The Romney Campaign Goes Old School — Here Come the Welfare Queens!

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One of the signature dishonest (of many) tales told by Ronald Reagan was one of some Chicago woman who was able to put together enough fraudulent participation in enough government programs to net more than $100K per year. Even as Reagan never named this woman and no one could find a public record of anyone who was that productive in getting government assistance. Certainly no one who was caught and tried for the fraud that this would have represented. This exaggerated tale was often repeated, never substantiated but it did its job -- tap into existing resentments and stereotypes of welfare cheats -- even though the typical welfare recipient never looked the way the stereotype had it. It was more dogwhistle politics from the ultimate dogwhistler -- one who kicked off his campaign at the Neshoba County State Fair (county where Schwerner, Chaney and Goodman were murdered), calling for a reinstatement of "state's rights". This was,of course, a coded message promising these folks to roll back the rights the Feds were giving to minorities. And now that he is cornered on the issue of his tax releases, Mitt Romney has decided that the Gipper's dogwhistles can work for him too.

The Polling Report [8.7.12]

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We have some new polls in Washington State, Indiana, Colorado and North Carolina, all but one showing movement towards Obama. Hell, even the national tracking polls have moved in the direction. Here is the new map:

UPDATED: Mandatory Pregnancy Testing In School

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Delhi Charter School, in Delhi, Louisiana, has come under fire for its policy that campaigners say is ‘clearly illegal under federal laws’. Under the new rules, a teacher can ‘require’ a student to have a test if they suspect she could be pregnant. If the test comes back positive, the policy states: ‘The student will not be permitted to attend classes on the campus of Delhi Charter School.’ She will be required to pursue a course of home study. Delhi Charter School has established an environment whereby the conduct of its students must be in keeping with the school’s goals and objectives relative to character development.’
And what happens to the boys at Delhi Charter School who participated in pregnancy, or who have fathered a child?

Republicans are pissed off at Romney over the tax secrecy

Romney is letting Obama pound him over the head with taxes, and that is vexing Republicans. A legion of Republican pundits have called for Romney to stop the blood letting, but Team Romney seems convinced that it can ride out the storm, or reboot the conversation by picking a blockbuster VP. We'll see. In the meantime...

This Guy Represents all Bigoted Conservatives

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He is so batshit crazy and dumb, he does not think through his protest to realize it might be hazardous. He is so mindbogglingly incompetent that he cannot carry out said protest without burning down the town. And then he runs away like the little coward that he is, evidencing how much he and all bigoted conservatives really disdain personal responsibility and accountability.

Markell enters Romney tax fray – ‘(Romney) should have been ready for this’

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Delaware's Jack Markell piles on Romney pointing out the obvious, that Romney should have know that this was going to be an issue.
“It would seem to me that he would be ready for this, recognizing the comparison would come up to his father and to others,” Markell said. “The issue is he’s the one running for president. The questions have been raised about him, he could have them answered.”
Markell rubs salt into GOP wounds by making this about Romney's poor judgment, and I LOVE IT!

Romney still hasn’t nailed down his party’s nomination

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This is reason number 1,365 why no tax info will be released by team Romney. Until the votes are counted on the floor of the convention, Romney isn't the GOP's nominee for the office of the President of the United States. Therefor, Romney's promise to divest himself of possibly objectionable investments would be scrutinized if tax returns were released. Check it out.