Mitt Finally Tells The Truth!

Mitt just can’t help himself.

At a fundraising event in Minnesota Mitt Romney finally told the truth about corporate America…big business is doing just fine; thank you very much.

“Big business is doing fine in many places” Romney said.  “They get the loans they need…they can deal with all the regulation.  They know how to find ways to get through the tax code, save money by putting various things in places where there are low tax havens around the world for their businesses.  But small business is getting crushed.”

Mitt’s right!  Corporate profits are at record highs.  According to Forbes Magazine the 500 largest corporations pulled in a record $824 billion in profits in 2011; up 16% from the previous year.  They are on course to rise an additional 17% this year.  CEO’s at these companies earned an average of $12.9 million; up 14% from the previous year.  That’s 380 times the wage of an average American worker according to the AFL-CIO.    

The DOW has risen 60% since Obama took office.  By contrast the DOW dropped 25% during George W. Bush’s eight years in the White House.

Life is very good for corporations and the top 1% wage earners.  According to Mitt things should be going well for the middle class as well…right?  After all  Mitt has always told us that when these “job creators” are doing well their good fortune trickles down to the average Joe in the form of good paying jobs and benefits.  All we have to do is let them prosper and the world will be a better place for one and all.

So why is unemployment at 8.3%?  Why have middle class wages remained stagnant for the past three decades while the job creators have watched their wages and profits skyrocket? And why does Romney want to give tax breaks and subsidies to those who “are doing fine” and pay for them by cutting programs that the middle class and working poor depend upon?

Romney’s desire to return to the world of trickledown economics is ill conceived.  It may have worked during the almighty Reagan years but it doesn’t work now.  The good fortune enjoyed by the top of the food chain no longer trickles down…it trickles out…to China and India and other players in this global economy.

Mitt Romney finally told the truth.  “Big business is doing fine…”

One more thing…

Can you imagine the outcry if Barak “the socialist” Obama would have said: “They know how to find ways to get through the tax code, save money by putting various things in places where there are low tax havens around the world for their businesses.”   

Now we know why Mitt won’t show us his tax returns…              

There Must Be A Full Moon!

Mitt Romney desperately wants to talk about the weak economy and what he believes are the president’s failed policies.

Unfortunately for Mitt he’s not going to get the chance if his supporters continue to butt into the conversation.

CNN is reporting that Lubbock County Judge Tom Head is warning that the nation could descend into civil war if Barak Obama is re-elected; and is calling for a trained equipped force to battle the UN troops he says Obama would bring in.

No joke!

Head is Lubbock County’s emergency management coordinator. He says he has to:

“Think about the very worst thing that could happen and hope and pray for the best…In this political and financial climate what’s the worst thing that could happen right now?  Obama gets back in the White House.  No! God forbid…Regardless of whether the Republicans take over the Senate, which I hope they do, he is going to make the Unites States Congress and he’s going to make the Constitution irrelevant…He’s got his czars in place that don’t answer to anybody.”

So far so good…right?  A lot of people on the right share these views.

But then Judge Head got a little over his skis.

“Obama will give the sovereignty of the United States away to the United Nations.  What do you think the public’s going to do when that happens?  We’re talking civil unrest, civil disobedience, possibly, possibly civil war…I’m not  just talking riots here and there.  I’m talking Lexington, Concord take up arms, get rid of the dictator.  OK, what do you think he is going to do when that happens?  He’s going to call in UN troops, personnel carriers, tanks and whatever… (I’ll) stand in front of their personnel carriers and say “You’re not coming in here.”  And I’ve asked the sheriff.  I said: “Are you going to back me on this?” And he said: “Yeah, I’m going to back you.”  Well I don’t want a bunch of rookies back there who have no training and little equipment.  I want seasoned veteran people who are trained that have got equipment.  And then we may have two or three hundred deputies facing maybe a thousand UN troops.  We may have to call out the militia.”

Judge Head made these comments on CNN affiliate KJTV and made similar remarks on radio station FOX Talk 950.

First we have a sitting US Congressman who is running for the US Senate hijack the political narrative by talking about “legitimate rape.”  Now an elected county judge wants us to take up arms against the imminent invasion of UN troops.  And let us not forget the riveting debates that we have had about birth certificates, trans-vaginal ultrasounds and imaginary voter fraud; all brought to the table by members of the Grand Old Party.

Poor Mitt Romney!  He’s never going to get the chance to tell us his plans. 

If only he could get his supporters to shhhhhhhhhhh!        

They Have A Plan!

Several months ago the debt commission failed to reach a compromise on paying down our debt and reducing our deficit spending.  Their inability to find a bi-partisan solution  meant that a previously agreed upon series of drastic cuts to domestic programs along with huge tax increases brought about by the expiration of the Bush tax cuts would automatically kick in at the end of the year.  At that time we wrote that if congress failed to find a fiscally responsible compromise before 12/31/12 the economy would spiral into a deep recession; even worse than the one we experienced in 2007-2009.  The Congressional Budget Office and several other economic think tanks sounded the same alarm.

As the months wore on our elected leaders in congress did nothing to heed these warnings.  Republicans spent their time bringing one anti-abortion bill after another to the floor of the House and running a series of presidential primaries featuring a slate of some of the most bizarre and unqualified candidates ever seen in an election.  Democrats spent their days blaming Republicans for all the gridlock in Washington while refusing to consider reforming the primary cause of our deficits…entitlements.  The unwillingness of either party to commit to a serious conversation about the fast approaching economic cliff has led us to where we are today…which is stuck in the same disastrous place we were months ago.

The Congressional Budget Organization just released another reminder that time really is running out and the cost for doing nothing is severe.  The CBO said the $500 billion in sequestration cuts scheduled to occur at year end would reduce the GDP, increase unemployment to 9.1%, rob 2 million people of their jobs and send the economy into a long deep recession.

You would think that even this “do nothing” congress would respond to the urgency of this warning. 

Not so much! 

In fact both parties seem willing to let the fiscal cliff diving occur so that they can make political hay in the aftermath.  Sounds crazy but it is true.

Behind the scenes Democrats, still smarting from having their agenda held hostage by Republicans for the past two years, are saying that they are willing discuss entitlement reform in exchange for increases in revenues.  But they are willing to let the country go off the cliff first because it is the only way to get Republicans to take them seriously at the bargaining table.  Republicans are said to be willing to consider increases in the tax rates in exchange for entitlement reform.  But they want to let Armageddon occur first because if they vote on any tax issues now they would essentially be voting to RAISE taxes.  But once the Bush tax cuts are allowed to expire any votes taken would be to REDUCE taxes.

That’s how these folks think! 

“Yes, we understand that the country’s fiscal solvency is important but we need to address it in a manner that makes us look good.”

So if you are wondering why these clowns are focused on “legitimate rape” when the economy is about to crash and burn… No worries!  They have a plan.

THE "MUST READ"

There is an article on the front page of today’s New York Times that every American should read.

It is about the war in Afghanistan.

Included in the piece are the faces of each of the 2,000 young men and women who have given their lives in the service of their country.

2,000 lives lost in a war that has gone on for 12 years.  12 years...the longest war in our history.

Yet no one talks about them. 

 Not even the two men campaigning to be their commander-in-chief.

We thank the Times for their reporting and for putting this story on their front page.  It is a story that should be on the front page of every newspaper and every website that covers national news. 

It should be front page news every single day.

Because what story could possibly more important.

www.nytimes.com  

   

Muddled Mess

We hate to keep bringing up the subject of abortion and a woman’s right to choose; but each day seems to bring with it a new story where these issues take center stage.  Yesterday the issue of abortion served as the cornerstone for the muddled mess that calls itself the Republican Party.

Here is what we learned.

We learned that Mitt Romney finally joined a host of prominent Republicans in urging Todd Akin, the controversial and toxic candidate for the Missouri senate seat to resign from the race.  Unless you have been living under a rock you know that Akin said that according to doctor’s he has spoken with, women are unlikely to get pregnant as a result of rape because when a “legitimate” rape occurs a women’s body has a way of “shutting that whole thing down” to prevent pregnancy from occurring. 

We learned that Akin has ignored all demands for his resignation and has remained resolute in his intention to stay in the race.

We learned that the doctor that informed Akin that a women’s body would ward off pregnancy in the event of rape is Dr. John C. Wilkie.  In an article for ChristianLifeResources.com Wilkie wrote that the trauma and emotional stress of rape can influence a woman’s menstrual cycle and therefore prevent pregnancy from occurring.

We learned that the same Dr. Wilkie served as a surrogate for Romney’s failed 2008 presidential campaign and that Romney publically embraced Wilkie as leader in the right to life movement.

We learned that the American Journal of Obstetricians and Gynecologists disagree with Governor Romney, Congressman Ryan and Dr. Wilkie having found that “rape related pregnancy occurs with significant frequency…and is the cause of many unwanted pregnancies…an estimated 32,101 per year.”

We learned that while Republican Party leaders were publically condemning Congressman Akin’s comments and distancing themselves from his views the Republican Platform Committee quietly approved a plank in the party’s platform supporting a constitutional amendment that makes abortion unconstitutional with NO exceptions…even in the case of rape and incest.  The platform will be presented at next weeks’ Republican National Convention.

And finally we learned that the Romney/Ryan ticket opposes abortion EXCEPT in those cases of rape, incest and pregnancy which endangers the life of the mother.  This position is not only at odds with the before mentioned Republican Party Platform it also contradicts Paul Ryan’s sponsorship with the vilified Todd Akin of legislation which mirrors Akin’s views.

Confused?  Who wouldn’t be!  So allow us to summarize.

While Republican’s are publically opposing Todd Akin they are quietly crafting platform positions that are in lockstep with his views.  And Mitt Romney is staying the course of supporting whatever view will lead him to election in November.

This is what happens when a candidate tries to capitulate to every facet of his party.  Romney already had the most conservative members of his party in his pocket.  No matter how much they doubted his true conservatism they were never going to vote for Obama.  He should have courted independents and the more conservative leaning Democrats.  But as usual Romney would not take a stand trying instead to have it both ways.

The result is a disorganized muddled mess.

This is probably not what the Republican Party or the Romney Campaign wanted to be talking about the week before their national convention.               

Individualism, Ideology, Intolerance and Idiocy

As we expected the fallout from Congressman Todd Akin’s indefensible comments about rape and abortion are dominating the news.  Republicans sought to distance themselves from Akin like the proverbial rats abandoning a sinking ship.  Several Republican heavyweights demanded that Atkin resign from his Senate race.  McConnell, Brown, Cornyn, Johnson, Huckabee, Priebus and Paul Ryan all called on Atkin to step down. Mitt Romney, ever the cautious candidate, condemned Akin’s statements but stopped short of calling for him to resign from the race; choosing to leave that task to his surrogates.  

Perhaps even more damaging than the resignation demands from party leaders is the action taken by Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS Super Pac.  Crossroads had already poured over $5 million into the Missouri race and were about to spend an additional $850,000 in ad buys next week.  But Crossroads GPS announced yesterday that it was withdrawing from the race.   

Republican Congressman Todd Akin is running against Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill for her US Senate seat.  This Missouri race is critical for Republican efforts to gain control the Senate. 

Akin was asked about his anti-abortion beliefs; specifically whether abortion should be allowed when a pregnancy results from rape.  Akin said that in the case of a “legitimate rape” pregnancy is unlikely because a women’s body shuts down to prevent pregnancy from happening.  Akin has since apologized for his comments but has vowed to continue with his campaign. 

Polls taken after Akin’s controversial remarks show him maintaining a small lead over McCaskill.

When you step back and examine what is really going on here you find a level of hypocrisy that is beyond the pale.  Republicans are not distancing themselves from the substance of Akin’s remarks.  They are distancing themselves from the in artful manner in which he said what they truly believe.  Their parsing of subtext and faux outrage is a joke.  Ryan’s call to Akin is particularly galling because in 2011 the presumptive vice presidential nominee co-sponsored an anti-abortion bill with Akin that parroted Akin’s comments and sought to differentiate “forcible rape” form other forms of rape. 

This whole Akin clown show is another instance of Republican’s marginalizing the rights of women.  Republicans have been waging the proverbial war against women since their evangelical Christian base swept them into office in 2008.  When Republicans weren’t opposing equal pay for equal work, restricting access to birth control, blocking funding for Planned Parenthood and inserting “trans-vaginal ultra sounds’ into the political narrative they were bringing 69 anti-abortion bills to vote on the House floor.  Their record makes it crystal clear…this is who they are.

Republicans have a huge problem with the “women” vote.  Obama leads Romney 54%-39% among all women and 60%-32% among single women.  For Romney to have any chance in November he needs to narrow that gender gap.  Note to Republicans:  restricting women's rights is not going to make that happen.

Once upon a time there was a distinction in the Republican Party between the “Tea Party Caucus” and the traditional “Moderate Republicans.”  But that distinction no longer exists.  If the past two years have taught us anything it is that the Republican Party is now firmly under the control of the evangelicals and the Tea Party Caucus.  From the debt ceiling debates, to taxes, to deficit reduction to women’s rights…time and time again we have watched the far right grab control of the party’s reins and drive their wagon…and the country…into the ditch. This is no longer the Republican Party of Ronald Reagan; a party that would seek compromise for the good of the country.  Gone is sacrificing the “I” for the good of the “We”. This is a Republican Party of individualism, ideology, intolerance and idiocy.

And every day that Republicans are talking about Todd Akin, “legitimate rape,” “forcible rape” and abortion is one less day that they are talking about the economy, jobs and Obama’s record.

Well done!                      

   

Tea Party Candidates: Ushering Stupidity And Insensitivity Into The National Spotlight

“It seems to me first of all, from what I understand from doctors, that’s (pregnancy resulting from rape) really rare…If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down…But let’s assume that maybe that didn’t work or something.  You know I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist not attacking the child.”

                                                                                                       Republican Congressman Todd Akin

Congressman Akin is a Tea Party candidate for the US Senate and an advocate of anti-abortion legislation.   In a local interview aired by KTY1’s “The Jaco Report” he was asked if there might be any exceptions to his stance against abortion; as in the case of women who have been raped.  The insensitivity and stupidity of Congressman Atkin’s statement speaks for itself.

Congressman Akin is just another in a long list of Tea Party candidates that have led to the denigration and marginalization of the Republican Party.  Herman Cain, Christine O’Donnell, Sharon Engle, Sarah Palin and now Todd Akin are just a few of the Tea Party right wing radicals  whose unqualified candidacies have brought into question the very legitimacy of the party.

Congressman Akin’s comments come at the most inopportune time for the Republican Party.  The Party’s national convention starts one week from today.  Party officials would like enter the convention’s national spotlight focused on their nominee and his plans for the future.  Unless Romney can quickly and effectively distance himself from Akin’s comments those intentions will be little more than a pipe dream.

If Romney wants to prove to the nation that he is a strong and principled leader he will marshal the party faithful and collectively and forcefully speak out against Todd Atkins.  He might even consider calling for Atkins resignation.

But that won’t happen.  Romney has had several opportunities to speak out against radical zealots who have embarrassed his party on the national stage.  Time and time again he has shied away from any controversy that might anger his Tea Party base.  And Congressman Atkin’s comments are particularly troublesome for Romney/Ryan ticket.

You see Congressman Akin co-sponsored antiabortion legislation that questions the legitimacy of rape and draws a distinction between rape and “forcible” rape. 

Atkins co-sponsor on that bill…Paul Ryan.

Romney and Ryan will conduct a joint interview later today.  Something tells us that Congressman Atkin will come up in the conversation.