President Mitt Romney


Peter

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I thought about putting this on the “Evil” thread but a current events thread may be better. If for no other reason, everyone should subscribe for Robert Tracinski's links to news stories.

Peter

TIA Daily • January 3, 2012

COMMENTARY

. . . . Of course, a final American showdown with Iran has been "looming" for, well, for three decades, ever since they took our embassy staff hostage back in 1979. But the Iranian provocation has been particularly intense in the past few months.

In October, the Obama administration announced that the FBI had disrupted an Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington. But as I noted at the time, this was not just an assassination of a foreign national on our soil. (That's something that the Iranians have done before, and they also have a recent history of whacking Saudi diplomats in other countries.) This plot went much farther. They planned to kill the Saudi ambassador by bombing a busy Washington, DC, restaurant that he frequented, an attack that would have killed dozens of Americans. So this was an Iranian-planned, Iranian-funded terrorist attack on US soil. If that isn't an act of war, then nothing is.

(Incidentally, the usual do-nothing crowd in the foreign policy establishment has tried to dismiss the administration's charges as implausible, but a number of commentators have explained that this plot fits Iran's modus operandi and its overall level of sophistication and rationality, neither of which is particularly high.)

Last month brought an equally important new part of the case against Iran: a federal judge, deciding a civil case against the Iranian government, found that Iran was partly responsible for the 1998 bombing of US embassies in East Africa, the opening salvo of al-Qaeda's war on America. Specifically, Iran sent Hezbollah operatives to teach al-Qaeda how to build car bombs.

But this news—Judge Bates's ruling was released on November 28—disappeared practically without a sound. That is the fate that tends to befall facts which no one wants to acknowledge, because those facts would imply the need for actions that no one wants to take.

Thus, in reaction to the DC bombing plot, the Obama administration planned no military action, vowing only to "isolate" Iran diplomatically. I'll venture to guess that the Iranian leadership already took that into account when they approved this plot, and it didn't exactly deter them.

All of this has prompted comparisons to Jimmy Carter's response to Iran, not just by me but by others. Yet the connection to al-Qaeda's early attacks on the US prompts an even more disquieting comparison. This reminds me of the Clinton administration's reaction to the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000. President Clinton offered huffy threats about how the perpetrators would be brought to justice, and then did pretty much nothing, leaving the next move to Osama bin Laden—and we all know what that next move was. Similarly, the feeling I get now is that we're waiting for the other shoe to drop. Having gotten away with this, we have to wonder what the Iranians will be emboldened to do next.

Yet despite President Obama's obvious reluctance, events have been dragging him toward a confrontation. After weeks of dithering, the administration finally moved ahead with sanctions on Iran's central bank, which have begun to squeeze the regime and set off a run on its currency. Iran has responded by threatening to close the Straits of Hormuz, the chokepoint at the mouth of the Persian Gulf through which much of the region's oil travels.

This is the point at which an American president should narrow his eyes, do his best impression of Clint Eastwood, and reply, "Go ahead, punk. Make my day." There is a longstanding doctrine that the United States will not allow any disruption of shipping through the Straits of Hormuz, and if you don't believe President Obama will enforce that doctrine, consider who it is named after: it is called the Carter Doctrine. If Jimmy could stand by it, maybe Obama can, too.

All of this, plus the International Atomic Energy Agency's recent report that Iran has received further assistance on its nuclear weapons program and is on the "threshold" of developing a bomb, has prompted speculation that President Obama could order an attack on Iran this year.

I'll believe it when I see it. There was a lot of speculation about a war with Iran under George Bush back in 2006—I should know, because I was one of the speculators—and that was much more plausible. We know that Bush really wanted to bring down the Iranian regime, while President Obama's diffident reaction to the Green Movement's uprising in 2009 showed his indifference.

Be that as it may, these events have a logic of their own. The Iranian regime should not want a final showdown with America, because they can't win. But the damned fools seem to want it, anyway. So our long standoff with Iran may still come to a head this year, no matter how reluctant our leaders are to face it.—RWT

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It's counter punching time in New Hampshire...can Goody Two Shoe's "leader" chin take a punch?

a new television ad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EApRHZ1WAc

The ad is not a slashing attack similar to the anti-Gingrich ads run by a “super PAC” financed by Mr. Romney’s supporters. But it goes further than any previous effort by Mr. Gingrich, who has been struggling to win over New Hampshire voters, to undercut an opponent.
As quotes critical of Mr. Romney from The Wall Street Journal and Forbes appear on screen, a narrator says: “Romney’s economic plan? Timid. Parts of it virtually identical to Obama’s failed policy. Timid won’t create jobs and timid certainly won’t defeat Barack Obama.

http://thecaucus.blo...akes-on-romney/

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Watch that chin Goody Two Shoes...

MANCHESTER N.H. — On the day Mitt Romney rolled out the endorsement of Senator John McCain of Arizona, a “super PAC” backing Newt Gingrich dug out an

.

The PAC, Winning Our Future, posted a commercial slamming Mr. Romney by using past footage of him offering conflicting positions on issues like abortion, gun control and what it means to be a Republican.
“I will preserve and protect a woman’s right to choose and am devoted and dedicated to honoring my word in that regard,” he says.
But moments later, in another clip, he says: “You can go back to YouTube and look at what I said. I never said I was pro-choice.”
But it’s the kicker to the ad that makes it significant.
“I’m John McCain and I approved this message,” the senator says in the ad, tweaking both Mr. Romney and Mr. McCain on endorsement day.
The two men were never close, and as the ad points out, the 2008 presidential primary campaign got pretty testy, with Mr. McCain accusing Mr. Romney of being a flip-flopper — a charge Mr. Romney is still confronting.
“Mitt Romney’s Flip-Flops Truly Are Masterpieces,” the ad concludes.

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Be that as it may, these events have a logic of their own. The Iranian regime should not want a final showdown with America, because they can't win. But the damned fools seem to want it, anyway. So our long standoff with Iran may still come to a head this year, no matter how reluctant our leaders are to face it.—RWT

Good. If they blockade the Straights of Hormuz we can nuke them with a good conscience. If they want to start a war, let us finish it and them.

Ba'al Chatzaf

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Peter Reidy wrote:

Santorum is bad enough to make Romney look good.

end quote

Ah, the things we say to a Religiously Conservative group. Jeez, did I just say Jeezus Christ to the Jewish lobby? Nothing goes away. Oh, the things we say for votes. Oh no, I’m melting . . .

I just went and filled out Rand Paul’s petition to stop the vote for global, UN rules about limiting small arms, in the Senate. It will have the affect of keeping arms out of the hands of The People. The rogue nations and terrorists will not be affected because they get their arms from Russia, China, North Korea and other outlaw countries.

I just had a fellow come and pick up some scrap metal today that has accumulated on my property for thirty years. I had about one hundred old “lead” pipes that I put in the ground to support sapling apple and peach trees, an old farm disker, an old trailer etc. His eyes lit up when he loaded his truck until the tires nearly sank into the road and he will be back in a month, after calling first, of course, to pick up more. He was a big Obama fan as were most of the black people in his church in 2008, but his support has wavered because of the unemployment rate in his family. He understands capitalism’s edict to get out of the way so jobs can be created. Santorum and Romney are his first two choices. There’s nothing like being self employed and under employed to open your eyes.

Dana Perino, asst press sec for Bush I is saying Huntsman just released an ad in New Hampshire that says, “America is screwed.” She heard him say that in a speech and did not appreciate the phrasing and now Huntsman has compounded the error. The language is a turn off, and his three daughters remind me of the Kardashians.

Peter

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Santorum and Perry will battle it out for the “Not Romney” spot in South Carolina much to Mitt’s relief. Romney came in forth in 2008 in SC with 15 percent of the vote, so strategically he is grateful that Perry has NOT dropped out of the race.

Adam wrote:

It's counter punching time in New Hampshire...can Goody Two Shoe's "leader" chin take a punch?

end quote

That old ad of McCain’s “A Tale of Two Mitts,” is one of the best I have every seen. With the theme to Masterpiece Theater in the background, it is Masterful! Thanks, Adam.

Media and momentum. Winner take all. 7 days between Iowa and New Hampshire. Then much too quickly, South Carolina, and Florida in January, and Super Tuesday in early February. No one has time to initiate a new idea because everything is moving so fast.

Peter

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Ba'al Chatzaf wrote:

Good. If they blockade the Straights of Hormuz we can nuke them with a good conscience. If they want to start a war, let us finish it and them.

end quote

I had your positively destructive mind set when 911 occurred. Israeli’s have that mind set reinforced every week or so. Have you ever shot at anybody, Ba’al. I have. Maybe Brant will chime in. It affects you more than you may realize. From a distance . . . wreaking havoc is easier. Too bad we don’t have a team of Transformer Robots to go into Iran, Ba’al. Nukes is not a good idea unless we are attacked first, a declaration of war is voted on, and then not in a population center. Precision would be needed. Those mountain caves in Afghanistan are a better choice for nukes. You will know it happened, when your TV screen flickers like during a Solar flare.

Peter

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I had your positively destructive mind set when 911 occurred. Israeli’s have that mind set reinforced every week or so. Have you ever shot at anybody, Ba’al. I have. Maybe Brant will chime in. It affects you more than you may realize. From a distance . . . wreaking havoc is easier

Peter

I have killed a person. Accidentally. I was upset by it.

I have also designed weapons that have killed tens of thousands. I am not upset by that.

Hands on killing is not my thing. Remote killing is.

Ba'al Chatzaf

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Holding onto anger is like grasping onto a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else. You are the one who gets burned. - Gautama Buddha

Ba'al Chatzaf wrote:

I have also designed weapons that have killed tens of thousands. I am not upset by that. Hands on killing is not my thing. Remote killing is.

End quote

And I congratulate your intelligence for creating those weapons to defend, truth, justice, and the American Way. One year maximum. We have one year maximum to keep a small, dirty bomb out of the just developed Iranian cruise missile which will be used to destroy Israel. Next, or simultaneously, nukes will be handed out to terrorists or proxies.

The apologists are working overtime to downplay the threat. I heard one say recently that Iran’s current leader did NOT say, “When we have the bomb we will immediately use it to wipe Israel off the map.” No, what he said was JUST quoting the top Mullah before this one who said, “When we have the bomb we will immediately use it to make the Zionist nation a foot note to history.”

Or some such thing, and no one said “wipe Israel off the map.” If we can do it conventionally and cheaply, lets do it.

Peter

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From Rasmussen Reports, Friday, January 06, 2012

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is pulling away from the pack in New Hampshire as Tuesday’s first-in-the-nation primary nears. (Iowa was not a primary - Peter) His nearest rival now trails him by more than 20 points. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Republican Primary Voters in New Hampshire finds Romney earning 42% support. Texas Congressman Ron Paul is a distant second with 18% of the vote, followed by former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, hot off his photo finish with Romney in the Iowa caucuses, at 13%. Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, who has focused his campaign efforts on New Hampshire, captures 12% support.

end quote

I was listening to the sidebar on my computer which has Fox News droning on, so AS I was reading the Rasmussen poll, Mr Rasmussen was saying the numbers above are Hard according to those polled and WILL NOT CHANGE. He thinks Romney’s strategy should be to not alienate those Ron Paul supporters but instead court them.

WHICH IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN DOING, here on Objectivist Living. I look at his recent history and he is acceptable. He will have guidance from a Republican majority in the House and in the Senate, though some speculate the Senate might be a coalition of Republicans and Blue Dog Democrats. We shall see. I think the Senate is winnable, and counting the Blue Dogs there may be 61 percent majority supporting a strict interpretation of the Constitution.

I see Rush is mounting a campaign to keep Romney out, and he is not halfhearted about it, so I will listen to him or watch his podcast later. I must add that Rush does not put Romney into the completely unworthy RINO camp with McCain. Against the conventional wisdom Rush is saying opposition now will train Mitt or some other Tea Party Candidate for the hell to come, and will strengthen them. All according to plan, our country may be saved.

Semper cogitans fidele,

Independent Objectivist

Peter Taylor

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Romney will prevail in the G.O.P. He has the chin of a leader.

Ba'al Chatzaf

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Looks are not everything. A strong chin may not be indicative of the person above and behind the chin. I know there are studies saying taller people make more money and women prefer a man with a strong jaw. Are you ridiculing the election process as a beauty contest?

I just wrote Mitt’s staff to get him to do a phone interview with Rush Limbaugh. Now it is open line Friday but still no Mitt at 1:10. Rush is talking about Stephen Hawking who is paralyzed and who communicates via a “tick” in his cheek, not his chin. Stephen is clueless about women. Fascinating. Perhaps Mr. Hawking should read, “A Brief History of (Females in) Time.

Peter

Definition of CHIN

1 : the lower portion of the face lying below the lower lip and including the prominence of the lower jaw

2 : the surface beneath or between the branches of the lower jaw

chin verb, slang Definition of CHIN to engage in casual or rambling conversation <the kind of work environment in which staffers can knock off early on Friday and chin with the boss> Synonyms babble, blab, cackle, chaffer [British], chatter, chin [slang], converse, gab, gabble, gas, jabber, jaw, kibitz (also kibbitz), natter, palaver, patter, prate, prattle, rap, rattle, run on, schmooze (or shmooze), talk, twitter, visit

Related Words gossip, tattle; descant, discuss, expatiate; yak (also yack), yammer, yap

The Chins are found mainly in western part of Burma (the Chin State) and numbered circa 1.5 million. They also live in nearby Indian states of Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur and Assam. Owing to Mizo influence and Baptist missionaries' intervention, 80%-90% of the population are Christians. However, a sizable minority of the Chin adhere to their traditional tribal beliefs, as well as to Theravada Buddhism.

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Now here I thought the definition of Chin was the guy who runs my local town dry cleaning business!

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Ann Coulter endorses Romney and had a column listing his Conservative Credentials. She also linked to the article below to a guy, who is not a Romney supporter, but is very leery of Rick Santorum.

Peter

Posted by Erick Erickson (Diary)

Friday, January 6th at 12:13PM EST

117 Comments

I’m rather tired of all the people who don’t like Romney trying to claim Rick Santorum is not a big government conservative, or not a pro-life statist. I would support him before I would support Romney too, but I have no intention of giving up ideological and intellectual consistency in the name of beating Mitt Romney.

Rick Santorum is a pro-life statist. He is. You will have to deal with it. He is a big government conservative. Santorum is right on social issues, but has never let his love of social issues stand in the way of the creeping expansion of the welfare state. In fact, he has been complicit in the expansion of the welfare state.

I and some friends, none of us Romney fans, have set about exploring Santorum’s record since Wednesday morning. Here now is a non-exhaustive list of what we have found. It does not even include his support for No Child Left Behind, Medicare Part D, etc.

This is not the record of a man committed to scaling back the welfare state or the nanny state.

NEA

Voted for taxpayer funding of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Voted against a 10% cut in the budget for National Endowment for the Arts.

Bankruptcy

Voted for a Schumer amendment to make the debts of pro-life demonstrators not dischargeable in bankruptcy.

Defense and Foreign Policy

Voted for the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).

Voted against requiring the President to certify that the CWC is effectively verifiable.

Voted against requiring the President to certify that that Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, North Korea, China, and all other countries determined to be state sponsors of terror have joined CWC prior to submitting the instrument of ratification.

Voted for the START II Treaty

Voted to allow the sale of supercomputers to China.

Voted to ban antipersonnel landmines

Voted against increasing defense spending offset by equivalent cuts in non-defense spending.

Voted to require that Federal bureaucrats get the same payraises as uniformed military.

Voted to allow food and medicine sales to state sponsors of terror and tyranical regimes such as Libya and Cuba.

Voted to limit the President’s authority to impose sanctions on nations for reasons of national security unless the sanctions were approved by a multilateral regime.

Voted against requiring Congressional authorization for military action in Bosnia.

Voted to give $25 million in foreign aid to North Korea

Voted to weaken alien terrorist deportation provisions. If the Court determines that the evidence must be withheld for national security reasons, the Justice Department must still provide a summary of the evidence sufficient for the alien terrorist to mount a defense against deportation.

Voted against delaying the India Nuclear until the President certified that India had agreed to suspend military-to-military exchanges with Iran.

Voted against the Conventional Trident Missile Program

Nominations

Voted for Richard Paez to the 9th Curcuit (cloture)

Voted for Sonia Sotomayor, Circuit Judge

Voted for Richard Holbrooke to be Ambassador to the UN

Voted for Margaret Morrow to be District Judge

Voted twice for Marsha Berzon to the 9thg Circuit

Voted for Mary McLaughlin to be District Judge

Voted for Tim Dyk to be District Judge

Voted for James Brady to be District Judge

Labor

Voted against National Right to Work Act

Voted against Real of Davis-Bacon Prevailing union wages

Voted for Alexis Herman to be Secretary of Labor

Voted for mandatory Federal child care funding

Voted for Trade Adjustment Assistance.

Voted for Job Corps funding

Voted twice in support of Fedex Unionization

Voted against allowing a waiver of Davis-Bacon in emergency situations.

Voted for minimum wage increases six times here here here here here and here

Voted to require a union representative on an IRS oversight board.

Voted to exempt IRS union representative from criminal ethics laws.

Voted against creating independent Board of Governors to investigate IRS abuses.

Guns

Voted to require pawn shops to do background checks on people who pawn a gun.

Voted twice to make it illegal to sell a gun without a secure storage or safety device

Voted for a Federal ban on possession of “assault weapons” by those under 18.

Voted for Federal funding for anti-gun education programs in schools.

Voted for anti-gun juvenile justice bill.

Reform

Voted for funding for the legal services corporation.

Voted twice for a Congressional payraise.

Voted to impose a uniform Federal mandate on states to force them to allow convicted rapits, arsonists, drug kingpins, and all other ex-convicts to vote in Federal elections.

Voted for the Specter “backup plan” to allow campaign finance reform to survive if portions of the bill were found unconstitutional.

Voted to mandate discounted broadcast times for politicians.

Voted for a McCain amendment to require State and local campaign committees to report all campaign contributions to the FEC and to require all campaign contributions to be reported to the FEC within 24 hours within 90 days of an election.

Immigration

Voted against increasing the number of immigration investigators

Voted to allow illegal immigrants to receive the earned income credit before becoming citizens

Voted to give SSI benefits to legal aliens.

Voted to give welfare benefits to naturalized citizens without regard to to the earnings of their sponsors.

Voted against hiring an additional 1,000 border partrol agents, paid for by reductions in state grants.

Taxes

Voted against a flat tax.

Voted to increase tobacco taxes to pay for Medicare prescription drugs

Voted to increase tobacco taxes to fund health insurance subsidies for small businesses.

Voted to increase tobacco taxes to pay for an $8 billion increase in child healh insurance.

Voted to increase tobacco taxes to pay for an increase in NIH funding.

Voted twice for internet taxes.

Voted to allow gas tax revenues to be used to subsidize Amtrak.

Voted to strike marriage penalty tax relief and instead provide fines on tobacco companies.

Voted against repealing the Clinton 4.3 cent gas tax increase.

Voted to increase taxes by $2.3 billion to pay for an Amtrak trust fund.

Voted to allow welfare to a minor who had a child out of wedlock and who resided with an adult who was on welfare within the previous two years.

Voted to increase taxes by $9.4 billion to pay for a $9.4 billion increase in student loans.

Voted to say that AMT patch is more important than capital gains and dividend relief.

Welfare

Voted against food stamp reform

Voted against Medicaid reform

Voted against TANF reform

Voted to increase the Social Services Block Grant from $1 billion to $2 billion

Voted to increase the FHA loan from $170,000 to $197,000. Also opposed increasing GNMA guaranty from 6 basis points to 12.

Voted for $2 billion for low income heating assistance.

Waste

Sponsored An amendment to increase Amtrak funds by $550 million

Voted to use HUD funds for the Joslyn Art Museum (NE), the Stand Up for Animals project (RI) and the Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Project (WA)

Voted to increase spending on social programs by $7 billion

Voted to increase NIH funding by $1.6 billion.

Voted to increase NIHnding by $700 million

Voted to for a $2 million earmark to renovate the Vulcan Monument (AL)

Voted for a $1 billion bailout for the steel industry

Voted against requiring that highway earmarks would come out of a state’s highway allocation

Voted to allow Market Access Program funds to go to foreign companies.

Voted to allow OPIC to increase its administrative costs by 50%

Voted against transferring $20 million from Americorps to veterans.

Voted for the $140 billion asbestos compensation bill.

Voted against requiring a uniform medical criteria to ensure asbestos claims were legitimate.

Voted to increase community development programs by $2 billion.

Spending and Entitlements

Voted to make Medicare part B premium subsidies an new entitlement.

Voted against paying off the debt ($5.6 trillion at the time) within 30 years.

Voted to give $18 billion to the IMF.

Voted to raid Social Security instead of using surpluses to pay down the debt.

Health Care

Voted to allow states to impose health care mandates that are stricter than proposed new Federal mandates, but not weaker.

Voted twice for Federal mental health parity mandates in health insurance.

Voted against a allow consumers the option to purchase a plan outside the parity mandate.

Education

Voted to increase Federal funding for teacher testing

Voted to increase spending for the Department of Education by $3.1 billion.

Voted against requiring courts to consider the impact of IDEA awards on a local school district.

Energy

Voted to allow the President to designate certain sites as interim nuclear waste storage sites in the event that he determines that Yucca Mountain is not a suitable site for a permanent waste repository. Those sites are as follows: the nuclear waste site in Hanford, Washington; the Savannah River Site in South Carolina; Barnwell County, South Carolina; and the Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee.

Voted to make fuel price gouging a Federal crime.

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Someone just tweeted Ann Coulter asking her if it were true, she had a thing for black guys. No she said. I have a thing for well armed right wing extremists. Here is the lovely Ann excerpted by bad boy me.

Peter

Meanwhile, everyone knows the nominee is going to be Romney.

That's not so bad if you think the most important issues in this election are defeating Obama and repealing Obamacare.

There may be better ways to stop Obamacare than Romney, but, unfortunately, they're not available right now. (And, by the way, where were you conservative purists when Republicans were nominating Waterboarding-Is-Torture-Jerry-Falwell-Is-an-Agent-of-Intolerance-My-Good-Friend-Teddy-Kennedy-Amnesty-for-Illegals John McCain-Feingold for president?)

Among Romney's positives is the fact that he has a demonstrated ability to trick liberals into voting for him. He was elected governor of Massachusetts -- one of the most liberal states in the union -- by appealing to Democrats, independents and suburban women.

He came close to stopping the greatest calamity to befall this nation since Pearl Harbor by nearly beating Teddy Kennedy in a Senate race. (That is when he said a lot of the things about which he's since "changed his mind.") If he had won, we'd be carving his image on Mount Rushmore.

He is not part of the Washington establishment, so he won't be caught taking money from Freddie Mac or cutting commercials with Nancy Pelosi.

Also, Romney will be the first Republican presidential nominee since Ronald Reagan who can talk. Liberals are going to have to dust off their playbook from 30 years ago to figure out how to run against a Republican who isn't a tongue-tied marble-mouth.

As we've known for years, his negatives are: Romneycare and Mormonism.

We look forward with cheery anticipation to an explosion of news stories on some of the stranger aspects of Mormonism. The articles have already been written, but they're not scheduled for release until the day Romney wraps up the nomination.

Inasmuch as the Democrats' only argument for the big-eared beanpole who's nearly wrecked the country is that you must be a racist if you oppose Obama, one assumes a lot of attention will be lavished on the Mormon Church's historical position on blacks. Church founder Joseph Smith said blacks had the curse of Cain on them and banned blacks from the priesthood, a directive that was not revoked until 1978.

There's no evidence that this was a policy fiercely pushed by Mitt Romney. To the contrary, when his father, George Romney, was governor of Michigan, he was the most pro-civil rights elected official in the entire country, far ahead of any Democrat.

No one is worried Romney will double-cross us on repealing Obamacare. We worry that Romneycare will make it harder for him to get elected.

But, again, Romney is the articulate Republican. He's already explained how mandating health insurance in one particular wealthy, liberal Northeastern state is different from inflicting it on the entire country. Our Constitution establishes a federalist system that allows experimentation with different ideas in the individual states.

As governor, Romney didn't have the ability to change federal laws requiring hospital emergency rooms to treat every illegal alien, drug dealer and vagrant who walked in the door, then sending the bill to taxpayers. (Although David Axelrod, Michelle Obama, Eric Whitaker and Valerie Jarrett did figure out a way to throw poor blacks out of the University of Chicago Medical Center..)

The Heritage Foundation, a leading conservative think tank, supported Romneycare at the time. The biggest warning sign should have been that Gingrich supported it, too.

Most important, Romney has said -- forcefully and repeatedly -- that his first day in office he will issue a 50-state waiver from Obamacare and will then seek a formal repeal.

Romney is not going to get to the White House and announce, "The first thing I'm going to do is implement that fantastic national health care plan signed by my pal, Barack!"

Unlike all other major legislation in the nation's history, Obamacare was narrowly passed along partisan lines by an aberrationally large one-party majority in Congress. (Thanks, McCain supporters!) Not one single Republican in Congress voted for it, not even John McCain.

Obamacare is going to be repealed -- provided only that a Republican wins the next presidential election.

If a Republican does not win, however, it will never be repealed. Recall that, in order to boast about the amazing revenue savings under Obamacare, Democrats had to configure the bill so that the taxes to pay for it start right away, but the goodies don't kick in until 2014.

Once people are thrown off their insurance plans and are forced to depend on the government for "free" health care, Obamacare is here to stay. (And Newt Gingrich will be calling plans to tinker with it "right-wing social engineering.")

Instead of sitting on our thumbs, wishing Ronald Reagan were around, or chasing the latest mechanical rabbit flashed by the media, conservatives ought to start rallying around Romney as the only Republican who has a shot at beating Obama. We'll attack him when he's president.

It's fun to be a purist, but let's put that on hold until Obama and his abominable health care plan are gone, please.

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So do you think Goody Two Shoes wears the "garment" during the debates?

220px-Garment.jpg

magnify-clip.pngPost-1979 two-piece temple garments end just above the knee for both sexes. Women's garments have cap sleeves with either a rounded or sweetheart neckline. Male tops are available in tee-shirt styles.[16]

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Adam wrote:

So do you think Goody Two Shoes wears the "garment" during the debates?

end quote

The picture you supplied, looks like my long underwear. Toasty! At bus stops in St. Paul you will see guys standing there with mittens, and a light jacket, which is fine, except it is 16 below zero.

I had some Mormon friends when I when I was younger. At their urging, I went to their temple in Oahu near Honolulu and another impressive structure on the other side of the same island. I was “snuck in” where I wasn’t supposed to go. I have never met more friendly, and open people. What a great community they inhabit! They ALL were intelligent and happy. How do they do that?

I read some of the Book of Mormon, then I sat down with three young, “elders” and told them I had gotten no revelation and I thought their religion was nice, and perhaps better than other Christian sects, but I would not join their parish. Not a problem with them. One tried to get me to reread it, but the oldest around 25, in the US Navy, and equivalent in rank to a corporal in the army, waved him off. I stayed friends with him.

Every religion is as bad or as good, as the Mormons except perhaps for those Universalist Unitarians. I even discussed with Mormon’s Ayn Rand’s idea that the best religion is that which negatively affects rationality the least. They overwhelmed me with evidence that their “actions” were the most rational of any religion. They don’t drink, swear, smoke or take dope. They believe in education. They try to achieve things in life – they are very productive. They provide for emergencies.

Are they kooks? Are Catholics kooks?

Peter Taylor

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Adam wrote:

So do you think Goody Two Shoes wears the "garment" during the debates?

end quote

The picture you supplied, looks like my long underwear. Toasty! At bus stops in St. Paul you will see guys standing there with mittens, and a light jacket, which is fine, except it is 16 below zero.

I had some Mormon friends when I when I was younger. At their urging, I went to their temple in Oahu near Honolulu and another impressive structure on the other side of the same island. I was “snuck in” where I wasn’t supposed to go. I have never met more friendly, and open people. What a great community they inhabit! They ALL were intelligent and happy. How do they do that?

I read some of the Book of Mormon, then I sat down with three young, “elders” and told them I had gotten no revelation and I thought their religion was nice, and perhaps better than other Christian sects, but I would not join their parish. Not a problem with them. One tried to get me to reread it, but the oldest around 25, in the US Navy, and equivalent in rank to a corporal in the army, waved him off. I stayed friends with him.

Every religion is as bad or as good, as the Mormons except perhaps for those Universalist Unitarians. I even discussed with Mormon’s Ayn Rand’s idea that the best religion is that which negatively affects rationality the least. They overwhelmed me with evidence that their “actions” were the most rational of any religion. They don’t drink, swear, smoke or take dope. They believe in education. They try to achieve things in life – they are very productive. They provide for emergencies.

Are they kooks? Are Catholics kooks?

Peter Taylor

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Are they kooks? Are Catholics kooks?

Peter Taylor

Peter:

I just asked if you thought he would wear the "garment" in the debates. I made no judgment on it and I certainly never called anyone a "kook."

I hope you don't think of religious people as "kooks."

Adam

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Are they kooks? Are Catholics kooks?

Peter Taylor

I just asked if you thought he would wear the "garment" in the debates. I made no judgment on it and I certainly never called anyone a "kook."

I hope you don't think of religious people as "kooks."

I think most religions are kooky. Magic underwear is kooky. Eating the Flesh and Blood of Jayzuz made Incarnate is kooky. Yep.

The sad thing about Rick Santorum (besides the horrible abuse he has received because of his "man on dog" comments) is that he has no clue how to appeal to people that do not want a wet smutty nose like his in their crotches. That is why he could not get to the Senate. He was too stupid to step back and rebrand his religion as Mainstream Pabulum (like Reagan, Clinton, Obama and Romney) and not as kooky Catholic smutfinder. The same thing old Christine McDonnell did not figure out. If you do not want to come off as a religious nutcase, do not speak like a religious nutcase. Do that at church. On the campaign trail shut the fuck up about Gawd and Jayzus, at least keep it to the bare minimum.

Santorum has a hard-on for gays, moreover, very 1953. America has changed. It surely does not want a fuckhead like Santorum to bring back Don't Ask, Don't Tell or any other lawful hypocrisies.

He has a smut-finder mentality -- he cares about what other people do with their genitals. He might be a fine leader in a church, especially since Jayzuz Rools are so freaking important to him. Otherwise he has no broad appeal to America. In Canada, he would definitely be on the kook fringe. Our Prime Minister Stephen Harper has probably exactly similar views, religiously, to Santorum's (and Green Party leader Elizabeth May is a religious lady herself, bless her soul). But Harper wisely keeps his mouth completely shut on religious morality and as PM does not whisper a word about changing things like gay marriage or gay abortion adoption or gay gay this or that. It is over. He is smart enough to know that shit is over. Santorum is, on the other hand, stupid. If you need to understand how stupid he is as a man and as a politician, watch his spectacular fumble on "catholic" questions in New Hampshire. He knows how to appear vastly too interested in things that are not his business. He has not a fucking clue that Liberty in personal, private matters can be a good goal.

And on the other brief of a US president (besides everyone's genitals and churchiness), oh, the World?

Santorum is about as wise to the World as a possum. He has been briefed and briefed and briefed and briefed, but he still can only find Iran on the map. Beyond that he treads water, spits slogans, or plays dead. He would be ground into paste if he tried to debate the World with Obama.

In any case, quick -- name one thing Santorum has ever done (one point if you thought "He wrote a book! Like Obama!"). Now name another. You run out of things and they are not on a list anywhere. I figure he is young enough to have nine more children, homeschool them along with his other spawn, and go all crazy Catholic homeschooling commando on his family and his church. Otherwise .. would you trust the guy to be a Mayor, or even Trailer Park Supervisor?

Which brings the other candidate and the other kooky religion. Luckily, there is a tradition of murky MOR religiosity for Mormons in national office, otherwise Harry Reid would long have been pilloried as a kooky religious nut. But Reid and the other mormos in House and Senate over the years have not been whacked out like Santorum. Other Catholics have got to the Senate, but not by running on Catholic Torture Principles, like Santorum. And no Mormon in congress has done Mormon torture-things to America, nor threatened to.

Obviously the man with the chin did not do Horrible Mormon Things to people in Boston, not in the way Santorum wants to monitor and correct and do Catholic things about reproduction and sex and gaeity and marriage and so on ... but the fact is lots of Mormons have held high public office before and have all acted well within the secular margins of America. If the man with the chin can convince enough voters that he is Tough and Macho and New ... good luck to him. Any attacks on the kookiness of his religion fall back on the atheist's lament: which ones are not kooky, please?

So, you can definitely compare Santorum and Romney presenting their faith. Run both by the Kook Religion detector and only Santorum goes Ping.

What a bunch of losers in the GOP this time out, otherwise. Why didn't they wait until Newt was fatter and richer and older and more sleazy and forgetful and nasty? It makes me think of that Peggy Lee song ...

Edited by william.scherk
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What a bunch of losers in the GOP this time out, otherwise. Why didn't they wait until Newt was fatter and richer and older and more sleazy and forgetful and nasty? It makes me think of that Peggy Lee song ...

That is the greatest song in her repetoire. It ought to be the anthem for people with Asperger's Syndrome.

Ba'al Chatzaf

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New Hampshire Suffolk Poll, January 8th:

Romney 35, Paul 20, Huntsman 11, Gingrich 9, Santorum 8, Perry 1.

South Carolina Rasmussen Poll, January 5th:

Romney 24, Santorum 18, Paul 11, Perry 5, Huntsman 2

No Florida polls are recent but Gingrich was leading substantially in mid – December at 35 with Romney at 28, but until new polls are taken I would say this old one is not valid. Commentators are saying Romney who won Iowa will win New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida. If that occurs, then Romney will sweep the majority of the rest. It may be time for the Tea Party to bite the bullet and at least think of the most likely “Anybody But Mitt” candidate who is the new and improved, Mitt Romney. I am going to donate to a Superpac to make some awesome attack ads against Obama.

Do what Rand did. Read the stuff on their websites, look at their records. Be a scientist about it. Support the best candidate with a chance to win. Anyone on the Republican list is better than Obama. If Obama is elected, HE WILL have a coalition Republican and Blue Dog Democrat Majority in the House and Senate. 2012 and 2013 will be a tumultuous time with deadlock and possible impeachment. The times are too dangerous for that. We need a Republican President guided by Paul Ryan, Rand Paul, and the rest of the Tea Party.

Peter

Here is the schedule:

Jan. 10: New Hampshire

Jan. 21: (Saturday): South Carolina

Jan. 31: Florida

Feb. 4 (Saturday): Nevada (caucus)

Feb. 4-10: Maine (caucus)

Feb. 7: Colorado (caucus), Minnesota (caucus), Missouri (non-delegate primary)

Feb. 28: Arizona, Michigan

March 3: (Saturday): Washington (caucus)

March 6: Super Tuesday -- Alaska (caucus), Georgia, Idaho (caucus), Massachusetts, North Dakota (caucus), Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia (without Perry or Gingrich)

March 6-10: Wyoming (caucus)

March 10 (Saturday): Kansas (caucus), Virgin Islands (caucus)

March 13: Alabama, Hawaii (caucus), Mississippi

March 17 (Saturday): Missouri (GOP caucus to determine convention delegates)

March 20: Illinois

March 24: Louisiana

April 3: District of Columbia, Maryland, Texas, Wisconsin

April 24: Connecticut, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island

May 8: Indiana, North Carolina, West Virginia

May 15: Nebraska, Oregon

May 22: Arkansas, Kentucky

June 5: California, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota

June 26: Utah

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Marita Noon Executive Director of Energy Makes America Great wrote in Town Hall online:

Dear Mitt, we have a problem. . . . . In your 2010 book, No Apology, you state, “I believe that climate change is occurring . . . I also believe that human activity is a contributing factor . . . I believe the world is getting warmer… I believe that humans contribute to that. . . I think it’s important for us to reduce our emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases that may well be significant contributors to the climate change and global warming that you’re seeing.” As recently as six months ago, you still supported this position. Your actions as governor were consistent with your belief, like President Obama’s, that humans are the problem and that government can fix it. Your “no regrets” Climate Protection Plan aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, claiming that such actions would help the economy. You supported cap and trade. You claimed that coal-fueled electricity “

.”

Yes, I know that you did not follow through on your commitment to the “trading of emission credits.” In October 2011, you did back down on your firm “belief” that humans are contributing to global warming. But, you see, it is these revisions that cause angst for Republicans, conservatives, independents, and Tea Party types.

end quote

I would like to see Mitt read "Heaven and Earth, Global Warming, the Missing Science," by Australian geologist and climate expert, Ian Plimer. If mankind were causing global warming, then we would not see simultaneous warming on other planets or moons. But we do. If it warms on Earth, it simultaneously warms on Mars and Jupiter at the same time. The sun is the primary driver of climate change. Mankind has nothing to do with warming or cooling in a climatic sense. I just sent Mitt's site my suggestion.

Peter

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OH NO! There goes the Goody Two Shoes Image!

Mitt Romney Got Arrested

Posted by Erick Erickson (Diary)

Saturday, January 7th at 11:09PM EST

It is such a silly thing, but it plays right into the left-wing attack on Mitt as an out of touch elitist.

All the way back to 1981, Mitt Romney got arrested.

It was no big deal.

Romney’s arrest came in June 1981 when he proceeded to launch his motorboat at Wayland’s Lake Cochituate only moments after a park police officer had told him not to launch the craft or face a $50 fine.

The charges against Romney were dropped several days later and officially dismissed in February 1982 at Natick District Court. At Romney’s request, the judge also agreed to seal the records, making them unavailable for public inspection.

Romney said yesterday that the park ranger had overstepped his authority in arresting him and said the reason the case was dropped was that he had threatened to charge the officer and his agency, then called the Department of Environmental Affairs, with false arrest.

“He did not have the right to arrest me because I was not a disorderly person. This was an obvious case of false arrest,” Romney said. “The officer obviously agreed because he agreed to dropping the case.”

Still, the Obama campaign is rapidly building a John Kerry narrative against Mitt Romney. You and I may think the whole 99% vs the 1% crap is in fact crap, but the average Joe doesn’t like elitists.

And this isn’t the only time Romney has had encounters with law enforcement that got nasty when things didn’t go his way. In 2002 during the Winter Olympics in Utah, Weber County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Terry Shaw claimed that Mitt Romney twice used the . . . wait for it . . . seriously . . . wait for it . . . the F-word while berating Deputy Kodi Taggart of the Weber County Sheriff’s Department. Likewise a traffic volunteer, Shaun Knopp, claimed “asked me who the f___ I was and what the f___ I was doing. We got the Olympics going on we don’t need this s___ down here.” Yeah, that was 2002.

The best thing Romney has going for him in this regard is Barack Obama also being an elitist. Because don’t all elitists yell at the little people like law enforcement officers?

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