[cherdano]

 mikeh, on 2012-February-01, 22:02, said:

I heard the full quote, and the characterization placed on it by those attacking him is a distortion....

It's certainly been taken out of context - but still: if you are concerned with the fact that 21% of all children grow up below the poverty line, if you have some empathy for those that live in unsafe neighborhoods, whose children go to bad schools - then you would at least use different language.

And the quote in context is still quite odd: they don't need to worry, "We have a safety net there. If it needs a repair, I’ll fix it." The full context is that Romney's policy agenda explicitly or implicitly includes drastic cuts to the same safety net. ("will immediately cap spending at 20% of GDP" while increasing defense spending is pretty much all you need to know about this.)

[onoway]

 mikeh, on 2012-February-01, 22:02, said:

I know...it's easy to be a critic from afar and I surely don't claim that canadians wouldn't be as bad if we were americans.

I certainly don't think that Canadians have any cause to point fingers at the U.S. At least when they had a President clearly doing wrong they could get rid of him whereas we were stuck with a Prime Minister who was running at what, 2% approval from the public? That was when I lost any sense of "our system works better".

People here are just as likely to vote the party their daddy always did just as much as they are in the States. People here can still be spooked by labels and are just as afraid of anything they're not familiar with and so just as likely to figure the devil you think you know is better than the devil you don't. They're just as likely to vote in whoever tells them what they want to hear even though if pressed a little they admit they don't believe a word of any of it.

It was interesting to me how many people here were rabid supporters of Obama and said something along the lines of; if he can pull it off in the States maybe it isn't too late for us to look for effective change here.

Our government is just as much out of control as any other you might care to name, really, it's only that Harper hasn't really flexed muscles very much yet. Canada's not at all the free country that it used to be and that people believe it still to be. It's just that we haven't had the full weight of just how much we have lost since the Mulronney years laid on us yet.

[BunnyGo]

 mikeh, on 2012-February-01, 22:02, said:

I heard the full quote, and the characterization placed on it by those attacking him is a distortion

The amazing thing is that the full quote is about as far from true conservative values as you get. The point isn't that we need not worry about the poor because there's a safety net. The safety net should be there and be temporary so that the unfortunate can get back to work. I think that's likely to lose him conservative votes. The out of context (or in context) phrase is more likely to lose him liberal votes.

[BunnyGo]

Here's a columnist (humorously) go through the entire quote.

http://www.nytimes.c...s-oh-no.html?hp

[phil_20686]

 onoway, on 2012-February-01, 23:48, said:

I certainly don't think that Canadians have any cause to point fingers at the U.S. At least when they had a President clearly doing wrong they could get rid of him whereas we were stuck with a Prime Minister who was running at what, 2% approval from the public? That was when I lost any sense of "our system works better".

People here are just as likely to vote the party their daddy always did just as much as they are in the States. People here can still be spooked by labels and are just as afraid of anything they're not familiar with and so just as likely to figure the devil you think you know is better than the devil you don't. They're just as likely to vote in whoever tells them what they want to hear even though if pressed a little they admit they don't believe a word of any of it.

It was interesting to me how many people here were rabid supporters of Obama and said something along the lines of; if he can pull it off in the States maybe it isn't too late for us to look for effective change here.

Our government is just as much out of control as any other you might care to name, really, it's only that Harper hasn't really flexed muscles very much yet. Canada's not at all the free country that it used to be and that people believe it still to be. It's just that we haven't had the full weight of just how much we have lost since the Mulronney years laid on us yet.

I think many of the ex-british colonies have a somewhat mor sensible attitude to free speech than Americans. For example, the UK has the Press Complaints Commission. Which, among other things, has the power to fine political parties if they significantly distort the position of their opposition in the media. Now its not that the PCC is a great institution, but your politicians seem to run attack adds that are essentially complete fabrication in a way that is just not tolerated in the UK, and in many of the British-modelled democracies. Moreover, even to admit the power to fine a political party for statements about the opposition which are "significantly misleading" represents a totally different view of how freedom of speech is integrated into a political economy. I think this is much of the reason that our political discourse is somewhat more reasonable than america's. That, and the BBC.

[kenberg]

 BunnyGo, on 2012-February-02, 00:49, said:

Here's a columnist (humorously) go through the entire quote.

http://www.nytimes.c...s-oh-no.html?hp

Humorous yes, but like all good humor it appears to be pretty much on point.


My take on Romney is that he may well be directing his campaign toward me, a middle-class retiree, but he is doing so because that's where the votes are. What he would actually do is a total crapshoot, unrelated to how he directs his campaign. True of them all, of course, but more so than with most I get the idea that Romney has set exactly one item on his agenda. Become president.

Btw, I did not at all take exception to the comments of mikeh about our electoral mess. A mess it is. The possibility that Canadians might have a mess of their own is no comfort. Rightly or wrongly I do think that Republicans are more attracted to this scorched earth approach to campaigning than Democrats are, but I am not up for giving cheers to anyone.

[Winstonm]

Quote

My take on Romney is that he may well be directing his campaign toward me

Well, one thing is a cinch - his campaign is not targeting the very poor.

[y66]

"The Big Game"

[y66]

Deleted - embedded link expired

[PassedOut]

US politicians who bash Europe to pry votes from ignorant citizens really disgust me. So it was good to read Martin Klingst's piece in the Post yesterday: The GOP’s ‘Europe’ is a land of make-believe

Quote

Europe is the European Union, a modern entity of 27 democratic countries that, despite many commonalities, greatly differ in history, culture, language, sociology and politics. Europe is difficult to comprehend, but viewing it through a single lens is like calling the United States a Third World nation because there are very poor areas in the South where some people live in shacks or have little access to health care or where some schools are corridors of shame.

Romney lived in France, so knows full well that his comparisons are false. The French have a better healthcare system than the US at half the cost, but Romney says that he wants to reverse even the small steps the US government has taken to fix the healthcare system, on the grounds that those steps infringe on the right of free lunchers to sponge off of responsible citizens.

I suspect that Romney -- unlike his opponents -- doesn't really want to do that, but he is willing to say so to appeal to the droolers in his base. Romney's appeal to me, sad to say, is that I don't really believe that he is as bad as he claims to be.

[kenberg]

 PassedOut, on 2012-February-04, 14:01, said:

I suspect that Romney -- unlike his opponents -- doesn't really want to do that, but he is willing to say so to appeal to the droolers in his base. Romney's appeal to me, sad to say, is that I don't really believe that he is as bad as he claims to be.

Apparently the right wing is also deeply concerned with the possibility that Romney is actually sane, as much as he tries to convince them otherwise. What's a guy to do?

[PassedOut]

 kenberg, on 2012-February-04, 17:27, said:

Apparently the right wing is also deeply concerned with the possibility that Romney is actually sane, as much as he tries to convince them otherwise. What's a guy to do?

Yeah. I disagree with partisans who want the republicans to pick a scary candidate on the grounds that Obama will then surely win. You never know. I want a steady hand on the wheel even when I disagree with a president's policies (as I always do, although the magnitude varies).

In the meantime, Newt Gingrich Channels Michele Bachmann

Quote

On the honky-tonk’s stage, Gingrich kept the ideas coming: He listed at least six orders he would sign on his first day as president, undoing legislation on health care and financial regulation, and moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

He said he could bring back $2 per-gallon gas.

And Michele's mom is right there cheering Newt on.

[Winstonm]

 PassedOut, on 2012-February-05, 09:04, said:

Yeah. I disagree with partisans who want the republicans to pick a scary candidate on the grounds that Obama will then surely win. You never know. I want a steady hand on the wheel even when I disagree with a president's policies (as I always do, although the magnitude varies).

In the meantime, Newt Gingrich Channels Michele Bachmann


And Michele's mom is right there cheering Newt on.

What is truly frightening is Newt is considered "the smart one".

[y66]

Truthfulness, emotional intelligence and conversational versatility are obviously not Romney's forte. I confess, the more I read about him, the more I like him. Just because a guy sucks as a presidential candidate doesn't mean he can't be a good guy in other ways.

[Winstonm]

GOP Introduces New "Mystery Candidate" With Paper Bag Over Head

[Winstonm]

I have a strong suspicion that beneath that paper sack this guy is the "Unknown Candidate".

Quote

Republican House Rep. John Fleming of Louisiana has made himself the target of online ridicule after confusing a spoof article about Planned Parenthood as a factual news report, according to Politico.

[P_Marlowe]

 onoway, on 2012-February-01, 23:48, said:

I certainly don't think that Canadians have any cause to point fingers at the U.S. At least when they had a President clearly doing wrong they could get rid of him whereas we were stuck with a Prime Minister who was running at what, 2% approval from the public? That was when I lost any sense of "our system works better".

Approval rates are a bad measurement.

In my opinion the US systems works so "well" due to the huge influence of approval
ratings have on day to day politics, and long term politics.
It is not much different here in Germany, but I prefer to think it is, ... at least
partial.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[y66]

Just watched Margaret Warner interview Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti on PBS. That guy speaks more clearly and credibly in the English language than any of the Republican candidates. I guess that's not much of a compliment.

[Winstonm]

Breaking News: Rick Santorum wins Missouri's promise that they will "cast electoral votes for whomever the hell they please"

[kenberg]

I had missed this:
http://www.nybooks.c...rd-mitt-romney/

It may be of interest to people like me who lack extensive knowledge of the candidates. The review is hardly the last word, but I thought it a reasonable starting point for thinking about the probable GOP candidate.