2012 Elections

[FCP Bob 1,312]

I pretty much agree with everything that BigD has posted.It's also important to keep in mind that Ryan also is as anti-abortion as can be possible without shooting abortion Doctors..He's the perfect candidate for the plutocrat, anti-abortion small government people like the Kochs and they for sure think long term.

[brvheart 1,752]

It's also important to keep in mind that Ryan also is as anti-abortion as can be possible without shooting abortion Doctors..

Sign me up.

[Zealous Donkey 0]

I pretty much agree with everything that BigD has posted.It's also important to keep in mind that Ryan also is as anti-abortion as can be possible without shooting abortion Doctors..He's the perfect candidate for the plutocrat, anti-abortion small government people like the Kochs and they for sure think long term.

A Mormon chooses a Catholic as his running mate which shores up and locks down the evangelical vote. Interesting dynamic. This was pointed out in something i read, but I can't find the article, I think it was somewhere on National Review Online.

[Pot Odds RAC 23]

Gee. An ultra conservative whit male. How daring.I really think he needed to get someone a little more centrist. Would have been nice to attract more of the Fiscal Conservative but Social Liberal crowd. It isn't like the Conservatives were going to vote for Obama.

[brvheart 1,752]

Gee. An ultra conservative whit male. How daring.I really think he needed to get someone a little more centrist. Would have been nice to attract more of the Fiscal Conservative but Social Liberal crowd. It isn't like the Conservatives were going to vote for Obama.

Because Romney isn't already centrist enough for you?

[JustDoIt 10]

The Coming Democratic Attack Barrageby David Frum Aug 11, 2012 9:40 AM EDT

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The likely script of the next attack ad. A woman in her later 40s, looking worried at a kitchen table. She's probably vaguely Latino; the photos on her refrigerator (kids, no dad) suggest a single mom.A woman's voice over. "You've worked hard all your life. You've paid Medicare taxes for almost 30 years. But under the Republican plan, Medicare won't be there for you. Instead of Medicare as it exists now, under the Republican plan you'll get a voucher that will pay as little as half your Medicare costs when you turn 65—and as little as a quarter in your 80s. And all so that millionaires and billionaires can have a huge tax cut."That ad will draw blood and will—as Henry Kissinger used to say—have the additional merit of being true.

LOLOf course the above will be attempted, it has been happening everyday since Obama became president.The Obama plan is chaos, chaos, chaos. Bain(joke) Mitt Romeny killed my wife(Lowest of Low.............Obama team we didn't know anything about this............oops got caught in that lie) Obama out there telling everyone that Romeny will raise taxes on middle class so he can cut rich peoples taxes(LIE, and some people on this site actually have said they admire Obama). Gotta run out the clock since Obama has nothing to run on.Of course the Republicans have done their duty and produced budgets and have sent them to he Senate where they are file 13'D. Wow, I thought the deal was House passes budget, Senate passes budget and then the negotiating begins. Of course the Senate hasn't passed a budget in three years because they don't don't want that debate. Obama last two budgets have received.........are you ready.......ZERO votes period, his own party couldn't even give him one vote.Of course Ryan reaches out to the Democrats. Preserving the Medicare Guarantee: Why I've Been Working with Paul Ryanhttp://www.huffingto..._b_1365237.html"In Oregon, for example, 56 percent of seniors currently get all or some of their health coverage from a private plan. (15 percent of Oregon seniors purchase private Medigap policies to supplement their traditional Medicare, while 41 percent of Oregon's Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in private health insurance plans through Medicare Advantage.) It is worth noting that many Medicare Advantage plans in Oregon save money over traditional fee-for-service Medicare".Of course Obama is getting rid of Medicare Advantage and has been working on trying to hide that fact from seniors before the election. Some people actually admire this guy. An $8 billion trick? Toying with Medicare to fix elexhttp://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/an_billion_trick_ImTBFfz7MeuZLJY7JzXEIJAnd there is even Democrats with intellectual integrity. Erskine Bowles: Ryan budget is "sensible...honest, serious"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbzpuqWo6yU&feature=player_embedded#t=0s

[FCP Bob 1,312]

David Stockman who was Ronald Reagan's Budget Director thinks Ryan's Budget is a fraud and fairy tale.Paul Ryan’s Fairy-Tale Budget Plan

The Ryan Plan boils down to a fetish for cutting the top marginal income-tax rate for “job creators” — i.e. the superwealthy — to 25 percent and paying for it with an as-yet-undisclosed plan to broaden the tax base. Of the $1 trillion in so-called tax expenditures that the plan would attack, the vast majority would come from slashing popular tax breaks for employer-provided health insurance, mortgage interest, 401(k) accounts, state and local taxes, charitable giving and the like, not to mention low rates on capital gains and dividends. The crony capitalists of K Street already own more than enough Republican votes to stop that train before it leaves the station.In short, Mr. Ryan’s plan is devoid of credible math or hard policy choices. And it couldn’t pass even if Republicans were to take the presidency and both houses of Congress. Mr. Romney and Mr. Ryan have no plan to take on Wall Street, the Fed, the military-industrial complex, social insurance or the nation’s fiscal calamity and no plan to revive capitalist prosperity — just empty sermons.David A. Stockman, who was the director of the Office of Management and Budget from 1981 to 1985, is the author of the forthcoming book “The Great Deformation: How Crony Capitalism Corrupts Free Markets and Democracy.”

[JustDoIt 10]

David Stockman who was Ronald Reagan's Budget Director thinks Ryan's Budget is a fraud and fairy tale.Paul Ryan’s Fairy-Tale Budget Plan

Hopefully, Romney will be elected and we get a chance to find out if Mr. Stockman is correct. i am a big fan of Stockman but do not always agree with him.One of my big disappointments with President Obama was he didn't put Wall Street in it's place. He had a perfect platform to do it and he just used them to his advantage..Our country is at a point where we have to really make some hard decisions, if that does not happen we are in big trouble.I think if Romney is elected he will shock people and make some really hard decisions, and will be a good President. If not, then I will be taking out one page ads in newspapers ripping him.Your lucky Bob, your government has really done some positive things in the last few years

[BigDMcGee 3,352]

I think if Romney is elected he will shock people and make some really hard decisions, and will be a good President. If not, then I will be taking out one page ads in newspapers ripping him.

Or, maybe you could do something a little more modern and relevant and send your local senators and congressmen telegrams expressing your displeasure.

[JustDoIt 10]

Or, maybe you could do something a little more modern and relevant and send your local senators and congressmen telegrams expressing your displeasure.

Really, i have done this three times on local issues with amazing results. Of course the ads were done after your solution was tried and did zelch.

[FCP Bob 1,312]

I think it's important that people realize that Ryan truly has no clue about Economics, or if he does he's purposely supporting policies that he knows will do exactly the opposite of what is good for the economy. He's Ron Paul without appearing to be batshit.http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2012/08/paul-ryans-nutty-views-on-monetary-policy.html

I don’t understand why someone with such a clownish views is lauded as a policy wonk:.....Romney and Ryan don’t approve of fiscal policy stimulus (unless it’s tax cuts for the wealthy), and Ryan would take away the ability of the Fed to respond to unemployment as well. Basically, they are telling us that if a recession hits and they have their way, nothing will be done. Not a thing. No fiscal policy response (except perhaps austerity to make it worse), and no monetary response (except, if Ryan has his way, interest rate increases based upon a misunderstanding of how the economy works – that would also make things worse). So it wouldn’t just be the “you’re on your ownership society” of Randian dreams, Ryan would have monetary and fiscal authorities making things even worse than they already are.Ryan is not a well-informed policy wonk with new, exciting ideas. He’s a policy idiot. Don’t let this guy anywhere near the policy levers.

[FCP Bob 1,312]

New drinking game. Take a drink every time Biden makes a gaffe.http://www.businessinsider.com/joe-biden-confuses-north-carolina-virginia-2012-8

[Balloon guy 158]

Bill Clinton's chief of staff disagrees Bob:

“Have any of you all met Paul Ryan? We should get him to come to the university. I’m telling you this guy is amazing. ... He is honest, he is straightforward, he is sincere. And the budget that he came forward with is just like Paul Ryan. It is a sensible, straightforward, serious budget and it cut the budget deficit just like we did, by $4 trillion. … The president as you remember, came out with a budget and I don’t think anybody took that budget very seriously. The Senate voted against it 97 to nothing."

But I am waiting for Biden to present his budget that will fix the economy....that way we can have a fair comparison for this election.

[akoff 0]

I think it's important that people realize that Ryan truly has no clue about Economics, or if he does he's purposely supporting policies that he knows will do exactly the opposite of what is good for the economy. He's Ron Paul without appearing to be batshit.http://economistsvie...ary-policy.html

We currently have a President with no clue on Economics...how back could a VP be?

[Balloon guy 158]

Remember a while back when we all said that everyone agrees that ethanol was not good for anything?President Obama didn't get the message

Campaigning in Missouri Valley, Iowa, yesterday, President Obama announced yet another government spending program -- this time designed to inflate meat prices in Midwest swing states. "Today the Department of Agriculture announced that it will buy up to $100 million worth of pork products, $50 million worth of chicken, and $20 million worth of lamb and farm-raised catfish," Obama explained to reporters in front of a drought-stricken cornfield."Prices are low, farmers and ranchers need help, so it makes sense," Obama explained. "It makes sense for farmers who get to sell more of their product, and it makes sense for taxpayers who will save money because we're getting food we would have bought anyway at a better price."None of this makes sense. In fact, Obama's move only harms American consumers while protecting a corrupt federal program.

Specifically, the federal government's ethanol mandate, which requires that 13.2 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol be produced in 2012.Thanks to the ethanol mandate, more than 40 percent of the nation's corn crop now goes into the production of a useless fuel that hardly anyone would buy if the government didn't require it. That's up from just 17 percent in 2005, before the mandate went into effect. Only 36 percent of the corn crop now goes for feed, and 24 percent goes for food.Obama could solve this problem instantly by suspending the federal ethanol mandate -- something his EPA actually can do unilaterally and legally. Instead, Obama will buy up meat -- a move that meat producers say won't help them much anyway. "It doesn't solve the problem of having enough affordable corn next summer,"

To recap, government is driving up the cost of food, animal feed and gasoline, and Obama's solution is to drive up meat prices as well. Obama could eliminate the entire problem overnight and reduce carbon emissions were he to waive the ethanol mandate in a time of drought. Instead, he is creating a new spending program to mollify livestock producers, who, were it not for the ethanol mandate, would be able to make an honest living without his help.Last week, Obama said he wants to do for other industries what he did for General Motors. If by this he meant waste taxpayers' money to preserve a lousy status quo, then bravo and mission accomplished.

[FCP Bob 1,312]

The corn lobby is bigger than the meat lobby.

[BigDMcGee 3,352]

The corn lobby is bigger than the meat lobby.

YOU'RE GOD DAMN RIGHT!

[Balloon guy 158]

The White house is supposed to be on top of things....I mean they are running on that message...

[Balloon guy 158]

[colonel Feathers 5]

Is it true that a gallon of milk in canada runs about 7 a gallon?

[FCP Bob 1,312]

Is it true that a gallon of milk in canada runs about 7 a gallon?

It's expensive but not that expensive due to supply management and quotas that the dairy farmers love.

[BigDMcGee 3,352]

There's stories on the news about canadians cleaning out Costo in Bellingham, WA of milk and other foods, because food prices are so high in vancouver.

[FCP Bob 1,312]

There's stories on the news about canadians cleaning out Costo in Bellingham, WA of milk and other foods, because food prices are so high in vancouver.

Dairy and poultry are especially expensive because of supply management which means milk, butter, cheese and eggs as well as chicken are a lot more expensive here.Plus the Canadian Dollar has gone up a lot in the last few years which makes a lot of things relatively less expensive in the US.

[mrdannyg 274]

What does his announcement have anything to do with ethanol? Last time I checked, pork, chicken and lamb did not make ethanol. I see there is a weak link made in the article, which you didn't copy, but it doesn't present any evidence that prices would still be down even without the subsidy (hint: they would), and that the purchase may well still be needed without the ethanol subsidy (hint: it might)But yeah, its too bad that he's continuing the ethanol program instituted by a Republican President in 2005. Because you know, it's such an easy and popular move to take away farmer subsidies.

[mrdannyg 274]

There's stories on the news about canadians cleaning out Costo in Bellingham, WA of milk and other foods, because food prices are so high in vancouver.

Not sure about "so high" - makes it sound like we're 1946 Germany. But yes, as Bob said, there are supply managed industries in Canada, they keep prices artificially high, and it is no small effect either. Vancouver is especially problematic given their unproportional urban/rural population.