryan’s not a job creator in fact he’s yet another establishment conservative who has lived his whole life in Washington after graduation and saw the light only when colleagues were sent home packing.
    — So, your conclusion is that he is doing things right, now? GOOD!!! BTW, feel free to remember that the only jobs legislators “create” are government jobs.

    His votes, his advice in the mid 90′s as a legislative director – this is a recent and quite fortuitous conversion to the reduced spending religion.
    — So now you are accusing him of being disingenuous? It’s the Palin redux, folks!

    Too bad he wasnt worried about that a handful of years ago when he voted to expand govt and give the unions all that TARP money.
    — Too bad that you, once again, seem to be confuzzling TARP with the Stimulus.

    As far as I am concerned Romney and Ryan are not going to be a different driver of the cart than Obama except on that green energy nonsense.
    — And this, among MANY other places, is where you are wrong.

    Icy (8fbe96)

  780. I see no one’s going to the Paths to prosperity and bringing back one reason to vote for it

    Let the personal insult parade continue….

    EPWJ (d84fb0)

  781. Icy

    I dont and rarely ever do read your comments but keep on…

    EPWJ (d84fb0)

  782. Icy did a great job of exposing your trolling silliness, EPWJ, so I can see why you don’t want to read it.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  783. 755. “None of you have met the challenge of what the path to prosperity would have cut in the immiediate next years budget that would have had any inpact on spending.”

    Oh bother. You totally ignored Cruz’s “conservative” positions and discount Ryan’s recent entry into the halls of power at a Junior grade.

    Why should I feel like swiss cheese then?

    Quit being such a total ass and simulate seriousness. Prof. Hubbard has just been demoted, give the kid a chance to get his portfolio in order.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  784. EPWJ,

    You say that Romney-Ryan won’t govern any differently than Obama.

    Yes they will. And as a lefty, that’s what scares you.

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  785. Eric, DRJ’s very specific question– which she asked twice–was about Sotomayor and Kagan. (Not Bork or Souter or Roberts).

    Did you think people would not notice? Why don’t you try answering her question?

    elissa (b40bbe)

  786. I saw a headline this morning that Debbie W. Schultz has walked back her statement about not knowing the “cancer death” was done by Democrats. Of course she knew, so the headline said. I suppose it’s the old, one time at saying no before it counts. And yet, how many articles have commented on Romney accidentally calling ryan “president”? Oh, right, wrong party.

    PatAZ (5ef80e)

  787. Oh joy, Candy Crowley moderates Oct. 16th debate of princpals in NY.

    I’d rather watch the gnome work in lockstep with the Manchurian.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  788. 794, brother don’t sweat it in trying to convince Bolsheviks that their views are backwards………..for this country.

    Obama has miscalculated that enough people are on the government dole that he can carry the day with the slaves he helped create.
    Focus on the non Bolshevik types like seniors who may need a picture painted for them on just what Obama and crew are trying to do to them.
    Thats the entire deal wrapped up in one sentence.Obama wants to do “to” you as opposed to do for you.

    Drider (b003e1)

  789. All EPWJ, all the time:
    Do you think Romney would have picked Souter or Roberts?
    — He will pick justices that will be better than the ones Obama picked, and that is ALL that matters.

    Newt Gingrich is the only politician in US history to end an entitlement. Oh, he ran for president – who did we pick again?
    — WHAT entitlement did he “end” again?

    Also he called the Ryan budget social engineering – which it was
    — So, this means that you are mad at Newt for issuing a retraction of that comment; correct?

    on this very blog Pat has pointed out that trillions can be spent we dont have in a year with a quick vote but months of deliberations yield small cuts that are laughably small and even those were to be phased out
    — And on this very post your pointing out that we should not forget about the House and Senate races is valid.
    Saying that we should should abandon all hope for the presidential race and only focus on the congressional races is where you go off the tracks.

    thats why – Remember creating jobs is mostly out of the reach of the supreme court.
    — WHO said that it was ‘within’ their reach? Geez, you are looney, sometimes!

    When people are working they prefer not to be on the dole
    — So you DID learn something on your second day. Yay!

    Icy (8fbe96)

  790. #213, EPWJ:

    The Ryan plan doesn’t exactly have a great track record winning elections: It played a large role in the Republicans’ defeat in a special election in upstate New York in early 2011.

    I’ll go further. “You lie.”

    That election was won by the Democrat with 46% of the vote in a district with 46% Democrat registration. The reason she won was that 10% of the vote was taken by another Democrat who ran, with the connivance of election authorities, under the “Tea Party” label.

    So, she won 46-44-10 with a split Republican vote, due mainly to a false flag ballot line, not to anything Paul Ryan said or did. That’s just Democrat spin, like most of your posts.

    Kevin M (bf8ad7)

  791. I have a dream. Romney and Ryan in the Oval Office and it time to give his first orders to his transition team and he says one word.

    “Purge.”

    luagha (d3f77a)

  792. 564. Comment by Steve57 — 8/12/2012 @ 4:16 pm

    I’m sure Levrenty Beria was convinced he never told a lie in his whole life.

    How could you possibly think so? Just for one thing, do you think he believed the confessions he was extracting?

    And he was a Communist. He had to lie all the time. He had to say thin nobody could possibly believe – he had to say things no one in his position could believe. This was routine.

    And when Stalin was dying, probably poisoned (in self-defense maybe) by warfarin by his doctors (in U.S. brand well known under the brand name Coumadin) when Stalin perked up, he was all loyal to him and when he was not he acted a different way – he was obsequious towards others.

    Right up until the system he propped up put a bullet into the back of his skull in gratitude.

    No it was victims or possible future victims, who put a bullet in his head, after Stalin died. You can’t say the system did it unless you want to say Robespierre in France was killed by the Reign of Terror. It was how they ended the reign of terror!

    In the Soviet Union they didn’t end it quote that fast and it never really ended

    Sammy Finkelman (514375)

  793. Willard/Paulito up 10 with Indies?

    http://hotair.com/archives/2012/08/13/politicogwu-poll-shows-romney-obama-in-virtual-tie/

    Politico, didn’t bother checking date of queries.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  794. Also [Newt] called the Ryan budget social engineering – which it was…

    He did no such thing. Newt called Ryan’s original Medicare plan, which called for vouchers for current and future recipients “conservative social engineering” and thought it disruptive and radical. And Newt was right. So right that Ryan soon changed the plan to one that only took effect for future recipients, and even they got options.

    Newt says now that that his quibbles were listened to that he’s fully behind the Ryan budget. Only Democrats, Mobys and concern trolls still conflate the first draft with the current plan.

    Kevin M (bf8ad7)

  795. I have a dream. Romney and Ryan in the Oval Office and it time to give his first orders to his transition team:

    “Giuliani, arrest them all.”

    Kevin M (bf8ad7)

  796. Let the personal insult parade continue….
    Comment by EPWJ — 8/13/2012 @ 8:35 am

    — And here you thought that you would never lead anything.

    Icy
    I dont and rarely ever do read your comments but keep on…Comment by EPWJ — 8/13/2012 @ 8:37 am

    — That’s your choice. Just know that within this thread I have asked you a couple dozen direct questions regarding the opinions you’ve expressed. If you want to actually engage in an honest debate, if you want your opinions to be taken seriously, you might consider responding to those questions — both mine and those of others here.

    Icy (8fbe96)

  797. Be still, my heart, Zogby agrees with Rasmussen:

    http://hotair.com/archives/2012/08/13/politicogwu-poll-shows-romney-obama-in-virtual-tie/

    Ryan provides big push in swing states and with independents.

    Will the ‘independents are left of center’ supposition finally die?

    PeeWee, anyone?

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  798. 805. Heh. Indeed.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  799. Icy– it is obvious he neither wants nor expects his opinions to be taken seriously, and, voila!—mission accomplished!

    elissa (b40bbe)

  800. Erskin Bowles is ready to come to the table w/ Ryan:

    http://hotair.com/archives/2012/08/13/video-erskine-bowles-says-ryan-budget-sensible-honest-serious/

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  801. “– And here you thought that you would never lead anything.”

    Icy – Trenchant comment. His style is to smear and criticize current event, decisions and personalities while offering no concrete alternatives or suggestions of his own. Who did EPWJ support as VP choices? We have no idea all we hear in typical EPWJ fashion are substance free criticisms more suitable of the left, who have no problem with intellectual dishonesty and inconsistency.

    In deference to others on the thread, I will refrain from relitigating the primaries using the same meretricious argument style EPWJ has here over the past three days. It serves no purpose. Most rational people understand that.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  802. Perry, Gingrich, Dewhurst . . . Geez! Even the St. Louis Rams manage to win one once in awhile!

    Icy (8fbe96)

  803. Luagha…”purge” where? I’d like to see EPA, DHS, Education Dept. and a host of others eviserated. And why didn’t W Bush boot the career mooslim-loving traitors at State and CIA? Speaking of Islam, why do Republicans let Obama get away with saying Thomas Jefferson embraced Islam and the Koran? On religion per se, why is it taboo to have religion and prayer in the classroom but fine and dandy to encourage reading the bible and especially the sacrosanct Koran in prison?
    How about no tax dollars for NPR, PBS, National Endowment for the Arts, etc.?
    I think the format here is fine. Maybe a custom google search thing would be nice. At least there is no stupid verify this word catcha thing like Althouse does to avoid spam.
    I think the host does a swell job dealing with California problems and the LA TIMES bias and it is galling that he and his family have to cope with that ongoing terrorist running around free after the SWATTING and bogus lawsuits, with law enforcement emulating the three monkeys.

    Calypso Louis Farrakhan (e799d8)

  804. Who did EPWJ support as VP choices?

    — He answered that one: “a WOMAN” (not Palin)

    Icy (8fbe96)

  805. “– He answered that one: “a WOMAN” (not Palin)”

    Icy – Again, no specifics. I remain convinced EPWJ could screw up a one car funeral.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  806. EPWJ,

    You sound like you’re one of the Molly Ivins/Jim Hightower/Anne Richards brigade of Yellow Dog Texas Democrats who refuses to allow facts to interfere with his Calvinistic pre-determined notions.

    You were just lecturing us last week about how Mitt Romney has spent too much time in the private sector focusing on jobs and profits and balance sheets, and therefore his skill set wouldn’t apply too well to running the Executive Branch. Then, when the conversation switched to Cruz VS Dewhurst for Senate in Texas, you lectured us about how Cruz doesn’t have any explicit legislative experience, so we can’t trust him to vote the correct way.

    And now, you’re telling us that Paul Ryan has never created a job, and is not a good choice because he has spent too much…as a legislator !

    You lefties are always moving the goalposts when it comes to establishing a standard for electability.

    Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the Democrat party has no qualms re-electing Ted “I left Mary Jo Kopechne to drown” Kennedy for forty years, and re-electing Robert “I actually recruited people to the Klan” Byrd for half a century, and re-electing Barney “My boyfriend ran a male escort service from my apartment” Frank for decades, and nominating Geraldine “My husband is known to have ties to the mafia” Ferrarro for Vice President, and electing a President who appears to lack a paper-form birth certificate, who lacks any college records, who possesses a Social Security number from another state, and who never worked in the private sector, yet who had legislative experience—that is, if you consider voting “present” to be legislative experience.

    The Democrats also elected a nasty foul-mouthed boozer comedian by the name of Al Franken to the Senate. (Okay, they didn’t elect him—he just stole the ‘victory’ after numerous boxes of votes dropped out of the sky during the re-count.)

    And in 1992, who could forget Patty Murray’s “resume” for being elected to the US Senate from Washington state—-she was merely “a mom in tennis shoes.”
    That was it.

    No, you Democrats never seem to wring your hands, nor examine the lint in your navels when it comes to determining the fitness of a Democrat candidate to hold a particular office.
    That’s because you lefties are exclusively interested in whether or not the candidate is either for or against the big government utopian dream.

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  807. I’d be in favor of cutting 200K from Postal Service, eliminating DHS and outsourcing TSA, firing most of the lawyers at SEC and hiring accountants, reducing EPA to data mining and rescinding all regulatory authority seconded by Congress, returning Federal lands to western States, eliminating Dept. of Education, gut the FCC and NLRB, …

    Ryan would not take a frontal attack that I would choose, he’s a politician, but I guarantee he knows that all of the above will be necessary, at some point.

    Post default, for instance.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  808. We can’t hold an election yet, the EPWJ whine-fest is not over!

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  809. ______________________________________________

    So, she won 46-44-10 with a split Republican vote, due mainly to a false flag ballot line, not to anything Paul Ryan said or did. That’s just Democrat spin, like most of your posts.

    I just realize that another reason why EPWJ, whether he wants to accept it or not, does justifiably trigger some suspicion is that in another election in New York, the one that involved Dede Scozzafava, he apparently was supportive of a very, very liberal Republican. I know that Newt Gingrich also came out in support of Scozzafava, but beyond his being rather squishy (ie, in regards to social matters) in his own way, that perhaps can be written off as purely tactical gameplaying on his part. Moreover, I don’t believe he has been arguing quite enthusiastically about the lack of efficacy of Romney and Ryan.

    Mark (0644af)

  810. 566. Comment by Steve57 — 8/12/2012 @ 4:23 pm

    In preparation for his comeback, former Rep. Anthony Weiner will be sending out a special Tweet illustrating his support and enthusiasm for the party’s ticket.

    The New York Post found out exactly where Weiner is living (location of the secret home in the Flatiron district)

    Luxe on his Side? Sweet Weiner Deal

    That headline is what is in the newspaper, Monady August 13, 2012, page 3. The web site has the somewhat inaccurate “Anthony Weiner and wife move into $3.3 million Manhattan apartment.” Inaccurate because that’s probably where he’s been living since last September.

    They are in an apartment owned by a business:Rosen Partners LLC. People suspect they are not being charged rent, but that would seem to violate ethics rules for State epartment employees. My guess: he’s living there, tax and rent free “for the convenience of his employer” like a custodian. He probably has to make it, or part of it, available for meetings. It’s on the 12th floor of 254 Park Avenue South by 20th Street. He’s not far from Madison Square Park (near the site of the original Madison Square Garden) by the 23rd St stop of the N and R train (which he probably doesn’t use) ot far fromwhere I think Barnes and Noble used to be on 18th street. near where the Roper poll used to be, right near Theodore Roosevelt’s birth place.

    The main person at Rosen Partners is Jack Rosen, who has given lots of money to both Bill and Hillary Clinton – and some money to Weiner too in the past, and flies the Clintons around in his private plane. He’s now a top Obama bundler, collecting and/or donating more than $500,000 for him.

    Normal rent there, would be about $12,000 to $14,000 a month. It’s got 2,210 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 3.5 bedrooms. As I said, my guess is that only half of it or less is truly private for Weiner.

    Hillary Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines said they pay market rate for place.

    Sammy Finkelman (514375)

  811. Check out this horsesh*t. It’s a list of debate moderators: Jim Lehrer, Candy Crowley, Martha Raddatz, and Bob Schieffer. I tend to think the hyperventilation about the “MSM” and the “liberal media” is exaggerated, but my jaw dropped when I saw this list.

    Absolute horsesh*t. Not one person on that list is going to hold Obama’s feet to the fire.

    Leviticus (102f62)

  812. 802. 564. Comment by Steve57 — 8/12/2012 @ 4:16 pm

    I’m sure Levrenty Beria was convinced he never told a lie in his whole life.

    How could you possibly think so? Just for one thing, do you think he believed the confessions he was extracting?

    And he was a Communist. He had to lie all the time. He had to say thin nobody could possibly believe – he had to say things no one in his position could believe. This was routine.

    And when Stalin was dying, probably poisoned (in self-defense maybe) by warfarin by his doctors (in U.S. brand well known under the brand name Coumadin) when Stalin perked up, he was all loyal to him and when he was not he acted a different way – he was obsequious towards others.

    Right up until the system he propped up put a bullet into the back of his skull in gratitude.

    No it was victims or possible future victims, who put a bullet in his head, after Stalin died. You can’t say the system did it unless you want to say Robespierre in France was killed by the Reign of Terror. It was how they ended the reign of terror!

    In the Soviet Union they didn’t end it quote that fast and it never really ended

    Comment by Sammy Finkelman — 8/13/2012 @ 9:02 am

    Sammy, you shouldn’t go off about someone else’s comment when all you’re going to do is demonstrate you didn’t read what they wrote.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  813. Sammy, you shouldn’t go off about someone else’s comment when all you’re going to do is demonstrate you didn’t read what they wrote.

    — But then, what would he do with the other 23 hours of the day?

    Icy (8fbe96)

  814. Candy Crowley might surprise you, Leviticus.

    Might.

    Icy (8fbe96)

  815. “– But then, what would he do with the other 23 hours of the day?”

    Icy – Cut and paste?

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  816. Mitt Romney should make a campaign promise to cut all federal funds for California’s highspeed rail.

    If you can promise to get rid of Obamacare, could you please get rid of Jerry’s train at the same time?

    In Democrat-dominated California, if Mitt Romney is likely to lose the 55 electoral votes, he could make a point that would be popular outside of California, and strangely might be popular to a large number of the Golden state’s voters too.

    Voters outside California would have a number of reasons to agree with cancelling this California pork, ultimately saving hundreds of billions.

    Voters within California, a majority now having second thoughts about Jerry Brown’s train to nowhere, might hear fiscal sanity in a Romney promise to cut federal funding. That might help Republicans in marginal races within the state.

    What if it made California competitive by making its voters think about the economy?

    You know, we did vote for Reagan. Several times.

    Bill Lever (6ffd11)

  817. washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/08/11/paul-ryan-isnt-a-deficit-hawk-hes-a-conservative-reformer/
    “The truth is that the Ryan budget’s largest long-term savings don’t come from Medicaid or Medicare or Social Security, or even Medicaid and Medicare and Social Security put together. They come from everything else. Ryan says that under his budget, everything the federal government does that is not Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security will be cut to less than 3.75 percent of GDP by 2050. That means defense, infrastructure, education, food safety, energy research, national parks, civil service, the FBI — all of it. Right now, that category of spending is 12.5 percent of GDP.”

    Yes, the FBI; bridges and highways. Brilliant plan to make America great.

    delong.typepad.com/sdj/2012/08/reflections-on-paul-ryans-transactions-in-individual-bank-stocks-in-2008.html
    Ryan attended a closed meeting with congressional leaders, Bush’s Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on September 18, 2008… to beg Congress to pass legislation to help collapsing banks…. Ryan left the meeting and… sold shares of stock he owned in several troubled banks and reinvested the proceeds in Goldman Sachs, a bank that the meeting had disclosed was not in trouble….
    Hat tip to Open Secrets for making Paul Ryan’s 2008 financial disclosure available online.”

    theatlanticwire.com/politics/2012/04/how-tell-paul-ryan-wants-be-veep-hes-rejected-his-former-idol-ayn-rand/51605/
    Ryan 2012. “I reject her philosophy… It’s an atheist philosophy. It reduces human interactions down to mere contracts and it is antithetical to my worldview.”

    Ryan 2005. “The reason I got involved in public service, by and large, if I had to credit one thinker, one person, it would be Ayn Rand.”
    He made that comment in a speech in honor of Rand’s birthday at the Atlas Society the society of Randians .

    Now: “You know you’ve arrived in politics when you have an urban legend about you, and this one is mine,” chuckles Representative Paul Ryan, the Budget Committee chairman, as we discuss his purported obsession with author and philosopher Ayn Rand… These Rand-related slams, Ryan says, are inaccurate and part of an effort on the left to paint him as a cold-hearted Objectivist…. “If somebody is going to try to paste a person’s view on epistemology to me, then give me Thomas Aquinas… Don’t give me Ayn Rand…”

    Then-
    He told Insight on the News on May 24, 1999, that the books he most often rereads are “The Bible, Friedrich von Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom and Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged.”
    He told the Weekly Standard on March 17, 2003, “I give out Atlas Shrugged as Christmas presents, and I make all my interns read it. Well… I try to make my interns read it.”
    At a February 28, 2009 speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, Ryan said Obama was trying “to use this [financial] crisis to move America toward the sort of Europeanized economy… Sounds like something right out of an Ayn Rand novel.”

    A hack and a liar.

    still sleeeeepy (b5f718)

  818. 713. Comment by gary gulrud — 8/12/2012 @ 9:48 pm

    handled marketing for a couple years in family business, I believe including road construction

    still sleeepy was correct at 707

    Worked for family business.

    He worked only for a short period of time, maybe less than a year. When Congressman Mark Neumann made it known he was going to run for the U.S Senate in 1998 (against Russ Feingold, who probably looked like easy pickings, actually) Paul Ryan quit his job as legislative director for newly elected Kansas Senator Sam Brownback and went back to the district, where he grew up.

    The company, Ryan Construction, was founded by his great grandfather in 1884, but his grandfather and father were lawyers and not involved in the business, and the company was run by his cousins.

    Ryan’s father and grandfather both died when they were not too old of something like a heart attack – therefore his worry about heart disease and his passion for exercise. I wonder if the doctors really know what caused it, or what could prevent it. He’s probably doing things that no doctor told him to do.

    Paul Ryan’s father died when he was 16. His mother had gone to visit his married sister in another state (there were 4 children, of which Paul was the youngest) and a brother had left I think to go to work. Paul thought he was alone in the house, when his father’s office called and said there were clients waiting and where was his father? Paul went into the master bedroom where he thought at first his father was sleeping, went to wake him up, and discovered he was dead.

    The family got some Social Security dependents payments for Paul – this money was saved up and used to pay for college.

    Sammy Finkelman (514375)

  819. Paul Ryan’s mother now lives in Florida.

    Sammy Finkelman (514375)

  820. Comment by Leviticus — 8/13/2012 @ 9:41 am

    It’s a list of debate moderators: Jim Lehrer, Candy Crowley, Martha Raddatz, and Bob Schieffer…. Not one person on that list is going to hold Obama’s feet to the fire.

    What!!?

    The Romney campaign even made a campaign ad out of a question Bob Schieffer asked David Axelrod and ran it (in some stations) on his show!

    http://www.politico.com/blogs/politico-live/2012/07/realtime-romney-ad-shocks-anchor-128970.html

    Sammy Finkelman (514375)

  821. 827. A hack and a liar.

    Comment by still sleeeeepy — 8/13/2012 @ 10:20 am

    Look! still coooooomatose has a new signature line.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  822. Color me confused – the sleepy one is upset that Ryan’s budget will cut funding to the FBI?
    Since when do people on the Left defend the FIBS?
    And that cutback includes DoD too – I can just imagine the rending of garments on the UWS of NY, in Hyde Park in Chi-town, and the entire Bay Area of CA over any proposed trim in Defense expenditures.

    Sleepy, thank you for this important PSA – we’ll get right on this and ensure that Congress restores historical funding levels to these two areas of the Federal structure.
    We can’t be too safe.

    AD-Restore the Republic/Obama Sucks! (b8ab92)

  823. Moderator Panel –

    Where is Reince Priebus on this?
    Or, does he think that these names offer a “target rich environment” for push-back by Romney/Ryan in the manner that Newt engaged in during the primaries?
    But, does Mitt have it in him to attack the members of the Fourth Estate – no matter how deservedly?

    AD-Restore the Republic/Obama Sucks! (b8ab92)

  824. EWPJ,

    Would you describe yourself as a Republican or a Democrat, and why?

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  825. Sammy, you shouldn’t go off about someone else’s comment when all you’re going to do is demonstrate you didn’t read what they wrote.

    I read that – what I didn’t read were the other message.

    Sammy Finkelman (514375)

  826. The moderator list doesn’t seem neutral to me. In that vein, I assume this recent Candy Crowley moment (CNN’s Candy Crowley Claims Some GOPers Think Ryan Pick ‘Some Sort of Ticket Death Wish’) was her way of reminding the debate panel to pick her.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  827. ____________________________________________

    “Starve the beast!”

    Oh, so the leftist/Socialist formula pleases you? So tax-and-spend policies are the way to go? O-okay.

    You’re in good company with many of those living throughout the various socialized/left-ized parts of Europe who have favored that exact same path, particularly those in nations like Greece. Spain moved very much to the left over 8 years ago, and now more recently, even with a nominally right-leaning government in place, they’re so screwed up they’re not just cutting back on government expenditures, they’re also raising sales (or VAT) taxes up to a dizzying 20%. But that’s lovey-dovey, since their current and ongoing unemployment rate is only at the modest level of 25%. Way to go!

    I think Romney conjures up the correct image in this recent comment from him:

    nationaljournal.com: In a line that got a laugh from the audience, Romney predicted that the president’s reelection committee will have to change some of the visual aspects of his second acceptance speech as well. “One thing I am convinced that you are not going to see at the Democratic Convention — you are not going to see President Obama standing alongside Greek columns,” he said. “He is not going to want to remind anybody of Greece” — a country deeply in debt.

    Mark (0644af)

  828. I found 4-5 comments by EPWJ in the filter. I have no idea why they went there but scroll up if you want to read them.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  829. Sammy,

    Why should we read your comments if you don’t read ours?

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  830. AD-Retc.., how about the FDA ? or should the market make sure that food is safe? Inspection cutbacks have worked so well.
    End student loans?
    Interstate highways, let them rot!
    Who needs bridges!
    Hurrah, die Butter ist Alle!

    Ryan’s budget is a sham. Romney’s team were all opposed to picking him, but Romney did a McCain and chose his Palin.
    What’s next, Harriet Myers?

    still sleeeeepy (b5f718)

  831. It still doesn’t make sense.

    The rationalization you say some people have is not that it is not a lie, but that it is justified, or maybe that the point is true or at least that the ultimate goal is good.

    This does not apply to anything Beria did. I don’t think Beria had any illusions that he was a good person.

    Communists in the west might have had – not people running the system. But in reality, their minds were probably clouded by ambition.

    Sammy Finkelman (514375)

  832. “Ryan attended a closed meeting with congressional leaders, Bush’s Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on September 18, 2008… to beg Congress to pass legislation to help collapsing banks…. Ryan left the meeting and… sold shares of stock he owned in several troubled banks and reinvested the proceeds in Goldman Sachs, a bank that the meeting had disclosed was not in trouble….”

    Sleeeeepy – Distorting and lying about what others say again? I am not shocked. Ryan actively traded bank and securities stocks throughout 2008, particularly near the middle of each month. DeLong’s conclusion:

    “Did Paul Ryan run from his Paulson-Bernanke briefing to his phone to call his broker and trade on inside information? I doubt it. It is certainly not a potential conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest but rather an actual conflict of interest for a Congressman receiving Fed and Treasury information on the health of banks to be buying and selling individual bank stocks. But late-mid-month–the 16, 17, 18, 20–is a “normal” time for Ryan to be trading (38% of trading days are in that 17% of the month) and for Ryan to switch out of some banks into another (usually Goldman Sachs) was a common thing for him to do: once every two months.

    The impression I get from these 27 transactions in individual bank stocks in 12 months, 17 of which involve not net injections or withdrawals but rather switches between banks, is of a guy who simply does not know what he is doing.”

    You continue to be a hack and liar.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  833. Reviewing the press coverage of the Ryan pick, I’ve reached the conclusion that the current climate forced Romney to pick an extreme right-wingnut. Because of the way the oppress has treated Ryan, anyone Romney picked, even Hillary Clinton, would have been a right wing extremist in the eyes of the press. Romney could have picked Karl Marx, Chairman Mao or Mahatma Gandhi as his VP and the press would have said he chose an extreme right-winger.

    max (131bc0)

  834. Would you describe yourself as a Republican or a Democrat, and why?
    Comment by DRJ — 8/13/2012 @ 10:40 am

    I’m going to say, he will choose Independent. That way he can talk smack about whichever side he is angry at that particular moment in time.

    PatAZ (5ef80e)

  835. Now DWS. She knew the basic claim – which she knew was not really true, but maybe technically true – was that they had nothing to do with the ads.

    I saw her denial that he people who produced the ad were Democrats (not even a don’t know) and I knew she had slipped over into a flat out lie, in denying that the people involved in making the Romney caused a woman’s death ad were Democrats.

    She was stupid. It was a question she wasn’t prepared for. It can only be explained by the fact that in general she was lying, and she just told more of the same thing.

    But this isn’t something she could say.

    She should have said, if she was going to do this, that yes, they are Democrats but people who are Democrats are free to do things on their own, or some such thing, which would have been a lie, but not a preposterous one.

    Sammy Finkelman (514375)

  836. FDA….how many thousands die because the FDA process is so drawn out? They need to reform themselves, and there’s no better time than a budget re-evaluation.

    Highways?
    Seriously? You never heard of the Interstate Highway Trust Fund? The one funded by our Federal Fuel Tax Dollar$? It’s the basic User Tax, the more you drive, the more you pay.

    Student Loans?
    You’ve got to be kidding!
    The Federal Government has no business being in the stupid(sic) loan business.
    All that the loans have accomplished is a drastic, and unjustifiable, increase in tuition costs.

    You’re great at regurgitating DNC/Kos/MediaMutters talking points, but you really SUCK at thinking.

    As Bugs (and not the Mobster) would say:
    What a Maroon!

    AD-Restore the Republic/Obama Sucks! (b8ab92)

  837. “Ryan’s budget is a sham. Romney’s team were all opposed to picking him, but Romney did a McCain and chose his Palin.”

    still sleeeeepy – Stop lying. Erskine Bowles, aDemocrat Obama chose to head the deficit reduction committee whose recommendations he ignored called Ryan’s budget honest and serious, especially compared to the trash Obama put out.

    Were you there with the Romney campaign to speak about the inner workings of it campaign? You know nothing, as usual.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  838. she probably had instructions: Don’t mention the legal term “not co-ordinate” or make any reference to campaign finance law considerations. Don’t do anythinbg to indicate you are even aware of such laws. And deny any connection to non-official campaign ads. But don’t criticize them in any way.

    Sammy Finkelman (514375)

  839. Sammy,

    You really need to get a blog so you won’t be interrupted and can talk about what you want to talk about.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  840. I am constantly amazed that DWS can remember to breathe without a staffer memo to remind her – she a sleepy are probably related.

    AD-Restore the Republic/Obama Sucks! (b8ab92)

  841. 841.EWPJ,

    Would you describe yourself as a Republican or a Democrat, and why?

    Comment by DRJ — 8/13/2012 @ 10:40 am

    I’m a Republican, have been since 1981. Because I strongly feel that they best represent what is best for America

    Romney is NOT a Republican, Ryan is one but as with all people there are various shades of Republicanism, or abilities or capabilities. I feel that most of our Republican politicians have deep conservative values but lack the conviction, or the courage to express them in times of crisis.

    I hope I answered your question.

    I feel that Obama should be investigated seriously for the Union bailouts and the spending of millions on green donors in the forms of flimsy loans

    EPWJ (2a58f7)

  842. Pataz

    I have never praised the democrats and really dont even feel they are worthy of citizenship. The demorats see America and its constitution as an obstacle to their social engineering plans not as a “gift” which it really is.

    EPWJ (2a58f7)

  843. EWPJ,

    Since you are a Republican, why is there any doubt who would be the better choice for President — Romney/Ryan or Obama/Biden?

    Because those are our only real choices this year.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  844. 823- Love it. Cuts, cuts and more cuts.

    mg (44de53)

  845. Sammy,
    You really need to get a blog so you won’t be interrupted and can talk about what you want to talk about.
    Comment by DRJ — 8/13/2012 @ 11:06 am

    ROFL

    Hear, hear.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  846. This does not apply to anything Beria did. I don’t think Beria had any illusions that he was a good person.

    And since the concept of a “good person” would have been considered a laughable bourgeois notion, why would he aspire to be one? Certainly no around him had any such aspirations.

    This was part of a larger discussion in which MD in Philly introduced the terms “sociopathic ‘virtue’.” A description I find apt. But whether you refer to the standard as “socialist morality” or “sociopathic virtue,” it is only by that standard that one could say Beria wasn’t lying.

    And it was definitely his system that killed him, Sammy. Or are you not familiar with the term “hoist on one’s own petard?”

    The point being that ideologies that require “sociopathic virtues” to keep going are dangerous.

    And we have just such an ideology in this country.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  847. So EPWJ writes:

    “…I have never praised the democrats and really dont even feel they are worthy of citizenship….”

    Put that in your memory banks, friends, for when he claims to be misunderstood.

    And tell me he isn’t a moby, writing tripe like that.

    Notice that, like “sleeeeepy,” EPWJ seems to feel he knows what takes place during private meetings, and even what people think privately.

    Moby and troll.

    Simon Jester (c8876d)

  848. EPWJ’s anti-Obama/anti-Democrat statements have a scripted feel to them.

    Gerald A (f26857)

  849. Steve, I think it’s called The Blue Social Model!

    AD-Restore the Republic/Obama Sucks! (b8ab92)

  850. DRJ

    actually I want more resouces for a republican senate

    There is no need to fund the R&R team, they cannot win, and if they did, the differences would be miniscule

    its all about the Senate

    EPWJ (2a58f7)

  851. Speaking of class:

    http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/biden-invokes-paul-ryans-deceased-father-question-vp-candidates-values_649913.html

    Can you imagine the result if Ryan mouthed off about Biden’s deceased wife?

    Simon Jester (c8876d)

  852. 852. Now DWS. She knew the basic claim – which she knew was not really true, but maybe technically true – was that they had nothing to do with the ads.

    I saw her denial that he people who produced the ad were Democrats (not even a don’t know) and I knew she had slipped over into a flat out lie, in denying that the people involved in making the Romney caused a woman’s death ad were Democrats.

    She was stupid. It was a question she wasn’t prepared for. It can only be explained by the fact that in general she was lying, and she just told more of the same thing.

    But this isn’t something she could say.

    She should have said, if she was going to do this, that yes, they are Democrats but people who are Democrats are free to do things on their own, or some such thing, which would have been a lie, but not a preposterous one.

    Comment by Sammy Finkelman — 8/13/2012 @ 11:02 am

    As MD in Philly put it, such willingness to tell lies is often thought of as a sociopathic virtue.

    This is what the DNC needed in its chair. It’s what DWS has to offer.

    It doesn’t matter to her if what is coming out of her mouth would be thought of as a lie by other people. She serves her ideology. And so do the words coming out of her mouth at the moment.

    “Socialist morality” isn’t a moral code. It’s another classic leftist tactic; lying through euphemisms. Socialist morality simply means serving the ideology; doing whatever the cause of advancing the ideology demands without letting old-fashioned concepts of morality or a concern for facts get in the way.

    I do not know what the ideology DWS serves could demand of her that she would balk at.

    But we do no that telling preposterous lies on national TV does not meet that threshold.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  853. Okay, EWPJ. Specifically, which Senate races do you think need more support, and why aren’t people already giving to them?

    Also, what makes you assume there is a set amount of money available and taking from Romney/Ryan means there is more for the Senate races? I gave to Cruz and I gave to Romney/Ryan, but only after Ryan joined the ticket. I don’t plan to give to anyone else, and I definitely won’t give to the NRSC — even though Cornyn chairs it.

    Thus, putting Ryan on the ticket doubled what I donated to the Republican Party. If I’m representative of a typical GOP supporter (and I suspect I am since Romney/Ryan collected $3.5M in one day), putting Ryan on the ticket was a very good thing for Republican fundraising.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  854. ==its all about the Senate==

    Please don’t let anyone stop you from contributing to the senate candidates you like if there are any. Still, you never seem to manage to say “it’s about a Republican majority senate”. No– you always simply say “it’s about the senate”. Too clever by half, maybe? You think people are stupid to pick up on the word games?

    elissa (d4a51c)

  855. Moby and troll.

    Without a doubt, but he does his part to get is to 1000 comments, which is more than I’ve been doing.

    Pious Agnostic (7c3d5b)

  856. Yeah, EPWJ is a fraud. Remember his quotes. He goes off his meds, writes crazy stuff, and then tries to come back as being reasonable.

    It’s performance art, and not very good performance art.

    Simon Jester (c8876d)

  857. Simon Jester, I’ve been convinced that he’s a Moby for years.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  858. Nice call, elissa. I think that there is some tag team trolling going on here lately, in fact.

    Simon Jester (c8876d)

  859. SPQR, I also think he is, um, uneven in his psyche.

    Simon Jester (c8876d)

  860. SJ, his “uneven-nous” is caused by his self-medication regimen.

    AD-Restore the Republic/Obama Sucks! (b8ab92)

  861. DRJ

    If they had picked a strong woman like Pryce from Ohio we would have a good chance of not only carrying Ohio but upending Brown

    Heather Wilson is also an extremely good choice

    Mary Fallin of Oklahoma had a messy divorce in 98 but is also a great candidate – she is as TOUGH as NAILS

    Ther are 14 races in the senate within reach of a strong republican ticket that couild/would carry many of them into one of the strongest republican senates ever

    http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/senate/2012_elections_senate_map.html

    EPWJ (2a58f7)

  862. With all due respect for the Colonel and any others who have been behind Twister since day one, Ryan is a better candidate who simply was not ready, in his own soul, for the headliner position.

    Willard gets credit where credit is due, he did step up, and/or was nudged but Ryan in the room makes him a better POTUS, and that’s the troof.

    Given events, my price was paid.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  863. 132 etc.

    According to a column by Dick Morris, the Rubio ethiics problems are as follows:

    1. A person he picked to be Chairman of the Florida House’s budget committee, and who later succeeded him as Speaker of the Florida House, Ray Sansom , was later convicted on corruption charges. There doesn’t seem to be a connection to Rubio, other than maybe bad judgement.

    2> Marco Rubio’s close friend, Congressman David Rivera, spent many years they say essentially living off the state Republican Party’s credit card. There’s now a serious fedeal investigation.

    3> Rubio himself also misused the credit card. He ran up $100,000 in bills. Rubio said all but $16,000 was legitimately charged to the state party, and he paid back $16,000 that shouldn’t have been put on that card.

    4> Rubio double billed for 9 plane trips (double reimbursement) Also paid back and said it was an oversight.

    5> On a financial report or disclosure he had to make, he didn’t include a $135,000 home equity loan. Also apologized for and corrected.

    6> He took in $210,000 in illegal campaign contributions, and paid a $8,000 fine for it. (Morris writes this has happened to others. Many senators, most notably Hillary Rodham Clinton, have done a lot worse.)

    Sammy Finkelman (514375)

  864. FWIW, today is the first time ever I can recall the Ivy League Republicans are universally calling for the Republican Party to start fighting fire with fire and stop being Country Club D-Baggers.

    Rodney King's Spirit (aeda60)

  865. DRJ

    Ryan and Romney can give that money without limits to other republican politicians

    Ryans a bust but as I can see no one is going to bring anything he’s doen or anything in his PAth to Prosperity back to refute or to even give it as a reason to vote for the guy – I will stop talking about him like I did Palin, becuase – he’s a vote for bigger government for most of his career until lately – and his proposals are too ludicrously long, take decades to accomplish even those this spending was voted on in a fortnight now wasnt it?

    EPWJ (2a58f7)

  866. Comment by AD-Restore the Republic/Obama Sucks! — 8/13/2012 @ 11:02 am

    FDA….how many thousands die because the FDA process is so drawn out?

    I couldn’t agree more. I’m waiting to see if there;s even one candidate, even for the House or the Senate, who has the guts and the brains to say something like this and propose doing something about it. To argue that the benefits of a change will outweigh the losses. Maybe there should be free for all period during clinical trials at least?

    They need to reform themselves, and there’s no better time than a budget re-evaluation. </I.

    This is not a budget issue, except the indirect effect of driving up prescriptipn medical costs.

    The costs of the FDA procedures are borne by companies – and by people in general because of all the drugs never or very belatedly developed. and the non use of unpatented things like nutrients, and expired patents and things for which somebody else has the patent.

    And a general budget review is probably the worse time to make any changes because good changes require a lot of careful thinking.

    Sammy Finkelman (514375)

  867. AD-R.etc.
    washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/08/12/what-paul-ryans-budget-actually-cuts-and-by-how-much/
    “How might this lower spending play out in the real world? Let’s take transportation as an example. Right now, the United States is facing a number of pressing infrastructure challenges. The National Highway System, first built in the 1950s, is reaching the end of its natural lifespan. Our air-traffic control system is outdated, causing airport delays around the country. About one-quarter of the country’s bridges are either “structurally deficient” or inadequate to today’s traffic needs, according to the GAO.

    A variety of think tanks and analysts have pegged the cost of repairing and upgrading our transportation networks at somewhere between $200 billion and $262 billion per year over the next decade. The White House’s budget envisions spending an average of about $104 billion per year over that time. Ryan’s budget, meanwhile, allocates $78 billion per year. In his summary, Ryan claims he can meet the country’s needs by cutting back on “imprudent, irresponsible, and downright wasteful spending,” though it’s not clear what waste Ryan has in mind, much less whether it would make up the gap.”

    AD-R “The Federal Government has no business being in the stupid(sic) loan business.”

    Shout that to the rooftops, if you want your team to lose the election.

    still sleeeeepy (b5f718)

  868. 880. Evidently Cuda’s price was met as well-Hotair is reporting she’s officially endorsed the ticket.

    883. “his proposals are too ludicrously long, take decades to accomplish”.

    And I for one said so, but compared with the GOP at large in perpetuity, he was moving the ball forward.

    If you cannot admit to this you are just a putative ideologue like the Wun.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  869. Since you are a Republican, why is there any doubt who would be the better choice for President — Romney/Ryan or Obama/Biden?

    Because those are our only real choices this year.

    Comment by DRJ

    That sums it up.

    But it’s a little unfair to Ryan, in my opinion, who is so much more than merely ‘not Obama/Biden’.

    There isn’t a single Republican in office for years, in very important positions like Budget, who hasn’t made a few calls that are incorrect. I didn’t agree with TARP. But I think one really has to nitpick to not see that Ryan is overall an amazing champion of pragmatic solutions to our government’s unfunded liabilities. He has really put himself on point to argue for reforms. He has come up with many specifics that could actually happen. He has taken this issue more seriously than any other Republican on the Hill.

    It’s irritating seeing Ryan trashed. I don’t think the standard EPWJ is using is consistent. EPWJ and I both preferred Perry for the nomination. I know I had to forgive three mistakes in Perry’s record to do this. Later I preferred Newt, and that really stretched how much I could accept. I thought EPWJ preferred Newt around the same time. Newt’s done a lot of good, and Perry has too, but if you look at the record, it’s not perfect. For Newt, there are lapses as egregious as Union shill arch liberal Scozzafava and support for global warming hysterics. And Newt supported a federal ind health insurance mandate, too.

    But you take the good with the bad.

    Those who were able to do that have a lot of explaining to do if they can’t extend that to Ryan, whose lapses are few compared to his virtues.

    I don’t mind Gary calling Romney ‘twister’. It’s funny and it’s rooted in reality. But Gary is giving Romney credit where it’s due. I can understand his point of view because it’s consistent. I would have a good idea what he’d say about an issue next week.

    But when someone goes from forgiving lapses until it’s the lapses of our actual ticket, when it’s really time to unify if we’re serious about beating Obama, some people change their policy on such grace. And I don’t understand why.

    Dustin (73fead)

  870. Student Loans?
    You’ve got to be kidding!
    The Federal Government has no business being in the stupid(sic) loan business.
    All that the loans have accomplished is a drastic, and unjustifiable, increase in tuition costs.

    Things bought in one year or a few but paid for with borrowed money tend to be overpriced.

    I want to point out that we have this inflation, not just with college tuition, and with medical costs (paid for by insurance) but with construction.

    Only when it comes to construction, people think it’s a good thing to keep housing prices up.

    This also raises the prices of roads and tunnels and bridges.

    Sammy Finkelman (514375)

  871. EPWJ: so you say you don’t support the Democrats, but you will not vote for Romney/Ryan and have nothing good to say about either one of them. If that isn’t supporting Democrats, then what on God’s green earth is? You mock yourself.

    That’s it for me. I’m too old for this game EPWJ is playing.

    PatAZ (5ef80e)

  872. Ryan’s budget is a sham. Romney’s team were all opposed to picking him, but Romney did a McCain and chose his Palin.
    What’s next, Harriet Myers?
    Comment by still sleeeeepy — 8/13/2012 @ 10:51 am

    — And your proof that “Romney’s team were all opposed” to choosing Ryan is WHAT?

    Icy (8fbe96)

  873. And I for one said so, but compared with the GOP at large in perpetuity, he was moving the ball forward.

    I certainly agree it would be a lot nicer to have a strident and forceful and sharp cut to almost everything.

    As you know, the thing that makes Ryan scarier to the left is that his proposals are mild because he is 100% serious about making this happen in the near future with the problems that presents. His proposal is less satisfying that something I could come up with, but so much more realistic.

    Instead of using the deficit and debt crisis for slogans, he is actually moving the ball forward towards solutions. That is so rare these days.

    Dustin (73fead)

  874. I think the debate moderators will be totally fair and impartial. But they might want to check the Republicans Americans for banned substances.

    East German Judge (2fd7f7)

  875. Bugs (and not the Mobster)

    Although they are quite different characters, and the usual copyright disclaimer about not resembling any person living or dead really does apply very much, Bugs Bunny really was named after Bugsy Siegel (and Yogi Bear was named after “Yogi” Berra)

    The names are not a coincidence.

    Sammy Finkelman (514375)

  876. And the Baby Ruth candy bar really was named after Babe Ruth, not the baby, Ruth, born to President Grover Cleveland and wife 40 years before, but the company stuck to its story.

    Sammy Finkelman (514375)

  877. Shout that to the rooftops, if you want your team to lose the election.

    I don’t have to, others such as Charles Krauthammer, and Bill Kristol, have noted it already.

    Currently, something like 85% of all Student Loans are Federally Insured/Guaranteed, meaning that every taxpayer in the land is on the hook for them.
    And, since they can’t be discharged in Bankruptcy, how many of these “students” will face a lifetime of missed opportunities due to the constraints of their unpaid obligation that – seemingly – can only be discharged upon death (or does it continue past that point?). We are already hearing of Social Security payments being garnisheed by the Feds for repayment of Student Loans.

    Why do you and Obama hate Seniors so?

    AD-Restore the Republic/Obama Sucks! (b8ab92)

  878. Ryans a bust but as I can see no one is going to bring anything he’s doen or anything in his PAth to Prosperity back to refute or to even give it as a reason to vote for the guy – I will stop talking about him like I did Palin, becuase – he’s a vote for bigger government for most of his career until lately – and his proposals are too ludicrously long, take decades to accomplish even those this spending was voted on in a fortnight now wasnt it?

    This looks like Engrish, kind of sounds like Engrish, but makes about as much sense as my 4 year old trying to read a Supreme Court decision in Farsi.

    JD (142098)

  879. “sleepy” sure is wound up.

    JD (142098)

  880. Soros has got his minions on O/T today trying to beat-down the wildfire building for R&R!

    AD-Restore the Republic/Obama Sucks! (b8ab92)

  881. Candy Crowley will occasionally drop the Team Blue pom poms. That’s the best I can do for her.

    If Team Red is expecting to be treated with even a morsel of fairness they better re-calibrate their expectations. Jindal was on Chuck Todd’s this morning and Chuck was animated about the fact that Jindal was giving figures off of a ‘baseline’ i.e. a ‘cut’ can be an ‘increase’ if it’s a reduction from planned increases. Unbelievable. This is the same baseline that the Ds and the media always push and the Rs generally don’t like (for the very reason that a ‘cut’ isn’t always a ‘cut’ i.e. call Orwell). So Jindal joins the ‘right thinkers’ and now the ‘right thinkers’ are calling foul?

    East Bay Jay (2fd7f7)

  882. If Sammy is cut-and-paste, then Sleeeeepy is cut-and-waste

    Or utter-waste

    Or ate-the-paste

    Icy (8fbe96)

  883. Now it was Charlie Crist, and his handpicked men,
    Jim Greer, now on trial, and his factotum, Delmar
    Johnson, did loot the party fund, like a mid 80s
    S&L, who was a former Crist aide, current Romney
    staffer, Andrea Saul.

    narciso (ee31f1)

  884. The whole point of driving a hard bargain(not that I learned anything from Dad in the retail market) is you get what you want at a price you’re willing to pay.

    After Romany clinched, Mother B endorsed but said it was up to Romney to earn our support.

    Somewhere between Bachmann and Palin is the way to deal to my mind.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  885. Although they are quite different characters, and the usual copyright disclaimer about not resembling any person living or dead really does apply very much, Bugs Bunny really was named after Bugsy Siegel (and Yogi Bear was named after “Yogi” Berra)

    The names are not a coincidence.

    Comment by Sammy Finkelman

    I recall standing in line for the Flashback roller coaster learning that someone had labeled the first drawing of the cartoon character “Bugs’s Bunny”, after Buggs Hardaway.

    And if you learned it at Six Flags, it has to be true. It’s a law.

    What is this, 905 comments or so? Just doing my part.

    Dustin (73fead)

  886. Comment by DRJ — 8/13/2012 @ 11:37 am

    Thus, putting Ryan on the ticket doubled what I donated to the Republican Party. If I’m representative of a typical GOP supporter (and I suspect I am since Romney/Ryan collected $3.5M in one day), putting Ryan on the ticket was a very good thing for Republican fundraising.

    I heard or read they collected $4 million in the 7 hours after the announcement.

    Sammy Finkelman (514375)

  887. 901. Yeah, Sammy is more the gentleman than I, and more long suffering by a mile.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  888. I heard or read they collected $4 million in the 7 hours after the announcement.

    Comment by Sammy Finkelman — 8/13/2012

    Wow.

    People have something to say after these three-four years. Ryan gives them a chance to say something with their support.

    Dustin (73fead)

  889. Newt Gingrich is the only politician in US history to end an entitlement. Oh, he ran for president – who did we pick again?

    Also he called the Ryan budget social engineering – which it was

    Comment by EPWJ — 8/13/2012 @ 7:36 am

    You started out saying spending is not what’s important, which is why you’re not impressed with Ryan. Rather taxes and regulations are important. Romney has already proposed cutting taxes and repealing Dodd-Frank and Obamacare.

    Now suddenly with respect to a Romney-Gingrich comparison, Gingrich is the guy because he “ended an entitlement”. Aside from the fact that he didn’t actually end an entitlement, you are contradicting yourself again. You find a reason to be against every Republican. You’re obviously a Moby.

    Gerald A (f26857)

  890. Gingrich’s welfare reform was not an Army of One.

    It took an entire party of serious and practical Republicans to accomplish that.

    Santorum, for example, has this at the very top of his credentials.

    Ryan is the exemplar of that kind of leadership today. Newt has lost his way occasionally and the truth is that a lot of people don’t respect him. Whether that’s fair or not (I supported Newt) is beside the point. A leader needs to be able to command some respect.

    But if we’re willing to cut Newt some slack, why wouldn’t we be able to admire Ryan? It doesn’t seem consistent to be so tolerant in one case and such a hardass in the other.

    Dustin (73fead)

  891. True, Dustin, may have lost his way, but Hastert gave away the store, Delay also went astray, to a degree, and is now in prison, due to a Democrat
    Marshal Girald, named Ronnie Earle.

    narciso (ee31f1)

  892. EPWJ (pronounced: ep•wich) it’s like a Manwich, but without the . . .
    There is no need to fund the R&R team, they cannot win, and if they did, the differences would be miniscule
    its all about the Senate

    — Good plan, Eric. Let’s set up Barack Obama to use his veto pen more than any second-term POTUS ever. That’ll show ’em!

    If they had picked a strong woman like Pryce from Ohio
    — Divorced, hardly young, and out of Congress for four years. What else you got?

    Heather Wilson is also an extremely good choice
    — She’s running for the Senate! I thought you said we need more Senators. What, are you moving the goalposts on yourself?

    Mary Fallin of Oklahoma had a messy divorce in 98 but is also a great candidate – she is as TOUGH as NAILS
    — And she probably IS a great candidate, but the other side would use her scandal as a distraction.

    Ryans a bust but as I can see no one is going to bring anything he’s doen or anything in his PAth to Prosperity back to refute or to even give it as a reason to vote for the guy – I will stop talking about him like I did Palin, becuase – he’s a vote for bigger government for most of his career until lately – and his proposals are too ludicrously long, take decades to accomplish even those this spending was voted on in a fortnight now wasnt it?
    — I see that you have accepted my run-on sentence challenge and (so to speak) ran with it.

    Icy (8fbe96)

  893. 905 and yet the Obama campaign and its minions insist Romney gets huge amounts from billionaires like the evil-ass Koch brothers while Obama gets small amounts from millions of supporters. How much $ comes from credit cards with verification turned off or from foreign sources? How much from cretins like Bill Maher and the rest of the “capitalism is bad” Hollywood leftards? If CEOs make too much, perhaps so too do the so-called Hollywood and media stars? looks like 1000 is a cinch. Do I hear 5,000? Bueller?

    Calypso Louis Farrakhan (e799d8)

  894. I hate to say this, but I actually have a lot of respect for Ronnie Earle. Opening myself up to a lot of flak, but he was a zealous DA whose jurisdiction happened to include some election matters in a state with a lot of Republicans. I don’t think he was doing this as a partisan, though he is indeed a devout democrat.

    I say this despite the truly unfair Delay legal theory where I don’t think the law was clear and I do think Delay intended to comply. I’m actually a fan of Delay.

    None of these folks turn out to be the monsters they appear to be. It’s just that they are human and the stakes in their fields are so high.

    Dustin (73fead)

  895. his proposals are too ludicrously long, take decades to accomplish

    Any debt balancing proposal that is swift is unlikely to be realistic.

    The scale of our debt is massive, especially when you consider our entitlement liabilities.

    That complaint sounds like complaining that JD promised he could run a mile, but in minutes rather than seconds. Well, duh.

    Dustin (73fead)

  896. CLF, it’s time to repeal the Hollywood Tax-Cuts!
    H/T – Instapundit

    AD-Restore the Republic/Obama Sucks! (b8ab92)

  897. 811.I have a dream. Romney and Ryan in the Oval Office and it time to give his first orders to his transition team:
    “Giuliani, arrest them all.”
    Comment by Kevin M — 8/13/2012 @ 9:06 am

    If all goes well, maybe we should run a contest before Romney is sworn in as to which country without an extradition treaty will receive the most members connected with the Obama Admin, with a special prize as to where Holder will be found.

    897.Ryans a bust but as I can see no one is going to bring anything he’s doen or anything in his PAth to Prosperity back to refute or to even give it as a reason to vote for the guy – I will stop talking about him like I did Palin, becuase – he’s a vote for bigger government for most of his career until lately – and his proposals are too ludicrously long, take decades to accomplish even those this spending was voted on in a fortnight now wasnt it?
    This looks like Engrish, kind of sounds like Engrish, but makes about as much sense as my 4 year old trying to read a Supreme Court decision in Farsi.
    Comment by JD — 8/13/2012 @ 12:38 pm

    As far as that 1,000 comment goal, does that include all comments that appear, or only the ones worth considering? JD’s post is wonderful, the one it referenced…well….it did provide opportunity for JD to make his comment.

    Debate moderators? After Gwen Iffel was considered unbiased I decided that for the near future honest debates were a lost hope.
    I’m hoping that Romney and Ryan can find ways to override the format and show how it was necessary and justified.

    MD in Philly (9fa3fb)

  898. “Obama drooling at the prospect”

    Yeah, I’ll bet. He will run at the sight of him.

    BTW, that ain’t drool about his mouth.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  899. After Gwen Iffel was considered unbiased

    No kidding.

    But it’s a total joke. Ryan and Romney should be quite upfront that NBC is more biased than Fox News. MSNBC as biased as Rush Limbaugh. And then they should challenge Obama to a fair debate schedule without the typical lefty bias that pretends ABC is objective.

    They should pick two or three, we should pick two or three. I see no reason why a debate can’t be biased so long as both sides get the same advantage.

    They want CNN, then let Breitbart.com have one too.

    Let’s have Obama field some questions from conservatives. And by all means, let Ryan and Romney field questions from lefties too.

    Dustin (73fead)

  900. Obama Admin. criminals on the run will most likely end up in Brazil, the welcome mat is out for Soros there.

    ropelight (e45149)

  901. 919- I hope the media goes with him.

    mg (44de53)

  902. Highest gas price in the country?

    Chicago — as high as $4.49 at some stations.

    Where I live it’s $3.13

    Icy (8fbe96)

  903. Obama Supposedly Drooling Over Ryan Pick

    Well, in a way they like it, the way they have liked Newt Gingrich to be the nominee. So the anchor asked a reporter on CBS This Morning hoq is it they are both saying Paul Ryan is good for their ticket, and the reporter said one of them has to be wrong.

    Actually this is very good for the Republican ticket,

    BECAUSE….

    The Democrats will be strongly tempted to stick to the facts, or close ot them, and even if they don’t, the news media will interpret any vaguie statements as refewrring to something real, and Paul Ryan may be around to answer them, and Paul Ryan is not a monster.

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)

  904. Let’s see what the DemOCRATIC Party have done now:

    Email at Mon, Aug 13, 2012 at 4:21 PM from Debbie Wasserman Schultz

    I don’t read a lot of my Gmail, but this just came in. (I actually search GMail for correspondents and lists)

    So what are the accusations?

    Take it from me

    Samuel —

    As a member of the House Budget Committee, I’ve seen firsthand just how extreme Paul Ryan is, so I’m not going to mince words: Paul Ryan in the White House would be a nightmare.

    And that’s about all she has to say about the Ryan budget. The only thing she mentions is Medicare – which she doesn’t bother to explain – and the rest is abortion and social issues, where she also doesn’t bother to explain what powers even the president and Congress put together have and do not have. Even the Me3dicare I thibnk she seems to be saying that Paul Ryan woulsd not give women over the age of 65 access to borth control.

    Over the last two years, we’ve seen an unprecedented number of attacks on a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions — and Congressman Ryan has been at the forefront of all of them.

    He wants to end Medicare as we know it. He co-sponsored a radical “personhood” bill that could have banned the birth control pill, in vitro fertilization, and all abortions — even in cases of rape or incest. What’s more? He wants to allow states to criminally prosecute women who choose to have abortions and the doctors who perform them.

    We cannot afford to let this man be a heartbeat away from the presidency. It’s up to us to do everything we can to give Democrats the resources to defeat the Romney-Ryan campaign and Republicans across the board in November.

    Donate $3..

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)

  905. Comment by DRJ — 8/13/2012 @ 11:06 am

    Sammy,

    You really need to get a blog so you won’t be interrupted and can talk about what you want to talk about.

    I had a blog before there were blogs.

    But somebody else set it up.

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)

  906. So it’s interesting. All you need to do, much like EPWJ and Tye and “sleeeepy,” is just make extreme claims. No references.

    It helps create Teh Narrative.

    The difference this time is that Romney is acting tougher, and Paul Ryan has experience responding to such slander.

    Simon Jester (c8876d)

  907. I just can’t let this one go…

    “….We cannot afford to let this man be a heartbeat away from the presidency….”

    In a world with Joe Biden, that statement requires serious chutzpah.

    Simon Jester (c8876d)

  908. Can obama pardon the democratic congress?

    mg (44de53)

  909. They should pick two or three, we should pick two or three. I see no reason why a debate can’t be biased so long as both sides get the same advantage.

    They want CNN, then let Breitbart.com have one too.

    Let’s have Obama field some questions from conservatives. And by all means, let Ryan and Romney field questions from lefties too.

    Dustin, just so you know, if this is the final list of “moderators” then it means both campaigns agreed to the list.

    I personally can’t believe it. It’s like Romney agreed to let this ref moderate the bout now that his job at the Olympics is finished:

    The series of events Sunday marks the second time in less than a week that a protest has been filed regarding an Azerbaijani boxer’s decision victory. Last Wednesday, bantamweight Magomed Abdulhamidov was knocked down six times by Japan’s Satoshi Shimizu, only for the referee to ignore each one, even going as far as to adjust Abdulhamidov’s headgear as he stumbled around the ring.

    If you haven’t seen the video, do a search for it on YouTube. It’s amazing to watch the ref refuse to start counting out the Azerbaijani, but instead practically help him up just so he can declare him the winner as was obviously prearranged (the announcers declare “that’s what he (the ref) wanted” and “no wonder people think this sport is a joke.”)

    Anyway, that’s my reaction to the list of moderators. They couldn’t have been more biased than if they decided on a three judge panel consisting of Nancy Pelosi channeling the ghosts of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels.

    If the Romney campaign agreed to this it must be because Romney believes he can handle questions from liberals, while he knows Obama can’t handle anything but softballs. And Obama knows it, too. So he’d never agree to even a neutral moderator.

    Maybe, unlike the Japanese boxer, Romney figures he can put his opponent down and out.

    Otherwise, it doesn’t make any sense.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  910. ==As a member of the House Budget Committee, I’ve seen firsthand just how extreme Paul Ryan is, so I’m not going to mince words: Paul Ryan in the White House would be a nightmare==

    If Sammy (above) correctly transcribed the email he received from DWS she is Really Really Really confused –or thinks she is talking to idiots who don’t know who on the winning RR ticket will be living in the White House. Or both.

    elissa (d4a51c)

  911. Dustin, just so you know, if this is the final list of “moderators” then it means both campaigns agreed to the list.

    Oh.

    No, I didn’t understand that. Thanks for correcting me.

    That’s how things have been for a long time, but it’s disappointing.

    Dustin (73fead)

  912. So we just have four liberals for moderators?

    That’s it?

    That’s ridiculous. What were the negotiations like? None of these moderators will challenge Obama very much.

    Dustin (73fead)

  913. I do not believe Alaska has yet repealed that pernicious ACES oil tax scheme of Palin’s which EPWJ claimed would be gone as soon as they finished hounding Palin out the door.

    Krugman-like accuracy.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  914. From the Flintstone version of a blog:

    Date: 01-24-95 (17:08) Number: 706 of 951
    To: ALL Refer#: NONE
    From: SAMMY FINKELMAN Read: (N/A)
    Subj: THE SENATOR FROM WATERGAT Status: PUBLIC MESSAGE
    Conf: SAMMY ZONE (9) Read Type: GENERAL (+)

    Last summer, one of the Senators on the Senate Banking Committee , which
    held hearings on Whitewater, introduced himself by saying that his name
    was Robert Bennett, but he is not the President’s lawyer. That’s true.

    He is not THAT Robert Bennett, and neither is he the Robert F. Bennett
    who was once Governor of Kansas, but he is ANOTHER once somewhat famous
    Robert F. Bennett. He is, truly indeed. . .

    The Senator from Watergate:
    ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

    MEETING: The President, Haldeman and Ehrlichman, EOB Office, Saturday,
    April 14, 1973 (8:55─11:31 A.M.)

    . . .PRESIDENT NIXON: Question, for example, is Hunt prepared to talk on
    other activities that he engaged in?

    EHRLICHMAN: Well, I think, I couldn’t derive that.

    PRESIDENT NIXON: You mean he is going to blow the White House on the──

    EHRLICHMAN: I couldn’t get that at all.

    PRESIDENT NIXON: The U.S. Attorney, I would assume, would not be
    pressing on that.

    EHRLICHMAN: Ordinarily, not. McCord volunteered this Hank Greenspun
    thing, gratutiously apparently; not──

    PRESIDENT NIXON: Can you tell me, is that a serious thing? Did they
    really try to get into Hank Greenspun?

    EHRLICHMAN: I guess they actually got in.

    PRESIDENT NIXON: What in the name of (expletive deleted) though, has
    Hank Greenspun got with anything to do with Mitchell or anybody else?

    EHRLICHMAN: Nothing. Well, now, Mitchell. . . Here’s. . Hughes. And
    these two fellows, Colson and Shapiro. Colson threw that out.

    PRESIDENT NIXON: Hughes on whom?

    EHRLICHMAN: Well, you know, the Hughes thing is cut into two factions

    HALDEMAN (?) (White House transcript says Ehrlichman, but Ehrlichman
    said in his book that in the transcripts what other people said was
    often attributed to him): I don’t even know, but they’re fighting.

    PRESIDENT NIXON: Yeah.

    EHRLICHMAN: Bennett, Senator Bennett’s son, for whom Hunt worked,

    PRESIDENT NIXON: Oh?

    EHRLICHMAN: Represents one of those factions.

    PRESIDENT NIXON: So he ordered the bugging???. . .

    Note: Ehrlichman misunderstands Nixon to be referring to the Greenspan
    caper, rather than the Watergate break-in, and goes on to say he
    doesn’t know but he knows that (some people) say it was a bag job – a
    burglary, (and thus not a bugging

    ….

    It goes on but this is already a little bit long.

    (Nixon wanted to know if Hunt was going to talk about the break-in into Ellsberg psychiatrists’ office, which was the thing that concerned him.

    Hank Greenspun was the publisher of the Las Vegas Sun.

    The Senator Bennett they are talking about
    was Utah Senator Wallace F. Bennett (1951-1974) his son mentioned there was Robert F. Bennett later also a Senator (1993-2011)

    He was defeated by the Tea Party in 2010, and as far I know, Watergate was not an issue.

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)

  915. For PBS I think Lehrer will be slightly more even handed and professional than Ifill. As far as the rest of them, bah. But this is what I think may have happened: The campaigns swapped a “no Fox” for a “no NBC (MSNBC)” And this is what was left. But it’s really interesting/strange that Raddatz–the foreign correspondent– is doing the VP debate. I would have thought Foreign Policy would have been for the Prezzy Candidates.

    elissa (d4a51c)

  916. Can obama pardon the democratic congress?

    When it comes to violations of Federal Law, the power of the President to Pardon is pretty much limitless.

    AD-Restore the Republic/Obama Sucks! (b8ab92)

  917. You can see that at that late date (April 14, 1973) Nixon still has no idea who ordered the Watergate break-in and his thoughts turn to Robert F. Bennett. (In reality is was probably John Dean)

    Now Bennett did know of the break-in in advance – the spy he recruited and placed in the Muskie and later the McGovern campaign, Tom Gregory, and who was assigned the role of planting a bug in the McGovern headquarters, and “mysteriously” things kept going wrong (because he was probably turned or a double agent) quit right before the Watergate break-in.

    The purpose of the Watergate break-in into the headquarters of the DNC was probably to prevent or delay G. Gordon Liddy from placing a bug in the McGovern campaign headquaters, where it really mattered, and where perhaps some secret contacts by some people in the Nixon campaign, like John Dean maybe, or close to it, some people in the McGovern campaign, or whatever the spy Tom Gregory was really saying to people he was supposed to be spying on, and what these McGovvern people who possibly knew about the spy were saying to each other, might be discovered.

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)

  918. The obvious play now for Urkel is to resign pre-convention, get a pardon from Slow Joe and retire to.. Well, I’ve still got that bug to work out.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  919. Why would I not want to be “interrupted?”

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)

  920. You can’t pardon the Congress for playing politics – it is not a violation of law.

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)

  921. 914. they conmplain that Ryan also wants to cut taxes, not just spending.

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)

  922. 937- retire to gitmo!!

    mg (44de53)

  923. 939- As per Ford’s pardon of Nixon, Obama could … “grant a full, free, and absolute pardon unto (the Democrat Members of Congress) for all offenses against the United States which (they have) committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from (January 20, 2009 through January 20, 2013).”

    As has been mentioned many times and in many places since 1974, the Presidential Power of the Pardon is pretty absolute (at least as it concerns crimes against the United States).

    AD-Restore the Republic/Obama Sucks! (b8ab92)

  924. Forgot this….
    http://watergate.info/1974/09/08/text-of-ford-pardon-proclamation.html

    AD-Restore the Republic/Obama Sucks! (b8ab92)

  925. 934. But this is what I think may have happened: The campaigns swapped a “no Fox” for a “no NBC (MSNBC)” And this is what was left. But it’s really interesting/strange that Raddatz–the foreign correspondent– is doing the VP debate.

    Comment by elissa — 8/13/2012 @ 2:40 pm

    You’re probably right, but if I were Romney I’d have let them have their pick of the MSNBC crowd to get someone on Fox into the mix.

    There isn’t a single talking head at MSNBC who is at all sharp.

    Chrissie “Tingles” Matthews? Did you see his Jeopardy highlight video? Or his Mt. Rushmore commercial?

    Al Sharpton? That too would be comedy gold.

    Ed Schultz? It was priceless watching him be hopelessly wrong and practically in tears within the first hour of his broadcast from Wisconsin the night of the recall election.

    Rachel Maddow? Smug and uninformed is a wonderful combination. For Romney.

    I could go on. But let’s be honest. If they moderated these debates it would be the first time 95% of viewing audience would have even heard these MSNBC’s names let alone seen them in action. The audience would be horrified.

    They’d put on a performance like that ref who was blatantly violating the rules in order to carry the Azerbaijani fighter to the bell.

    They couldn’t help themselves. It’s in their DNA. And frankly I don’t see how such a display of overwhelming media bias would hurt Romney.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  926. The thing to do with the moderators is for LOTS of bloggers to push them ahead of the debates, not push back afterwards. Make it clear that hammering Romney on Democrat talking points and ignoring Republican issues will be widely viewed as unprofessional and biased. Make them take it to Obama as well. Say over and over that this is the VERY LAST CHANCE for the mainstream media in the minds of many. Can they rise to the occasion and drive a fair debate, or are they seen for hacks and flunkies of the Obama apparatus.

    Kevin M (bf8ad7)

  927. Ideally, Rasmussen and Gallup will run polls ahead of the debate asking if people expect the moderators to be fair, or biased, and if biased towards whom?

    Kevin M (bf8ad7)

  928. I just saw the list of “moderators” for the debates. Talk about stacked with a bunch of Democratic hacks. Why would any Republican candidate agree to debate under those circumstances?
    ^..^(____)~~~

    Cheshirecat (d16616)

  929. NG axed me today if she can vote for the Romney and the Ryan even if she’s registered as a democrat person

    that’s so

    I got a little emotional

    happyfeet (a55ba0)

  930. 935.Can obama pardon the democratic congress?

    When it comes to violations of Federal Law, the power of the President to Pardon is pretty much limitless.
    Comment by AD-Restore the Republic/Obama Sucks! — 8/13/2012 @ 2:41 pm

    Looking at the text of the Ford pardon, Obama could pardon everyone even though charges had not been filed??? I mean, jaywalking vs. murder is quite a range.

    MD in Philly (9fa3fb)

  931. Could the new AG charge Obama with conspiracy and RICO for everything he just pardoned everyone else for?

    MD in Philly (9fa3fb)

  932. “You can see that at that late date (April 14, 1973) Nixon still has no idea who ordered the Watergate break-in and his thoughts turn to Robert F. Bennett. (In reality is was probably John Dean)”

    Sammy – Are you bringing up Watergate because you suspect Obama thugs and criminals of stealing Republican secrets or other illegal acts? Otherwise, what is the purpose?

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  933. Otherwise, what is the purpose?
    Comment by daleyrocks — 8/13/2012 @ 3:16 pm

    I asked myself that question, I think it was to point out he had a blog long before most people thought of blogs.

    One could ask why he did that, But I don’t have an answer to that, Daley.

    MD in Philly (9fa3fb)

  934. Speaking of thugs and criminals, Obama’s Purple People Beaters have been unnaturally quiet this election cycle. What’s up with that?

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  935. “One could ask why he did that, But I don’t have an answer to that, Daley.”

    MD in Philly – I try not to speculate too much on how Sammy’s mind works. All I know is that it is different than mine.

    My favorite question from that era – Should Nixon hold on to Cox?

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  936. The obvious play now for Urkel is to resign pre-convention, get a pardon from Slow Joe and retire to.. Well, I’ve still got that bug to work out.

    Comment by gary gulrud

    If he does, I owe AD some money!

    Dustin (73fead)

  937. EPWJ,

    For a guy who allegedly “opposes” Obama, you sure do spend a lot of time bashing his opponents.

    You’re like the alleged Dodgers fan who keeps booing everything the Dodgers do—even when they hit a home run.

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  938. 953. Speaking of thugs and criminals, Obama’s Purple People Beaters have been unnaturally quiet this election cycle. What’s up with that?

    Comment by daleyrocks — 8/13/2012 @ 3:21 pm

    They’re laying low for the moment and just sending out women and old people to do their dirty work, hoping to get the same reaction caught on a TV camera that a heckler would get if they tried this at an SEIU/CPUSA/Obama/Biden/Occupy rally.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  939. By the way, what kind of raffle prize did Patterico say will be given to the person who happens to write comment #1000 ?

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  940. Elephant Stone,

    EPWJ just wants Paul Ryan to have the conservative consistency of Newt Gingrich. Is that so hard to understand?

    Dustin (73fead)

  941. You saw it here first:

    After Four Years of Obama, America needs some R&R.
    Romney / Ryan 2012

    There is my lone lifetime contribution campaignese. Kinda happy with it..(!)

    Texas_Chris (cd9f7b)

  942. ^ I think that’s pretty clever, Chris.

    Dustin (73fead)

  943. Chris: in contrast to—

    The Incompetent and the Incontinent
    Obama/Biden 2012

    elissa (d4a51c)

  944. Obama will very likely pardon Rezko or commute his sentence.

    nk (875f57)

  945. Comment by Dustin — 8/13/2012 @ 3:27 pm

    Did we make a bet?
    You’ll have to help this old head remember.

    AD-Restore the Republic/Obama Sucks! (b8ab92)

  946. 963-
    nk, that’s a given.

    AD-Restore the Republic/Obama Sucks! (b8ab92)

  947. Anyone else having trouble connecting to Instapundit (PJMedia)?

    AD-Restore the Republic/Obama Sucks! (b8ab92)

  948. You’ll have to help this old head remember.

    Comment by AD-Restore the Republic/Obama Sucks!

    I think I gave you 10 to 1 on a theory Obama wouldn’t be the nominee by the time the general election came around.

    Dustin (73fead)

  949. AD, Insty is working just fine for me right now.

    Gazzer (8c4f7b)

  950. Mr. Chris nicely done

    happyfeet (a55ba0)

  951. 953. Speaking of thugs and criminals, Obama’s Purple People Beaters have been unnaturally quiet this election cycle. What’s up with that?

    Another thing to keep in mind is the unions spent a lot of their ammo in Wisconsin on losing battles over the past two years. Failing to take the governorship. Failing to take the state Supreme Court. Failing to take the legislature.

    So it’s sort of been a rebuilding year for them. Which is why they’ve been using women and old folk as human shields, hoping their obnoxious tactics would elicit a response the media can frame as negative.

    But they seem finally ready to kick off a replay of all the winning tactics that netted them such great success against Walker in Wisconsin:

    AFL-CIO to ramp up attacks on GOP ticket over Medicare, taxes

    I wonder how much Trumka is going to have to pay all those racists he says make up the union rank and file to protest for him?

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  952. I’m looking forward to seeing Paul Ryan’s mom appear in an ad explaining why she thinks her son’s Medicare reform is a good idea, “from one senior to another”.

    And then with a wink of an eye she can say, “Oh, and here’s his birth certificate, BTW…”

    MD in Philly (9fa3fb)

  953. MD I like the cut of your jib…

    Gazzer (8c4f7b)

  954. You won’t get a new thread till you fill this one up.

    Gazzer (8c4f7b)

  955. Fact – obama is dumber than my artichokes.
    The house already passed the farm bill.

    mg (44de53)

  956. E-stone

    I’m pissed we blew an easy chance to win the whitehouse and the senate

    Now I’m not doing the victory dance here before the votes are counted, because there won’t be any celebration.

    Its a disaster, peoples lives are going to be affected.

    Romney isnt a conservative nor was he ever a Republican

    Republicans dont seize industry

    Remember when the republicans last had a veto proof senate there was no income tax nor any social security tax nor any entitlements

    EPWJ (e83e82)

  957. I have never had patience for the “Barack Obama inherited a mess” line of BS as an explanation for why things are so much worse now then when he took over. It is BS, of course, because Obama used the mess to, in the words of Rahm Emmanuel, “never let a crisis go to waste.” Obama is an anti-captitalist, a socialist redistributionist, and a third worldist.

    He had to lie and say he was addressing middle class economic concerns in order to make sure he fundamentally transformed the country into the kind of train wreck that could never have the disposable income again to threaten his anti-American friends all over the world, or to steal their resources.

    When he said, “We can’t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times … and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK” he meant he wasn’t going to say OK.

    When he said “There will be a time them to make profits, and there will be time for them to get bonuses. Now’s not that time,” he was declaring this was going to be a jobless recovery. If it was going to be a recovery at all.

    When he trampled on the rule of law and screwed secured creditors in favor of his union cronies, he announced to the world’s investors their money wouldn’t be safe here. If they didn’t get the message that now was not the time for profits. Not in the US.

    After all, if now isn’t the time for profits, and now is the time when the government will call you a “terrorist” if you object to it stealing your capital, what’s the point of putting your money into a country where you’re only allowed to lose? Unless you’re an Obama bundler that is.

    Failure was built in. It was always the intended result.

    But in light of this:

    Treasury: U.S. to lose $25 billion on auto bailout

    Washington -The Treasury Department says in a new report the government expects to lose more than $25 billion on the $85 billion auto bailout. That’s 15 percent higher than its previous forecast.

    In a monthly report sent to Congress on Friday, the Obama administration boosted its forecast of expected losses by more than $3.3 billion to almost $25.1 billion, up from $21.7 billion in the last quarterly update.

    The report may still underestimate the losses. The report covers predicted losses through May 31, when GM’s stock price was $22.20 a share.

    On Monday, GM stock fell $0.07, or 0.3 percent, to $20.47. At that price, the government would lose another $850 million on its GM bailout.

    From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120813/AUTO01/208130392#ixzz23TXpoduu

    This is just delusional:

    Obama: Let’s repeat auto industry success

    “I said, I believe in American workers, I believe in this American industry, and now the American auto industry has come roaring back,” he said. “Now I want to do the same thing with manufacturing jobs, not just in the auto industry, but in every industry.”

    The failure of GM was predictable, once Obama intervened in what would have been a rational restructuring under Chapter 11 and instead ensured that tax payer money would get poured down a toilet in exchange for a company that retained all the features that got them into financial distress in the first place.

    It could never, would never, repay that money, and it would still fail in the future. There is another GM bailout in our future if Obama is reelected.

    Either he is completely unaware of reality, or he believes the magic of his teleprompter can hypnotize enough people so that they are unaware of reality.

    Romney and Ryan really do need to take the fight to Obama. No more of that, “he’s a nice guy but just in over his head” kissy face crap.

    He’s not a nice guy, and he means to do his worst not just to the GOP ticket but to the rest of us.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  958. The dodgers are also a bunch of sissy girls

    just sayin

    EPWJ (e83e82)

  959. Last night I was playing board games and two people started slagging off about Ryan, and Romney’s misspeaking and introducing him as the next president. I said that I would be OK with that, and that I’d be voting for Ryan and Romney would just be along for the ride, they looked at me like I was from Mars, and one of them said something about how Ryan would introduce a Holocaust or something. It turned out he was referring to the pushing-granny-off-a-cliff thing.

    And this was not some uninformed person (well, he’s uninformed about the rules of Settlers of Catan, but not about politics); he used to be a professional campaign manager. This is how (at least some) lefties actually think! And he meant the Holocaust thing; he’s (non-Jewish) Polish, and later explained that his family were in the camps (I restrained myself from asking “in what capacity?”).

    Milhouse (cdd41b)

  960. Steve57, GM is in far worse shape than they are letting on due to a process known as “channel stuffing.” GM counts it as a sale when it merely ships a car to a dealer. After the election it will just collapse whoever wins.
    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/class-action-lawsuit-filed-against-gm-channel-stuffing

    Gazzer (8c4f7b)

  961. And I forgot that they are also goosing sales by massive sub-prime lending. If you have a pulse and a pen you don’t need a FICO score.

    Gazzer (8c4f7b)

  962. Understood, Gazzer. Which is one reason why the losses on this will be far worse then this new Treasury report let’s on, as well.

    We are being lied to, obviously. But we aren’t just being lied to about how well these specific boondoggles are working out.

    We are being lied to about what Obama intended to accomplish with them in the first place.

    He had to lie to the middle class, for instance, and pretend he understood and shared its concerns.

    When in fact he despises the middle class, and intends to eliminate it. That’s one of the things that attracted him to Rev. Wright’s TUCC:

    Trinity – BLACK VALUE SYSTEM

    8. Disavowal of the Pursuit of “Middleclassness.” Classic methodology on control of captives teaches that captors must be able to identify the “talented tenth” of those subjugated, especially those who show promise of providing the kind of leadership that might threaten the captor’s control. Proverbs 3:13-14 – Happy are those who find wisdom and those who gain understanding, for her income is better than silver and her revenue better than gold.

    They’ve sort of softened it for public consumption since 2008, but the bottom line is that for Barack Obama the middle class are sell-outs. They deprive the communities he would organize of resources that, in his second term, he will redistribute one way or another. It isn’t proper for those who don’t think correctly like Van Jones, Michelle, and his royal self to be too upwardly mobile.

    Or aspire to a living standard that is above their station.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  963. file this under the bright side

    EPWJ (e83e82)

  964. Here’s a look at how the debate moderators were selected.

    It’s interesting that there is no concern for the stacked liberal moderators but rather that there is no Hispanic representation and that the average age of the moderators is 69.

    Regarding their personal politics, we are assured,

    “The Commission also has to select moderators that voters trust, and that is a matter of not just ideology but age. For all the excitement over new media organizations, there are a lot of voters in Boca Raton and Dubuque who have never heard of many new media organizations.

    The Commission always has to choose moderators that people are not going to dispute, and that tends to result with people who are widely respected, and have a track record of fairness,” Steve Schmidt, the senior strategist to John McCain’s 2008 campaign, told POLITICO. “Every cycle, campaigns say they’re going to take back control from the debate commission, but it never happens.”

    Notice who their go-to authority is – yes, that Steve Schmidt.

    Dana (292dcf)

  965. Dana

    So why should they go? I mean I wouldnt they are not going to get any moment that is going to give them the election.

    Not with those three moderators

    EPWJ (e83e82)

  966. I think you’re going to get to 1000 comments on this one, Patterico.

    Beldar (277e62)

  967. texas chris,

    That’s actually a very, very good idea for a bumper sticker.

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  968. EPWJ,

    Again, you keep bashing Republicans. You’re not bashing Democrats.

    Oh, I forgot…that’s because you are one.

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  969. In one sense, smart questions were asked about the aging old media selected at the expense of no new media reporters being invited to moderate. however, they also include having an Hispanic moderator and names considered for these two categories were Chuck Todd and Soledad O’Brien. How is that an improvement over the liberal leaning old media? Does new or old media matter as much as make a serious effort an equally balancing moderators’ personal politics? To me I don’t care new or old – they’re just moderating, not reporting – but I do care that a modicum of effort is made to not have a stacked liberal group.

    Dana (292dcf)

  970. Agreed ES. Along with the previously suggested, “Vote Mormon, not Moron.” Although that has a slightly harsher tone.

    Gazzer (8c4f7b)

  971. I’m sorry E-stone – when did Romney become a Republican? I missed the announcement?

    EPWJ (e83e82)

  972. E-stone – I see you are just another insulter

    I dont trust those guys because I’ve been Bushwhacked twice, Bobbed recently in the courts and soutered all over my constitution.

    I’ve had my fill of conversions of convienence…

    Go ahead have your victory parade count those electorial votes – me I’ll be making sure I dont count all my chickens yet

    EPWJ (e83e82)

  973. (I restrained myself from asking “in what capacity?”).

    heh

    Dustin (73fead)

  974. I think you’re going to get to 1000 comments on this one, Patterico.

    Comment by Beldar — 8/13/2012

    Never gonna happen.

    Dustin (73fead)

  975. Repetitive & tiresome

    Not the thread . . . just you-know-who

    Icy (674a71)

  976. Just to chip in toward 1,000 posts, now that Ryan’s on the ticket the Dems are revealing their media strategy for taking the GOP on over entitlement reform.

    It was mostly indecipherable, as nearly everything DWS is involved in is, but I just watched her spend 7 minutes trying to convince Wolf Blitzer that the Dems can say that Ryan’s plan will kill medicare for current seniors because the plan to call people 54 and younger “future seniors” or “younger seniors.”

    It was mind-bending, but apparently if you’re 21 the Dems plan to count you as a senior citizen for purposes of keeping their ponzi schemes going as long as possible.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  977. People are talking just to try to get it to 1,000. I say a lot of posts should not count.

    MD in Philly (9fa3fb)

  978. Oh, and repeat the line “we can add solvency.” That was another nugget that DWS kept throwing out.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  979. EPWJ,

    What is it with a certain percentage of commenters who love to dish out the insults and the snark, but then fold like a tent when there’s return fire ?

    It tends to be people who are left of center, who are already predisposed toward utopia—and in their utopian ideal of blog threads, they can dish it out, and nobody will be “allowed” to fire back.

    Seriously, EPWJ, if you’re “afraid” of liberalism, then you would be terrified of Obama’s Alinskyite Administration.

    But clearly you’re not fearful of another four years of Obama.

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  980. Congratulations, Patterico, VRWC Associate #182.

    You have made incentive for the week with this 1,000 comment post and are hereby entitled to ‘that crazy Republican insider money’.

    Evil Assed Koch Brothers (73fead)

  981. Not at all, Doc. I keep talking about how the Dems plan to counter the GOP ticket now that Ryan is the veep.

    Apparently it is to double down on the indecipherable idiocy. Courtesy of DWS.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  982. I dont trust those guys because I’ve been Bushwhacked twice, Bobbed recently in the courts and soutered all over my constitution

    — Not to mention being Perry-poked, the Gingrich stole your Xmas, and you were Dewhursted by your own petard.

    Icy (674a71)

  983. okay, you’ve proven we can run up a thousand comments.

    Can we now have another thread? Or is this the new normal?

    jcw46 (b4329c)

  984. I understand Patterico wanting 1000 comments, but I am getting really tired of the proven dishonest moby EPWJ continuing to post nonsense.

    Oh, wait. I know what he REALLY thinks, despite what he writes. Jeez.

    Simon Jester (74262f)

  985. Seriously, EPWJ, if you’re “afraid” of liberalism, then you would be terrified of Obama’s Alinskyite Administration

    Seriously?

    Who voted for TARP – hmm let me see, it was Ryan, Obama and Hillary

    Who implemented the largest taxpayer funded taxover in a state?

    romney

    Terrified? If people were sufficiently terrified they would have never picked romney

    People just dont pay attention, and Obama’s programs dont take affect until after we vote

    EPWJ (e83e82)

  986. Simon

    I’m curious – what’s your proof?

    EPWJ (e83e82)

  987. Comment by Milhouse — 8/13/2012 @ 5:36 pm

    Did you try to engage him at all, or was he too dogmatic to even try?

    I wonder if it will need to come down to Romney or Ryan coming right out and saying, “You’re lying and trying to deceive the American people with….(points A,B, and C) and see how it goes over.

    Or at least, “So, you don’t like the Ryan budget? When was the last time a budget proposal from a Democrat got even one vote? And why is that? And you have the nerve, gall, and chutzpuh of complaining about the Ryan budget? I will not discuss budgets with you until you can put one on the floor of the Senate for a vote. Budgets are discussions for grownups, and 3 years of irresponsibility will not be overlooked.”

    MD in Philly (9fa3fb)

  988. If people were sufficiently terrified they would have never picked romney

    But they picked Romney.

    So let’s get on board with beating Obama. Indeed Romney’s record is not as conservative as most would like, but he is quite better than Obama in sheer competence and there is a reasonable chance he could be a pretty good president.

    Ryan is a bold and principled choice. It is not the easy path. Your disagreement about Ryan doesn’t change the risk entailed or the message sent.

    Let’s start seeing what’s right about this ticket. The primary was very ugly, but let’s get past it for the sake of our country.

    Dustin (73fead)

  989. Comment by Steve57 — 8/13/2012 @ 6:25 pm

    Wasn’t talkin’ ’bout you.

    MD in Philly (9fa3fb)

  990. Comment by Simon Jester — 8/13/2012 @ 6:29 pm

    That’s why I say the count really is about 800.

    MD in Philly (9fa3fb)

  991. MD, many of Sam’s comment can easily be broken up in to six or seven dozen, so it all works out in the end.

    /just teasing here.

    Dustin (73fead)

  992. 1009. Comment by Steve57 — 8/13/2012 @ 6:25 pm

    Wasn’t talkin’ ’bout you.

    Comment by MD in Philly — 8/13/2012 @ 6:37 pm

    Thanks, Doc, because it was truly a sacrifice watching DWS try to explain how the Ryan plan shoves granny off the cliff.

    Because she couldn’t. So every time Wolf Blitzer skewered her she would come up with a new, even worse whopper.

    As a matter of fact, as my brain slowly untwists and recovers from the trauma, I believe that “we can add solvency” gem is how they intend to deflect attention away from the fact Obama cut $700B from Medicare.

    It’s not a cut! It’s “adding solvency!”

    The pain is returning. Must. Lie. Down.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  993. ‘It’s the Norwegian Blue, beautiful plumage’

    narciso (ee31f1)

  994. I’ve just had an epiphany:

    Based on the single-quote marks and their placement with respect to the sentence-ending period, I think we can conclude that the Evil Assed Koch Brothers (#1000 above — 8/13/2012 @ 6:24 pm) are British.

    Beldar (277e62)

  995. (Could be Canadian. Or Jamaican. But just based on relative populations, I’m gonna stick with my first answer.)

    Beldar (277e62)

  996. Dustin

    I’m going to vote for the guy – but as far as people sending money and resources – there are 14 senate races we could win – gives us just a couple of votes shy of the buster proof senate

    They need money – Romney – he’s toast – beating our swords in a frenzy isnt going to change the fact – he’s also not really worth voting for he’s BARELY tolerable than a committed socialist…

    Yeah I remember David Duke and Edwin…. good times…

    EPWJ (e83e82)

  997. EPWJ,

    You’re hilarious.

    You claim that your loathing of big government is best expressed thru a hatred of Romney/Ryan, rather than public rejection of Obama.

    The Romney/Ryan ticket is being publicly supported by Art Laffer, Steve Moore, Thomas Sowell, Arthur Brooks, Dennis Prager, Norman Podhoretz, Victor Davis Hanson, Tom Coburn, and Bobby Jindal.
    Oh yeah, and I’m willing to bet the farm that Nino Scalia and Clarence Thomas and Robert Bork will be voting for the ticket in the privacy of the voting booth.

    And your alleged boys Rick Perry and David Dewhurst ?
    They’re voting for Romney/Ryan, too.

    You’re not convincing any conservatives that re-election of Obama is a positive outcome.
    I guess that’s only because the only people who think that Obama’s re-election is a positive outcome are Democrats such as yourself.

    Oh, that’s right, you’re “not” a Democrat—you just happen to publicly rage at Republicans…like “most Republicans” do !

    Like I wrote the other day, Doris Day may have been deceived by the late great Rock Hudson, but we know you’re wearing a mask.

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  998. Yeah I remember David Duke and Edwin…. good times…

    Good Allah, you are beyond parody. EpwjDWS

    JD (318f81)

  999. The greatest orator of our day is noticeably irked by Ryan, especially when the latter rises to speak, demonstrably so when Ryan asks a question, and looks as though he’s about to rupture his cranial sutures when smartazz calls him on some mindless BS he’s slinging.

    No glint in his eye, no smirk, no reddened flush, nothing in Ryan’s demeanor to suggest he’s cornered a wounded animal.

    I have no idea from what font confidence like that springs.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  1000. I’m going to vote for the guy – but as far as people sending money and resources – there are 14 senate races we could win – gives us just a couple of votes shy of the buster proof senate

    They need money – Romney – he’s toast – beating our swords in a frenzy isnt going to change the fact – he’s also not really worth voting for he’s BARELY tolerable than a committed socialist…

    Yeah I remember David Duke and Edwin…. good times…

    Comment by EPWJ — 8/13/2012 @ 6:53 pm

    Oh, that’s just brilliant.

    Why waste resources not winning the WH when we can waste resources not winning a veto proof majority in the Senate.

    Do you advise DWS on media strategy when you’re not commenting here?

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  1001. Steve57, Kirsten Powers was blathering on Fox about “future old people”, a la DWS, Krauthammer just said, “They’re called young people…”

    Gazzer (8c4f7b)

  1002. JD

    You have to follow along

    David duke was a very conservative Republican with this insy winy problems with national socialism and the whole KKK thing – but then again he ws running against Edwin who had a problem with thinking that he was just as for sale as any other Louisiana democrat

    Romney’s problems mirror dukes in the aspect that Romney’s rampant liberal socialism in MA was as unpalatable as Duke crazy national white supremecy non-sense.

    The only difference is that romney was successful in wrecking Mass and now the country with thisw damn health care plan and Duke is still a loser.

    But go ahead defend the guy….

    EPWJ (e83e82)

  1003. ==“future old people”,==

    This is not a good marketing approach. People hate envisioning themselves as old. Any marketing guru will tell you that.

    elissa (d4a51c)

  1004. Apparently Ms. Powers was in on the DNC media strategy conference call, too.

    No doubt Ezra Klein stepped in whenever DWS stepped on her tongue.

    Which means Ezra Klein, WaPo blogger and journolista extraordinaire, handled the whole thing for the DNC. As per usual.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  1005. Steve57

    Obama can do no more wrong 4 years of total gridlock (which is good) and then its a new chance

    Romney will do wrong as president because most Republicans won’t defy their own party president so we have 8 years of moderate to severe social engineering under Romney and none under Obama – if we win the Senate.

    No more Supreme court judges from liberal law school, no more restructuring of the constitution without amendments.

    Just alot of screaming and whining in DC – I’m okay with that

    EPWJ (e83e82)

  1006. Romney knows no pain – and his VP pick who I keep expecting blue to come in with the mail is not going to help.

    I just saw another copy of the grandma over the cliff and couldnt help but think it represented the last chance we had for a buster proof senate

    Or even holding the house

    I will let you all return to the victory parade now – good night

    EPWJ (e83e82)

  1007. You’re forgetting O’Turd’s penchant for executive orders which are seemingly just fine by GOP and the courts. Yeah, some judge might say the ban on offshore drilling of La. coast is a no no, but Urkel just ignores it. I fear too many people are just too stupid and buy into his words. Oh, if CNN and MSNBC say it is true, it must be so? I don’t see why electing GOP senators and Mittens should be mutually exclusive and I doubt anyone here buys into your propaganda otherwise. How does the magic negro personify it, oh Romney Hood is going to rob from the poor and give to the rich. And kill seniors even though your boy barry himself stole $700 million from Medicare.

    Calypso Louis Farrakhan (e799d8)

  1008. JD

    You have to follow along

    Follow your train of incoherence? Impossible.

    JD (318f81)

  1009. Calypso Louis, no, he wasn’t forgetting. He’s wily. Like his boss, DWS.

    Nobody can see through his nonsense.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  1010. “I’m going to vote for the guy ”

    I know you are, but we need a unified GOP. Because I disagree with you and believe Romney is a massive improvement over Obama despite his not being what I wanted in a nominee, I want the GOP to try to be positive about this ticket and get the job done. I think attitudes even in non swing states do affect the outcome.

    And I think the presidential ticket and the other races are closely related. If one does well, so will the other. If one is well funded, so too will be the other. It is the opposite of a zero sum game.

    Look at a lot of Ryan’s ideas. He’s a breath of fresh air in a capitol that is unserious about urgent issues. Look at Romney’s leadership ability. We can go from a chaotic presidency to something more effective.

    Dustin (73fead)

  1011. Two weeks back the ECB would stop at no impediment to defend the EU, last week the Fed was ready and able to step in if necessary:

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/deep-fried-black-swan-lands-china-admits-it-has-food-inflation-problem-releases-corn-rice-reser?tw_p=twt

    Actually its worse than necessary, the pin is pulled, the fuse lit, they’d be pulling the trigger too.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  1012. EPWJ,

    Man, you’re just a real piece…

    I hate to break the news to you, tough guy, but David Duke was actually a longtime Democrat. He ran as a Democrat several times, including for President in 1988.

    He merely changed to the GOP when he ran for Governor a couple years later—probably out of convenience.

    Therefore, your assertion that Duke was a “very conservative Republican” is just a bunch of BS.
    What a surprise, you Democrats are always denying the existence of a history of racists in your party…whether it’s Jim Crow, or Robert Byrd, or Al Gore Sr, or Woodrow Wilson, or William Fulbright.

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  1013. stole $700 billion from medicare. A seemingly knowledgeable nun was on O’Reilly insisting that Obama’s higher taxes will grow the economy. She seemed pleased enough with Obama’s performance. I guess the word is social justice for all? Share the wealth and let the govt. lackeys be the middlemen taking their cut of the booty.
    Politicians fly alot. How come we really don’t hear that much about their planes crashing? Ron Brown comes to mind and John Heinz, whose wealth John sKerry sucks off of being married to Heinz’ widow. You didn’t that business, the government did and socialism/communism is the answer. Of course people like the Obamas do ok. I’m sure Michele was well worth her do-nothing VP salary at the Chitown hospital. Heard that they never bothered filling the vacancy. And yet Barack complains she doesn’t draw a salary. At least she does garner a lucrative travel allowance for the endless trips.

    Calypso Louis Farrakhan (e799d8)

  1014. elissa #934:

    But it’s really interesting/strange that Raddatz–the foreign correspondent– is doing the VP debate. I would have thought Foreign Policy would have been for the Prezzy Candidates.

    Agreed but perhaps this is the media’s way of giving Biden a boost, since foreign policy is reportedly Biden’s strength and Ryan’s weakness.

    I’m betting she won’t be asking many questions about budgets or that require math.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  1015. Is this the same Joe Biden who confidently claimed during the Palin debates that We kicked Hezbollah out of Lebanon.??

    Dana (292dcf)

  1016. There is a really nice piece up at the NYT on Paul Ryan. I know, I was surprised, too. It’s a good introduction and overview of how he got to this point in his political career (and personal life). No overt effort made to smear him. Of course, that will change in time.

    Dana (292dcf)

  1017. Steve 57. This morning Rush had a montage of about 20-25 different talking heads all of whom stated some version of “This election just went from a referendum to a choice.” So it’s a co-ordinatapalooza out there.

    Gazzer (8c4f7b)

  1018. 1032. Man, you’re just a real piece…

    I hate to break the news to you, tough guy, but David Duke was actually a longtime Democrat.

    Awww, he’s DWS’s media strategist, so I guess given who his boss is we should all cut him some slack, Mr. Stones.

    991. I’m sorry E-stone – when did Romney become a Republican? I missed the announcement?

    1022. David duke was a very conservative Republican with this insy winy problems with national socialism and the whole KKK thing

    For a PR flack he sure misses a lot of press releases and announcements though, don’t he? He doesn’t know when Mitt Romney became a Republican. But he sure nailed it when it came to David Duke’s GOP bona fides, didn’t he?

    Guess DWS doesn’t like to have any of “the help” showing her up in terms of competence. Or consciousness.

    But he’s still here to tell you, he’s the true conservative whose the authority what should be listened to as expert on all things political.

    Especially when it comes to moving the goalposts:

    1016. there are 14 senate races we could win – gives us just a couple of votes shy of the buster proof senate

    When I pointed out that was an absolutely idiotic suggestion for some concern troll to make if he hoped to pull off the act it became:

    1026. I just saw another copy of the grandma over the cliff and couldnt help but think it represented the last chance we had for a buster proof senate

    See, he’s wily, Mr. Stones. Nobody can see through his BS. He’s got the same confidence in his abilities to work magic with his mad messaging skilz as his boss.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  1019. This election just went from a referendum to a choice

    MSNBC started pushing this Sat AM

    JD (318f81)

  1020. Close, that was Hilary Rosen, who had that title.

    narciso (ee31f1)

  1021. 1033. stole $700 billion from medicare. A seemingly knowledgeable nun was on O’Reilly insisting that Obama’s higher taxes will grow the economy. She seemed pleased enough with Obama’s performance.

    Comment by Calypso Louis Farrakhan — 8/13/2012 @ 7:39 pm

    This shouldn’t shock anyone. When I mentioned that Ryan, with his grounding in traditional old fashioned Catholic social teaching is more Catholic than the membership of the USCCB, I also mentioned that didn’t make him more Catholic than the Pope:

    After blistering Vatican report, nuns gather to weigh response

    American nuns are gathering in St. Louis, Mo., this week for their organization’s yearly national assembly, where they are expected to discuss the future of their relationship with the Vatican following scathing criticism of the nuns’ alleged lack of fidelity to Catholic teachings.

    This spring, after a three-year investigation, the Vatican’s doctrinal watchdog issued a report questioning the organization’s loyalty to some Church teachings, including the nuns’ lack of outspokenness on issues such as gay marriage, abortion and contraception. Another concern voiced by the Vatican relates to conferences organized by the nuns featuring “a prevalence of certain radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith.”

    On April 18, the Vatican appointed Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle to oversee the nuns’ organization and reform its programs to adhere more closely to “the teachings and discipline of the Church.”

    This week, the nuns will discuss a range of options for the future, from accepting the Vatican’s mandate to starting a new organization independent of the church’s control.

    …On the question of submitting to the Vatican’s appointed overseer, Farrell said: “Clearly this is an outside control. We would rather not have that.”

    I neglected to mention where these nuns fit in. They are more loyal to the left wing liberation theology social justice heresies of Father Pfleger and Barack Obama than to the Vatican and the catechism of the Church they purport to serve.

    Nuns and their supporters have said that questioning the church’s teaching is not the same as disobeying it.

    Actually, they have been disobeying it. When caught, they claim to have been just questioning it. There was a nun at a Catholic hospital who was recently excommunicated for recommending to patient that she have an abortion.

    That’s their form of “questioning.” The old fashioned Catholic term is “scandal.” It’s mere heresy when you yourself go against Catholic teachings. It’s scandal when you tell others to do so.

    These nuns are just Nancy Pelosi in a habit. Just keep in mind when you see one on TV, they are so far gone they view Vatican oversight as “outside” control. But they loves them some HHS abortifacient/contraceptive/sterilization mandate. When it’s Barack Obama overseeing their operations, that’s not outside control.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  1022. A nun advising someone to have an abortion?

    Have things gotten that bad?

    Dustin (73fead)

  1023. _____________________________________________

    These nuns are just Nancy Pelosi in a habit.

    Just as leftism (or liberalism) is a form of race or ethnicity to various members of liberal, Latino and black America, leftism is a form of theology to various members of Christianity or Judaism. For that matter, leftism is a form of human sexuality to the GLBT crowd.

    There’s such a fine line between the ideology of such people and non-purely political matters or issues in their life, that it is hard to know where one begins and where one leaves off.

    Mark (89e67c)

  1024. “if we win the Senate.”

    EPWJ – Great analysis as usual. Will the RINOs in the Senate just magically disappear? How does that work?

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  1025. Why is it so hard for you to address the President of the United States correctly?

    It is “PRESIDENT Obama” not “Obama”

    Show some respect to the office even if you do not support the man who sits in it.

    ModRepublican (0c4b6b)

  1026. narciso,

    Unless I misunderstood your point, it seems to me that your link supports my belief that Raddatz will try to help the Democrats.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  1027. DWS may actually be the smarter figurehead of the Democratic party. Alternatively, the honest one.

    Here is Chicago Jesus today in Iowa:

    Unfortunately right now, too many members of Congress are blocking the farm bill from becoming law. I am told that Governor Romney’s new running mate, Paul Ryan, might be around Iowa the next few days. He is one of the leaders of Congress standing in the way. So if you happen to see Congressman Ryan, tell him how important this farm bill is to Iowa and our rural communities.

    Unfortunately for King Putt:

    Description: Of course, the liberal media will completely ignore this latest gaffe from President Boy Genius.
    Obama blasted Paul Ryan for not passing a farm bill to help suffering farmers in Iowa.
    Ryan passed the farm bill two weeks ago.
    ITS SITTING IN THE SENATE…….

    Read more: Obama Slams Ryan For Not Passing Farm Bill That He Passed 2 Weeks Ago – Romney Ryan Ticket 2012 – Media – Media – The Conservative Voices http://www.theconservativevoices.com/media/_/political/romney-ryan-ticket-2012/obama-slams-ryan-for-not-passing-farm-bill-that-he-passed-2-weeks-ago-r304#ixzz23URJKeQD
    Follow us: @conserv_voice on Twitter

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  1028. 1046. Hard to show respect? I have no intention of respecting BootBlack in any way shape or form.

    Deal with it. Fraud.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  1029. _________________________________________________

    Romney will do wrong as president because most Republicans won’t defy their own party president so we have 8 years of moderate to severe social engineering under Romney and none under Obama – if we win the Senate.

    Something doesn’t add up with you. You come off like either a political Sybil or a totally disingenuous “Republican.” After all, based on postings of yours in previous threads, you apparently supported Dede Scozzafava in her run for the Congress.

    Anyone who could rationalize away why a liberal like her deserved the support of Republicans sure as hell can’t then turn around and claim he’s truly unhappy about Romney/Ryan ‘cuz they’re not conservative enough. And, more tellingly, argue so passionately and vigorously about why the Republican ticket shouldn’t be elected in November while at the same time giving wide latitude to the idea of Obama remaining as president.

    Mark (89e67c)

  1030. Why is it so hard for you to address the President of the United States correctly?

    It is “PRESIDENT Obama” not “Obama”

    Show some respect to the office even if you do not support the man who sits in it.

    Comment by ModRepublican — 8/13/2012 @ 8:58 pm

    Because nobody here is addressing the idjit. Do you see him participating in any discussions.

    Oh. I get. When you say “address” you mean instead to say “refer to.” As an articulate person would have stated. Which you clearly are not. Otherwise you wouldn’t have used a word that means “to communicate directly” when no one here is communicating directly with the President.

    Now, here’s a question for you. Why is it when inarticulate liberals decide to play troll you think picking a screen name like ModRepublican is going to throw people off the scent?

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  1031. http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/americas-farmers-deserve-better-than-this-gridlock-4l6ft38-166054426.html
    Steve,
    Month after month, House Republicans promised to save taxpayers millions by cutting wasteful subsidies paid to farmers – whether or not they needed the money or even planted a crop. Instead of living up to their word, they’re taking a five-week recess without considering the farm bill adopted by the House Agriculture Committee in mid-July. . . .

    They’re unwilling to compromise with Democrats to bring about the long-term policy reforms that a new farm bill needs. Instead, the House passed a bloated, $383 million, stand-alone stopgap disaster bill to assist only some livestock producers affected by the drought. . . .

    The fault for the farm bill mess to date lies squarely on the shoulders of House Republicans, who are so badly divided that they’ve stonewalled legislation America needs.”

    still sleeeeepy (b5f718)

  1032. Speaking of liars. still sleeeepy pops up.

    ModRepublican, no.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  1033. EPWJ writes: “David duke was a very conservative Republican with this insy winy problems with national socialism and the whole KKK thing …

    F’ing lying Moby.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  1034. ___________________________________________

    It is “PRESIDENT Obama” not “Obama”

    How about “President Barry Soetero?” Or would “President Barry Obama” be better?

    Perhaps “President Bowing-like-a-servant-in-front-of-foreign-dignitaries” is a more proper nod to the etiquette that involves the White House.

    Mark (89e67c)

  1035. 1043. A nun advising someone to have an abortion?

    Have things gotten that bad?

    Comment by Dustin — 8/13/2012 @ 8:54 pm

    Yes.

    Bishop Says Nun is Automatically Excommunicated for Rubberstamping Hospital Abortion

    PHOENIX, Arizona, May 17, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Bishop of Phoenix has announced that a Catholic nun and administrator of St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix has automatically excommunicated herself by approving an abortion on a woman who was 11-weeks pregnant, and whose life hospital officials allege they were trying to save.

    Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted said the excommunications apply to all involved, and lambasted the hospital’s defense of their decision by comparing the ill woman’s unborn child to a disease that needed to be removed.

    The Arizona Republic reports that in late 2009, Sister Margaret McBride, then vice president of mission integration at St. Joseph’s, joined the hospital’s ethics committee in determining that doctors and the hospital would be morally justified in performing a direct abortion in the first trimester, because they felt that the mother’s life was at risk.

    The woman, whose identity is anonymous, was reportedly seriously ill with pulmonary hypertension.

    For the nun to agree to this, she would have to be completely ignorant of or hostile to the position of the RCC and is unfit to be a nun or on an ethics board of a Catholic hospital. The article continues:

    The hospital has two directives relating to abortion, as reported by the Republic. The first says that physicians cannot perform direct abortions under any circumstances, including for such reasons as to save the life of the mother.

    A second directive adds, however, that “operations, treatments and medications that have as their direct purpose the cure of a proportionately serious pathological condition of a pregnant woman are permitted … even if they will result in the death of the unborn child.” This directive is based on the Catholic philosophical principle of double effect, which says that if the treatment sought addresses the direct causes of the woman’s health condition (such as radiation treatment for cancer), but never intends to kill the unborn child (even though that may happen as a secondary, but unintended, effect of the lifesaving treatment), then it is morally licit.

    Hospital officials claimed that they were following the second directive by aborting the baby.

    These people should work for the DNC. Since treatments that may kill the unborn baby are permitted as long as that is a secondary, unintended though forseeable consequence, these Catholic ethicists claimed they followed the second directive by violating the first.

    Actually, come to think of it they are doing the DNC’s work.

    “If there had been a way to save the pregnancy and still prevent the death of the mother, we would have done it,” the letter says. “We are convinced there was not.”

    However, Dr. Paul A. Byrne, Director of Neonatology and Pediatrics at St. Charles Mercy Hospital in Toledo, Ohio, disputes the claim that an abortion is ever a procedure necessary to save the life of the mother, or carries less risk than birth.

    In an interview with LifeSiteNews, Dr. Byrne said, “I don’t know of any [situation where abortion is necessary to save the life of the mother].

    “I know that a lot of people talk about these things, but I don’t know of any. The principle always is preserve and protect the life of the mother and the baby.”

    Byrne has the distinction of being a pioneer in the field of neonatology, beginning his work in the field in 1963 and becoming a board-certified neonatologist in 1975. He invented one of the first oxygen masks for babies, an incubator monitor, and a blood-pressure tester for premature babies, which he and a colleague adapted from the finger blood pressure checkers used for astronauts.

    Byrne emphasized that he was not commentating on what the woman’s particular treatment should have been under the circumstances, given that she is not his patient.

    “But given just pulmonary hypertension, the answer is no” to abortion, said Byrne.

    Byrne emphasized that the unborn child at 11 weeks gestation would have a negligible impact on the woman’s cardiovascular system. He said that pregnancy in the first and second trimesters would not expose a woman with even severe pulmonary hypertension – which puts stress on the heart and the lungs – to any serious danger.

    A pregnant mother’s cardiovascular system does have “major increases,” but they only happen “in the last three months of pregnancy,” Byrne explained.

    The point of fetal viability is estimated at anywhere between 21 – 24 weeks, at which point he speculated the baby could have been artificially be delivered and had a good shot at surviving. In the meantime the mother’s pulmonary hypertension could be treated, even by such simple things as eliminating salt from her diet, exercising, or losing weight.

    “It’s not going to be any extra stress on the mother that she can’t stand,” said Byrne. “Eventually you get to where the baby gets big enough that the baby can live outside the uterus and you don’t have to do an abortion.”

    “I am only aware of good things happening by doing that. I am not aware of anything bad happening to the mother because the baby was allowed to live.”

    “The only reason to kill the baby at 11 weeks is because it is smaller,” which makes the abortion easier to perform, he said, not because the mother’s life is in immediate danger.

    “I’ve done this work just about as long as neonatology has existed,” said Byrne. “The key is we must protect and preserve life, and we have to do that from conception to the natural end.”

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  1036. In conjunction with #984 and #989 regarding the commission seriously considering Soledad O’Brien to be one of the debate moderators, Hot Air has a link to the same Soledad O’Brien caught on air reading Talking Points Memo: Busting the Myth of Paul Ryan The Bipartisan Leader to counter Virginia House of Delegates Republican member Barbara Comstock, who was defending Ryan’s budget plan. Then, not only did she reveal her liberal leanings on air, she subsequently lied about it.

    She was reading The Myth of Paul Ryan The Bipartisan Leader. She never cited it, but used its contents. In fact, she claimed to be reading a direct statement from Senator Wyden’s (D-OR) office, but was in fact reading this excerpt from the blog

    …which makes this comment a bit laughable,

    The Commission always has to choose moderators that people are not going to dispute, and that tends to result with people who are widely respected, and have a track record of fairness…”

    Dana (292dcf)

  1037. “The fault for the farm bill mess to date lies squarely on the shoulders of House Republicans, who are so badly divided that they’ve stonewalled legislation America needs.”

    still sleeeeepy – Hacktastic! Obama’s hometown paper on the same subject from the same link:

    “Congress left for summer recess without passing a bill to guide spending for the next five years on farm subsidies and food stamps. This is one case where gridlock may be a good thing. Taxpayers, the House and Senate were angling to pick your pocket. . . . As it negotiates a farm bill, Congress has to remember it has rung up $15.9 trillion in debt. That calls for a heavy dose of reality for the next farm bill. Ditch the plan to greatly expand crop insurance. Approve a limited, targeted response to the drought. Reduce crop subsidies and curb the huge rise in food stamps.”

    Excerpted from an editorial in the Chicago Tribune

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  1038. I see from the “Barry Soetero” comments that the Birthers are full on hug mode here on this blog.

    Deal with it, President Obama is the President of the United States and nothing you say or do can change that.

    Now back to the usual pity party for Governor Romney.

    ModRepublican (0c4b6b)

  1039. still sleeeeepy, I see, is repeating the talking points that need to be repeated in order to excuse the Senate Democrats for stonewalling the farm bill the Republican House has passed.

    So that Obama can demagogue the issue as if the GOP in general and Paul Ryan in particular haven’t passed one.

    The editorials give the game away:

    And with all of this going on, Congress adjourned for its five-week recess without first passing a new farm bill. . . . The Senate actually did its job, reaching a kind of compromise that allowed passage of relief for farmers back in June.

    In other words, a relief bill was passed back in June. The House passed a farm bill two weeks ago. And the Senate won’t pass a version.

    The game is further given away by the fact that Harry Reid’s Senate hasn’t passed their own version, since they’re not serious about passing one. Just accusing the GOP of not negotiating.

    So the libtard hacks in the press can pretend it’s the House’s responsibility to pass a new one. As opposed to following the normal legislative process where, if the Democrats want to negotiate changes in the final bill, they can work out the differences in conference after the Senate passes its own version.

    For you, still sleeeeepy, a link to a flowchart suitable for a grammar school civics lesson on “how a bill becomes law.”

    My gift to you.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  1040. Moderate republican my arse. If you all will recall, last time he tried his schtick here, he was yammering about how good the economy is going in his industry, and how we are economy awesomeness denialists. Now, birthers, one of the other arrows in it’s quivering quiver. Racists, then it is a hat trick.

    JD (318f81)

  1041. Show some respect to the office even if you do not support the man who sits in it.

    Comment by ModRepublican — 8/13/2012 @ 8:58 pm

    There is no respect for this Republic if you venerate and worship Obama. He’s just the president. He’s no king and is not entitled to any magical custom from us citizens.

    We call them Reagan, Bush, Obama.

    Besides, Obama has broken his promises to us. The things he used to con the 52% into voting for a less politicized, more transparent, halved deficit administration that was simply a lie.

    We don’t owe Obama anything.

    You weirdos who worship Obama like that creep me out.

    Dustin (73fead)

  1042. Chimpy Bu$hitlerBurton

    JD (318f81)

  1043. I see from the “Barry Soetero” comments that the Birthers are full on hug mode here on this blog.

    I am not familiar with how the Barry Soetoro name is a birther reference.

    Obama has gone by that name. Like Geraldo and Perez Hilton, he picked a different name for showbiz purposes.

    If someone calls the GOP nominee ‘Willard Romney’ are they a chemtrail kook now?

    I think the nomination of Romney has pretty much destroyed the plausibility of any moby routine, moron.

    Dustin (73fead)

  1044. Chimpy Bu$hitlerBurton

    Comment by JD

    Yup. The democrat party was unbelievably vicious to Bush. Far worse than anything Obama has had to deal with. Obama got congratulations from Mccain. Gore didn’t exactly treat Bush with that basic level of respect.

    The democrat party nominated a man who uses his middle finger to communicate.

    Dustin (73fead)

  1045. 1061. Moderate republican my arse. If you all will recall, last time he tried his schtick here, he was yammering about how good the economy is going in his industry, and how we are economy awesomeness denialists. Now, birthers, one of the other arrows in it’s quivering quiver. Racists, then it is a hat trick.

    Comment by JD — 8/13/2012 @ 9:51 pm

    Don’t forget; while he was boasting about how well he was doing he also declared how he didn’t care about the unemployed.

    When libtards troll pretending to be conservatives, they always do a bad acting job based on the early Scrooge McDuck.

    A dead giveaway; they think the socialist caricature of capitalists is accurate.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  1046. Oh, I’m sure you can always come up with more.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  1047. Ok, so EPWJ goes to bed, and then “ModRepublican” shows up.

    Another alleged Republican whose singular focus is to ensure that Obama is treated with kid gloves…on a day when Obama’s minions tried to bum-rush the stage that Paul Ryan was speaking on, and on a day when Joe Biden invoked the memory of Ryan’s late father as a gauge of Ryan’s “values.”
    And this occurs a week after the Dems began running an tv ad accusing Romney of causing a woman to die of cancer.

    A person who overlooks all those things, yet obsesses over whether or not someone wrote “Obama” rather than “President Obama” in a blog thread is not a Moderate Republican.
    No.
    Such a person is actually a Democrat.

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  1048. Paul Ryan gets a strong endorsement from the far left. (Considering the source, I interpret it as high praise indeed).

    With such a glowing tribute in mind, I am rethinking my original negative opinion on Ryan . . .

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (2c037a)

  1049. I have a little faith that most people who are not predisposed one way or another can pick out who tells the truth and who demagogues.

    There is a reason for the cliche “the ring of truth.” A “true” bell is clear. A broken bell sounds hollow.

    Ag80 (b2c81f)

  1050. ____________________________________________

    I see from the “Barry Soetero” comments that the Birthers are full on hug mode here on this blog.

    Actually — and in fact — “President Goddamn America” (which is another name that I think both fits and commemorates — Hi, Jeremiah Wright! — the background of the current occupant of the Oval Office) not only used the name you refer to, but — “do’h!” to him — was rather closely affiliated with the origins of all the murmurs about his being born in Africa. After all, he apparently wasn’t too bothered by such an assumption, and his literary agent certainly didn’t appear all that unhappy about the same notion, right up until not all that long ago.

    abcnews.go.com, May 2012: Obama’s former literary agency misidentified his birthplace as Kenya while trying to promote the then-Harvard Law grad as an author in 1991. According to a promotional booklet produced by the agency, Acton & Dystel, to showcase its roster of writers, Obama was “born in Kenya and raised in Indonesia and Hawaii.”

    Miriam Goderich edited the text of the bio; she is now a partner at the Dystel & Goderich agency, which lists Obama as one of its current clients.

    Here’s Obama’s…bio from the 1991 brochure: Barack Obama, the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review, was born in Kenya and raised in Indonesia and Hawaii. The son of an American anthropologist and a Kenyan finance minister…

    …Breitbart.com noted that Obama was listed as being born in Kenya on the Dyster & Goderich website until April 2007, “just two months after then-Senator Obama declared his campaign for the presidency.

    Mark (89e67c)

  1051. SPQR

    Duke was a conservative – he was also a nutcase – however – he came dangeroudly close to becoming a US Senator and governor of Louisiana

    Duke is a reprehensible person

    You wait two years when O-Romney care becomes a fiscal reality and then tell me honestly – who did more damage.

    Actually I feel those who keep touting Romney are the real DWS consultants because this is the election Democrats cant lose either way they get a entitlement loving President in the whitehouse.

    Question is like Daleyrocks said do we get the Senate.

    I found the concern by Daley about rino’s interesting since he has supported Romney – a progressive Democrat – since the beginning.

    Remember – Romney said he wasnt a Republican more than once in his race with Tesd

    EPWJ (c5f1fc)

  1052. Hush, child.

    Fred Phelps is conservative too, right?

    JD (142098)

  1053. JD

    Phelps is a wierdo.

    So are you on board – are you going to guarantee me Romney will repeal Obama care?

    Seriously?

    Comeon you know the same things I do and upthread DRJ basically said the same thing – guys not a conservative and never was.

    Are you going to mortgage your daughters future and mine as well?

    I stake my concerns as a warning – I treat your family’s future quite seriously and I’m tired of career and Ryan is sooo career politician that it’s almost laughable when they say freshair – he’s been on Capital hill for two decades.

    Ryan when confronted with dversity – voted trillions without hesistation. when confronted with cutting off that spending stream – offered 50 years

    It took 30 days to pass TARP. Ryan wants 30 years to reverse it.

    Thats not a winning profile in courage JD come on.

    Be realistic.

    What you need to Ron Pauls suggestions without the conspiracy nutbaggage.

    One day you just got ta say – hey – its over –

    Democrats know they have to suppress job creation because jobs cause people to pay taxes and when Clinton raised taxes on the middle class – they voted all the democrats out for the first time in 70 years

    No one wants to pay taxes thats a given – they vote for the party that taxes their pocketbooks.

    However – I’m leary of a progressive romney getting a progressive Ryan into 16 years of GWBish malaise and govt growth rather than muzzling Obama for 4 years and getting a real businessman/pro business gov into the presidency so this nonsense can end once and for all.

    Ask yourself – do you want 16 years of Romney?

    EPWJ (c5f1fc)

  1054. No one wants to pay taxes thats a given – they vote for the party that taxes their pocketbooks?

    “forgot the questionmark…..

    EPWJ (c5f1fc)

  1055. == I’m leary of a progressive romney getting a progressive Ryan into 16 years of GWBish malaise and govt growth rather than muzzling Obama for 4 years and getting a real businessman/pro business gov into the presidency so this nonsense can end once and for all.==

    For the record, your “leeriness” has been duly noted, Eric. Several hundred times in fact. Please stop repeating yourself– so that (for all of us) “this nonsense can end once and for all”. Your it’ll all be fine if we wait through 4 more Obama years—we’ll be able to solve all our problems in 2016— fairy dust, moonbeams and unicorn statement above shows how utterly mendacious and unserious you are.

    elissa (c1eb21)

  1056. you are progressively making me want to vomit, PeeWee.

    Colonel Haiku (5063d5)

  1057. == I’m leary of a progressive romney getting a progressive Ryan into 16 years of GWBish malaise

    Bugger off, epwj. Ryan is now a progressive? David Duke is a Republican? Cruz is a liberal? Scozzafava is the conservative choice? Palin is a tax and spend liberal? Up is down. Black is white. Obama is a success.

    JD (142098)

  1058. Oh, Elissa, I think the moby is quite serious in terms of his motives. His practice, not so much.

    Simon Jester (74262f)

  1059. What is amusing I think, Mr. Jester, is that quite possibly Eric has singlehandedly firmed up support and enthusiasm in others for the RR ticket, and also prompted donations to the 2012 campaign, more than any other commenter here.

    elissa (c1eb21)

  1060. but then, some vote for the Libertarian for president.

    And then sometimes we go for the moral imperative – here, expelling Obama from the presidency – by voting for the candidate mostly likely to accomplish that imperative.

    To quote Mick Jagger and Keith Richards: You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need….

    Libertarian Advocate (c660ae)

  1061. Gotta hand it to Drudge. His “thought photo” this morning of Barack Obama standing behind his presidential seal on scorched earth and against the backdrop of a parched and dying farm field is brilliant political imagery.

    elissa (c1eb21)

  1062. Bugger off, epwj. Ryan is now a progressive? David Duke is a Republican? Cruz is a liberal? Scozzafava is the conservative choice? Palin is a tax and spend liberal? Up is down. Black is white. Obama is a success.

    Col.,

    I know you like Mitt, but he gave a lot of pro-bailout content on the way to saying he opposed bailouts. He clearly didn’t like having to talk TARP (not that I blame him for that; most of the others have TARP issues).

    Comment by Karl — 10/11/2011 @ 5:37 pm

    Are you going to tell this guy to bugger off as well?

    I would love to know what Karl has to say about Ryan

    EPWJ (c5f1fc)

  1063. JD another person you may have to tell to bugger off….

    During the long passage with Romney over 2008 & TARP, I thought Gov. Romney had seized the moment fairly effectively. He has a terribly difficult tightrope to travel on this topic, and at the end of the day, if he were to become the nominee, there are still going to be a whole lot of conservatives who will react to his answers as being double-talk or flip-flops. In this forum, though, and in particular against Gov. Perry, he’s demonstrating a genuinely impressive verbal dexterity; and just as there are some who will be uncomforted by the substance of his answer, there are others (including, in theory, some fair number of independents) who will be comforted.

    So far, I think Gov. Romney’s helped himself again, and that from a strategic posture where he’d be winning merely by not obviously losing.

    Comment by Beldar — 10/11/2011 @ 5:50 pm

    EPWJ (c5f1fc)

  1064. EWPJ,

    I still have some hope for America’s political system but it sounds like you’ve given up. I understand that feeling. Instead of pinning your last hopes on the Senate, maybe you should think about Texas seceding. That seems more likely to succeed than waiting for 2016 or 2020.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  1065. Refresh my memory here. Were the Karl and Beldar quotes before or after the primaries ended and the ticket set? Oh yeah. I see they’re from October of 2011. Thanks for adding nada to the current discussion related to the current situation at hand.

    elissa (c1eb21)

  1066. DRJ

    No we really have a chance to win the senate in large numbers.

    I havent given up. I just cant really support or ask people to give up on winning back Missouri or Ohio to elect a guy who never was a conservative. Injecting a 10 million dollar october media buy into 10 key states would change close races to sweeps and upsets – in their own way it would help romney

    But remember what Karl said – no one trusts Romney and why should I just because he outspent everyone and purchased a nomination? Now I’m supposed to forget everything the guy did?

    Elissa,

    Or maybe you should listen, and listen well. Are we voting against Obama or are we electing a team to help America – because I hate to tell you thje power in Our government resides in the Senate and the Speaker of the House.

    EPWJ (c5f1fc)

  1067. Signing statements. Presidentual decrees. Czars.

    elissa (c1eb21)

  1068. Romney is an honorable man but I am proudly voting against Obama. Big time.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  1069. And Beldar supports Romney-Ryan.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  1070. If we really have a chance to win the Senate, then we also really have a chance to win the Presidency. They are the same voters.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  1071. By my standards, the Speaker of the House isn’t exactly a strong conservative. Nor are all those Senators you’re pinning your hopes on. I think Romney-Ryan is a better bet to actually change things, let alone keep things from getting worse.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  1072. Oh my, 4 comments in a row. Let’s make it 5 and then I’m off to work. Have a great day, everyone.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  1073. I think I might know how Eric feels. Three minutes ago, I found out that there was a remake of “Stagecoach”, with Krist Kristoferson as the Ringo Kid, Johnny Cash as the marshall, Willie Nelson as the doctor, and Waylon Jennings as the gambler. And the whiskey drummer is British. The horror! The horror!

    nk (875f57)

  1074. Jakarta, by way of Stupidville and the Arabian Peninsula bleated:
    he’s also not really worth voting for he’s BARELY tolerable than a committed socialist…
    — Ya know, sometimes your . . . dumbness is barely tolerable

    Obama can do no more wrong 4 years of total gridlock (which is good) and then its a new chance
    — That includes having Obamacare go into full effect
    (EPWJ: “Oh, yeah . . .”)

    Romney will do wrong as president because most Republicans won’t defy their own party president so we have 8 years of moderate to severe social engineering under Romney and none under Obama – if we win the Senate.
    — Step right up, folks, to see the idiot that walks and talks like a man!

    No more Supreme court judges from liberal law school, no more restructuring of the constitution without amendments.
    — Ginsburg and Breyer are on their last legs. If Obama has four more years, who do you think he’s gonna nominate? Having a majority in the Senate does NOT mean that you can automatically block every nomination.

    Icy (674a71)

  1075. Good point, Icy. As I remember, only Fortas and Bork were blocked, and Bork by super-dirty trickery. A presidential nominee for SCOTUS goes in with a very powerful presumption of confirmation regardless of Senate composition.

    nk (875f57)

  1076. Now back to the usual pity party for Governor Romney.
    Comment by ModRepublican — 8/13/2012 @ 9:45 pm

    — Mods suck. Rockers rule!

    Icy (674a71)

  1077. no one trusts Romney and why should I just because he outspent everyone and purchased a nomination? Now I’m supposed to forget everything the guy did?

    They are all politicians.

    There are negatives you can focus on, but what’s the point? The primary was about selecting the best nominee, and the primary is over. I didn’t get who I want because the GOP is full of different opinions. Its being full of different opinions is frustrating, yet it’s a consequence of it being a large instead of small movement.

    There are also positives we can focus on, and the primary is over. You acknowledge this when you say you will vote for Romney, but your attitude is to hunt up criticisms people made some time ago and also come up with a few strained criticisms. It’s like you’re trying as hard as you can to avoid the positives.

    We need a unified GOP in order to beat Obama, and while you say you’ll support the ticket, your attitude is that of someone who wants Romney/Ryan to lose. In particular when you express the view that there isn’t much difference between the tickets. Look at the resumes of Romney and Obama. One is superior. Romney isn’t ideologically conservative enough, but he’s very skilled and naturally any president will want to be successful, so he can see what the problem with Obama’s administration has been (hence picking Ryan for VP).

    You’re entitled to your opinion. I’m not asking you to be dishonest about it just for the good of the Party. But focus on what’s good.

    Dustin (73fead)

  1078. Elissa, #1081: wouldn’t it be hilarious if this guy was, as imply, a reverse-moby? So irritatingly wrong headed it firms up support?

    Historically, the guy is a silly loon who pissed off Stashiu3. Enough said.

    Simon Jester (74262f)

  1079. Clarence Thomas was almost thrown to the wolves. Thankfully, he had balls that clanked when he walked and he turned it around when he faced both Republicans and Democrats down.

    nk (875f57)

  1080. That was a remarkable non sequitur, epwj. You even bothered to quote what you were allegedly responding to, then rebutted a point I never made about a person I didn’t mention. Brava¡

    JD (142098)

  1081. I agree, nk.

    Clarence Thomas stood up both to the democrats and some weaker Republicans, simply by honestly appraising the lack of decency in the hearing.

    He’s the unusual one on the bench, yet he’s the one making the least show and offering the most straightforward and predictable interpretation of the law.

    I really admire him.

    Dustin (73fead)

  1082. EPWJ,

    David Duke was a longtime Democrat—this is a fact.

    He is/was not a conservative, he was never “very conservative” as you pontificate, and he only began to campaign as a Republican late in his political-office seeking ‘career.’

    He also got crushed by over twenty points in the 1990 Governor race which you claim he almost “won.”

    It’s such a poker-tell that you are not a conservative when you are continually attempting to brand Duke as some sort of standard-bearer for the conservative cause, while at the same time claiming that Ted Cruz, Paul Ryan, Sarah Palin, and Ronald Reagan are not adequate conservatives.

    I think a lot of people missed that post of yours last week when you suggested that Reagan was some sort of liberal, pretending to be a conservative.
    Of course, if anyone would know about a liberal pretending to be a conservative, it would be you, EPWJ.Why don’t you go hang out with your favorite Yellow Dog Texas Democrat, Jim Hightower. You guys can share some ‘funny’ Molly Ivins stories with one another. (I’ve heard that some of her binges are legendary—‘Pass me another cheeseburger, darlin’ !’)

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  1083. _______________________________________________

    I think a lot of people missed that post of yours last week when you suggested that Reagan was some sort of liberal, pretending to be a conservative.

    I didn’t see that one, along with admittedly many other postings (this forum isn’t exactly the easiest to scroll through, which I regret—I think even Patterico mentioned not too long ago that he tends not to read most messages that are posted to his blog’s board, although I’m guessing that’s due mainly to time restraints on his part).

    EPWJ apparently is more of a closeted liberal (some may say “moby”) than I originally assumed was the case. His supporting Dede Scozzafava on one hand and then in other instances happily dissing various Republicans of conservative bent says it all.

    Mark (89e67c)

  1084. To Milly Ann, juicing I ran:
    You wait two years when O-Romney care becomes a fiscal reality and then tell me honestly – who did more damage.
    — Yet another “Romney said he’s gonna get Obamacare repealed, but he doesn’t really mean it,” claim? BOR•ING.

    Democrats cant lose either way they get a entitlement loving President in the whitehouse.
    — Isn’t he just the cutest! Why, only last week he learned to use the big boy potty for the first time!

    Remember – Romney said he wasnt a Republican more than once in his race with Tesd
    — No he didn’t, liar.

    So are you on board – are you going to guarantee me Romney will repeal Obama care?
    — Why does anyone other than Romney himself need to “guarantee” you that?

    Are you going to mortgage your daughters future and mine as well?
    — Hopefully, statistical analysis and calculus are not required for your daily occupation, and God help you if they are.

    I’m tired of career and Ryan is sooo career politician
    — I remember the old days when having a career as opposed to just a job was a respectable thing.

    it’s almost laughable when they say freshair
    — On the contrary, I’ve seen his hair and it is VERY “fres”!

    he’s been on Capital hill for two decades.
    — Or twelve years, whichever comes first from the land of unmakebelieve. Of course, he IS a bit young to have first been elected to office in 1984, like a certain governor I know.

    It took 30 days to pass TARP. Ryan wants 30 years to reverse it.
    — When “WKRP In Cincinnati” first came on the air I was 13 years old and quickly became obsessed with staring at Loni Anderson’s boobs.
    But I eventually came to terms with it.
    Because, well — you know, by then Heather Locklear had come along.

    However – I’m leary of a progressive romney getting a progressive Ryan into 16 years of GWBish malaise and govt growth rather than muzzling Obama for 4 years and getting a real businessman/pro business gov into the presidency so this nonsense can end once and for all.
    — So now Ryan is a “progressive”? You simply do not have a clue as to what or who you are talkin about.

    no one trusts Romney and why should I just because he outspent everyone and purchased a nomination?
    — It’s funny how he was able to ‘purchase’ the nomination but somehow will fail to purchase the presidency.
    [Call it EPWJ’s You Guys Should Have Voted For Perry, Variation No. 138]

    Icy (674a71)

  1085. I’m tired of career and Ryan is sooo career politician

    This was the exact opposite standard he used on Cruz

    JD (142098)

  1086. Yeah, JD makes a good point about EPWJ;
    when EPWJ was arguing against Ted Cruz, he said Cruz lacked legislative experience, therefore, he is a poor risk.
    Now EPWJ says Paul Ryan has too much legislative experience, and that he doesn’t even have a track record of creating jobs in the private sector, therefore, he’s a poor risk.
    Well, Mitt Romney has experience creating jobs in the private sector, but EPWJ poo-poos that, saying that some factories were closed down in the process, therefore he’s a poor risk.

    So, whatever the Republican candidate’s career path has been, EPWJ is going to bad-mouth it, and lament that the candidate doesn’t have a resume of having explicitly done “X.”

    If only our GOP candidates had a history of being a “community organizer,” or experience at leaving women to drown at Chappaquiddick.

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  1087. Comment by happyfeet — 8/13/2012 @ 3:08 pm

    NG axed me today if she can vote for the Romney and the Ryan even if she’s registered as a democrat person

    Sounds like a good subject for a commercial is a swing where there is party registration. Probably actually 3% to 5% of registered voters think someone might be legally bound to vote for the candidates of the party they are registered in. A commercial like that might actually swing a few votes.

    that’s so

    I got a little emotional

    Sammy Finkelman (514375)

  1088. There I go again! Pasting but not cutting enough.

    Sammy Finkelman (514375)

  1089. “I found the concern by Daley about rino’s interesting since he has supported Romney – a progressive Democrat – since the beginning.”

    EPWJ – More lies. I countered the lies you were spewing about Romney that you spewing from the beginning.

    Please provide evidence that he is a Democrat.

    I supported an electable candidate.

    Dewhurst was just a law school drop out who got rich off crony capitalism, a feature you seem to seek out in the candidates you support.

    Clean the sand out of your mangina and move forward.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  1090. Mr Sammy, I was unaware that “cutting” was available in your writer’s toolbox

    Icy (674a71)

  1091. “But remember what Karl said – no one trusts Romney and why should I just because he outspent everyone and purchased a nomination?”

    EPWJ – You supported a guy who started with a lot of money and high hopes. He stumbled coming out of the gate. If he performed up to expectations he could have raised a lot more money. He didn’t and did not even make it much into 2012.

    Blaming others for his failures really shows your inability to deal with reality. Very much like a liberal.

    Move on.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  1092. “But remember what Karl said – no one trusts Romney and why should I just because he outspent everyone and purchased a nomination?”

    EPWJ – No, you should continue to pound your keyboard in frustration like a big baby because displaying bitterness and immaturity are among your most endearing qualities.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  1093. Perry’s campaign was an embarrassment to the great state of Texas I hope he doesn’t “speak” at the convention cause I’m sick of looking at his stupid face

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  1094. Mr. Feets – I think Mr. EPWJ has used up all the Tardasil inventory.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  1095. yo don’t bogart the tardasil man

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  1096. Mr. Feets – Gov. Perry may be planning a monster truck prayer rally outside the DNC convention.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  1097. the glory goes up to god and the blessings fall down on top our heads Mr. daley

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  1098. I don’t think it’s fair to Karl to say he was for or against Romney or any candidate. If you go back and look at his posts, his goal wasn’t to take sides but to analyze the politics involved.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  1099. 1108. So, whatever the Republican candidate’s career path has been, EPWJ is going to bad-mouth it, and lament that the candidate doesn’t have a resume of having explicitly done “X.”

    If only our GOP candidates had a history of being a “community organizer,” or experience at leaving women to drown at Chappaquiddick.

    Comment by Elephant Stone — 8/14/2012 @ 8:46 am

    This is the classic sign of a leftist, Mr. Stones.

    As Erik at No Pasaran! points out:

    Paul Ryan Dissed for Lack of Foreign Policy Know-How; Obama Praised for “Learning what he knows in the Oval Office”

    So Emily Bazelon dismisses Paul Ryan with the fact (among others) that the Wisconsin Republican “has no foreign policy experience” (thanks to Instapundit).

    Of course, this is the kind of thing that Barack Obama routinely receives praise for. In fact, just a couple of weeks ago, the New York Times was waxing lyrical about the Apologizer-in-Chief for this very feature (or lack of one).

    Writes Leslie Gelb in his NYT book review of the James Mann book, The Obamians:

    The creator and commander of this diverse team is, of course, Obama himself. And I would go further than Mann and argue that he oversees one of the most centralized foreign policy operations in history – based principally on his brain power and intellectual self-confidence, not on knowledge or experience…

    So, just in case the rule isn’t clear yet, here it is:
    • when a Democrat has no foreign policy experience,
    it is an undisputed asset;
    • when a Republican has no foreign policy experience,
    it is an unqualified liability.

    More generally, the more basic rule is that:
    • whatever a Democrat has or does not have (foreign policy experience, his or her length of service in the political world, practical knowledge of the business world, an account of his or her youth and background, etc etc etc) is an asset;
    whatever a Republican has or does not have (idem) is a liability…

    DWS’s press secretary gives himself away, again, by moving the goalposts exactly according to the progressive left’s hypocritical formula.

    That and his earlier attempt to convince his “fellow conservatives” that rather than waste resources in a losing battle for the WH, we’d be much better advised to “invest” those resources just barely losing the Senate.

    Because Obama would be trapped by gridlock. Completely unable to do anything by executive order.

    Like deliver a de facto amnesty…

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  1100. Comment by DRJ — 8/14/2012 @ 6:28 am

    If we really have a chance to win the Senate, then we also really have a chance to win the Presidency. They are the same voters.

    That was what I thought on Election Day 1996.

    I called up I think it was Alan Colmes, not sure what show that was, around 5 A.M. But he finished the thought for me with “because this is a Republican country” which is close enough.

    Sammy Finkelman (514375)

  1101. Going way back to my comment 599, Kay Bailey Hutchison is an example of how some women politicians put their families first in ways I don’t think as many men do.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  1102. DRJ

    I am voting against Obama too, I’m just wondering if I’m still voting for change or just another progressive

    EPWJ (c5f1fc)

  1103. Paul Ryan is a progressive.

    JD (142098)

  1104. Comment by Milhouse — 8/13/2012 @ 5:36 pm

    Last night I was playing board games and two people started slagging off about Ryan, and Romney’s misspeaking and introducing him as the next president.

    Obama did the same thing in 2008 with Biden. (according to the New York Daily News)

    http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/oops-mitt-romney-introduces-v-p-running-mate-paul-ryan-president-united-states-article-1.1134293

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4QCcwJjk54

    he used to be a professional campaign manager.

    Local races?

    And he meant the Holocaust thing; he’s (non-Jewish) Polish, and later explained that his family were in the camps (I restrained myself from asking “in what capacity?”).

    Not the same kind of prisoner. The Nazis did not use Poles as guards – they weren’t reliab;y anti-semitic enough and didn’t like the fact their country had been conquered.

    They used Ukrainians and Estonians.

    Sammy Finkelman (514375)

  1105. I read a story once. One Polish prisoner at auschwitz told some Jews who had just arrived that they would be killed or that many were being killed by, possibly glorying in it. He was immediately put to death by the Nazis for revealing secrets, while some of the Jews lived, which is how we know that story. The Nazis were not interested in people showing how much they approved of them.

    They learned to be very careful how they talked about it. Even in Auschwitz what was going on was considered a secret.

    Sammy Finkelman (514375)

  1106. 1120.I don’t think it’s fair to Karl to say he was for or against Romney or any candidate. If you go back and look at his posts, his goal wasn’t to take sides but to analyze the politics involved.

    Comment by DRJ — 8/14/2012 @ 10:25 am

    I think Karl meant every word he said and he didnt trust Romney and said many conservatives wouldn’t either and Beldar said essentially the same thing.

    I know this doesn’t help but its inconsequential anyway they have no chance of winning

    I didnt want Rick to run for president – I didnt want him to run for Gov last Term

    I love the man – but America isnt ready for a Rick Perry. And the reaction to Dewhurst is we haven’t gotten over our need to be entertained during the political season – the pain of the economy isnt felt in Texas as in Ohio – Texas has plenty of jobs and wealth.

    So the appreciation of a Perry or Dewhurst is diminished and cannot be appreciated until the pain comes

    And when the althcare law robs people in a few short month there will be a totally different view of Romney and Obama

    EPWJ (c5f1fc)

  1107. It was so secret that Hitler did not provide the SS with a budget for killing Jews. They had to do it without spending an extra pfenning. That’s why they always wanted Jews to take valuables along with them on the trains – so they could pay the railroad.

    Anything they stole could not be kept overnight, but had to be turned over to the Reich Treasury.

    That’s one reason some prisoners were kept alive at Sobibor and Treblinka for a while. They didn’t have to pay for the servants.

    Sammy Finkelman (514375)

  1108. Paul Ryan is a progressive. Really.

    JD (142098)

  1109. JD

    Did he vote for TARP? NCLB? Every govt expanding Bush budget?

    EPWJ (c5f1fc)

  1110. You are a silly silly boy.

    JD (142098)

  1111. EPWJ,

    Why do you keep denying you’re a Democrat ?
    You should take pride in yourself…just like Anderson Cooper finally removed his mask, you ought to, too.

    I saw how your boy Joe Biden was campaigning in Virginia when he told the crowd, “C’mon, we can win North Carolina !”
    (“Pssst…Mr. Vice President…we’re in Virginia—not North Carolina.”)
    That was shortly after Obama was in Iowa, trashing Paul Ryan for allegedly holding up a farm bill in the House…that had already passed in the House two weeks ago.

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  1112. Perry’s campaign was an embarrassment to the great state of Texas I hope he doesn’t “speak” at the convention cause I’m sick of looking at his stupid face

    Comment by happyfeet — 8/14/2012

    On the one hand, *shakes fist at you*.

    On the other hand, yeah the Perry campaign itself, including Perry’s level of preparation, was not up to snuff. Though I would say some aspects of Perry’s campaigns, such as some of the advertisements, were top notch. Perry’s record was also top notch, but they were not prepared for the way national elections can be very focused on nitpicks. They didn’t handle things remotely well, and I think they gave up what should have been a presumptive win.

    I do not want Perry to try again. I love the guy’s record and I seriously doubt his successor (whenever there is one) will be as successful, but he is not a national politician and I don’t think he ever will be.

    I have to admit, very begrudgingly, that I no longer think Perry would have beaten Obama. It sucks to be wrong about such an important thing.

    Dustin (73fead)

  1113. Karl never expressed opposition to Romney as far as I can recall.

    I could cherry pick his posts in a way to make him sound like a supporter or opponent of every single candidate, including Ron Paul and Obama, but that would be unfair. Karl presented the pros and cons of all the candidates he covered. His coverage remains excellent when I read it at Hot Air.

    Dustin (73fead)

  1114. I was on Team Perry too

    but then suddenly I wasn’t

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  1115. “So the appreciation of a Perry or Dewhurst is diminished and cannot be appreciated until the pain comes”

    EPWJ – You know who else has an annoying habit of blaming other people for his own failures? Barack Obama.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  1116. I voted for Zombie Reagan, the progressive, but he didn’t win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  1117. You make some good points, there, Dustin.

    I think there was an underestimation by the Perry campaign about both the rigors and the strategy necessary to facillitate a campaign that appeals to people outside the Texas/Oklahoma/Deep South corridor.

    On paper, he was an excellent candidate.

    I know he had back surgery a year ago, just prior to entering into the GOP primary, and that he was on strong painkillers that tend to inhibit a person—which might explain some of the lackluster debate performances.
    I also heard he wasn’t super-super interested in running for President, but that he was convinced to do so.

    But by the same token, you can’t successfully run a candidate who isn’t 100% sold on the notion.

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  1118. == I’m just wondering if I’m still voting for change or just another progressive==

    Oh, I see now. You’re just asking questions. Just sorting things out in your mind. You know, when I am confronted with a complex set of facts and trying to clarify my thinking– before I go public with my opinions or try to convince others, I usually talk it over with a family member or close friend, often create a detailed pro-con list, and then to add even more introspection I take a long walk with our dog. YMMV

    elissa (c1eb21)

  1119. Perry has nice hair. That’s how you win a mostly ceremonial seat (governor) in Texas. Takes more than nice hair to be President.

    nk (875f57)

  1120. I also heard he wasn’t super-super interested in running for President, but that he was convinced to do so.

    That would explain a lot, and is an impression I have.

    I think also I have a very hard time understanding how a candidate sells outside the area I’m in. Perry’s service to his country and his simple results are the whole argument for me. That he’s not very good on TV… I undervalue that compared to other folks.

    I think in Texas many actually are turned off by a polished candidate, especially compared to simple results. And we’re looking for reasons to doubt a politician’s sincerity and goodness (to me, that almost means being too polished, but it can also mean refusing a handshake or being tacky as was the case with Clayton Williams).

    Just a culture difference. Being able to beat Obama is pretty darn important in our selection, so Romney’s ability to come out of this awful primary is an impressive credential. Even if I preferred Perry’s record.

    Dustin (73fead)

  1121. Perry has nice hair. That’s how you win a mostly ceremonial seat (governor) in Texas. Takes more than nice hair to be President.

    Comment by nk

    Naw, we just have a better state. It’s as simple as that. I bet you could pick a random politician in Texas and wind up with a better politician than Illinois has produced in the last thirty years.

    Our last governor’s race pitted KBH against Bill White against Rick Perry. Any of those would have been one of the best governors in the country.

    Not quite Scott Walker or Mitch Daniels, but still in the top echelon.

    We’re a very fortunate state.

    While the Texas governor is not the head of our legislature (much as the US president isn’t), he does administer an enormous government. Our state is huge. His leadership skill is very important, as is his ability to built coalitions of legislators in absence of control (like the US President).

    I think this is why Bush 43 was legislatively very effective.

    Dustin (73fead)

  1122. Comment by luagha — 8/13/2012 @ 8:59 am

    I have a dream. Romney and Ryan in the Oval Office and it time to give his first orders to his transition team and he says one word.

    “Purge.”

    Every president does that. Although there are certain jobs where he could do it where he doesn’t, like the CIA maybe for instance.

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)

  1123. Comment by Dustin — 8/14/2012 @ 11:55 am

    While the Texas governor is not the head of our legislature

    I think the Lieutenant Governor is.

    (much as the US president isn’t)

    But the Vice president of the United States doesn’t have much a role in Congress, beyond his office there and voting in case of a tie in the Senate.

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)

  1124. ==I think also I have a very hard time understanding how a candidate sells outside the area I’m in.==

    I think this comment is on point for a lot of us. One of the things about this blog which I have found most personally valuable is hearing and being able to weigh the views and impressions of people I respect (and know are similarly situated politically),–but live in different states and geographic regions.

    Tip O’Neill—All politics is local.

    elissa (c1eb21)

  1125. Comment by Elephant Stone — 8/14/2012 @ 11:27 am

    shortly after Obama was in Iowa, trashing Paul Ryan for allegedly holding up a farm bill in the House…that had already passed in the House two weeks ago.

    Didn’t they pass a stop-gap bill plus emergency aid?

    http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/26/house-works-on-a-short-term-farm-bill/

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)

  1126. Members of the Senate, which passed its version of the farm bill in May, have been waiting on the House to vote on the bill, and they say they are opposed to extending the current farm bill.

    So they’ll pretend that is not an option.

    Senators said an extension would delay the changes they approved in cutting farm subsidies and food stamps and improving crop insurance.

    House Republicans were divided as to exactly what to do:

    http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/30/republican-leaders-in-tricky-spot-on-farm-bill-and-drought-aid/

    Both the House and the Senate farm bills eliminate the $5 billion-a-year subsidies paid to cotton, grain and soybean growers whether they plant crops or not.

    House leaders have delayed the farm bill in hopes of averting a fight between Republicans over a proposal for steep cuts in food stamps and over the potential cost of the bill, which totals $996 billion over the next 10 years. The House bill would cut $16.5 billion from the food stamp program. The Senate bill would cut $4.5 billion.

    “If the House intends to send us a bill that will be used to negotiate the farm bill during August, I am open to that approach,” Senator Debbie Stabenow, the Michigan Democrat who leads the Agriculture Committee, said in a statement. “However, a short-term extension is bad for farmers and our agricultural economy.”

    “If Congress does what Congress always does and kicks the can down the road with a short-term extension, there will be no reform, direct payments will continue, we’ll lose the opportunity for major deficit reduction and we’ll deliver a real blow to our economic recovery,” Ms. Stabenow said.

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)

  1127. A Wikipedia article that has nothing after the 2008 farm bill: (but may discuss the history)

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_farm_bill

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)

  1128. “Naw, we just have a better state. It’s as simple as that. I bet you could pick a random politician in Texas and wind up with a better politician than Illinois has produced in the last thirty years.”

    Dustin – Shirley Jackson-Lee is a tough standard to beat, but I appreciate your sentiment.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  1129. Ms. Stabenow is amusing, given how her party’s caucus has refused to pass or even draft a budget in three years.

    Blaming the House GOP for failing to address real deficit reduction.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  1130. This is about the bill that passed the House:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/03/us/politics/house-passes-short-term-farm-relief-bill.html

    After refusing to consider a sweeping five-year farm measure, House Republican leaders jammed through a short-term $383 million package of loans and grants for livestock producers and a limited number of farmers. The measure passed 223 to 197, a narrow margin for a bill that has an impact on so many states. But Democrats balked in protest over the way the farm legislation has been handled and some Republicans objected to the costs.

    Democratic leaders in the Senate, which had already passed a bipartisan five-year bill, refused to take up the House measure, faulting House Republican leaders for failing to consider the broader legislation in time.

    “I’m not passing a bill that only covers some producers,” said Senator Debbie Stabenow, Democrat of Michigan, the chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

    Moments after the House passed its bill, Ms. Stabenow took to the Senate floor to say that lawmakers would instead work informally over the August recess to try to put together a new measure to present to Congress when it meets in September. The White House would have considered the House measure, but she resisted, Senate aides said.

    http://www.wivb.com/dpps/living_green/national_green/house-passes-livestock-disaster-relief-bill_4284936

    The bill would restore four disaster aid programs, mostly for livestock producers and tree farmers, that expired last year. The estimated cost, $383 million, would be paid for by shaving some $630 million from two conservation programs. The disaster programs would be restored for the 2012 budget year.

    While there was little dispute over the difficult straits of the livestock industry, there was opposition to the bill from environmental groups disturbed by the cuts to the conservation programs, anti-tax groups who saw the bill as another government bailout and agriculture groups who have been pushing the House to vote on a five-year farm bill that, in addition to making fundamental changes in agriculture safety nets, would restore the disaster relief programs. The current long-term farm bill expires at the end of September.

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)

  1131. EPWJ – How many Democrat Committee Chairs did bona fide conservative David Dewhurst appoint in the Texas Senate?

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  1132. Dustin, please name one plenary power a Texas governor has. (Plenary = not subject to approval or ratification by a second agency, whether the legislature or a commission.)

    nk (875f57)

  1133. 846. Comment by DRJ — 8/13/2012 @ 10:47 am

    Sammy,

    Why should we read your comments if you don’t read ours?

    Maybe you have more time? But I am not asking anyone to read it if it is not anything you are interested in.

    I do have this bad habit of not reading the whole thing.

    I actually do try to read the whole thread. I save *.mht files and read them at night.

    Sometimes it looks like something stands on its own and I reply right away.

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)

  1134. “We’re a very fortunate state.”

    Dustin – Yes you are. Nobody here is waving the flag for Illinois about how great it is, so unless you are looking to escalate something I have no idea why you’re starting in on it.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  1135. I never read Sammy’s comments, anymore. For the simple reason that they are so long that by the time I get to the last part I have forgotten the first part and as a consequence I do not understand any part.

    nk (875f57)

  1136. 1046. 1055.

    Comment by ModRepublican — 8/13/2012 @ 8:58 pm

    “It is “PRESIDENT Obama” not “Obama”

    Comment by Mark — 8/13/2012 @ 9:23 pm

    How about “President Barry Soetero?” Or would “President Barry Obama” be better?

    Perhaps “President Bowing-like-a-servant-in-front-of-foreign-dignitaries” is a more proper nod to the etiquette that involves the White House.

    In the 1990’s once or twice or so I referred to “President Slick Willie”

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)

  1137. Illinois is a great state. If nothing else, we send our governors to jail on a pretty regular basis.

    nk (875f57)

  1138. “Illinois is a great state. If nothing else, we send our governors to jail on a pretty regular basis.”

    nk – True. Texas should send more of its politicians to jail on a regular basis given the rampant cronyism.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  1139. Fair enough, although I’m more concerned about Romney than about Ryan.

    If we don’t lift regulation on our economy absolutely — cuting it back drastically and not just trimming it on the edges — we will have no future at all. Sadly, there is no regulation-whacker in Team Romney. People are going to have to wake up to the fact that we cannot afford all our regulation. It’s what is killing us, and even if we spend less, we will still be hosed. Regulation is killing our economy.

    J.E. Dyer on August 12, 2012 at 12:39 PM

    Hmmm

    EPWJ (e83e82)

  1140. The Boston Globe was almost balanced in their write-up of the Ryan nomination – and it couldn’t have been more different than their panning of Sarah Palin four years ago.

    Only thing I can figure is that some of the media are getting tired of defending this amateur in the White House and need a good exit strategy. “Paul Ryan’s dreamy eyes and amazing infographics!” just might be that exit strategy.

    bridget (862c19)

  1141. daleyrocks,

    I agree politicians that commit illegal acts should be punished, but cronyism is a term that can encompass both legal and illegal acts.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  1142. The thing that is so disgusting about government is not what is done that is illegal, it is what is done that is legal!

    AD-Restore the Republic/Obama Sucks! (b8ab92)

  1143. Speaking about numbers – should I put this here? – is someone still looking for higher numbers?

    Maybe a different thread is the best place…

    The population of the United States passed Pi today: (or Pi times 100 million anyway)

    via ABC and other sources. on.mktw.net/Ni7ffc (h/t Navroop Mitter)

    U.S. population clock reached milestone of 314,159,265 residents | pi (3.14159265) x 100 million

    http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2012/08/14/u-s-population-hits-100-million-pi-buy-diaper-stocks/

    The U.S. Census Bureau population clock rolled past 314,159,265, or the equivalent of 100 million times Pi, Tuesday.

    Right now:

    http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html

    U.S. 314,160,644
    World 7,032,823,567

    23:22 UTC (EST+5) Aug 14, 2012

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)

  1144. Several links about Paul Ryan from the Wall Street Journal today:

    Joseph Rago: The Forgotten History of Ryan’s Medicare Reform

    How the House budget chairman developed his premium-support concept, which was originally supported by Democrats. It’s the only plan that won’t send grandma over a cliff.

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444318104577585690172683560.html?mod=djemEditorialPage_t

    Stephens: Paul Ryan’s Neocon Manifesto

    America’s real interests, he understands, come from our deepest values.

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444318104577587322446430152.html?mod=djemEditorialPage_t

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)

  1145. That’s interesting, Sammy #1165.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  1146. “I agree politicians that commit illegal acts should be punished, but cronyism is a term that can encompass both legal and illegal acts.”

    DRJ – I agree that cronyism includes both legal and illegal acts. Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe Texas allows unlimited campaign contributions from individuals to campaigns, which I believe creates the appearance over time of obligation on the part of politicians. If you look at the remora attached to individual politicians over time or given influential positions in administrations for which of course they are “eminently qualified” and can steer favors to their own benefit, of course they to be major consistent contributors.

    When I look at the career of somebody like Dewhurst, particularly his business career, I see a dirtbag, which probably helps explains EPWJ’s crush.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  1147. Finkelman, I’ve resolved not to read another of your comments.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  1148. “It’s the only plan that won’t send grandma over a cliff.”

    Sammy – It’s because Obama already pushed all the grannies over the cliff by raping Medicare of $750 billion to fund Obamacare, a fact which Democrats are desperately trying to avoid acknowledging.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  1149. daleyrocks,

    That’s something I would rather see solved by term limits.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  1150. “That’s something I would rather see solved by term limits.”

    DRJ – I have no problem with that, but when I see EPWJ ranting about buying elections, he should look to his own back yard.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  1151. I never read Sammy’s comments, anymore. For the simple reason that they are so long that by the time I get to the last part I have forgotten the first part and as a consequence I do not understand any part.

    Comment by nk

    to be brief, to point
    sammy could take some lessons
    he’s paid by teh word

    Colonel Haiku (5063d5)

  1152. Dustin – Shirley Jackson-Lee is a tough standard to beat, but I appreciate your sentiment.

    Comment by daleyrocks

    You got me on that one.

    Texas has some duds. Generally in goofy situations like that one, where in a fair districting she wouldn’t have a chance, but the federal government demands a district gerrymandered a certain way that I don’t think is so fair.

    But still, you got me there.

    Dustin (73fead)

  1153. Obama campaign: ‘We have no problem with those comments’…
    ROMNEY: ‘New low’…
    VIDEO: Biden Imitates Sign Language Lady…
    Giuliani Wonders Whether Biden Has ‘Mental Capacity’ for Presidency…
    VP says ‘We can win North Carolina’ — while campaigning in Virginia…

    Slow Joe teh gift that keeps on giving…

    Colonel Haiku (5063d5)

  1154. Illinois is a great state. If nothing else, we send our governors to jail on a pretty regular basis.

    Comment by nk — 8/14/2012

    Most of the folks I’ve met from Illinois are great. I have a high opinion of the state.

    But y’all’s government… not so great.

    Illinois is a powerful state with a lot of great education and culture and business.

    Dustin (73fead)

  1155. 1156. Ditch Cook County and maybe some one might worthily talk up Illinois.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  1156. Straight outta 0bama’s usually lying mouth… http://youtu.be/YyD7pfYf7-c

    If I had a dog
    he would look just like teh dog
    that 0bama ate

    Colonel Haiku (5063d5)

  1157. Dustin – Yes you are. Nobody here is waving the flag for Illinois about how great it is, so unless you are looking to escalate something I have no idea why you’re starting in on it.

    Comment by daleyrocks — 8/14/2012

    Oh, I wasn’t trying to bother anyone, but I disagreed with nk’s perception of what it takes to be a governor as successful as Rick Perry has been.

    The issue is that Perry didn’t appear to be that great at some things, politics things, but his record is impressive. And I think KBH and Bill White, his most recent competitors, were also impressive and probably also not nationwide contenders.

    Texas and NY and Ill and CA… they all have tremendous business and other resources. All of them should be successful. Only the one with a culture of individuality and I think a different attitude about politicians has a good government.

    The issue is the voters. I could care less that Rick Perry sounds stupid on TV, so long as he keeps cutting spending. I find ideas like the $10k degree to be game changers (already Texas State University has such a degree, too… this initiative will change our country eventually).

    I want voters in other regions to think the way Texans do. I think it’s in their best interest. But they don’t, and there’s not much I can do about it. I have great pride in my great, albeit imperfect, state.

    Also, I don’t think Texas is particularly corrupt. There are problems, but things seem to work out OK here. Dewhurst would have crushed Cruz in most other states. Why?

    Dustin (73fead)

  1158. “Dewhurst would have crushed Cruz in most other states. Why?”

    Dustin – Pure speculation. Give me a real life example that you think fits that mold.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  1159. 1159. Illinois is a great state. If nothing else, we send our governors to jail on a pretty regular basis.

    Comment by nk — 8/14/2012 @ 12:33 pm

    Just a heads up; there a few other public officials you need to send to stir:

    Affidavit of Marcy Bailey

    2. I started employment with the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) in December 2011 and as of March 2012, I was an employee of ISAC…

    RAINBOW PUSH – PELOSI POLITICAL EVENT

    1. On March 3, 2012 as an employee of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission ISACorps, I attended the Forum at Rainbow Push National Headquarters, 930 E. 50th Street, Chicago, IL. At this event Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi endorsed Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. just days before…

    REQUIRED ATTENDANCE

    2. …Although emails from an ISAC supervisor would lead one to believe that my attendance was optional, during phone calls from Sara Henschen, my regional coordinator, and from Kim Galvan, ISACorps Manager, I was told that I “must attend.”

    3. …I stated I did not feel comfortable going, but my supervisors told me that I did have to go.

    ATTENDED EVENT ON PAID GOVERNMENT TIME

    4. Since I was instructed to attend the event, and that it was mandatory, I asked how I was to be paid for this Saturday work event…

    RAINBOW PUSH “SATURDAY FORUM” 3 MARCH 2012

    8. …With cameras flashing Jesse Jackson Sr., candidates and politicians left the conference room, and we were staged to look like we were political supporters…

    10. …The event was largely a political rally, and there was no opportunity for those of us who were not there to participate in a political rally …We were being videotaped and any disagreement would have left a record. I felt considerably isolated and intimidated by this. I felt sick to my stomach.

    ISAC JOB COACHING BY JESSE JACKSON SR. AFTER “SATURDAY FORUM” ENDED

    11. …Jesse Jackson Sr. said to work to help as many students as possible to acquire student loans.

    12. Jesse Jason Sr. also told us not to worry about loading students up with too much college debt, because Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats will eventually forgive all student loan debt. On the promise of debt forgiveness, “those people will continue to vote Democratic.”

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  1160. Dustin – Pure speculation. Give me a real life example that you think fits that mold.

    Comment by daleyrocks

    A real life example of a more established and connected/funded candidate beating an underdog?

    Cruz beating Dewhurst is a testament to Texas’s voters, IMO.

    Same with our electing budget balancers like Rick Perry. No other large state does.

    Dustin (73fead)

  1161. Perry and Dewhurst are on the downhill slope of their political careers. Not saying they deserve it, but facts are facts.

    Colonel Haiku (5063d5)

  1162. facts are facts… and those are probably true.

    but the voters will remain, so while I do think Perry had special ability in his role (better than Bush 43 as governor, and he was a substantial improvement himself), I think the voters will keep things alright.

    Imagine if democrat mayors in this country were all similar to Bill White, former mayor of Houston.

    I think it’s the voters.

    Dustin (73fead)

  1163. I agree, Colonel. It’s not the best time to be an establishment politician.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  1164. EWPJ,

    The current RealClearPolitics snapshot of the Senate races (with no toss-ups) shows a 50-50 tie. Thus, if you care about the Senate, you should really care about the Presidential race. Do you want Ryan to be the tie-breaker or Biden?

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  1165. Patronage workers? In Chicago? Really, Steve?

    nk (875f57)

  1166. My parents were able to send me to law school because they were Teamsters, and got themselves a fair wage, that even Daley and JFK could not mess with.

    nk (875f57)

  1167. The new generation of Daleys has gotten around it by making just about every city job a non-union job by making it part-time.

    nk (875f57)

  1168. nk, I doubt Marcy Bailey was a patronage worker given the fact she blew the whistle on this.

    Why don’t you give it another read.

    Anyhoo, that wasn’t the point. The point is throwing governors in jail isn’t proving to be enough.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  1169. When you “conservatives” spit on unions, think.

    nk (875f57)

  1170. I have no problem with your post, Steve. It’s the Chicago Way.

    But Marcy should give the Chicago taxpayers’ money back. Or at least stop whining for having her time wasted in order to steal it.

    nk (875f57)

  1171. Marcy,

    You did not steal that. Many others built the machine that stole it for you.

    nk (875f57)

  1172. Illinois Student Assistance Commission. I know those guys. They resurface highways? Well, no. They investigate the hypnotic effects of street drugs.

    nk (875f57)

  1173. nk, did you read her affidavit? I don’t think you could have given what you’re saying.

    I can relate; when I was in the Navy I too was lied to about the nature of events at which all off-watch personnel had to attend.

    Under the pretense of the CinC addressing the troops, I was used as a prop for blatant campaign events. When the “CinC” was addressing the cameras about issues unrelated to the troops. We were just cheap and available extras for visual effect.

    Do you think I owe the taxpayers and should have to pay back the money I “stole.” After all, I was paid to be there.

    It’s not just the Chicago way, although there’s a higher incidence of it there than nearly every other part of the country.

    Steve57 (5797fd)

  1174. As further contrast between Obama campaign propaganda and reality: Ryan is such a granny-killing extremists that Ron Wyden worked with him on reform proposals

    SPQR (26be8b)

  1175. I am voting against Obama too, I’m just wondering if I’m still voting for change or just another progressive
    Comment by EPWJ — 8/14/2012 @ 10:56 am

    — If you’re gonna vote “progressive”, vote for Flo!

    Icy (ed881d)

  1176. DRJ
    Your question on Ryan vs Biden:

    Would a President Romney really be all that different from a president Obama on spending?

    As JE Dyer said no one is talking about regulations – which is important. In Ryans 2 decade career – I dont know if he ever pushed for de-regulation of anything.

    Ryan to me is he type of politician that the TEA party was founded to retire and I’m okay with that.

    I’m okay that Dewhurst didnt get the senate – I just question the fact that someone like Cruz who has no record of votes – we dont know how the guy is going to vote under pressure.

    Talk is great and cheap and doesnt cast a vote

    EPWJ (e83e82)

  1177. “I know this doesn’t help but its inconsequential anyway”
    — EricPWJohnson

    Decades from now, authors will be employing this profound attribution at the start of important and prize-winning novels.

    Icy (ed881d)

  1178. I win!

    Leviticvs (ed881d)

  1179. Icy,

    …or to Leviticus’ following post !

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  1180. As JE Dyer said no one is talking about regulations – which is important. In Ryans 2 decade career – I dont know if he ever pushed for de-regulation of anything

    “The House Majority has pursued an agenda focused on job creation and economic growth.  As such, we have passed 40 bills aimed at empowering small business owners and reducing regulatory burdens” — Paul Ryan

    Leviticvs (ed881d)

  1181. Whoops! Stupid sock.

    Icy (ed881d)

  1182. You didn’t address my last point, EWPJ. Do you want Ryan to be the Senate tie-breaker or Biden?

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  1183. Talk is great and cheap and doesnt cast a vote
    Comment by EPWJ — 8/15/2012 @ 5:28 am

    — In your case, we can only hope that’s true.

    Icy (ed881d)

  1184. I love the man – but America isnt ready for a Rick Perry

    — “Come to Butthead!”

    [kinda gives a whole new meaning to “Slick Rick”]

    Icy (ed881d)

  1185. We’ve even got Leviticus rebutting EPWJ now.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  1186. Steve, again, I have no problem with your post. It sounds exactly right. I know exactly how much it costs for a non-civil service or non-union protected job in Chicago, and part of that price is political loyalty. I was toying with the idea of buying one myself, but God intervened in the form of a stroke.

    nk (875f57)

  1187. That wasn’t Leviticus, it was Leviticvs — Icy’s sock.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  1188. Milhouse, at 978:

    (a) accidentally introducing Ryan as the next President is a pretty silly thing to slag off about; it’s a minor misspeaking, and these happen to people all the time.

    (b) i’m now intensely curious who said that; the guy who is most likely to have been a former professional campaign manager doesn’t play settlers AFAIK. (and the man I know to be a polish guy *always* plays settlers so shouldn’t be uninformed about the rules).

    (c) it’s pretty generally believed among everyone on the left that the premium support plan for medicare will simply fail, because no private company can possibly turn a profit insuring 80 year olds. that assessment may be wrong, but it’s earnestly believed.

    (d) if you believe that the premium support plan is _obviously_ going to fail, it’s an easy mistake to assume that those who are promoting it _know_ that it’s going to fail and desire that outcome. this is a *mistake*, but it’s not one that i find particularly surprising; assuming that everyone sees the outcomes you see is a common human failing on both sides of the political spectrum.

    (e) that said, even if the belief that premium support is destined to fail is *right*, describing that outcome as a ‘holocaust’ is way out of line.

    aphrael (24797a)

  1189. Ha, ha, my bad on not seeing it was the sock. Although, it confirms Icy does a good impersonation of him, because the sock commented exactly as ‘the real thing’ would have said !

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  1190. I think EPWJ would prefer Biden as the tie-breaker in the Senate.

    …that is, if Biden can find his way out of “North Carolina” !

    Elephant Stone (65d289)

  1191. Sorry DRJ, the inexpensive laptop I use in coffee shops uses Linux and this font is not greatest at “u” and “v”.

    SPQR (dc10a7)

  1192. aphrael, aphrael, apharel, Thou Innocent,

    Dost Thou Not Knowest That Premium Support Is Taxes?

    nk (875f57)

  1193. Hilzik says game over, I hit my limit, but it must be true.

    narciso (ee31f1)

  1194. And, BTW, why 80-year olds? Why not HIV?

    nk (875f57)

  1195. Or 80-year olds with HIV?

    nk (875f57)

  1196. #1210, aphrael, it was the Polish Settlers player. He said he used to manage campaigns for Democratic candidates. And he was convinced that dev cards can be played at any time after one has held them for a full round, and that one may give away resources, or use a port in the middle of a trade with another player. He also thought the robber sleeping for two rounds was an actual rule, rather than merely a common house rule.

    Milhouse (15b6fd)

  1197. Milhouse, at 1210:

    hmm. given that he’s been playing settlers weekly for months, his failure to understand the rules is somewhat disturbing.

    i had no idea that he used to manage campaigns.

    aphrael (24797a)

  1198. NK: are people on HIV currently covered by medicare automatically?

    My point is that the left broadly believes that replacing medicare with a premium support plan will fail because insurance companies won’t be able to make a profit on the policies and so won’t sell them. Since the stereotypical customer of medicare is an old person, it’s the best example to make the point.

    People with HIV might also have a hard time obtaining insurance, if the current law banning pre-existing condition clauses is repealed. But they’re a small minority; the difficulty would extend well beyond them.

    aphrael (24797a)

  1199. Right now, HIV is covered by Medicaid, or Medicare if there is disability retirement. Private insurance, or co-insurance, if the employee or retiree is willing to pay.

    I always admit it when proven wrong.

    Busting your balls, why? I’m feeling old. 😉

    nk (875f57)

  1200. *employee, employer*

    nk (875f57)

  1201. My point is that the left broadly believes that replacing medicare with a premium support plan will fail because insurance companies won’t be able to make a profit on the policies and so won’t sell them.

    And if so, those currently dependent on the taxpayer’s compelled “charity” will have to fall back on their own resources, or on other people’s charity. It is still outrageously dishonest to claim that they will die in the streets, let alone that those who advocate this reform want that to happen.

    Milhouse (cdd41b)

  1202. Anyway, the idea that you can’t make a profit selling medical coverage to 80-year-olds is silly. Of course you can’t offer unlimited plans for next to nothing; but there must be a price point, and a sensible level of benefits, at which a profit can be made. You’d need to be on top of what they order, and be able to decide sensibly whether to approve it or not, bearing in mind that if they think you’re being unreasonable they’ll abandon you. This would probably make smaller and more personal outfits more competitive than bigger and more bureaucratic ones.

    Milhouse (cdd41b)

  1203. http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/243473-gop-concerned-ryan-could-cost-party-house-and-senate-seats

    Republicans concerned Ryan as VP could cost party House and Senate seats

    —“There are a lot races that are close to the line we’re not going to win now because they’re going to battle out who’s going to kill grandma first, ObamaCare or Paul Ryan’s budget,” said one Republican strategist who works on congressional races. “It could put the Senate out of reach. In the House it puts a bunch of races in play that would have otherwise been safe. … It remains to be seen how much damage this causes, but my first blush is this is not good.”

    Many Republicans in tough races this year, especially in the House, voted for Ryan’s proposal, which makes it hard for them to distance themselves from it.

    And while Republicans are expected to keep the House, the more seats they lose, the closer the Democrats will be to a takeover in 2014. The Senate is too close to call; the GOP only needs to gain four seats (if President Obama wins reelection) to take control.

    A number of senior Republican House and Senate strategists, speaking anonymously so they could be candid about their party’s vice presidential pick, acknowledged Ryan was good for presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney but expressed concern about his effect on congressional races.—

    still sleeeeepy (b5f718)

  1204. aphrael @1210 – What is the left’s plan for saving Medicare? It seems silly to complain about hypothetical problems with a bipartisan plan while offering offering no solutions of their own.

    My understanding of the Ryan plan is that the voucher or premium support feature for future seniors is that it is optional. Seniors can choose either traditional Medicare or premium support. Please correct me if I am wrong.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  1205. Hey, “still sleeeeepy,” rather than deal with your silly brags about your personal wealth, vast intelligence, and related trollish nonsense, answer these questions:

    1. Have you ever posted under other names here? What were they?

    2. Were you ever banned from this blog? If so, why?

    I hope every reader of this blog hits you with these questions, each and every time you post.

    Simon Jester (f5812b)

  1206. #265, Leviticus:

    Pretending that Leviticus was serious about Romney not “having a heart” …

    I was serious.

    The evidence is very much against you. Every account of how he behaves tells us that he truly has a heart, that he does things for others out of the goodness of his heart, not for a photo op; I have never heard a single such incident about 0bama, and I can’t imagine him rolling up his sleeves to help someone unless there was a camera in the vicinity.

    #276, JD:

    I am just tired of the Romney is rich nonsense, as though Barcky isn’t.

    Compared to Romney, 0bama is dirt poor. Romney gives away to charity more than 0bama makes (if their positions were reversed 0bama would definitely not do the same). If Romney were to suddenly find himself in 0bama’s financial state he’d think of himself as poor. 0bama is rich, but not Romney-rich; he isn’t even Rezko-rich, or Ayers-rich.

    #296, happyfeet:

    Mr. Ryan don’t know he’s beaauuutiful

    Oh, I’m sure he knows it. He is a politician, after all.

    #345, happyfeet:

    they should be happy once he’s vice president he won’t be able to co-sponsor silly lifeydoodle bills no mores

    Can’t the president of the senate introduce or sponsor bills?

    #399, Sammy:

    Now it’s no good to say it won;t take effect for ten years. The question goes as to the principle of the thing.

    What principle? What principle has ever said that we must have government-funded medical care for the elderly. The only reason not to cancel the whole thing tomorrow is that people who are already retired or who are already preparing for retirement have understandably counted on it, and it would be unfair to pull the rug out from under them. Having it not affect anyone over 55 answers that completely. Anyone more than 10 years out from retirement has time to plan.

    Milhouse (cdd41b)

  1207. DRJ

    Since both sides are progressives – the casting of a tie vote by wither is not going to advance conservative causes

    EPWJ (8a4ca7)

  1208. either not wither sorry

    EPWJ (8a4ca7)

  1209. I like the helpful information you provide on your articles. I will bookmark your blog and check again right here frequently. I’m fairly certain I will be told lots of new stuff proper right here! Best of luck for the next!

    Job Offer (16089b)

  1210. Huge crowds lining up for Paul Ryan campaign appearances.

    Enthusiasm gap just put the White House into a panic. They might as well start removing all the “R” keys from the computer keyboards now.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  1211. Hell, SPQR, they will probably try to steal Air Force 1 so they can continue to use it for vacationing.

    peedoffamerican (ee1de0)

  1212. Since both sides are progressives – the casting of a tie vote by wither is not going to advance conservative causes

    Comment by EPWJ

    You think Ryan and Biden would break ties the same way?

    your standards have changed a great deal.

    I remember when you were explaining how the dirty socialists in the NY state assembly hate Dede Scozzafava, and listing her own description of herself as her accomplishments, in order to mock the idea she’s a liberal.

    Nobody’s perfect and I don’t hold that against you, but it’s a totally different standard than you are applying to Paul Ryan. The left criticizes Ryan a hell of a lot more than it did Dede. His record is also more conservative than hers. You cited her proposals as evidence she’s not liberal, but Ryan’s proposals are bolder and would have a far greater effect (for the better).

    It seems you have strained in opposite ways, both times cutting against popular view.

    I think that kind of contrary thinking is valuable in discussion. But it doesn’t seem consistent to me. I don’t think you’re a moby, but I do think you’re trying too hard to bolster a point.

    Dustin (73fead)

  1213. I simply couldn’t depart your site before suggesting that I really loved the standard info a person provide for your guests? Is going to be again often in order to inspect new posts

    private placement (cf9b64)

  1214. lol you chumps.
    last week AllahP said that if Romney chose Ryan you would lose.
    and you will.
    Rubio was Romney’s first choice– Marco turned him down.
    Marco is destined for better things…..like the Battle for the Browns in 2016 against Julian Castro.
    You know…Julian Castro? giving the keynote at the DNC just like Obama did in 2004?
    hahahahaha!

    stupid conservatives.

    wheelers.cat (587428)

  1215. Its like you read my thoughts! You appear to understand so much about this, like you wrote the e-book in it or something. I feel that you simply can do with some % to force the message home a bit, however other than that, that is magnificent blog. A fantastic read. I’ll definitely be back.

    vps gia re, dich vu vps, share vps, vps free, free vps, buy vps online, vps vip, vps khung, vps pro, gia re vps, ban vps, mua vps (638888)

  1216. I enjoy, cause I found exactly what I was taking a look for. You have ended my 4 day long hunt! God Bless you man. Have a great day. Bye

    vps gia re, dich vu vps, share vps, vps free, free vps, buy vps online, vps vip, vps khung, vps pro, gia re vps, ban vps, mua vps (d94770)

  1217. I get pleasure from, cause I found exactly what I was taking a look for. You’ve ended my four day long hunt! God Bless you man. Have a nice day. Bye

    cùng mua chung theo nhóm hot deal khuyến mãi (2aebce)

  1218. Hey There. I discovered your blog the use of msn. That is a really well written article. I will be sure to bookmark it and come back to learn extra of your helpful info. Thanks for the post. I will certainly return.

    Sat Madrid (2a6cc9)

  1219. Thank you for the good writeup. It in fact was a enjoyment account it. Glance complicated to more delivered agreeable from you! By the way, how could we communicate?

    internet comunitario (1cd0ec)

  1220. It’s actually a cool and useful piece of info. I’m happy that you shared this helpful information with us. Please stay us up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.

    colloidal silver,colloidal gold,silver water,purest colloids,mesosilver,colloids for life (82d5c7)

  1221. Hi there, I found your blog via Google at the same time as looking for a comparable subject, your site got here up, it appears to be like good. I’ve bookmarked to my favourites|added to my bookmarks.

    riot (18a7eb)

  1222. I do trust all the ideas you have offered in your post. They’re really convincing and will certainly work. Nonetheless, the posts are too brief for beginners. May just you please prolong them a little from next time? Thanks for the post.

    livres d'action (fcaed8)


Powered by WordPress.

Page loaded in: 0.6992 secs.