You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘2012 Presidential Election’ category.
The Washington Post is just reporting that Santorum is going to announce his withdrawal from the GOP primary today. Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich have not indicated their interest in removing themselves. Some speculate that Santorum plans to team up with Newt so he can be on the first flight to the new American colony on the moon, so that he can teach aliens the ins and outs of safe sex on the moon.
Make no mistake. Sarah Palin would like to be Mitt Romney’s V.P. pick. During her brief appearance on the Today Show, she was asked a direct question by Matt Lauer regarding her thoughts about Mitt Romney’s pick for Vice President.
Matt said:
“When you were plucked from obscurity in 2008, you’d been Alaska’s governor about two years,”
“You didn’t have any real experience on the national stage, and in this era of intense media scrutiny, you took some lumps. You had mixed results, as we all know. Do you think, if Mitt Romney is the nominee, he should choose someone with more experience on the national battlefield than you had at the time?”
Attempting to defend her record Palin said:
“Well, you know, I would put up my record as a CEO of a city, of a state, as an oil and gas regulator, up against any of the other potential GOP vice presidential nominees last go-around,”
Suggesting that she has always been the “victim” of the “mainstream media” Palin said:
“I would say it doesn’t matter if that person has national level experience or not, they’re going to get clobbered by the mainstream media who does not like the conservative message. And it doesn’t matter if that person has been a known commodity to the mainstream, lamestream media or not. The GOP ticket, to tell you the truth, Matt, doesn’t know what’s coming. They don’t know what’s going to hit them in terms of double standards being applied to them and the positions that they hold, and the records that they are running on from, you know, personal family issues to anything else. There will be that double standard applied no matter who it is.”
Mitt Romney served his entire term as Governor of Massachusetts. Palin quit. Romney has a JD/MBA from Harvard. Palin earned a 4 year degree in 5 years from Idaho University in communications. Yet Sarah Palin has the audacity to “advise” Mitt Romney. She said:
“ What I would advise Mitt Romney, or whomever the nominee would be, don’t necessarily play it safe, and do just what the GOP establishment expects them to do. And that is, to get somebody kind of just going along to get along, not willing to go rogue and get up and say that we need relentless, and we need sudden reform of our government to put it back on the side of the people.”
However in case the importance of the choice of Vice President was not clear, Game Change made that clear.
The most telling indication of Palin’s chance of being picked as Romney’s running mate was an interview with John McCain. McCain laughed at the possibility of Romney picking Palin, and warned that Romney should not “rush to judgment” when picking a running mate. Watch McCain laugh at the idea of picking Palin.
If Palin is lucky, Mitt might give her a ride on the top of his car.
Rick Santorum’s Google problems are old news. Some of Mitt Romney’s car problems are old news too. Perhaps the most memorable was the report of Seamus, his Irish Setter, being strapped in his dog carrier to the top of the family station wagon for a 12 hour car ride on interstate highways, traveling at 60 or more miles per hour. The runny brown liquid dripping down the back windshield didn’t seem to phase Mitt, but Tagg, Mitt’s oldest son, thought it was “gross.” After all the kids joined Tagg in voicing their disgust, Romney did what any other “common sense conservative” would do and hosed down the car and the dog, before continuing on his journey. It was an example of what was identified by Fox News as “emotion-free crisis management.” Most reporters who have written about this incident, have suggested that Romney was heartless, and abusive to his family pet. Yet some might suggest that this episode was staged. After all, no Christian Mormon would intentionally torture the family pet. Instead maybe Romney was sending a message to terrorists around the world: “If I’d do this to my family pet, think what I’d do to you!”
The second “car problem” is the sheer number of cars owned by the Romneys. We know Mrs. Romney has at least two Cadillacs. Mitt himself has admitted to owning a Mustang,
and a couple of trucks, although he may no longer own the Dodge.
The more recent “car problem” for Mitt is the car elevator that he plans to install in his California Beach home. The elevator itself is estimated to cost $60,000.00 and the cost of the lobbyist used to expedite the approval of the permit was $20,000.
Contrast Romney’s attitude toward elevators for his cars to installation of elevators for disabled Americans. As Governor of Massachusetts, Romney was hostile to requirements for elevators imposed by the Americans Disabilities Act (ADA). In two items flagged by a Democratic operative, Romney vetoed legislation that would have improved elevators for the disabled. On another occasion, in June 26, 2006, Romney vetoed an improvement project with the price tag of $40,000, with his line item veto, preventing an elevator from being brought into compliance with standards set in the ADA. On that same day Romney vetoed another project to bring another facility into compliance with the ADA.
It is not bothersome to me that Romney is worth Millions of dollars. What bothers me is that Romney has lost touch with the reality of most American families. Just because Mitt can afford an elevator for his cars, doesn’t mean he SHOULD spend that money on such an extravagance. Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart, was worth substantially more than Mitt Romney; Billions rather than Millions. At one time Sam Walton was the richest man in the world. He wore clothes from Walmart and drove a 1979 Ford Half-ton pick up truck because he needed a vehicle in which to haul his dogs.
As a child he helped his mom run a small milk business. Sam describes that “we learned how much hard work it took to get your hands on a dollar, and that when you did, it was worth something.”
Mitt Romney has been described as having created a “ coast-to-coast buffer zone of luxury.” It is not the fact that he can afford the car elevator, it is that he would spend his money on it! How could the President address the economic crisis facing our country if he can’t remember how hard it was to get his hands on a dollar, and what it was worth when he earned it?
Trayvon Martin was murdered on Feb. 26, 2012. For almost a month there was a deafening silence from Newt Gingrich and the other Republican candidates. Not until March 23, 2012, AFTER President Obama made a statement about the tragic loss of a teenage boy, did the Republican candidates comment.Here is the actual statement President Obama gave on March 23rd, in response to the press asking him to comment:
Question: Mr. President, may I ask you about this current case in Florida, very controversial, allegations of lingering racism within our society — the so-called do not — I’m sorry — Stand Your Ground law and the justice in that? Can you comment on the Trayvon Martin case, sir?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I’m the head of the executive branch, and the Attorney General reports to me so I’ve got to be careful about my statements to make sure that we’re not impairing any investigation that’s taking place right now.
But obviously, this is a tragedy. I can only imagine what these parents are going through. And when I think about this boy, I think about my own kids. And I think every parent in America should be able to understand why it is absolutely imperative that we investigate every aspect of this, and that everybody pulls together — federal, state and local — to figure out exactly how this tragedy happened.
So I’m glad that not only is the Justice Department looking into it, I understand now that the governor of the state of Florida has formed a task force to investigate what’s taking place. I think all of us have to do some soul searching to figure out how does something like this happen. And that means that examine the laws and the context for what happened, as well as the specifics of the incident.
But my main message is to the parents of Trayvon Martin. If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon. And I think they are right to expect that all of us as Americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves, and that we’re going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened.
Thank you
As the comments on this blog reveal, most parents reacted to this event thinking about how we would feel if it had been our child who became the target of this murderer. President Obama reacted as a parent too. President Obama asked “everybody” pull together, both federal and state authorities. He mentioned that if he had a son, he’d look like Trayvon. Not once did President Obama say the words “race”, “black”, “African American”, or “prejudice”. Not once did he mention George Zimmerman’s words “they” or “fucking coons.”
Our President is tall and thin. Trayvon was 6 ft. 3” and 140 lbs. Here is a picture of Trayvon Martin.
Here is a picture of a young President Obama.
They do have similar face shapes and eyes. Yet, Newt Gingrich assumed the President was only making a reference to the similarity in his skin color and that of Trayvon Martin. Gingrich called the President’s remarks “disgraceful.” Gingrich went on to say: “Is the president suggesting that if it had been a white who had been shot that would be ok because it didn’t look like him?”
He went on to attack the President to say “just nonsense dividing this country up.” Of course the President did in no way indicate that shooting a white child would be acceptable. Not only did President Obama not say anything designed to divide the country, but in fact he said just the opposite, encouraging everyone to “pull together”. He made no reference to Republicans or Democrats, or even Blacks, Whites, or Hispanics. He didn’t even mention the law his administration enacted to make a hate crime a federal crime, and might be the only way to combat the corruption of the Sanford police department.
It is only Newt Gingrich that made reference to race. It was only Newt Gingrich who used this tragedy for political gain. It was only Newt Gingrich’s comments that were “disgraceful.” When Newt suggested children should work as janitors, this poster conveyed my feelings.
Today I have similar feelings, but the finger is that of a white adult.
The GOP candidates have offered opinions on abortion, contraception, the economy, the price of a gallon of gas, the killing if Osama bin Laden, who should have sex where and when and for what purpose and with whom. Thus it is not surprising that the the Republican candidates would comment on the controversy surrounding the slaughter of Trayvon Martin, and the subsequent cover up by the police. Here is a complete report of each and every comment from each Republican contender:
Mitt Romney: ________________
Rick Santorum: ________________
Newt Gingrich: _________________
Ron Paul:__________________
Sarah Palin isn’t the Governor or a candidate. The shooting occurred on Feb. 26 th, almost a month ago, and Sarah Palin hasn’t Tweeted, written a Facebook post about it, or done an interview on Fox about this tragedy.
Today’s post is by guest blogger Torie.
“No woman wants an abortion as she wants an ice cream cone or a Porsche. She wants an abortion as an animal caught in a trap wants to gnaw off its own leg” – Frederica Mathewes-Green
Having been born well after Griswold v. Connecticut, Eisenstadt v. Baird and Roe v. Wade, Supreme Court decisions which affirmed a Constitutional right to privacy, permitted unmarried women to obtain contraceptives and legalized abortion, I have no first hand knowledge of what life was like for women before these rulings. Sure, I knew that women once used Lysol as birth control and knitting needles for self-induced abortions, but I somehow viewed these as aberrations. I had no appreciation for the immense suffering and desperation women and their families faced during that time, until Rick Santorum’s rise in the Republican primaries and his increasing misogyny.
I had always dismissed Santorum as a serious candidate. I thought given his extreme views on science, homosexuality and women that his campaign would have crashed and burned months ago. I never thought the rights women literally died for would ever truly be taken away. Yes, anti-choice candidates and politicians might propose legislation that would infringe upon those rights, but I could not imagine those rights ceasing to exist. I had to learn about life for women before Griswold and Roe. I needed to understand what life could become for me and the millions of other women should Santorum ever make to the Oval Office.
Below is an excerpt from the book “The Worst of Times” and a graphic description of life before Roe.
I graduated from medical school in 1954. During my medical training, I saw women being treated for septic abortion, and as a resident I took care of lots of them. I have no idea what the real abortion numbers were in those days, but I’m pretty sure we just saw and identified as “abortion patients” the tip of the iceberg–women where something went wrong and they had no private doctor. I suspect that no more than one in five abortions was actually listed as an abortion, maybe even less.
The women on the wards were generally more seriously ill than the private patients. Now, that may be due to their generally inferior health status. They didn’t have the advantages of good nutrition and hygiene. They didn’t get regular health care or any kind of maintenance care. They also tended to be black, and the private patients tended to be white, but this was probably typical of the times. However, it didn’t mean that white women got better abortions. They all got lousy abortions.
The technique of the criminal abortionist wasn’t limited to a catheter or coat hanger. Many of them injected some kind of caustic substance–bleach or something like that–into the uterus. The uterus would contract to get rid of the irritant, but there was a high risk of complications.
Potassium permanganate [a dark purple salt] was another common choice. The abortionist dissolved some of the crystals in water and inserted the solution into the uterus through a syringe or catheter. On the street, women heard that potassium permanganate would work, but they didn’t get all the details of how to use it, and we would see women who would just insert the crystals into the vagina.
By the time these women got to the hospital, they would have terrible burns or even actual holes in the vaginal lining, because the crystals had simply eaten away the tissue. The irony is that placed in the vagina, potassium permanganate didn’t abort the pregnancy, but it sure did a lot of damage to the vagina.
The complications we typically saw on the ward were severe pelvic inflammation and infection, with pelvic abscesses which had to be drained. Many women got an ilius, or shutdown of their intestines. They had to have a nasal-gastic tube so we could just keep their intestines quiet until they started to function again.
They would also get a generalized peritonitis. Some patients died of “uremia”–at least that’s what would be written on the death certificate again leading statisticians to miss the abortion connection. Uremia is an extremely severe infection with septic shock and kidney shutdown.
Hemorrhage was sometimes a complication, although often these women died at the time of the abortion, before they ever got to a hospital. With a perforation in certain parts of the uterus, where the blood supply is concentrated, it would take only a few hours–a day at most–for the woman to bleed to death. If it isn’t that part of the uterus, perforation could take several days to cause death.
With illegal abortion, there were lots of ways to die. The lucky ones made it through. The not-so-lucky ones died fairly horrible deaths.
In the 1950s and early ’60s, in spite of that always-full hospital ward, no one talked about abortion as a public health problem. It was just a fact of life, and you dealt with it the best way you could–taking care of the complications. It was the women’s rights movement and not public health concerns that made abortion legal.
I remember that when I first went into private practice in 1961, if a woman wanted her tubes tied, she had to get her husband’s written permission. I thought that was way out of line. Her body didn’t belong to her husband! Besides, she didn’t have to sign for his vasectomy. But that’s how it was.
For as long as I can remember, I have been in favor of making abortion legal, because I always thought that a woman ought to have the right to control her body.
Overturning Roe, banning contraception will not stop women from seeking abortions and birth control. A woman will do whatever she feels she has to do to exercise control over her body, no matter the consequences. Reversing Roe is in no way pro-life. It will not save women and babies. It certainly will not change our country for the better. In fact, without access to safe and legal abortions, more women will die. Their spouses will be left alone. Their children will be left motherless. Their parents will be left without their daughters. This circle of tragedy will continue to expand as our society loses parts of itself.
Herman Cain, Michele Bachmann, and Rick Perry were each told by God to run for President. If Newt talked to God, we haven’t heard about it. Maybe the reason he doesn’t talk to God is that he doesn’t speak to himself. He already knows what he is thinking. Last night Newt Gingrich’s second wife Marianne gave an interview disclosing that Newt had suggested that they should agree to have sex with other people.It is the comments regarding sex that everyone is talking and writing about today.
However we have known for a long time that Gingrich has had three wives, affairs, and a history of unfaithfulness. The more important revelation from Newt’s ex-wife was that he said, “It doesn’t matter what I do. People need to hear what I have to say. There’s no one else who can say what I can say. It doesn’t matter what I live.”
Given this quote, it is important to remember the story Rachel Maddow did about Newt. In her report she quoted Newt saying:
- He made Romney’s career possible, and Mitt Romney is rich today because of him.
- It is his “destiny” to save America.
- “People like me are what stand between us and Auschwitz.”
- (In a hand written note of Newt’s) “It is my mission to advocate for civilization.” Newt wrote that he was a teacher of the rules of civilization and leader of civilized forces.
When Newt was brought before the House of Representatives for 80 ethics violations, the House voted overwhelmingly, 395-28, to reprimand Gingrich and to fine him $300,000. The Republican Representative, Nancy Johnson, who chaired that ethics committee stated:
“Today we conclude this case by imposing a heavy penalty on the leader of this House. It is a tough penalty, unprecedented and appropriate.”
It seems that Gingrich thinks that the rules that apply to OTHER people do not apply to him. In an act of defiance, the day after being elected to his 11th term of office Gingrich announced his resignation. Gingrich stated, “I’m willing to lead but I’m not willing to preside over people who are cannibals. My only fear would be that if I tried to stay, it would just overshadow whoever my successor is.”
Newt Gingrich is a dangerous man. He is delusional. He thinks he is above the law. He seems to perceive himself as all-powerful. He seems to perceive himself as the savior of mankind. It’s now clear why Sarah and Todd Palin have endorsed Gingrich.
Long before Bristol Palin vowed to Oprah she had become a born-again virgin, Karen Santorum, wife of presidential candidate Rick Santorum, sought her own heavenly hymen restoration. Yes, prior to marrying a man who opposes birth control and non-procreative sex even for married couples, Karen Santorum lived with a man old enough to be her dad who co-founded the first abortion clinic in Pittsburgh. Seems Mrs. Santorum only opposes premarital sex, birth control and abortion for others.
When a serial adulterer endorses another serial adulterer,
the predictable result is to impress more serial adulterers, but not voters. When Todd Palin endorsed Newt Gingrich, Newt was “thrilled.”
Newt was especially thrilled because the endorsement came the day before the New Hampshire primary. He explained that it was the “extra boost we need to really get us on takeoff here going into the primary tomorrow.” The funny thing is that Newt didn’t come within the top three in the New Hampshire race, with only 10% of the vote. The top three finishers were:
Romney 39%
Ron Paul 23%
Huntsman 17%
Gingrich was not in the top three finishers in Iowa either. They were:
24.6 Romney
24.5% Santorum
21.4% Paul
Gingrich was wrong. The Palin endorsement was not a boost at all. Todd explained that he endorsed Gingrich because Newt was a “reformer.” By “reformer” Todd must have identified Newt as being much like his wife who was also a “reformer.” Both quit their jobs; Newt as the Speaker of the House, and Sarah as Governor. Both were found guilty of ethics violations; Sarah by the bipartisan committee in the Troopergate matter, and Newt in the ethics investigations by the House.
Newt attacked Romney as being full of “pious baloney” . When the media accused Todd Palin of having a relationship with a prostitute named Shailey Tripp, Sarah Palin said that was “lies” too. It appears voters in New Hampshire don’t mind eating baloney.
Keep in mind that although New Hampshire is being declared Romney’s big win, only 12 delegates were chosen. If you add up New Hampshire’s 12 and Iowa’s 28 delegates, you get a grand total of 40 delegates chosen so far for the Republican convention. There are 2,286 delegates that will attend the convention. Thus Iowa and New Hampshire constitute only 2% of all the delegates that will be chosen.
Thus, it is still unclear who will ultimately prevail as the Republican candidate for the 2012 Presidential Race, but it is clear that an endorsement by Todd Palin may only signal who the loser will be.
 AOL indicates with 34% of the precincts reporting, that Mitt Romney appears to be the winner of the New Hampshire primary. Here are the results so far: |
| Mitt Romney | 26,281 | 37.4% | |
| Ron Paul | 16,587 | 23.6% | |
| Jon Huntsman | 11,863 | 16.9% | |
| Newt Gingrich | 7,076 | 10.1% | |
| Rick Santorum | 6,927 | 9.8% |
Recent Comments