Democratic National Committee predicts Romney will win first debate vs. Obama

It's a further lowering of expectations ahead of the first debate in Denver next week. Democratic National Committee spokesman Brad Woodhouse tells Fox News he thinks Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will win.

Woodhouse says the way the DNC sees it, challengers win the first debate when they are up against incumbents.

"Mitt Romney has had a lot more time to debate, the president has not debated in the past four years in terms, of a campaign debate. I think the president will hold his own, but he's not known for sound bites. And these are 60 second, 90 second responses."

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Mitt Romney

'THE AMATEUR' AUTHOR EDWARD KLEIN: ROMNEY HAS AN ADVANTAGE IN FIRST DEBATE

Woodhouse says Democrats are "trying to be realistic about expectations" because the president is "lucky to be able to devote three consecutive hours to debate preparation."

Woodhouse also paints Romney as a good debater and gives him credit for "dispatching Newt Gingrich" who Woodhouse considers a pretty good debater.

Woodhouse said he wants to see Obama "talk from his heart about where the country was and where he wants to take the country."

He's looking to see the president connect with Americans during the debate, the way Woodhouse thinks Obama was able to do in Charlotte during the Democratic National Convention.

Via: NY Post

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Dems in hock to SEIU-owned bank

Classic crony capitalism from the Democrats.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) owes at least $8 million to a bank owned by one of the largest unions in the country, according to the committee's most recent financial report.

The DNC initiated an $8 million loan with the Amalgamated Bank of New York on Aug. 10, the report shows, accounting for the majority of the committee's overall debt of $11 million.

Amalgamated Bank, often described as "America's Labor Bank," is a national entity, the majority of which is owned by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), a politically active union with deep ties to the Democratic Party. The SEIU is also involved with the Democracy Alliance, a shadowy group of wealthy left-wing donors founded by billionaire investor George Soros.

The bank announced in an August press release that the DNC had "moved its primary banking relationship" to Amalgamated Bank, which would handle the committee's "day-to-day banking needs."

The DNC had previously done most of its banking with Bank of America, which helped finance the Democratic convention in Charlotte.

DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz hailed the transition to Amalgamated Bank, and noted the longstanding political and financial ties between the two organizations.

The committee, she said, had a "fiduciary responsibility to those who invest in our party."

"It is critical that we honor their efforts to strengthen our infrastructure and build our organization by partnering with an institution that shares our commitment to standing with America's working families and small businesses," she said in a press release.

Via: American Thinker (BLOG)

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Fact-checkers find exaggerations in Obama, Biden conventions speeches

President Obama and Vice President Biden made statements in their convention speeches about unemployment, Medicare and other issues that fact-checkers say appear inaccurate or at least misleading.

Among the questionable remarks were Biden's argument that "after the worst job loss since the Great Depression we created 4.5 million private sector jobs in the past 29 months" – a frequent response by the Obama campaign when questioned about the slow economic recovery.

The Associated Press and others point out that statement is misleading because it counts jobs from the recession's lowest point  to where employment began to grow again – excluding jobs lost earlier in Obama's term and masking that overall unemployment has increased over that period.

"Overall, roughly 7.5 million jobs were lost during the recession that began in December 2007 and ended officially in June 2009," according to the wire service.

The Associated Press also points out that Obama said in his speech that he wants to use money saved by ending the wars to build highways, schools and bridges.

However, the wars were largely financed by borrowing "so there is no ready pile of cash to be diverted to anything else," the wire service writes.

The group FactCheck.org listed eight instances in which either Biden or Obama "spun" facts during their speeches Thursday night in Charlotte, N.C.

Via: Fox News

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James Hoffa, Teamsters President, Says Romney 'Wants To Annihilate Organized Labor'

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The way Teamsters President James P. Hoffa sees it, GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney would be happy if an already weakened American labor movement ceased to exist altogether.

"He wants to annihilate organized labor as we know it," Hoffa told HuffPost outside the Democratic National Convention this week. "It's on his website. I'm not making this up. He's for a national right-to-work law. The Republican Party has veered dangerously to the right. It's rather incredible, in 2012, if you think about it."

Indeed, Romney's official stance on labor isn't kind to unions. His campaign website suggests that unions have outlasted their significance, "driv[ing] up costs and introduc[ing] rigidities that harm competitiveness and frustrate innovation." He supports states pursuing right-to-work laws, which weaken the clout of unions, and his party last week approved a platform pushing for national right-to-work legislation. He'd also like to prohibit automatic union dues-deduction from employee paychecks.

Hoffa isn’t the only labor leader who visited Charlotte this week and sees a hostility toward unions in Romney's positions. Mary Kay Henry, head of the 2 million-member Service Employees International Union, told HuffPost earlier this week that Romney "wants to take us out."

The Romney campaign didn't respond to Hoffa or Henry's comments.

Rank-and-file union members said they often feel taken for granted by Democrats in office. Among many labor activists, the enthusiasm for the Obama-Biden ticket appears to stem in large part from a loathing and distrust of the alternative. But Hoffa, like other labor figures who headed to Charlotte, insisted the current White House has been good to unions over the past four years.

Via: HuffPost Politics

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Job creators to Obama: Not this time

As the Democrats leave Charlotte, N.C., after rallying behind President Obama, they face an uphill battle. Americans are concerned about jobs, entitlements and the growing federal deficit — the three things that Obama and the Democrats don’t want to talk about. But they must if they’re going to have any chance of keeping the White House.

Democrats surely can’t take much comfort from the national and battleground state polls that show a close race. Americans are only starting to pay attention to the campaign, and their natural instinct is to support the candidate they know (Obama) over the candidate they’re just learning about (Romney). But one group of voters has been paying attention for quite some time and that should concern all Democrats.

I’m talking about job creators — the entrepreneurs, CEOs and other business owners whom President Obama mostly ignores, when he’s not criticizing them. Two recent polls of this group should be sending waves of panic through the president’s re-election team. For instance, an August 20 Rasmussen poll found that Romney leads Obama by 20 points among entrepreneurs (56 percent to 36 percent). Another poll from Manta, released on August 24, shows that 61 percent of small business owners support Romney, compared to just 26 percent who support Obama.

At least among this group, there is no contest: America’s job creators support Mitt Romney by overwhelming margins. This comports with my own informal survey of business leaders in consumer electronics and other industries. I have yet to meet a CEO who supports the president’s re-election. Indeed, in an August 8 column I wrote for Forbes, I asked if there were among my readers any business owners who support Obama. I wasn’t just trying to make a political point: I was completely serious. I want to hear the argument for why job creators should vote for Obama. I repeated this challenge on national television in August.

Via: The Daily Caller

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Reporters Using ‘Fake Names’ to Buy Obama Campaign Merchandise at the DNC

CHARLOTTE, NC — Members of the media have apparently been using “fake” names to buy official Obama gear and contribute to the Obama campaign inside the Time Warner Cable Arena where the President is due to speak in a few minutes. During our travels around the arena, Politicker spotted a souvenir stand in one of the press stands selling T-shirts and buttons supporting President Barack Obama, “Democrats Are Hot” bumper stickers and other official Obama merchandise.

The souvenir stand was in a secure area only accessible to those with a media credential and buying campaign gear means contributing to the campaign, so we asked the woman working the cash register whether anyone at the press stand had been making purchases. Her answers were quite surprising. 

The woman working at the souvenir stand told us she hadn’t been “too busy” during the day, but had seen business pick up in the past half hour or so. She then asked us whether we wanted to buy anything. When we informed her that our status as a reporter means we don’t buy campaign gear, she suggested a strategy other members of the media have apparently used to pick up their Obama swag.

“Have you ever thought of making up a fake name? That’s what the other guys do,” she said.

Buying official merchandise at the DNC means making a donation the Obama campaign, an activity that is generally frowned upon for members of the media. The Obama campaign website specifically informs shoppers that purchases amount to donations in its “Frequently Asked Questions” section where one of the queries is, “Can I receive merchandise without making a donation?”

“The only way to receive items from the 2012 store is by contributing through the official store site at store.barackobama.com,” the site says.

Via: Politickar

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DNC CHAIRMAN VILLARAIGOSA'S EXTREMIST PAST

Antonio Villaraigosa, the mayor of Los Angeles who was featured on the June 2009 cover of Los Angeles Magazine with the one-word caption, “Failure,” is the chairman of the upcoming Democratic National Convention.  The obvious reason is that the Obama administration, which views ethnic communities as separate fiefdoms to cultivate, is targeting the Latino community. And in the separatist prism through which they view the country, it’s only natural that they should pick Villaraigosa, whose entire career started with an extremist Latino group.

Villaraigosa, whose original name was Tony Villar, entered UCLA as a transfer student from East Los Angeles Community College in 1972.  He joined the UCLA chapter of Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA), and was leading it by 1974. MEChA is an Hispanic separatist organization that encourages anti-American activities and civil disobedience. The radical members of MEChA who refer to themselves as "Mechistas,"romanticize Mexican claims to the "lost Territories" of the Southwestern United States -- a Chicano country called Aztlan.  As head of the UCLA chapter, Villar called on the Chicano Studies Center (CSC) Director Rudolfo ‘Rudy’ Alvarez to resign from his post, accusing him of  “trying to alter the concept behind Chicano studies.” 

The UCLA Bruin, the campus newspaper, reported on July 25, 1974: “Chicano students are considering filing a class action suit against Rodolfo Alvarez, Chicano Studies Center (CSC) director … ‘Where at one time the Steering Committee composed of students, faculty, and community people was the policy making body of the Center, now Rudy is its sole dictator,’ said Tony Villar.”

The Bruin continued:  “Both Villar and Garcia attacked the Alvarez-directed CSC for working only with government-sponsored drug programs ‘instead of community organizations like the National Committee to Free Los Tres.’”   The “National Committee to Free Los Tres,” was created by former MEChistas to defend three members of the militant Chicano organization Casa Carnalismo who were convicted of assaulting a federal narcotics officer posing as a drug dealer in East Los Angeles.  By 1974, a Marxist-Leninist faction emerged within the NCFLT that intended to transform its parent group Casa Carnalismo into a "revolutionary vanguard" dedicated to the "liberation of the Mexican people.” Professor Alvarez wound up resigning.

Via: Breitbart

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Dem. Women’s Caucus: Republicans ‘Want to Relegate Women to the Back of the Bus’

Luci Ramirez and Jodi Salyers, both Texans, have just spent two hours hearing from top Democratic women like House minority leader Nancy Pelosi and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius at the Democratic National Convention’s Women’s Caucus. The message? Republicans don’t like women and want to take away their birth control.

“We are celebrity overdosed!” says Ramirez “I didn’t realize how anti-birth control, how anti-women, period, the Republicans are until today,” adds Salyers.

The recurring theme: Republicans have what one speaker calls a “disregard for women’s freedom.”

House minority leader Nancy Pelosi began by mocking Republican emphasis on women at their convention last week in Tampa. “I love hearing how they loved their mother and loved their wife and all of that,” said Pelosi. “I’m interested to hear how they respect women’s decisions to determine the size of their family, if they choose to have a family. Republicans “are not even pro-birth control," Pelosi added, "That’s a radical position. That’s just wrong.”

Republicans do not want to force religious groups and taxpayers to pay for free contraceptives, abortifacients, and abortions for others. But banning contraceptives is not a Republican position. But that’s not what the audience heard Tuesday.

Republicans “want to take us backwards—so far back that we’ll be in the kitchen,” said Stephanie Schriock, president of the pro-choice group EMILY’s List.

Donna Brazile, vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, compared Republicans to segregationists: “They want to relegate women to the back of the bus,” she said. Democrats “don’t have to pretend to love women."

Via: Weekly Standard

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After 2010 Rebuke, Obama Never Turned to Center

The byzantine relations between President Obama and former president Bill Clinton could fill several psychology textbooks, providing juicy examples of passive aggression, older man/younger man competition, complex alliances (Hillary as secretary of state is the perfect embodiment of the maxim “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer”), and mutual interests.

That the president needs Bill Clinton now to make his case to the country must be richly satisfying to the only American whose ego can compete with Barack H. Obama’s.

Let’s recall that one of Obama’s supposed triumphs in 2008 was defeating the vaunted Clinton machine. The Democratic party’s delirium for Obama supposedly obliterated the Clinton magic. After winning the South Carolina primary in January, Obama exulted that “we’re up against the conventional thinking that says your ability to lead as president comes from longevity in Washington. . . . But we know that real leadership is about candor and judgment and the ability to rally Americans . . . around a higher purpose . . .” Though he never tired (and still doesn’t) of insulting George W. Bush, that barb wasn’t aimed at him. It was for the Clintons. 

Bill Clinton, for his part, nurses grudges. Obama eclipsed Clinton as the most charismatic Democrat. The former president and his wife also got a crash course in media bias. Obama spoiled the Clintons’ carefully nurtured plan of returning to the White Houseand achieving vindication. And as someone who preened himself on his high standing among blacks (Toni Morrison called him America’s “first black president”), Clinton was justly outraged when Obama supporters Donna Brazile and Rep. Jim Clyburn accused him of racism in 2008 because he referred to Obama as a “kid” and dismissed his Iraq War stance as a “fairy tale.” Good thing he didn’t use the word “Chicago” or mention “golf” — as those are now “dog whistles,” we’re told.Now His Royal Majesty needs old Bill. He needs him to mount the stage in Charlotte and persuade waverers to reelect The One. Why? Because Clinton, for all his squalid ways, and for all that he was a practitioner par excellence of what Obama disdained as the “old politics,” has something Obama lacks — a successful economic legacy to brag about.

Via: Real Clear Politics

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Harry Reid: Tea Party Must Be Stopped From Winning The Senate

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) addressed the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte earlier tonight. Below is the transcript of his speech, as prepared for delivery.

“My name is Harry Reid, the majority leader of the United States Senate and the senator from Searchlight, Nevada. It has been my honor to support and work with President Barack Obama, a man who has brought courage and character to the presidency. President Obama’s strength of character leads him to do the right thing, even when it isn’t the easy thing.

Some said he shouldn’t save Detroit. But President Obama made the tough and right call to save more than a million American jobs in an important, iconic industry.

Some said he shouldn’t move heaven and earth to get bin Laden. But President Obama made the tough and right call to bring the world’s worst terrorist to justice.

Some said he couldn’t take on the big banks that brought our economy to its knees. But President Obama made the tough and right call so taxpayers will never again be on the hook for Wall Street’s risky bets.

Some said he couldn’t take on the insurance companies that were ripping us off. But President Obama made the tough and right call to save lives, save Medicare and ensure no one goes broke just because they get sick.

His whole life, there have been so many who told him what he shouldn’t or couldn’t do. But America has a president who knows what we must do.

President Obama has also faced down another group of naysayers. In addition to the crowd of “couldn’ts” and “shouldn’ts,” the Republican Party has become the party of the “wouldn’ts” and the “won’ts.” They pledged on day one they wouldn’t lift a finger to help. And they haven’t.

In the depth of the Great Recession, as millions of Americans were struggling to find work, the Republican leader of the senate, Mitch McConnell, said Republicans’ number one goal was to make Barack Obama a one-term president. They wouldn’t cooperate to create jobs. They wouldn’t try to turn around the economy. They wouldn’t do anything but stand in President Obama’s way.

Via: Fox News

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Labor tries to soften image with 'hug a union thug' booth in Charlotte

This Labor Day, unions are trying a mix of celebrity, social media and humor to polish up the labor movement’s image in the eyes of everyday people.

In Charlotte, people will be asked to “hug a union thug” at a CarolinaFest booth sponsored by the North Carolina State AFL-CIO the day before the Democratic National Convention officially begins. Also in honor of Monday, videos are being posted online thanking workers, while actors and athletes will use Twitter to express support for union rights.

The effort comes as labor has seen increased attacks from Republican-controlled state legislatures and governors since the 2010 elections. Unions were unsuccessful in their attempt earlier this summer to oust Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) after he pushed through legislation that curbed some public workers’ collective bargaining rights.

MaryBe McMillan, secretary-treasurer for the North Carolina State AFL-CIO, said the state labor federation wanted to break down stereotypes regarding union members by dishing out the hugs.

“We see this as an opportunity to dispel that stereotype that union members are mean, scary and violent. What better way to disarm folks than to hug them?” McMillan said. “Union members take care of you in the hospital, deliver your packages and sit next you in church. We are just average folks.”

McMillan hopes the hugs will help draw people into the federation’s booth, which will show videos of union members running the Guide Dogs of America program, rebuilding the Word Trade Center and so on. Further, expect to see photos of people embracing union members at unionhugs.com.

“This will help draw people into our exhibit space and we will be able to show them how unions help build the middle class and why they should support the right to organize,” McMillan said.

The cuddle campaign will be only one aspect of labor’s effort to highlight union members’ and other workers’ good deeds.

The AFL-CIO is asking people online to thank workers for the jobs they do every day. In one video, actor Martin Sheen of “The West Wing” thanked his newspaper delivery person.

Via: The Hill

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PHOTO: DEMS TO USE TRICK PHOTOGRAPHY TO FILL CONVENTION HALL?

Call it "The Empty Chair Convention."

Rick Klein, Senior Washington Editor of ABC News, just tweeted out this photo of the stage the Democrat convention will be held on (posted above).

As you can see, Klein's photo reveals the screens that will serve as the television backdrop behind whomever's speaking -- and it looks to me as though the Democrats intend to show an artificial sea of faces in order to make the convention hall look a whole lot fuller than it might be.

If you look closely, they have three tiers of adoring, enraptured Obama-worshippers at the ready should they need them.

There's a lot of talk and concern amongst Democrats and their Media Palace Guards  that for his big acceptance speech Thursday night, President Obama might not be able to fill the Bank of America stadium. There are also reports that Democrat operatives have been reduced to handing out free tickets to the event at bars and elsewhere -- probably in a frantic last minute attempt to fill seats.

There's no question that, like most failed incumbents, Obama has an enthusiasm gap to deal with this year. Long before Clint Eastwood forever branded Obama an "empty chair," the President has been plagued by the disturbing optics of a one-time political rock star no longer able to pack a house. Most memorably, this all started with Obama's disastrous reelection kick-off event.

Ever since, Team Obama has been forced to save face and not risk a repeat of that calamity with the hilarious spin that President Greek Columns has now chosen to campaign before smaller, more intimate crowds.

Whatever.

Thankfully for Obama, though, he need not worry about filling his convention hall. After all, we live in a magic age of illusion -- one manufactured by Democrats and their media allies who constantly tell us that a failed president currently sitting with an approval rating of 43% is still popular.

Via: Breitbart

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Right rallies for 'Empty Chair Day'

The right rallied on Labor Day to celebrate “National Empty Chair Day,” a show of solidarity with Clint Eastwood after his infamous address to an invisible President Barack Obama at the Republican National Convention last week.

The action picked up steam on Twitter, where the hashtag #emptychairday began trending on Monday morning as users tweeted pictures of empty chairs in various poses.

Notable conservatives like Michelle Malkin and writers at Breitbart.com, as well blogger Prof. Glenn Reynolds, kicked off the trend, according to the conservative blog Legal Insurrection.

(PHOTOS: 5 'empty chair' incidents)

The blog, which had asked readers to send in photos of empty chairs, updated its post midday to say that the response had been so overwhelming — and the backlog of photos so great — that they were forced to close submissions.

(Scroll down for POLITICO’s top #EmptyChairDay tweets)

Meanwhile, #Eastwooding — which was trending on Twitter last week after the Hollywood icon’s speech, and refers to an address to an empty chair — has arrived at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte.

AFSCME president Lee Saunders, capping off a fiery speech to the Wisconsin delegation Monday morning, held a conversation with an invisible Eastwood.

An empty chair had been brought on stage before Saunders started speaking, but he ignored it for most of his speech.

“I don’t know if you noticed, but you see this chair? I don’t know if you noticed that he actually walked in with me. He’s invisible, he’s sitting right here. He’s been listening to everything I had to say,” Saunders said. “So I want you to welcome Clint Eastwood.”

Via: Politico

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Dems Busing in Crowds to Fill Stadium for Obama Speech

CHARLOTTE, N.C. –  College students from across North Carolina will arrive in Charlotte by the busload. Same with members of predominantly black churches in neighboring South Carolina. 

Their goal: help fill a 74,000-seat outdoor stadium to capacity when President Obama accepts the Democratic nomination Thursday night.

Anything short of a full house on the final night of the Democratic Party's national convention will be instant fodder for Republicans eager to use empty seats as symbols of waning voter enthusiasm for Obama. 

Democrats have been fretting for months over whether the president can draw a capacity crowd at Bank of America Stadium. Polls show voter enthusiasm is down, as are Obama's crowds for his battleground state campaign rallies. 

Obama advisers insist the stadium will be filled when Obama delivers his speech. Vice President Joe Biden also will speak Thursday night, along with Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, who will vouch for Obama's national security credentials. 

"The response we've seen from the community has been incredible and it's obvious that people have a big interest in owning a piece of the most open and accessible convention in history," said Adam Fetcher, a campaign spokesman. "President Obama's speech on Thursday night will bring this election into focus for the American people, and it will be even more significant because so many North Carolinians will be there to see it." 

Convention delegates, volunteers and other Democratic officials already in Charlotte for the party gathering could make up as much as one-third of the crowd. But filling the rest of the stadium is a piecemeal process.

Elena Botella, a student at Duke University and president of the College Democrats of North Carolina, said her school was busing 100 students to the speech. 

Via: Fox News

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Obama- sand sculpture Mount Rushmore imitation

I LOVE ME, I LOVE MYSELF. MOUNT RUSHMORE? NOT A CHANCE!!

This one takes the cake.

At the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Charlotte, they will have pictures of such American icons as the Statue of Liberty and Mount Rushmore.

Apparently President Obama has such a high opinion of himself that there is also a sand sculpture of him, erected at the DNC at the EpiCentre entertainment complex, seemingly in imitation of  Mount Rushmore. It consists of 15 tons of sand trucked in from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

This raises interesting questions, such as how much must this have cost?  What was the effect on the beach, environmentally?  And how big an ego do you have to have to try to imitate Mount Rushmore while you are still a sitting president?

Let the jokes begin! Shovel ready job, house built on sand, no graven images, etc…

Update: Looks like we raised a good question about the sand removal.  The Morning Spew reports that back in 1998 the Army Corp of Engineers spent $60 million of public money to put sand back into the beach! 

I would want to know how 15 tons of South Carolina beach ended up at the DNC Convention in Charlotte, NC.  It’s also puzzling that Democrats, who consider themselves bastions of environmental policy, would actually think that digging up a beach for this purpose was a good idea, especially when beaches remain a fragile habitat for many types of endangered wildlife.

Since the original 1998 replenishment, the beach was replenished in 2009 as well in order to protect people and property from storm damage along the shore. According to the US Army Corps of Engineers, it is scheduled to continue to be replenished with Federal, state and local money through 2046.  

We will let you know when we track down exactly where the sand came from in Myrtle Beach.

CITIZEN JOURNALIST
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THE ‘CONVENTION BOUNCE’ – WHAT IS IT? DOES IT DETERMINE WHO WINS?

Is it all about “the bounce?”

Of course we are referring to the post-convention bounce in the polls typically seen immediately after the convention closes. Do political parties and presidential candidates really benefit from three days of speeches and rallies? The Republicans should know the answer to that question a week from today, and the Democrats will find out on September 9th — the Sunday after they wrap up in Charlotte.

One the eve of the GOP National convention in Tampa, many in the news media are speculating about the size of the “bounce” in Mitt Romney’s poll numbers after he is officially nominated by the Republicans, accepts that nomination, and delivers his speech to close the convention on Thursday night.

Of course there are statistics to support just about any theory you might want to offer on behalf of either candidate, no matter how big or how small their bounce.

Gerhard Peters and John Wolley of the American Presidency Project studied the last 12 presidential conventions, each candidate’s bounce, and the results of the November elections.

From 1964 to 2008:

Six of the bounce winners went on win the White House

Five of the bounce winners LOST the election.

And in closest presidential election in American history, the 2000 Bush and Gore tied — both men generated an 8% post convention bounce in the polls.

Via: The Blaze

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Planned Parenthood’s Action Fund planning revenge on Mitt Romney

Planned Parenthood’s Action Fund plans to spend more than $3 million in Ohio and Virginia against Mitt Romney in the wake of his pledge to “get rid” of the women’s health advocacy group.

The group is one of several liberal-leaning women’s organizations planning to spend millions of dollars in crucial election states to swing undecided female voters toward President Obama.

Joining them are NARAL Pro-Choice America and EMILY’s List, two abortion-rights groups who are also planning aggressive campaigns.

Their message is in line with Obama’s increased courtship of female voters.

Several women will address the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. And the campaign announced on Friday a “Romney/Ryan: Wrong For Women” tour for next week that will feature prominent female supporters traveling to swing states to promote the president’s record on women issues.

The support from women’s groups can boost those efforts. Their advertising offensive comes months after Romney pledged to “get rid of” Planned Parenthood.

"Of course you get rid of ‘ObamaCare,’ that's the easy one, but there are others," he said in March. "Planned Parenthood, we're going to get rid of that."

Planned Parenthood Action Fund — which is the political arm of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America — will spend $3.2 million on television ads in Ohio and Virginia beginning in mid-September.

Via: The Hill

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Selling Charlotte: DNC convention business requires millions from taxpayers

The Democratic National Convention will be Charlotte’s most prestigious event, bringing tens of thousands of visitors and worldwide exposure. It’s the crowning achievement of the city’s two-decade quest to become a world-class convention destination.

What’s less known are the tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer money spent to compete in the convention business and the wildly inflated projections of economic impact used to justify the Convention Center’s construction and expansions.

In fact, the city of Charlotte and the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority have not scrutinized how the Convention Center has performed. Elected officials who oversee it do not understand it.

Yet they have continued to pour money into the convention business, even in the face of a national glut of meeting space and Charlotte’s inability to fill its building.

The Charlotte Convention Center has cost taxpayers as much as $30 million annually for construction debt, operating losses and incentives worth of hundreds of thousands of dollars to win business. The promised payback from the investment hasn’t materialized.

Meanwhile, Charlotte residents pick up much of the tab: Most Convention Center funding comes from a countywide 1 percent tax on restaurant and bar bills – a majority of which is paid by Mecklenburg County residents who dine out.

Via: McClatchy

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Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/08/20/162854/selling-charlotte-dnc-convention.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_term=news#storylink=cpy