Thursday, August 30, 2012

Paul Ryan’s Powerful RNC Speech: ‘Let’s Get This Done’


FNC

The following is a transcript of vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan's speech at the Republican National Convention on Aug. 29, 2012.
Hello, everybody.  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you
very much.
Hey, Wisconsin.  Thank you.  Thank you.
Thanks so much.  Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, delegates, and fellows citizens, I am honored
by the support of this convention for vice president of the
United States.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Top 5 GOP Convention Appeals to Disaffected Democrats


In 2008, Artur Davis spoke at the Democratic National Convention. Four years of Obama and he  endorsed the Republican nominee and was given a speaking slot at the Republican National Convention. Here are five more Democrats who changed their minds.

1. Davis in 2012: “Do you even recognize the America they’re talking about?”

Former Alabama Democratic congressman and current Virginia resident Artur Davis spoke Tuesday at the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa Bay.
Davis, a Harvard Law School graduate known for his strong record on veterans’ affairs, endorsed Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election but subsequently became the only member of the Congressional Black Caucus to vote against Obamacare.
“This time, in the name of 23 million of our children and parents and brothers and sisters who are officially unemployed, underemployed, or who have stopped looking for work, let’s put the poetry aside, let’s suspend the hype, let’s come down to earth and start creating jobs again,” Davis said.
Davis’ speech Tuesday was widely hailed by conservatives but derided by liberals prior to their even hearing it: Fourteen members of the Congressional Black Caucus attacked Davis before the convention by signing an open letter accusing him of lying about his political transformation.
“We have come to the disturbing conclusion that your recent public statements have no basis in real policy or political disagreements, but rather they stem from transparent opportunism and a personal determination to overcome failing to win the Alabama Democratic primary for Governor in 2010,” according to the letter.
Liberal media outlets also attempted to pre-emptively minimize the impact of Davis’ speech.

Obama's Sneaky, Deadly, Costly Car Tax

While all eyes were on the Republican National Convention in Tampa and Hurricane Isaac on the Gulf Coast, the White House was quietly jacking up the price of automobiles and putting future drivers at risk.

Yes, the same cast of fable-tellers who falsely accused GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney of murdering a steelworker's cancer-stricken wife is now directly imposing a draconian environmental regulation that will cost untold American lives.

On Tuesday, the administration announced that it had finalized "historic" new fuel efficiency standards. (Everything's "historic" with these narcissists, isn't it?) President Obama took a break from his historic fundraising drives to proclaim that "(by) the middle of the next decade, our cars will get nearly 55 miles per gallon, almost double what they get today. It'll strengthen our nation's energy security, it's good for middle-class families, and it will help create an economy built to last."

Jon Carson, director of Obama's Office of Public Engagement, took to Twitter to hype how "auto companies support the higher fuel-efficiency standards" and how the rules crafted behind closed doors will "save consumers $8,000" per vehicle. His source for these claims? The New York Times, America's Fishwrap of Record, which has acknowledged it allows the Obama campaign to have "veto power" over reporters' quotes from campaign officials.

Via: CNSNews

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Gallup: Americans Rate Public Schools the Worst Place to Educate Children


(CNSNews.com) - A new Gallup pollreleased today indicates that Americans rate public schools the worst place to educate children.
In the national survey conducted Aug. 9-12, private independent schools, parochial and church-related schools, charter schools and home-schooling all rated higher than public schools.
Gallup interviewers asked respondents: "I’m going to read a list of ways in which children are educated in the U.S. today. As I read each one, please indicate--based on what you know or have read and heard--how good an education each provides children--excellent, good, only fair, or poor. How about: public schools, parochial or church-related schools, independent private schools, charter schools, or home-schooling?"
Only 5 percent said they believe public schools give children an excellent eduction.
Another 32 percent said they believe public schools give children a good education. But this combined 37 percent who said public schools give children an excellent or good education was the lowest among the different types of schools Gallup included in its survey.

EXCLUSIVE: RUBIO FIRES BACK AT DNC'S 'BROWN PEOPLE' SLUR


Today, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who is slated to give the speech presenting Mitt Romney on Thursday night at the Republican National Convention, fired back at Democratic National Convention chairman Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who said today that the Republican National Convention was racially pandering. “You can't just trot out a brown face or a Spanish surname and expect people are going to vote for your party or your candidate," Villaraigosa said.

When Breitbart News asked Rubio about Villaraigosa’s comments, he laughed. “Well,” he said, “these are all well qualified elected officials, mayors and governors and former Congresspeople and senators like me,” naming Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval and Saratoga Springs Mayor and Congressional candidate Mia Love in particular.
When asked if he thought the Democratic Party was race-baiting during this election cycle, he simply stated, “They don’t want to have a serious debate.”

Obama floats constitutional amendment overturning Citizens United


President Barack Obama used the online springboard provided by Reddit to dive into the media crush at the GOP convention, with a skillfully executed call for a constitutional amendment to curb the free-speech of wealthier people and corporations.
“I think we need to seriously consider mobilizing a constitutional amendment process to overturn Citizens United. … Even if the amendment process falls short, it can shine a spotlight of the super PAC phenomenon and help apply pressure for change,” Obama said during 4:30 p.m. EST online event.
The publicity-grabbing gambit complements his campaign-theme portrayal of himself as the defender of middle-class Americans, and Gov. Mitt Romney as the champion of wealthy, job-exporting plutocrats.
The proposal also helps shift the media’s focus away from the stalled economy, record unemployment, debts and deficits.
“Money has always been a factor in politics, but we are seeing something new in the no-holds barred flow of seven and eight figure checks, most undisclosed, into super-PACs,” Obama told his Reddit audience.
Those super PACs “fundamentally threaten to overwhelm the political process over the long run and drown out the voices of ordinary citizens,” he declared.
Obama’s new focus on spending curbs comes as he is being out-raised by Romney.


Secret Service gun inadvertently left in Romney plane lavatory

(CBS News) A gun belonging to a member of Mitt Romney's U.S. Secret Service detail was found unattended in the bathroom of the candidate's charter plane Wednesday afternoon. The Republican nominee was traveling from Tampa, Fla., site of his party's convention, to Indianapolis, Ind., for a speech.
The weapon, presumably left behind in the bathroom by accident, was discovered by a CBS News/National Journal reporter, who alerted a flight attendant about the gun. A member of the Secret Service on board the plane was informed and retrieved the gun.
Romney has traveled with Secret Service protection since early February and has an armed detail assigned to him at all times. His wife, Ann, was just assigned her own detail - albeit a smaller one - last Friday.
Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan told CBS News/National Journal in a statement: "We are aware of the incident. We take the care and custody of our equipment, especially firearms, very seriously. We will deal with this matter internally and in an appropriate manner."

The Building Blocks of “You Didn’t Build That”


Tuesday is “We Built This” night at the Republican National Convention. “The GOP is turning what some see as a presidential slight aimed at business owners and entrepreneurs into a theme,” reports Fox News.
That slight, of course, was contained in some off-the-prompter remarks President Obama made during aspeech in Roanoke, Virginia, last month:
[L]ook, if you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own. You didn’t get there on your own. I’m always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart. There are a lot of smart people out there. It must be because I worked harder than everybody else. Let me tell you something—there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there.
If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business—you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen. The Internet didn’t get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet.
Obama’s comments are hardly new, however. They merely channel another self-proclaimed progressive from more than a century ago.
“The absence of effective state, and, especially, national, restraint upon unfair money-getting has tended to create a small class of enormously wealthy and economically powerful men, whose chief object is to hold and increase their power,” Theodore Roosevelt announced in Osawatomie, Kansas in 1910. The anniversary of that speech is Friday—coincidentally, right between this year’s conventions.
Roosevelt, aka TR, added that it was acceptable to earn lots of money—as long as the earner would put that money to use in ways the government approved of. “The prime need is to change the conditions which enable these men to accumulate power which it is not for the general welfare that they should hold or exercise. We grudge no man a fortune which represents his own power and sagacity, when exercised with entire regard to the welfare of his fellows.”

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

'THE HOPE AND THE CHANGE' SPECIAL MOST-WATCHED CABLE NEWS PROGRAM LAST FRIDAY


Last Friday, more than 2.25 million viewers watched Fox News’ one-hour special on “The Hope and The Change” on “Hannity,” making the program the most-watched cable news show of the evening. 

More people watched the one-hour special about “The Hope and The Change” than all the other cable news programs combined during the 9 p.m. and midnight hours. It was the most watched program on FOX News on Friday and won the coveted age 25-54 demographic. 
Breitbart News Executive Chairman Stephen Bannon wrote and directed “The Hope and The Change,” which Sean Hannity called the “most powerful documentary I’ve ever seen.” 
David Bossie’s Citizens United produced the movie, which interviewed blue-collar Democrats and independents from the crucial swing states of Virginia, Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Colorado. These voters voted for Obama and 2008 and will not do so in 2012. They give their compelling -- and often heartbreaking -- reasons why they will not vote for Obama.
Democratic pollster Pat Caddell, who worked for Jimmy Carter, consulted on the film, and the 40 Democrats and independents who voted for Obama all shared stories about how disillusionment had replaced the euphoria they felt for Obama in 2008. These voters are disheartened because of Obama's policies and their negative effects on the country's economy. 
The mainstream media has reflexively labeled the film “propaganda,” even though the voters are real and their stories compelling and heartfelt. Caddell said those who worked on the film wanted to cry when interviewing these voters live. He calls them “the voice of America” who thought Obama could represent and fight for their working class interests and unite the country. 
Instead, they feel Obama has shattered their hopes and dreams with his divisive policies and rhetoric., Mitt Romney said at a campaign stop that Obama has shattered the country in order to try and cynically piece together 51% of it to win reelection. Hannity said that nobody who watches “The Hope and The Change” could vote for Obama. 
The movie will be screened at the Republican and Democratic National Conventions before being distributed on a broader scale. 

DNC CHAIR ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA: REPUBLICANS “CAN’T JUST TROT OUT A BROWN FACE”


(NBC NEWS) TAMPA, Fla. — Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said that Republicans “can’t just trot out a brown face” to make inroads with the Latino community, an increasingly important growing bloc.
As the GOP prepares to showcase some of its rising Hispanic stars during the next two days of its national convention, the Democratic mayor dismissed Republican overtures toward Latinos as insincere.
“You can’t just trot out a brown face or a Spanish surname and expect people are going to vote for your party or your candidate,” Villaraigosa said at a press conference here organized by the Democratic National Committee. “People are going to vote just like Anglos do, just like African-Americans do, and virtually every demographic group. They vote for people based on what they say, what they’ve done, and what they’re going to do,” he later added.
Among the Latinos speaking in Tuesday’s Republican National Convention programming are Rep. Francisco Canseco, R-Texas. Sher Valenzuela, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor of Delaware, Republican Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval and Texas GOP Senate nominee Ted Cruz.
But, other staunch opponents of illegal immigration — like Iowa Rep. Steve King, who’s speaking as well on Tuesday — will also be among the featured voices in the day’s program.
“I don’t think it’s going to do much for him, frankly,” Villaraigosa said of the GOP’s overall message.
The Los Angeles mayor predicted that President Barack Obama would win “close to 70 percent” of the Latino vote in his re-election effort; Romney advisers have set a goal in the upper-30th percentile in targeting Hispanic voters.
Latino voters are of particular importance in swing states like Colorado, Florida and Virginia — a sign of shifting demographics that Republicans have worried would put them at a long-term political disadvantage unless they were to become more welcoming of Latinos.
Ryan Williams, a spokesman for Romney, said in response to today’s Democratic bracketing event: “Today, as we learn that more than a quarter of Democrats believe President Obama does not have a clear plan for creating jobs, his surrogates in Tampa continued to launch false and baseless attacks against Governor Romney.
The facts speak for themselves – with 23 million Americans struggling for work, nearly one in six Americans living in poverty, and median incomes declining, the Obama campaign cannot defend a record of broken promises and failed policies. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have a plan to strengthen the middle class by creating jobs and turning around our economy.”

A “mystery speaker” for Thursday night?


The cancellation of the first night of the Republican convention forced planners to compress the schedule a bit.  Bobby Jindal had to drop out, of course, for very good reason, as Tropical Storm Isaac continues to aim at southern Louisiana and Mississippi.  That still left a little room, though, for some intrigue, as the RNC’s schedule has a mighty suspicious hole in prime time on the final night of the convention (via Kate Hicks):


Republican convention planners appear to have a surprise planned for those tuning in Thursday night.
Buried deep in the convention schedule released Monday is a vague reference to a mystery speaker scheduled for the event’s final evening. “To Be Announced” has a prime speaking slot late in the Thursday program.
By then, speakers from Mitt Romney’s church will have taken the stage that night. The co-founder of Staples office-supply chain will have spoken about working with Mr. Romney during his time at Bain Capital. State officials from Massachusetts will have talked about the former governor. Olympians will have already thanked the presidential candidate for leading the 2002 Winter Games.
The only other speakers to follow “To Be Announced” will be Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Mr. Romney himself, suggesting that the unnamed guest may appear during the 10 p.m. hour when the networks all will be broadcasting the convention.
Let the games begin!  Who might be important enough to feature in prime time just before Rubio’s nominating speech?  It won’t be former President George W. Bush, who will address the convention via video on Wednesday.  It won’t be his brother Jeb either, who’s already scheduled for Thursday evening.  The newest member of Augusta, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, has a slot on Wednesday. Newt Gingrich has his slot on Thursday already set, and Rick Santorum will open the festivities later today.  Ron Paul will have a video presentation on Wednesday.
So who isn’t speaking at the convention?  Here are a few names:
  • Governor Rick Perry
  • Herman Cain
  • Fred Thompson
  • Michele Bachmann
  • Rush Limbaugh
  • Sarah Palin
Of these six (and there are more, but they don’t spring to mind), only Palin and Limbaugh would warrant the prime-time treatment and mystery-guest roll-out.  Herman Cain and Rick Perry would be brilliant in this forum, but they wouldn’t get a more choice slot than Gingrich or Santorum, who actually won delegates during the primary process, and that would be true of Bachmann, too.  Fred Thompson would also be a great speaker, but again, I can’t see him getting a slot ahead of current Republican office holders and rising stars in the GOP.
If I had to guess right now, I’d say that organizers made the arrangements for Palin weeks ago, and want to get the biggest splash possible with the mystery-guest treatment.  If so, they’ve done a good job remaining disciplined on that strategy.
Update: Allahpundit flagged this story to me, which might complicate matters for a Palin surprise:
Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who starred at the 2008 Republican National Convention and will skip this one, Tuesday morning offered her support to conservatives pressing for a floor fight over attempts by Mitt Romney’s allies to centralize control over the Republican Party. (Some of the parties appear to have reached a compromise in advance of Palin’s missive.)
“We have to remember that this election is not just about replacing the party in power. It’s about who and what we replace it with. Grassroots conservatives know this,” Palin said her Facebook posting. “Without the energy and wisdom of the grassroots, the GOP would not have had the historic 2010 electoral victories.”
Word yesterday was that this got resolved by all parties, so the controversy may be moot by now.  As for Rush Limbaugh, well, he does live and work in Florida …

Romney formally chosen as GOP nominee, convention moves into full swing


Mitt Romney was formally nominated Tuesday as the Republicans' presidential candidate, hitting the magic number of delegates late in the afternoon -- capping an eight-year quest for his party's nomination.

Shortly before 6 p.m., Romney notched the 1,144 delegates needed to claim the party nomination going into November. The New Jersey delegation, whose governor is giving the keynote, delivered the final delegates that put him over the top. 

The proceedings, as per tradition, were part pep rally for the individual state delegations that one-by-one took the stage and jazzed up the crowd before announcing their delegate totals. But they also concluded what for Romney has been a protracted and hard-fought battle for the nomination -- he is here in Tampa only after warding off a rotating field of feisty primary challengers ranging from Rick Perry to Newt Gingrich to Rick Santorum to Herman Cain. 

The nomination sets into motion a convention that until a few hours ago was fairly lifeless. Tropical-storm-turned-hurricane Isaac delayed the convention start by a day and continued to overshadow the event. But the atmosphere at the Tampa Bay Times Forum late Tuesday was ebullient. Concessions were flowing in the halls of the arena, and delegates -- some in state-specific costume -- had been streaming in all day in advance of the nomination and later a slew of major speeches. 

Romney and his family, as well as running mate Paul Ryan and his family, touched down in Tampa earlier in the day. 
Romney's wife Ann, upon landing in Tampa, immediately went to the convention site for a walk-through ahead of her speech Tuesday night. She did a quick sound-check, reading the opening of the Gettysburg Address from a teleprompter placed at the back of the room. 



ANN ROMNEY: WOMEN NOT 'DUMB ENOUGH' TO ACCEPT OBAMA


Ann Romney entered the Tampa Bay Times Forum to thunderous applause and cheers. Her speech focused on the strengths exemplified in mothers -- working or no -- and their efforts not just in holding the home together but holding the country together. Her speech was a stark contrast to the left's demonizing portrayal of Republican women.


"It's the moms who've always had to work a little hard to make everything right," she remarked, "It's the the moms who hold this country together."

Her message was one of empowerment, not victimhood. She opened by asking for prayers for those in Tropical Storm Issac's path, then launched into a shot against the rhetoric of "war on women" from the Obama campaign.

She received a standing ovation when she asked: "A storybook marriage? Not at all. Mitt and I have a real marriage."

"You may not agree with Mitt's positions or his politics... only 13% of Massachusetts is Republican, so it's not like it's a surprise to me," she said, before promising, "no one will work harder than Mitt Romney to make this country a better place to live." It echoes the question conservatives have been asking for months: can you honestly say that you're better off now than you were four years ago?"

"Mitt Romney was not handed his success," Romney stated. "He built it!" Her words directly contradicted President Obama's stereotype of the Republican candidate: "Mitt doesn't like to talk about how he helps others. He sees it as a privilege, not a talking point." After listing his accomplishments in Massachusetts, Mrs. Romney proclaimed, "this is the man America needs... This man will not fail."



Ron Paul delegates: ‘We were robbed!’


TAMPA, Fla. — Republican leaders averted a floor fight at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday, but not without boos, yelling, bruised feelings and allegations of cheating.
Before the state-by-state convention vote for the GOP’s presidential candidate, Ron Paul supporters lost a voice vote to seat more of their delegates from Maine.
“We were robbed!” a backer of the Texas congressman shouted in response. Paul delegates began chanting “seat them now!” The majority behind Mitt Romney tried to drown them out with chants of “USA! USA!”
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus had to intervene and gavel the convention back to order.
Former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu then presided over a voice vote on even more controversial RNC rule changes. The modified rules were intended to shorten the primary process and, critics charge, strengthen national party leaders at the expense of state and local Republicans.
Ron Paul supporters were the most vocal in their objections, as is their custom, but a broader cross-section of conservatives opposed the rule change. Longtime GOP national committeeman Morton Blackwell wrote in a letter to delegates that they “would amount to a power grab by Washington, D.C. party insiders and consultants designed to silence the voice of state party activists and Republican grassroots.”
A chief complaint was that the rules changes would advantage early front-runners like Romney over conservative challengers, including not only Paul but runner-up Rick Santorum and tea party favorite Michele Bachmann.

Romney copying Reagan's 1980 path to victory


TAMPA, Fla. - The Romney campaign has seized on Ronald Reagan's 1980 playbook, hoping to copy the Gipper's transformation during his GOP convention and subsequent debate with Jimmy Carter from a mocked B-tier Hollywood actor to a respected and winning presidential alternative.
Several Republicans including Romney's son Tagg said that Mitt Romney's path to the White House is a carbon copy of Reagan's, who was ridiculed by Carter and his team as they tried to divert attention to their hapless management of the economy.
Former Republican Party boss Haley Barbour said Carter accused Reagan of being a warmonger and loony conservative but when voters saw him perform well at the 1980 convention and debate, they thought, "Reagan doesn't look like a nut to me. He seems like a pretty nice guy."
That's the goal of Team Romney here--use family to show his softer side, highlight his charity and spell out in detail his plans for the presidency. "We don't have to hit it out of the park," said son Tagg Romney. Instead, he said, his father simply needs to show that he's not the ogre the Obama team is making him out to be.
Barbour suggested that Romney is on the verge of a big break out, based on polling numbers. He noted that when Romney became the presumptive nominee, the first Gallup Poll had him up by 2 percent. When Reagan became the presumptive nominee, he added, Gallup had him 14 points behind Carter and nine points behind at the beginning of the GOP convention.
Romney, however, is dead even with Obama.
But Democrats don't buy it and think Romney is moving too late to remake his image. Bill Burton, co-founder of the Obama super PAC Priorities USA Action, told Secrets, "Romney missed a critical opportunity to tell the American people his story this spring and summer. As a result of only attacking President Obama and not introducing himself, voters see Romney as the kind of guy who got rich by rigging the system and profiting from the losses experienced by hard-working middle class families."
And, he added, a softer performance in Tampa might not work. "He can fix that some during the convention but there has been a hardening of Romney's perceived indifference to the middle class that will be difficult to wash away," said Burton.

New RNC convention video: “Switchers”


Because nothing sells in politics like apostasy, does it?  Just days after the Obama campaign released a web ad featuring Republican Democratic Women for Obama, the RNC will release a new video ad to be played during the Republican National Convention featuring former Barack Obama loyalists looking for some real hope and change:
It occurs to me that playing the apostasy card makes perfect sense for Republicans in this cycle.  They need Obama voters in 2008 to change their minds in order to win the election.  I’m not sure, though, why Team Obama feels the need to push that angle.  If they hold their 2008 coalition, they would cruise to victory in this cycle.  They don’t need McCain voters to switch — they just need Obama 2008 voters to turn out in 2012 and not to have changed their minds.  Instead of building off of brand loyalty, though, they’re trolling for Republicans — and doing it badly.  That should tell us all we need to know about their confidence in this cycle.
Meanwhile, the same super-PAC that accused Mitt Romney of causing terminal cancer has a new spot out today, called “Olive,” supposedly an “independent” whose business got ruined by Romney.  And it’s just as fact-based as its most notorious offering, as Jammie Wearing Fool discovers:

Beware of the Mainstream Media

A recent outburst by MSNBC’s Chris Matthews was a near classic example of how some members of the media are so over the moon about Obama that it serves as a reminder that their long knives are out for the Romney-Ryan ticket.


Matthews’ man-crush on Obama is blatant, but I do take some heart from a recent Newsweek cover and article that tore Obama to shreds with facts and figures. It was so unusual, given the usual news magazine adoration accorded Obama that I found it odd, though welcome.

Much depends, of course, on the coverage that will be given by the network news channels, ABC, NBC, CBS, and we should include PBS as well. From my observation, only C-SPAN makes a good faith effort to provide balanced coverage of both parties and political viewpoints.

And, of course, there’s Fox News. “Fair, balanced and unafraid” is their motto, but Fox has been afraid to get anywhere close to the issues involving Obama’s blatantly false birth certificate, the fact that his closest advisors in the White House are committed Marxists, along with his long association with friends who fit that description such as Bill Ayers.

Moreover, Fox has liberal commentators such as Juan Williams on staff and invites liberals to share their views on air as well. That said, its conservative tilt makes it about the only TV news channel a conservative can watch without wanting to throw up
.
Matthews became incensed with GOP Chairman Reince Priebus during a recent discussion prior to the convention, riding his hobby horse that any criticism of Obama is racist. This charge is used to inoculate Obama against a reasoned examination of his policies, all of which have brought the nation to the brink of financial collapse, along with massive unemployment and other ills. In the area of foreign affairs, he has thoroughly weakened America’s capacity to influence the world.



REPUBLICAN CONVENTION BACKUP PLAN: JUST READ OBAMA'S 2008 PROMISES FROM THE PODIUM


If, as George Orwell once observed, the greatest enemy of any left-wing government is its previous propaganda, then Barack Obama’s most fearsome enemy is a small volume his campaign published in 2008: Change We Can Believe In: Barack Obama's Plan to Renew America's Promise. I bought it after Obama won the presidency that November, and it makes for very entertaining--and somewhat sad--reading nearly four years later.

Among the many promises Obama makes are the following: “Send Rebate Checks of $1,000 to American Families,” “Staff the Government Based on Talent, Not Political Loyalties,” and “Eliminate North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons Programs.” Some of the pledges combine hubris with bad policy: “Create Five Million New Green Jobs,” “Create Automatic Workplace Pensions.” Others are just silly: “Create a ‘Craigslist’ for Service.”
No matter who you are, there’s a broken promise in this book for you. Seniors? Obama promised to “Preserve Social Security” and “Put Medicare on Solid Footing.” Greens? Obama said he would “Rally the World to Stop Global Warming.” Chicago residents? Obama pledged to “End the Dangerous Cycle of Youth Violence.” The scale of Obama’s cult of personality can be measured by the wide scope of his disappointments today.

Federal judge says Ohio must count disputed votes

IT JUST DOES NOT GET ANY BETTER FOR OBAMA
A federal judge ruled Monday that Ohio must count improperly cast ballots this fall if the mistake is caused by an election worker rather than the voter, a small but potentially significant issue in an important presidential battleground state.
The decision could mean that thousands of votes that otherwise would have been rejected — most of them cast in urban areas where Democrats are concentrated — will have to be counted.
“Recent experience proves that our elections are decided, all too often, by improbably slim margins — not just in local races . . . but even for the highest national offices,” U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley wrote. “Any potential threat to the integrity of the franchise, no matter how small, must therefore be treated with the utmost seriousness.”
The legal fight is probably not over. “We respectfully disagree with the judge’s ruling and will likely appeal,” said Matt McClellan, a spokesman for Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted (R).
It is one of several contentious voting issues in Ohio, which has a history of close presidential elections, partisan battles to control whose votes are counted, and litigious interest groups and politicians.
Among other issues, the Obama campaign is suing over a decision by the Republican-controlled legislature to curtail early voting in the state. Democrats are incensed about Husted’s decision that weekend voting before the November election should not be allowed. And a conservative voting rights group is threatening to sue to remove what it says are questionable registrations among the state’s more than 7.7 million voters.
Marbley’s decision, which relied in part on the Supreme Court’s 2000 ruling in Bush v. Gore, concerned a subset of votes called provisional ballots. Such ballots are cast when a voter has some irregularity — a lack of proper ID, a name change not recorded, a missing entry on the voter rolls — that keeps him or her from filing a regular ballot. Local boards of elections then must decide whether to count them.
The civil rights group Advancement Project, the Service Employees International Union and others challenged a part of Ohio state law that says provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct should not be counted, even if the voter was following a poll worker’s instructions.

Chris Christie disses Jerry Brown as 'an old retread'


ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christieripped California Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday, saying that the state’s voters should have elected Meg Whitman but instead went with a “retread” who is failing to lead.

“California made the bad choice by going with an old retread," Christie told California’s delegation to theRepublican National Convention, a crowd that lapped up his message. “Let me tell you this – I cannot believe you people elected Jerry Brown over Meg Whitman. … Jerry Brown. Jerry Brown? I mean, he won the New Jersey presidential primary over Jimmy Carter when I was 14 years old.”

Christie said the 74-year-old, three-term governor told him that he’s not trying to raise taxes, that he is allowing voters to decide by putting a tax proposal on the ballot.

“Man, that's leadership, isn’t it?” Christie said.

PHOTOS: The protests of the GOP convention

A spokesman for Brown said Christie was trying to deflect attention from rising unemployment in New Jersey. “It’s no wonder Gov. Christie wants to distract from his massive failure with a windstorm of rhetoric,” said Gil Duran.

California hating is a popular pastime with Republicans these days, from presidential nominee Mitt Romney on down.Christie mentioned Brown in his State of the State address in January.

Christie, who will be the keynote speaker at the convention on Tuesday, held up his state as evidence for dispirited California Republicans that conservatives can win in a Democratic state.

“The message I want to deliver to California this morning is there is hope. There is hope,” Christie said, speaking in the lobby of the Tradewinds resort at a delegate breakfast that had to be moved indoors because of the weather caused byTropical Storm Isaac. “Don’t give up on the fact California can be governed. You’ve seen it governed before. You’ve seen it governed effectively. California once did have great governors like Gov. Pete Wilson. ” Wilson was in the audience.

Christie said Romney’s leadership skills are why he was the first governor to endorse Romney last year, and he slammed Obama as “nothing more than a Chicago ward politician.”

Whitman introduced Christie at the event, and both reminisced fondly about a 2010 campaign appearance in Los Angeles where he defended her from a heckler. After a protester accused Whitman of ducking questions and “looking like Arnold in a dress,” Christie stood up, moved between the two of them and shot back, “You want to yell? Yell at me."

“I was just thrilled to death to be defended by Chris Christie,” Whitman said on Monday.

Christie said he enjoyed the town hall.

“You’ve got two choices with a bully. You can either sidle up to him or punch him in the face first. We decided to punch first,” he said.


Via: LA Times

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