GOP 2012 Political Health Assessment, or how none of these Buffoons are electable!

Cain is even worse than that. A former chairman of the Fed. You didn't think he got the money to run for President from his pizza delivery job, did you?

I COMPLETELY AGREE!!! The Republican Primaries should be between Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman. The two represent opposite ends of the conservative political spectrum, Paul being radical and Huntsman being a real Centrist. The other candidates don't even deserve to share the stage with Paul and Huntsman. And, like you said, Jon Huntsman would really give Obama a run for his money.

Id like to see a Paul Huntsman ticket. Huntsman being VP I can dig it!

Suing to stop pollution does not work well, look at Japan's nuk meltdown. How much will it cost and when will the land be usable again. Limited rules but rules with TEETH.

Ron Paul does not believe in entitalments. He calls SS, Medicare, Medicaid unconstitutional and compares them to slavery That is against the middle class, poor and elderly. Of coarse he has excellent Insurance and a pension from congress.

Ron Paul knows that SS, Medicare etc are NOT Entitlements. We pay into them and they are not freebies. At least they weren't until congress decided to allow illegals aliens to dip into the pool.

i know they are not freebies. We pay into them, but Ron Paul is AGAINST them. Many illegals have SS taken out of their pay checks but can never claim benifits as their SS cards are fake. They are allowed emergency room care.

That's about all Obama did to BP for polluting the gulf coast for generations to come. No offense to Japan, they got it worse than we did, but damn, no telling what manner of carcinigens are running through our blood. And Obama let them off the hook.

He promised he would not touch SS or medicare in his campaign do your research!

Many of the right wing religious nuts won't get in line for a Mormon!

Because so many Republicans see him as a RINO and there is the Mormon issue.

You aren't a supporter of Romney are you? You do realize that he was born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth, and that he made many millions destroying other peoples livelihoods, don't you?

I'd take Huntsman over Romney. But Romney will probably get it.

If I were a Republican I would prefer Huntsman over Romney, but he's not going to get it. But I'm not a Republican.

That is true Kenny but the Buy-Bull thumpers can be bought. There are corrupt big money people amongst them, Pat Robertson for one, and once they fall under the Koch fist they will convince the sheep to do as they are told. If that plays successfully Mittens has a lot better chance.

Very true, they do like too follow!

Romney would denounce his Mormon faith if needed to become president! Flip flopping is his one of his best features!

Mittens would sell his family into slavery if he thought he could get away with it and it would get him the presidency. He reminds me of the Harry Nillson line from a long while ago "A point in every direction is the same as no point at all"

ANYONE BUT ROMNEY 2012!!!

I totally understand where your coming from, but I think you need to attack big Pharma that is standing in the way of legalization. They have payed off the corrupt politicians in office and really control the DEA and anyone else propping up prohibition.

Well, hell ya. Organizing a third party this year would be a near impossibility, get organized people for mid terms in 2014.

I think there needs to be an interim plan for the next election cycle, and the cornerstone for that plan should be to remove every incumbent we can and replace them with a fresh batch of Dems.

There is no reason to believe O will change his spots because with every opportunity to do so (and he has had plenty), he has back-pedaled or flat caved to the Reps to the point where his talk and his walk are both sounding more Rep all the time. Remember, from the very beginning he signaled what his presidency was going to look like and act like when he stuffed his administration full of Wall Street Bankers and Right wing economists.

When he had the "full house" he didn't utilize legislative leadership to enact the bold platform planks he ran on...we got a rush-job health care program that he has already had to retract portions of etc.

I have said before in other posts that this election will truly be a test of fortitude for those of us who support OWS and the things it stands for. O has let us down and has only mildly shown any conviction in dealing with the obstructionists and little in terms of leadership for the country as a whole. I think our best bet is a new Dem Congress that understands the issues and will have the courage to stand up and fight.

BTW 2014 is not too far away and there are no Dems that immediatley come to mind in terms of someone to support for Pres...will the party wait until its too late again...

The full house you refer to sent hundreds of bills to the Senate that got filler-busted and just put in a pile. The President had no control over that, the Senate is where bills go to die. The people who stayed home not knowing how politics work in 2010, let the nation down. Funny how many of those folks are in the streets these days, well they better be it's their fault!

You are absolutely right on the question of what happened to much of the legislation, but I was looking at it from the perspective that even with the full house O wasn't able to generate the leadership to call Congress on this until just a matter of weeks ago, and even then his efforts have been luke warm at best. He could have used the bully pulpit to put OWS in the streets two years ago when he saw how the Reps were playing. Instead he walked around wringing his hands and supposedly trying to compromise at every turn. Kenny, I might not be the brightest bulb in the box, but when I see the Pres dancing the same dance at every turn for two years, and still expecting a different outcome, I kinda' figure I've been snookered.

He is what he is and I will have no choice but to vote for him again, but to expect him to be any different in a second term...I think our only hope is to load up the Congress with new Dems...but make sure Bernie is re-elected and maybe one or two others.

Yes indeed load up the house and the senate or all is lost!

And I hope those who didn't get in 2010 understand what you mean by "All" is lost.

Yes indeed!

What are you talking about? What is the purpose of all this OWS stuff if not to change the way we do things. Fuck 2014, let's change it now. We have the energy, the enthusiam, and the motivated voters. Do it now!

All these OWS protestors ready to change things now, and you are going to tell them to wait for two years? That's insane, now when we have a force ready to go to battle, now is the time for change.

A third party may not be viable, but in the two party you take over one of the parties. The Tea Partiers took over the GOP from the neocons, OWS can take the Democratic party away from Obama and his failed administration.

You need to make sure your read the thread before you respond. This is electronic conversation...no one is suggesting that anyone wait, but there are mechanics to the political situation that require discussing election cycles and thinking ahead (part of what it means to be progressive). Whatever happens now, happens now, but systemic change is what is needed and that will not happen until there are massive numbers in the streets and Americans can change their government at the polls.

Look at the OWS occupations across the county, across the globe. There are massive numbers ready to mobilize now. Strike while the iron is hot, I say. The Tea Partiers changed things to their will in less than two years, why can't OWS? In two years from now this enthusiam and energy will be gone.

Your right Kenny. Thanks.

Good comment. You are right. We need dems in congress.

OWS has already made significant change...in case you haven't noticed the language has changed from what it was just weeks ago...the discussion on the big stage has changed likewise...

"...massive numbers ready to mobilize now." There are hardly "massive" numbers and the growing numbers are mobilized...what would you have them do "now" that they aren't already doing?

Elizabeth Warren would be a good start.

Change to who?

She sure would. Warren would fight for the people. I really like her.

Anybody you want!

Totally agree.

Of course! :)

Totally agree, our current batch in Congress are just there to deny any real change. Off with their heads!

The sad thing is that congress holds the real power. They can over ride any presidential veto. Need to take care of that so we can get back what was always ours that our founding fathers gave us.
This is why I keep commenting on Congress and the Senate and not POTUS.
Hammer them and hammer them hard.

Yes, hammertime for real this time. I hope they are paying attention I can't hold back the gates of hell that are headed for them!

Pretty close indeed, hopefully his second term will bring about real change. If not, and we should know pretty early this time, forming a third party for 2016 should be undertaken!

Sorry to disagree, but you obviously haven't been paying attention to Congress. They rail against the President's jobs bill because they want more tax cuts for the rich and he won't let them have it. How you can possible conflate the Prez and the right is way beyond me!
;-)

That is also another very good reason why the President now has too use the Executive Order, thats why I think we will finally see he is one of us!

P.S. He needs real economic advisors not Goldman Sach's former employees!

Agree 100%. A hate conspiricy theories, most of them are a waste of time, but I have seriously been wondering if Obama was just a shill, a distraction to hold rebelion off long enough for the elite to complete the takeover. I hope he proves that a waste of time as well.

Pushing him too the left like he has said is the message and undertow if people would pay attention. Kelly, short of an all out real gun slingin revolution he is our only hope. But those in the streets now have woke up and many are the ones who stayed home in 2010 to let happen what happened. If they had just showed up we could have kept the house and maybe propelled the Senate to 62 in our favor. But now it must be done the hard way or a President declaring WAR on the Republicans. Interesting what will happen?

We shall see, we shall see.

Yes indeed we shall see, and we shall see how many of these folks will actually put their money where their collective mouths are and actually vote!

Exactly, wolfess. My husband and I just talked about this. That's why the Reps don't care that their candidates are a clown car.

I just keep hitting myself on the head! If we hadn't lost faith and had just elected the dems to give him a working Congress, where could we be now? The man has done amazing things (and XL! ;-(, I just hope we can give him a clear field and watch him get US some goals next year! I'm also hoping that the OWS folks can occupy some warm congressional offices and ask why they won't vote for jobs! ;-)

I know, it drives me nuts as well!

Thnx Leen -- I know for a long time I resisted the urge to believe Obama was the problem, but once I had no other choice it actually lightened my load. I don't feel guilty about saying it no matter how many posters rail against me; last time I checked this is still a free country where we are free to express our beliefs. But it is admittedly nice to not be the only one that believes Obama is the best president republican money can buy :-)!

And Happy Samhain to you and your hubby :-)!!

Anytime, wolfess. I don't care anymore who gets on my case for speaking my mind regarding Obama. There is more out there than us who believe we've all been duped.

Happy Happy Samhain/Halloween to you and your hubby as well! :)

I agree with you Dan.The president's job bill is good for the middle class. Create jobs. It's hard to believe Congress fights him on something that will help the people. They are so afraid of the wealthy having their taxes raised.

Your on a roll Kenny. Right again.

What I can't believe is the folks of OWS don't stand behind the bill or aren't actively pushing it! I think the congress has to crack at some point of this piece meal rendering of the jobs bill and with each denial, the repugs lose more of the independents who will be deciding this election. If OWS was behind the bill, they could share in the passing or rail against the failure to pass. It gives a win or it give a goal and both are needed to keep people warm in the cold of a park!

Thanks SFirman!

I wish the OWS would give the bill a push.They could take some of the credit. The Republicans are walking on a thin rope .Even people in the GOP are out of work. That's alright with me. We need them voted out. We can't have another 2010. People have to vote.

Totally, we cannot fall for the same BS "stay home you vote doesn't count" that we fell for in 2010!

Yes, the field is a direct link to the right wing philosophy that won't sell too well with the general public!

They don't have to, they already have sold it. They have defeated Obama by turning the left against him -- look around and see how much he is blamed for all things bad in this country. I imagine they will be able to elect a ham sandwich as our next POTUS.

Wouldn't happen to have any money w/ the Las Vegas odds makers, have you? While plenty are pissed (like me) at Obama, he is thirty times head and shoulders better and any of the class of 2012 on the Greedy Old Pigs side, at least as far as I am concerned!

Oh I absolutely agree that Obama is head and shoulders above the GOP. However, so many progressives are insisting that the Dems are just the very same as the GOP, I expect them to once again stay home and not bother to vote, or write in a third party candidate with no chance of winning. That is what I meant by I expect the GOP to be able to vote in a ham sandwich.

I don't for one minute think the Dems are the same as the GOP, with the exception of the blue dogs (who are wolves in sheep's clothing)

To stay home as in 2010 would be crazy as the dead lock would continue and the country would continue to nose dive. I guess if you have a bunch of gold bars and think that will save you, you might find out that others want to survive just as badly. We've had a whole history of everybody looking out for themselves and it has not made for "happy" earth times, plus we are so polluting the planet it will take years and years if not centuries to clean up (so what was the "true" cost of a gallon of gas or a killowatt of nuke electricity? ;-)

I have never failed to vote in any election in over 30 years, not even a midterm or local ballot initiative. I in fact believe that voting is a "responsibility" rather than a simple "right" Unfortunately, I see far to many out on main street USA that prefer to simply condemn the system, refuse to participate, then whine when we endure things like the Nixon Administration, Reagan Administration, Bush I, and Bush II.

Obama has accomplished amazing things in the past almost 3 years -- but even the left won't give the man a break. I look at these threads and am absolutely appalled, the absolute left is every bit as ugly and irrational as the far right has been. I find far more fault with the left because I expect better of them than I do of the right. I realize that it is my own weak mindedness to expect human beings to behave better, but I used to have this fantasy the progressives were kinder, concerned with the welfare of their neighbors, and more open-minded.

And do you believe that these postings reveal we are all imperfect and that is disturbing to you? None of us is perfect and none of us can do everything perfectly. These are facts of the human condition. It would be nice if everyone could meet our expectations, but sometimes we also have to be willing to look at what we expect and determine if we are being "reasonable"?

Actually not, these postings are exactly what I have learned to expect of the American Citizenry. Everyone has their own agenda and are completely unwilling to work with others for the greater good of the most. If one compromises that violates their "principles" every issue has its own dogma and I don't see the people being willing to come together. Humans are animals who pursue their own self interest -- whatever that may be, and reasonable is not a part of the American culture.

Ah, haven't paid enough attention to your chimp studies have you? We are "social" animals and live in packs. We pursue common interests as decided by the alphas. The diff betwn US and our cousins is that we evolved a bigger brain and we occasionally even try to use it. ;-)

I guess you and I simply must agree to disagree. I don't believe that calling the opposition filthy names or impugning their intelligence or values advances ones cause. Somehow the GOP has managed to learn to do exactly that very effectively, but they will walk in lockstep; whereas Dems, progressives, liberals, and the independent left will never walk in lockstep. From my observations over a goodly number of years, the center, to the center-left, to the far-left will turn away from the ugliness sooner rather than later. However, there is not the time for people to come to their senses now. Another GOP administration will be devastating. I simply believe the nastiness and ugly words are counterproductive.

I hope you didn't think I was name calling you in my last screed. I was simply trying to say that we evolved from chimp like creatures and your statement that we act alone and selfishly doesn't hold with many animal lab studies which show empathy in our cousins which we might well emulate. Other than that, it was not my intent to "name call" you and if I did, I apologize most sincerely. I do and have name called, but not in the last note! ;-).

Oh no I apologize, I did not think you were calling names - have actually seen a minimal amount of such on your part. I have be overwrought on occasion and devolved into throwing rocks myself. I am simply extremely concerned that the GOP machine has managed to very slickly make the majority of the populace forget how we got to this point in the first place.

Normally rational, thinking individuals are discounting the successes of President Obama and even when those many things are pointed out they rationalize their objections to the President as the Democrats being just as bad as the GOP. The working class and the poor have endured some real pain over the past 40 years as the GOP rail against them and the center left and left have been lethargic and often uninvolved.

BTW I actually do understand that Humans are pack animals. I just wish the packs would work more in concert -- we are also reasoning animals -- and help each group meet their needs. There are ever so many issues that we can work together on, if we could just stop take a breath and discover that our neighbor is not our enemy.

Well, glad we cleared that up! I do and have name called, I am the perfect example of the imperfect being! ;-) In a way you almost have to give grudging admiration to how well we are kept. By using our innate "fear of the other" to keep US fighting each other while the rich steal the money and then try to force the 99% to come up with the cash from entitlements and tax cuts for the rich is almost like watching a puzzle be put together right before your eyes! The thing that keeps me upbeat is knowing that the brains at OWS all over the world have the superior brains and know how to figure out a way to get our money back and bring the banking/Wall St. business into control! (so, do I stop answering your posts or not? ;-)