Tuesday Open Thread [7.2.13]
“Over the Christmas break of 2010, Mitt Romney and his family took an internal poll on whether he should run for president once more. Twelve family members cast ballots. Ten said no. One of the 10 was Mitt Romney himself.”
“The doubts that the former Massachusetts governor harbored before ultimately launching his second unsuccessful bid for the presidency are one of several attention-grabbing details in Collision 2012, the newest book on the 2012 campaign.”
I don’t believe this for a second. Sure, he may have voted that way, but he wasn’t being honest with his family in doing that. He just wanted it to appear that he was more relunctant so that his family would be more understanding and supportive. But whatever the machinations or rationales, I do not believe for a second that Mitt Romney was conflicted about running for President. He started running in 2012 on November 4, 2008.
Former Governor and possible future Presidential candidate Jeb Bush (R) said that it’s time Republicans “cease being the obstacle” to immigration reform and urged House GOP leaders to hold a vote on legislation passed by the Senate last week. I think immigration reform will define the 2016 Republican Primary much like the Iraq War defined the 2008 Democratic primary. Given the racist Republican base, voting or being against Immigration Reform will be the winning side. Thus, Bush and Rubio have already ended their presidential campaigns, they just don’t know it yet.
“Accepting the invitation from countless Washington liberals to become President Obama’s Kentucky candidate was a courageous decision by Alison Lundergan Grimes and I look forward to a respectful exchange of ideas.”– Senator Mitch McConnell. Look at the disdain, the mocking, the tone of disrespect all packed into such a hypocritical statement. Mitch, if you want respect, you give it first.
Maggie Haberman discusses the possibility that Hillary Clinton will not run for the presidency in 2016, and if she doesn’t, there would be no Democratic alternative. Booman laughs.
For starters, we have Vice-President Joe Biden. He might not be able to beat Clinton in a primary, but the premise here is that Clinton won’t be running. I’d argue that Biden is in a stronger position both with the base of the party and with the country at large than the Iran-Contra-embroiled Poppy Bush was at the outset of the 1988 campaign. Obama’s coalition is still bigger than Clinton’s, and Biden’s loyalty will be rewarded.
Whatever you think about him, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo would be a formidable and well-funded candidate. I can’t think of any sitting Republican governors from the last two cycles who were as well-situated as Cuomo will be if Clinton doesn’t run.
Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley would be a serious candidate who could easily hold together the Obama coalition in the event he secured the nomination.
Progressives would probably rally behind Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, who might be a sitting U.S. Senator by 2016. That makes it unlikely that he will run for president, but one never knows. He has the potential to expand the Democrats’ appeal in the West and among some of the more libertarian-minded folks, while simultaneously invigorating the base of the party.
I don’t think Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick should be underestimated. Nor should Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York or Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. While I’m now getting down into long-shot territory, all of these candidates make a mockery of the 2012 Republican field, and they seem superior to flawed candidates like Bobby Jindal, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, or Marco Rubio who are currently being discussed as 2016 candidates.
So is this going to be Immigration Summer? It sounds like the red meat base is getting ready for their misbehaving closeups while their leadership will be trying to corral them all again.
Boy, I hope they post Al’s rant from today’s show. We had a couple of self-styled biblical ‘scholars’ blister our support of gay marriage.
Al responded with the best destructo of religion I’ve ever heard. Informed, angry and funny! Caution: If the term ‘illiterate goat-herders’ offends you, don’t listen.
CNN is bringing back Crossfire. This time with Newt Gingrich, S.E. Cupp, Van Jones and Stephanie Cutter. I’m not going to watch it, but it irks me that smart people like Jones and Cutter are giving the Clown Show (Gingrich and Cupp) any credibility at all.
Have you noticed? Every holiday is Memorial Day now. I love the military as much as anyone, but these sloppy BJs for our men and women in uniform every goddam minute are getting to be a little much.
This is Tom Carpers holiday message…
Hi there,
I’d like to wish you and your friends and family a safe and happy Fourth of July. As we celebrate this Independence Day, we should all reflect on the legacy of our founding fathers and the strong spirit of unity, resolve, and – most of all – freedom that continues to resonate throughout our great nation.
And above all, let’s remember that our freedom is not free.
Wars have been fought at home and abroad to defend our individual freedoms. Our men and women in uniform, past and present, have risked and continue to risk their lives so that we can celebrate our freedom and independence year after year, and for that, let’s give them our unwavering gratitude.
Be safe, have fun, and remember to thank those who protect our freedom. Happy Fourth of July!
U.S. Senator Tom Carper
Partly it makes us feel better and probably assuages our guilt to some extent, that we asked them, for what many Americans probably consider Iraq and Afghanistan, to die in vain.
The last time we asked them to die in vain, America called them baby killers and spat on them when they came home. I don’t mind a couple of days of sloppiness, if it in any way can make up for what we did when they returned from South East Asia.
Still, while I don’t have courage to do so myself, I have spoken to several people who have spent time helping out at Walter Reed. They were heartbroken. Heck, I break up if my puppy looks sad. I couldn’t handle that. So, if a sloppy BJ is the price, I’ll gladly pay it. But, if I were them, I would say skip the parade and show me the money.
Agreed, if your not on the side with the racists in 2016 your not going to be the winner of the primary, I also discount Rubio and Bush for that and a few other reasons. Ah yes, can’t you just hear them howling “Amnesty Traitor!!!”, sort of a twofer of their favorite words. For a hat trick go for Impeach the Amnesty Traitor!!!
Ok, here’s a movie revue for “the zombie movie with Brad Pitt”, officially ,”World War Z”
It wasn’t as good as the six month hype would have led you to believe , but it didn’t suck.
It wasn’t about Zombies eating people, and Brad Pitt killing them to save humanity. It was about Zombies spreading the disease and Brad Pitts’ unlikely involvement in the process of finding a solution to the problem……..Ok, I guess it sucked a little, but I seem to enjoy sucky movies as long as they are not pretentious, and this one was only slightly pretentious.
Jason, it’s not the sloppy BJ’s that bother me, the men and women who served this country deserve that and more. For me it is those who have latched onto the military and first responders, they use them to forward their own agendas. Many of these hangers-on are nothing more than wannabees! Or worse they portray themselves as patriots, when they can’t come close to making the sacrifice the men and women who have actually served have made.
And let’s face it, this is Independence Day after all, this is a day to honor the sacrifice of those who served in this nations first defense of freedom, so on this holiday out of all the rest, I think a few big wet kisses,(metaphorically of course) are in order.
I agree that’s the problem Frank. It is too easy for everyone from Tom Carper to the NFL to pose as patriots by throwing an occasional arm around these guys who ended up paying for our stupid defense policies.
Wife just came home, this morning, her health care employer told employees they would call them in for layoffs, they would let them know by 4:00. By 4:30, my wife found out she was safe,(for now) 85 employees, all good workers laid off today. thanks Obama socialism, good job, really helping the country.
Haven’t read this blog for a while. Thanks, Jason, for reminding me why.
You’re welcome.
You really have to wonder about the two Romney family members who voted yes.
And let’s face it, this is Independence Day after all, this is a day to honor the sacrifice of those who served in this nations first defense of freedom,
Independence Day was supposed to be a commemoration of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence — the formal break from Great Britain and a statement or legal and natural rights. It should be one of the holidays where we celebrate ourselves as a country and remind ourselves of the moral and legal imperatives that the Declaration obligates us to. That would be the thing about Carper’s statement that irks me — every holiday is an opportunity to stroke some interest group. This one should be an opportunity to remind us of who we are as a country and to celebrate that.
Jason, don’t be a dick. As long as our troops are in harms way, they deserve all the love and support they can get. Its the least we can do in return for sending them (on repeated deployments) to far away lands we have little to no business being in.
In other news, I stubbed my toe last night and had to replace the shocks on my car.
I blame Obama socialism.
Congrats Rusty, your wife (the “lucky” one) will end up working longer hours, for less pay covering for those 85 laid off workers. You can thank your for-profit healthcare corporate overlords, and don’t forget the whitewalls when you are cleaning the executives’ company Mercedes, ok?
“This July 4th, don’t forget that we are celebrating a group of rich white slave owning men who didn’t want to pay their taxes. Enjoy your summer” – Dazed and Confused (paraphrased).
There is a “pro-freedom” rally planned for the Rehoboth Beach Bandshell at 9:30 am tomorrow. Its being organized by Chris Hudson (koo-koo Milton). I got the under on 15 people and over on 20 mis-spellings. Bring popcorn. The looks of vacationers will be priceless.
Jason–“2 family members voting YES”–just wait til your children are grown, and come back–some thoughts and “votes” will surprise you that you even all sat at the same dinner table under the same parent(s)!!! I am with my siblings—-and I’m seeing it w/ my own offspring now as well.
Rusty: “85 employees, all good workers laid off today. thanks Obama socialism, good job, really helping the country.”
Wait, so now when an employer can fire employees at will it’s “socialism”? Did I miss a memo?
Sussex Anon, you completely miss the point. Yes, my wife will probably be working longer hours, and happy to do it. Because she understands, in the private sector for her to do well, her company has to do well and run profitably. If these layoffs are what it takes to be efficient and make a profit in the Obama economy, so be it. Conservatives are always happy to work hard, and make our employers money. That is what the companies hire workers for, to help make the companies profit. There is no reason to be in business other wise. What my wife and the rest of us conservatives object to is the government take over of the private sector. We don’t want to be told what to do by a bunch of whinning government bureaucrats who hate to work , and don’t know how to work efficiently, like all the people at the Delaware liberal. My wife’s company is a very famous health care provider. If you have seen the movie the right stuff, they are the company that first tested all the very first U.S. Astronauts. They are very famous, very successful, very high quality, and very well thought of through out the Southwest. Now, with Obama care coming, they are having to take extreme measures to maintain profitability, all because Obama and the rest of the lazy liberals want to make a fiasco out of the health care industry. I doubt you have every worked very long in the private sector, you out to try it sometime, it will make you a better person, and teach you to think about others sometimes, instead of being selfish, and always thinking only about yourself.
Yes Georg Oscar Biden, you did miss the memo, Obama care, government takeover of the health care industry is socialism in every dictionary in the world
Sorry, Rusty. Socialism would mean the government was providing the goods/services. Obamacare directs customers to the private market. Please learn something before you hurt yourself.
Rusty: I used to work 16-hour days in the restaurant business. It taught me that conservatives are greedy assholes.
So liberal are lazy and government workers lazy, and those private sector conservatives are hard workers…
Hmmmm, happy fourth Rusty, best get out the WD-40
Today I would like to remind you that our soldiers overseas, that are paid less than private mercenary contractors, have worse equiptment, worse armmement because of – dont raise our taxes assholes like you, are GOVERNMENT WORKES
as are our cops and firefighters and EMS folks- and if their business doesn’t work well and if they don’t work hard- someone, like you or a member of your family DIES, and yes remember…….
soldiers, cops, firefighters,( please remember the Granite Mountain Hotshots) and teachers etc…..are all GOVERNMENT WORKERS
geezer is right, try not to hurt yourself by thinking….
oh and those astronauts your wife’s company tested?
Yes, they were nothing but LAZY, GOVERNMENT WORKERS too….
RD’s bit of Business Is Good bootlicking might well fit in an updated version of 1984. And, of course, you can’t find any news of 85 layoffs in any southwestern health care organization — again. But there has been news pretty much all year long about hospitals and agencies cutting back on expenses — largely due to cutbacks in Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements.
“I doubt you have every worked very long in the private sector…..”
In addition to not having any idea what socialism actually is……
You have no freaking clue who I am or what my vocation is. I have never worked for the public sector other than a stint in the Reserves to help pay for college. I have been a self employed business owner for 90% of my entire 28 year career. I am so independent that I have never worked for another company as an employee for more that 13 months. I struck out on my own because I saw where the money was going for my labor (to the top) leaving me exploited and making peanuts. By your metric, I am Jedi Master when it comes to thinking about others.
I am thinking about the others who cannot even begin to afford the highway robbery rates I pay for medical insurance.
“afford the highway robbery rates I pay for medical insurance.”
Why don’t you self insure then?
The fact that a company is laying off 85 workers is a sign that the healthcare law is working to reduce costs. I doubt they laid off the workers who worked hard at denying claims.
The laziest public service workers I have ever met are conservative. I guess because they are complete screw-ups they believe all public workers are like themselves.
“The laziest public service workers I have ever met are conservative. I guess because they are complete screw-ups they believe all public workers are like themselves.”
Source? Some kind of citation that lends credence to your bullshit assertion?
I’m a liberal, but god DAMN it pisses me off when someone spouts this nonsense.
The laziest people I’ve ever worked with, or met, for that matter, were my fellow union members. Not a conservative in the bunch.
My wife worked for the state in her. I’ve been in her office numerous times. The worst of them just sat in his chair and listened to right wing radio on his headphones all day. Yes, I’ve met lazy workers of all kinds but, most helped to carry the load a little. You must have an enlightened union, there is no shortage of conservative union members.