Democrats grasping at straws to energize base on 2013 results

Democrats lost big in the New Jersey governor's race and barely won the Virginia gubernatorial contest, but that hasn't stopped them from claiming the 2013 election was a major victory for them.

And they’re taking some very big leaps to do so.

In an e-mail sent to subscribers this weekend, Democratic National Committee Communications Director Mo Elleithee wrote that “we defied some pretty big trends in this past election.”

Elleithee then lists four “big” trends that were broken; let’s take a look at each one separately.

1. “For the first time in almost four decades, the winning candidate in Virginia's governor's race is from the same party as the president.”

And? How is that a victory for the Democratic party?

Under both Republican and Democratic presidents, the state has elected a governor of the opposite party. With the host of issues that Republican nominee Ken Cuccinelli was faced with (the government shutdown, current Gov. Bob McDonnell and weak fundraising), the fact that Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe won is not surprising.

Via: Washington Examiner

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Navy Christens Next Generation of Aircraft Carrier: USS Gerald R. Ford

The American navy on Saturday christened a new aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, a colossal ship plagued by equally huge cost overruns, at a time of growing budget pressures.

The daughter of the former US president, Susan Ford Bales, broke the traditional champagne bottle at a ceremony in the port of Newport News, Virginia, near the sprawling Norfolk naval base.

"May God bless and watch over the USS Gerald R. Ford, those who built her and the men and women who will sail her into harm's way," a teary Bales said moments before shattering the bottle against the hulking ship on a sparkling autumn morning.

A parade of dignitaries, friends and relatives of the late president spoke at the christening, which was also a celebration of the life of Ford, the 38th US president.

"He was a man of courage and solid values, and I know the men and women who sail this ship will bring those same qualities in their service to our nation," former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told the audience.

Other speakers included Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin.

The pomp belied problems with the project, however, which is only 70 percent complete, with delivery postponed until February 2016.

And faced with automatic budget cuts and the need to fund other programs, including submarines, the Navy's chief of staff, Admiral Jonathan Greenert has warned the service may have to delay completing the Ford "by two years."

The move would force the United States to rely on a fleet of 10 existing carriers and means "lowering surge capacity" in a crisis, he added.

US law requires the military to maintain 11 aircraft carriers, but at the moment only 10 are available since the retirement of the USS Enterprise in 2012.

The current carrier fleet, launched between 1975 to 2009, are Nimitz-class ships, but the Ford, or CVN 78, represents a new class of carrier with a new design, which will be followed by the John F. Kennedy and new Enterprise carriers. All have a similar length of about 1,090 feet (330 meters).

Via: Newsmax

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IOWA, VIRGINIA GOVS: OBAMA OFFERED NO VISION FOR SECOND TERM IN DEBATE

Republican governors in Iowa and Virginia said on Tuesday that President Barack Obama failed to present his vision for a second term in his debate against Mitt Romney, echoing the concerns of undecided voters who thought the same after the debate. 

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad said Romney “explained with crystal clarity the difference between him and the President, and nowhere was that difference more stark than on the issue of the national debt.” Branstad noted that Obama “has racked up $5.5 trillion in national debt that will take years to pay off.”

“At the debate, the President reiterated that nothing will change about his policies in the next four years, ensuring that the debt will pile higher and generations to come will pay the price,” Branstad asserted. “That’s a legacy we don’t want to leave.”

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell stated Romney “reinforced the clear choice facing the American people” on jobs, taxes, debt, healthcare or foreign policy. 

He lamented Obama’s “tax-hiking, government-growing record” has “failed to turn around our economy or increase our nation’s influence around the world.”

“Americans know that we can’t afford another four years like the last four years, and tonight’s debate confirmed that Mitt Romney is the leader we need to deliver the change that Americans expect and deserve,” McDonnell continued. 

After Obama’s lackluster first debate against Romney, even progressive journalists said it was not not just good enough for Obama to attempt to tear down Romney. Those like NBC’s David Gregory and Chuck Todd said Obama now needed to present a clear vision for what his second term would be. 

And according to Messrs. Branstand and McDonnell, Obama did not even come close to reassuring the country that he had a vision to turn the country's economy around if he wins a second term. 

Via: Breitbart

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