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[RDreamer]

I didn't think the narrative about Romney spending money to get ahead had anything to do with him being rich or chastising him for spending it. That really wouldn't make any damned sense at all, since as far as I know he hasn't actually dipped into his own money. I don't think anyone cares if he and his PACs are spending the money they got from donation. We only care about the affects that's having.

And, I thought the "narrative" behind that was really that the republican base doesn't really like Romney all that much, and when they see him talking and on debates he only does ok. He doesn't actually rise in polling that much until money is spent bombarding the airwaves and likely attacking his opponents in his ads. I thought the narrative was more that the guy's campaign comes across well only in an ad and not in a debate or a speech.

I wish some of gaf's more idiotic mouth breathers would realize this. We NEED two functioning parties to create at least some semblance of balance. The republican party going full retard may be good for my side, but it has appalling consequences for democracy.

Does anyone actually want them to go full retard for a while? Most of the posts I've seen, including mine, only want them to go full retard this one time so that they can crash and burn and learn why they're becoming irrelevant. Maybe then they can and will reinvent themselves into a party that actually has some good opposing ideas and creates good political discourse.

 

[Chichikov]

No. The reality is that 2 million dollars is not a lot in a statewide political campaign.

In fact, it's the same amount Mitt spent in 2008.

In 2008, Obama spent 4.4 million dollars in the hotly-contested Ohio race. A race that was just as critical to him as Michigan is to Romney this season.

You're comparing a singly weekly TV ad buy to the total amount spent on a primary.
2 million a week sit comfortably in the high end of the spectrum of political spending.

 

[Lord_Byron28]

Obama's entire election campaign just needs to be clips like these. He doesn't even have to say a word and people will stay home rather than vote for Romney.

Exactly what I was thinking. Even though this is a Ron Paul 2012 ad, I think this youtube clip highlights a lot of the major issues he has flip-flopped on as well as some other issues that the general public will have with him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQwrB1vu74c&feature=related

 

[ToxicAdam]

You're comparing a singly weekly TV ad buy to the total amount spent on a primary.
2 million a week sit comfortably in the high end of the spectrum of political spending.

I've been around a few primary seasons and know that the vast majority of money spent on television is right before the election. So, if 4.4 million dollars was spent in Ohio on ad buys, over 90 percent of that was in the week leading up to the election.

It was the same amount that Mitt spent in Michigan (in '08) over a 4 day period.

It is not unusual nor extraordinary. At least not in today's horrific political climate.

 

[Aaron Strife]

If that happens, the Republican candidates are going to have to double down on the crazy just to look relevant. You can't go around saying that Obama made the country worse, and everything is doom and gloom when everyone is feeling optimistic and feeling that we turned a corner.

I just watched an Obama speech where he was addressing a group of union workers. I think it might have been the UAW. Anyway, the guy is all about optimism and setting out bold initiatives for the future. It just makes you feel good as an American. Contrast that with a Republican stump speech that pretty much says that if Obama gets re-elected, Skynet goes online and we're all doomed. I just don't see that resonating with a lot of people beyond the hard core Obama-haters.

One problem with the GOP is living in a bubble where everyone hates Obama, and they're surprised that the country is evenly split on him at worst. Right now most pollsters (save for the daily tracking polls, which are weird) have him above 50, which is generally where the incumbent president wants to be going into re-election.

Romney's a funny little bastard. I used to believe Santorum would actually perform better than Romney in the GE, but since he's running his campaign on college students being snobs, it's all good. Either one will get their ass kicked. If there's a brokered convention, I could see Romney-Santorum as the ticket, with Ron Paul splitting to run as an independent.

Random little tidbit: Bob Kerrey, who is (or isn't?) running for his old post, coined the phrase "Santorum is Latin for asshole." I'm sure that'll get plenty of attention in NE if Santorum is on the ticket.

 

[Manmademan]

One problem with the GOP is living in a bubble where everyone hates Obama, and they're surprised that the country is evenly split on him at worst. Right now most pollsters (save for the daily tracking polls, which are weird) have him above 50, which is generally where the incumbent president wants to be going into re-election.

Romney's a funny little bastard. I used to believe Santorum would actually perform better than Romney in the GE, but since he's running his campaign on college students being snobs, it's all good. Either one will get their ass kicked. If there's a brokered convention, I could see Romney-Santorum as the ticket, with Ron Paul splitting to run as an independent.

Random little tidbit: Bob Kerrey, who is (or isn't?) running for his old post, coined the phrase "Santorum is Latin for asshole." I'm sure that'll get plenty of attention in NE if Santorum is on the ticket.

what on earth would make you think this?!

 

[PhoenixDark]

The problem with TA's argument is that this isn't Obama v Hillary. Obama may have been outspending and outraising Hillary but the fact remains she raised a ton of money, had the best name recognition in the race, and was a well known quantity. Romney is being forced to heavily spend not only to win his home state, but to beat a fringe candidate most people in both parties agree is unelectable. It's impossible to deny this is a sign of weakness.

Santorum still isn't raising money, he has no establishment support, and his PAC is spending less than a million dollars in Michigan. And yet he's within striking distance of the de-facto front runner/favorite. There is no comparison here between Obama or Hillary and this; as your link points out, Hillary still managed to raise $30m in a month at this point, and still a competitive amount even compared to Obama's $55m.

Show me an example of someone having to spend large amounts of money to close the deal in their home state.

 

[markatisu]

what on earth would make you think this?!

Probably because at that point nobody had paid attention to what Santorum actually says LOL

 

[RoninChaos]

Can somebody explain to me how saying you don't want kids to be educated became a point of pride that would get some one votes?

 

[benjipwns]

Probably because at that point nobody had paid attention to what Santorum actually says LOL

And he will collapse in the polls when this happens.

I don't get the people who think Obama isn't going to win.

Outside of some obscure event.

 

[PantherLotus]

Good post from PD. I like the point that Hillary was a legitimate, mainstream candidate that Obama had to overcome. Unlike Santorum, which Romney has a very realistic shot of losing to in a state he should carry no questions asked.

 

[Aaron Strife]

what on earth would make you think this?!

I thought he was more genuine than Romney. Which he is. Too bad that makes him say crazy shit all the time.

Who likes recalls

Scott Walker approval 47
Disapproval 52

Recall yes 49
Recall no 49

Barrett 49
Walker 46

Falk 48
Walker 47

Feingold 52
Walker 45

LaFollette 45
Walker 46

Damn shame that Feingold's not interested in running, as he'd easily be the strongest. Still, Barrett, LaFollette, and Falk are no worse than toss-ups, and if Democrats can boot Walker and nab one of the Senate seats, that says a lot for Democrats in Wisconsin and how little the 2010 wave really meant, practically speaking.

Wonder if Walker's approvals have anything to do with the rest of the country recovering while Wisconsin is actually losing jobs.

 

[Miletius]

The narrative that it's his home state is largely self and media imposed. Fact of the matter is that Romney could have shed that a long time ago if he wanted to but until recently Michigan (and the rest of his nomination) was a forgone conclusion. The demographics have changed in Michigan by an immutable amount since he was in any way, shape, or form relevant. Problem is, the real place where his politics were relevant is a lock for Democrats, so he needed another place to plant his flag.

Romney has a Midwest and South problem. Before the race started, he had the same problem. He should have kept to the message that he was always going to have this problem and he'd be just fine now. It's his own campaign and the media that have allowed this to balloon into what it is -- a potential disaster.

 

[markatisu]

Can somebody explain to me how saying you don't want kids to be educated became a point of pride that would get some one votes?

Its a point of pride to those that think education does not teach anything worthwhile or a "liberal" agenda, its a very fringe notion

I see it from time to time at the Community College I work at, since we get a lot of people who are in the "blue-collar" workforce and never had much formal education but come here to get job training or think its time to get an education and do not understand how it actually works.

 

[Manmademan]

I thought he was more genuine than Romney. Which he is. Too bad that makes him say crazy shit all the time.

this is exactly what makes him unelectable. Santorum has some fairly strong and controversial opionions and will not edit himself or dial it back.

this plays VERY well with evangelicals and strong conservatives, but would turn OFF independents in record numbers.

Santorum in the general would get obliterated to Mondale-esque levels.

I see it from time to time at the Community College I work at, since we get a lot of people who are in the "blue-collar" workforce and never had much formal education but come here to get job training or think its time to get an education and do not understand how it actually works.

I have a few "blue collar" associates left over from the neighborhood, that tend to refer to any advanced degree as "just a piece of paper" that doesn't represent anything. Apparently they assume a BS or BA is just like a high school degree where they hand them out just for showing up, and don't understand why an employer might prefer one for a job position.

 

[PantherLotus]

Don't forget that Romney kinda made Michigan an all-or-nothing state when he shrugged off concerns about Santorum, saying, "that won't happen."

 

[Manmademan]

Don't forget that Romney kinda made Michigan an all-or-nothing state when he shrugged off concerns about Santorum, saying, "that won't happen."

Or, you could look at it this way-

Romney himself created the narrative of Michigan as his "home state" in order to increase his appeal there- I can't imagine why, since he doesn't live there, wasn't governor there- and he's much more closely associated with New England by now.

Unfortunately in doing so, he turned Michigan into a "must win" state. So now the narrative is out there, and it's seriously going to bite him in the ass if he doesn't win- even a close win is going to look bad.

On the flip side, I see Santorum playing down Pennsylvania as his "home state" when that primary rolls around, since it's very likely he's going to do poorly here and it will only hurt him.

 

[Angry Fork]

Anyone make a topic on this or are talking about it?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/...ourt-shell-kiobel-human-rights_n_1306825.html

This country is so fucking sad I really don't understand. Is it at all possible in the future that the citizens united case will be changed/done away with? This is scary.

 

[LilZippa]

Can somebody explain to me how saying you don't want kids to be educated became a point of pride that would get some one votes?

I think this is a odd feature of the working class without degrees. My father has quite a negative view of college educated idiots (his words), but pressed for me to pursue college. I'm not sure how to handle conversations when he starts talking about the damn know nothing engineers when that is my profession. He always tells me that I have more hands on experience then these guys, but I'm sure the assemblers I work with would say the same thing about me.

I would assume that it has to do with the disparity it creates between where you come from and where you are heading. I would say that I changed drastically during my college years, but not directly from the classes I took. It is a time where your previous view on things is challenged every day. Some people harden others listen and change on their own.

It comes down to a poor association between the a shift in world view and where they are when they do it.

Edit:
Realized I kinda got on a tangent. If religious parents think they will only get a socially liberal child returning to them after college then college is a indoctrination facility. It is a social issue for the most part I think.

 

[hydragonwarrior]

I'm following this on Huffington right now - this election is so HILARIOUS!

 

[GhaleonEB]

The problem with TA's argument is that this isn't Obama v Hillary. Obama may have been outspending and outraising Hillary but the fact remains she raised a ton of money, had the best name recognition in the race, and was a well known quantity. Romney is being forced to heavily spend not only to win his home state, but to beat a fringe candidate most people in both parties agree is unelectable. It's impossible to deny this is a sign of weakness.

Santorum still isn't raising money, he has no establishment support, and his PAC is spending less than a million dollars in Michigan. And yet he's within striking distance of the de-facto front runner/favorite. There is no comparison here between Obama or Hillary and this; as your link points out, Hillary still managed to raise $30m in a month at this point, and still a competitive amount even compared to Obama's $55m.

Show me an example of someone having to spend large amounts of money to close the deal in their home state.

Yes, this is the crux of it. Well said.

 

[Tim-E]

With HBO making a movie about McCain's campaign I hope they can find it in their heart to make a movie about this primary. A comedy classic.

 

[Zzoram]

Uneducated people talk down about educated people as a defense mechanism, because what educated vs uneducated implies is that the educated person is smarter than them and they don't want to feel stupid. Also, by pretending that educated people have no "common sense" they can feel good about ignoring expert advice or analysis whenever they don't like what they hear.

The problem is, people with degrees ARE on average smarter than people without degrees, and typically DO know better on a host of subjects because they make their decisions and recommendations based on studies instead of gut feelings.

 

[PantherLotus]

With HBO making a movie about McCain's campaign I hope they can find it in their heart to make a movie about this primary. A comedy classic.

This reminds me, while watching the Oscars the other night, I noticed that Meryl Streep would make a perfect contemporary Hillary. She'd barely have to change her voice, just a touch more nasal.

 

[Jackpot]

whoosh

Your responses to him don't seem to have any detail at all.

 

[Tim-E]

This reminds me, while watching the Oscars the other night, I noticed that Meryl Streep would make a perfect contemporary Hillary. She'd barely have to change her voice, just a touch more nasal.

As long as Fred Armisen doesn't play Obama, I'm down.

 

[BotoxAgent]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lT1516iJ57U#!

campaign Obama is da best Obama

 

[PantherLotus]

^ Indeed.

As long as Fred Armisen doesn't play Obama, I'm down.

If there's a bigger shame in modern comedy, it's that Armisen is the best Obama impersonator we have. We desperately need a Darrell Hammond-type to take the Obama reins at SNL after he's reelected.

 

[Tim-E]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lT1516iJ57U#!

campaign Obama is da best Obama

Romney wishes he could get a crowd that into one of his wooden speeches. I love it.

 

[markatisu]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lT1516iJ57U#!

campaign Obama is da best Obama

Yup compare that to Romneybot and it should be instantly understandable that Romney's problems are just beginning

 

[Angry Fork]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lT1516iJ57U#!

campaign Obama is da best Obama

I wish I could believe him. He says the right things when he wants to but when it comes to action... no bank investigations lol.

Also yea this basically proves why Romney isn't winning shit imo, and if Santorum gets the nomination rofl. It would be a massacre. I really hope Santorum gets the nomination just to see the astronomical damage it would do to the republican party.

 

[PantherLotus]

Romney wishes he could get a crowd that into one of his wooden speeches. I love it.

He should just say what he means, but louder.

CORPORATIONS ARE PEOPLE, MY FRIEND!

 

[Tim-E]

And people thought democrat enthusiasm would be a problem. lol
A few speeches from him and a better look at some of the good things he's done and they'll be back in line. Republicans being staunchly anti-immigrant and anti-union are also firing up two of the democrat's strongest bases. Meanwhile enthusiasm in the GOP is living off the back of wanting nothing but to put someone other than Obama in office, but when their candidate is Mitt Romney it's obvious that they are struggling to get excited. Couple this with the fact that the economy is getting better, the War in Iraq is over, Osama bin Laden is dead, DADT is over, the Affordable Care Act, etc. I don't see the democrats staying home this year.

 

[thatbox]

And people thought democrat enthusiasm would be a problem. lol
A few speeches from him and a better look at some of the good things he's done and they'll be back in line. Republicans being staunchly anti-immigrant and anti-union are also firing up two of the democrat's strongest bases. Meanwhile enthusiasm in the GOP is living off the back of wanting nothing but to put someone other than Obama in office, but when their candidate is Mitt Romney it's obvious that they are struggling to get excited. Couple this with the fact that the economy is getting better, the War in Iraq is over, Osama bin Laden is dead, DADT is over, the Affordable Care Act, etc. I don't see the democrats staying home this year.

Three of those four things are also reasons for the GOP to turn out to vote the opposite way.

 

[Mac_Lane]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lT1516iJ57U#!

campaign Obama is da best Obama

Damn he's good. Whoever gets the republican nomination stands no chance at all come November.

 

[Rocket Scientist]

No bank investigations lol.

Come on. Like two weeks after the news about one of those AG's finally being able to start a proper investigation? We can talk about its future effectiveness of course, but at least there's some kind of start now.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Talking very loud=impressive speaking? The southern black preacher cadence also alienates whites, especially blue collar workers.

Romney may not stir the heart with his speeches, but he sparks the brain with substance over flash. This election will be about the economy, not who reads aloud better.

 

[Particle Physicist]

Good post from PD. I like the point that Hillary was a legitimate, mainstream candidate that Obama had to overcome. Unlike Santorum, which Romney has a very realistic shot of losing to in a state he should carry no questions asked.

Exactly, Hillary was the 'inevitable' nominee when the primary began, huge name recognition, well liked amung the party, and backed by some big name donors. You can't seriously compare her to Santorum.

 

[Tim-E]

Three of those four things are also reasons for the GOP to turn out to vote the opposite way.

Anyone voting against those particular items would never vote for Obama to begin with. Obama doesn't need to appeal to republicans. He has several different electoral paths to a win that I don't think he'll have much trouble securing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7Y-Q9ZY5Ao

Talking very loud=impressive speaking? The southern black preacher cadence also alienates whites, especially blue collar workers.

He's giving this speech to blue collar union workers, who are cheering rather loudly for him.

Romney may not stir the heart with his speeches, but he sparks the brain with substance over flash. This election will be about the economy, not who reads aloud better.

LOL

 

[Wolfgunblood Garopa]

Talking very loud=impressive speaking? The southern black preacher cadence also alienates whites, especially blue collar workers.

Romney may not stir the heart with his speeches, but he sparks the brain with substance over flash. This election will be about the economy, not who reads aloud better.

Seriously?

 

[The Librarian]

Talking very loud=impressive speaking? The southern black preacher cadence also alienates whites, especially blue collar workers.

Romney may not stir the heart with his speeches, but he sparks the brain with substance over flash. This election will be about the economy, not who reads aloud better.

You're trying too hard.

 

[Joe Shlabotnik]

Obama is like the Inigo Montoya of campaigning. You forget that most of the time he's just fighting left-handed.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Talking very loud=impressive speaking? The southern black preacher cadence also alienates whites, especially blue collar workers.

Romney may not stir the heart with his speeches, but he sparks the brain with substance over flash. This election will be about the economy, not who reads aloud better.

I get the self parody, but dude. You gotta do better than that if you're going to roll this way through the general.

 

[Manmademan]

Talking very loud=impressive speaking? The southern black preacher cadence also alienates whites, especially blue collar workers.

Romney may not stir the heart with his speeches, but he sparks the brain with substance over flash. This election will be about the economy, not who reads aloud better.

unfortunately, Romney is running for the nomination of a party who feels that Sarah Palin is an appropriate candidate for Vice President of the United States.

 

[PantherLotus]

Talking very loud=impressive speaking? The southern black preacher cadence also alienates whites, especially blue collar workers.

Romney may not stir the heart with his speeches, but he sparks the brain with substance over flash. This election will be about the economy, not who reads aloud better.

You're doing this on purpose, aren't you? You'll regret it in about 20-30 years when your kids ask you about the time period.

 

[MrGame&Watch]

I'm too lazy to look back in the thread, but anyone post this 1984 Rick Santorum ad?

It's sexy


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3bYBkGgRCE&feature=player_embedded

 

[PhoenixDark]

Can't I make a troll post on my lunch break, jeez

 

[RustyNails]

Talking very loud=impressive speaking? The southern black preacher cadence also alienates whites, especially blue collar workers.

Romney may not stir the heart with his speeches, but he sparks the brain with substance over flash. This election will be about the economy, not who reads aloud better.

You need a good two month ban

 

[Joe Shlabotnik]

Talking very loud=impressive speaking? The southern black preacher cadence also alienates whites, especially blue collar workers.

Haha, yeah it sure alienated the shit out of everybody in 2008. He barely reached 360 electoral votes!

 

[Particle Physicist]

Its a point of pride to those that think education does not teach anything worthwhile or a "liberal" agenda, its a very fringe notion

I see it from time to time at the Community College I work at, since we get a lot of people who are in the "blue-collar" workforce and never had much formal education but come here to get job training or think its time to get an education and do not understand how it actually works.

It's so stupid. My grandfather never went to school. Worked since he was 13, taught himself 3 languages fluently, was incredibly well read and knowledgable about history and politics... Though not rich, he was the very definition of a self made man... And he was incredibly proud that he was able to support my mom through school and college. It boggles my mind that there is a recent push against education by certain subsets in this country. It's baffling really.