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Guest Post: Mitt Romney's Selection Of Paul Ryan Is A Sign Of Desperation
Mitt Romney's Selection Of Paul Ryan Is A Sign Of Desperation
Many folks were surprised last night as rumors began leaking that Romney tapped Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, for the prestigious VP slot. The surprise came largely because many were expecting a more mundane pick like Tim Pawlenty or Rob Portman. The reactions from the GOP base is positive overall, although the story is still fresh and drawing conclusions is difficult. The reactions from the Democrat/Liberal base are predictable and I am guessing that the Obama campaign is licking its lips over the prospect of skewering Ryan like a kabob. I have a slightly different take, my feeling is that this pick is an indication that the Romney team is struggling and sees the prospect of winning in November diminishing with each passing day. People like Pawlenty and Portman is the equivalent of swinging for a base hit - the selection of Ryan is swinging for the fences. It is desperation and an attempt to shake things up substantially in the hopes of energizing a splintered and unimpressed Conservative base.
However I prefer to focus on the economics of politics, not the politics of politics - so lets take a look at what exactly makes Ryan such a risk.
Paul Ryan, to be sure, is an impressive politician. He has a perfect pedigree, is good looking and probably considered to be the premier fiscal wonk of the Republican party. His budget is considered by many to be the boldest and most courageous attempt at tackling America's most pressing issues, entitlements. Of course there is always more than the shiny facade pimped by party loyalists and for those that have bothered to investigate Ryan's record the picture becomes a bit murkier.
For starters there is the very pressing and disturbing votes of the Bush legacy. Specifically Ryan's support of: TARP, Medicare Part D and No Child Left Behind (NCLB). All three are wonderful examples of how the Republican party only fights for fiscal sanity when they are a minority party, the second they become the majority they expand Government programs at an alarming rate. NCLB is a monstrosity that gave the Department of Education teeth, Medicare Part D tacked on hundreds of billions (half a trillion as of today per year) to the debt and was passed in the House in a manner very reminiscent to ObamaCare and TARP is an egregious disregard of the free market system and should make any citizen sick to their stomach. While Ryan may be able to justify all these votes, there are Republicans in the House who did *not* vote for these programs and quite a handful.
Then of course there is the famous Ryan budget. A budget that reminds of me the great Oz. It is daunting and impressive, but if you look behind the curtain there is a tiny little man pulling a whole lot of levers. This very budget (despite being all bark and no bite) was used to galvanize Obama and the liberal base. Remember how Ryan's policies inspired the idea that he would throw grandma off the cliff? Yet despite the proven record of the Left to make a mountain of a molehill team Romney decided to go all-in and select Paul Ryan. More importantly, for what?
In order to understand that Ryan's budget is nothing more than smoke and mirrors we turn to a detailed analysis of the budget. This interactive analysis lets you compare and contrast the Ryan and Obama budgets side by side and examine the projects for spending. Below is a series of images I selected, but I encourage to explore the interactive tool yourself.
Let us take a look:
First we got Medicaid. Clearly the difference is notable and appreciable. In fact based on this image alone it would almost invalidate all my criticism of the Ryan budget. Medicaid is pure welfare, as opposed to Medicare that is at least partially funded by FICA. Medicaid was always intended to take care of the downtrodden and unfortunate and has now ballooned into health care for all. ObamaCare functions and survives primarily on expanding the Medicaid rolls by shoving more people onto the public dime. Medicaid alone is now responsible for a quarter of many State budgets and continues to financially drain the Federal and State coffers at an alarming rate. Worst of all, it badly distorts the insurance market driving medical prices up for every single individual. So it is nice to see Paul Ryan tackle this egregious and disgusting program that does far more harm than good, but the courage and bravery amount to a spending freeze. By 2021 will be spending more on Medicaid again. Perhaps Ryan tackles the other entitlement programs better?
Next we have Medicare. What's this? Apparently Grandma is not going off a cliff, instead it would appear that she is being pushed up a hill! Ryan's plan spends MORE on Medicare than Obama. This is quite the shock considering that Ryan's plan is considered to be the most courageous entitlement reform evah! It is ironic that Obama and the Left are painting Ryan as the grim reaper chasing your granny, where instead he is slowing down Medicaid to HELP granny. Oh, you have to love politics - don't you?
Next up is Social Security. No, it is not a graphical glitch. Ryan's plan does absolutely nothing for Social Security. Yet conservative websites and pundits swoon over Ryan like he is the next coming of Barry Goldwater, more on that later.
Lastly, the national debt. This is probably not surprising, but after all the hoopla and all the bravado the end result is that the speed at which our fiscal apocalypse arrives is merely slowed down by a teeny weeny bit. Yet one would think that as grandma flies off the cliff with her belongings and rusty wheelchair bouncing off the jagged rocks that America is about to embark on the greatest age of austerity ever devised.
Not really. We have a budget from an individual who thought there was nothing wrong in forking over a blank check to Wall St, nothing wrong with expanding Medicare by half a trillion and nothing wrong with growing a department that Reagan's campaign promised to eliminate. We sure have come a long way, have we not?
Conclusion
So this of course begs the question, why did Romney do this? Why select a VP that will provide such easy ammunition for the Left with virtually no reward? The answer is quite simple. Romney and Ryan represent exactly the same problem even if one appears to be a moderate and the other appears to be an epic fiscal warrior. The Republican party fights for and pushes through the status-quo. The images you see up above and the Ryan record is the status-quo. No doubt about it.
Yet Romney is counting on the ignorance of Republican base to run with the facade of Ryan's conservatism. If that illusion holds then Ryan's image will invariably boost Romney's own image as many will view Romney's decision as courageous and bold despite Obama's willingness to distort Ryan's budget. In other words, you are witnessing a most fantastic and glamorous circus. A bad Hollywood movie, except that ending will be quite real and not something you can pause or turn off.
However we all know what happens when politicians threaten the sacred cows of entitlement spending. They get destroyed. Barry Goldwater was America's last libertarian-Republican candidate and he was obliterated because he dared to speak up against Social Security. Barry's loss paved the way for the great society and the invention of Medicare and Medicaid. How ironic. Poll after poll shows that Americans refuse to accept changes to entitlement programs, despite their clamoring for someone to fix our debt.
Romney and Ryan will lose in November and the image of the heartless Conservative killing granny will resonate with America, the tragedy of course is that neither Ryan or Romney are willing to actually cut anything! The tragedy will become even more amusing as we will witness a nasty and partisan fight further dividing Americans as they fight and defend differing policies with the exact same results.
Romney's campaign is ignoring the lessons of Barry Goldwater and going all-in on an individual that has consistently voted for awful legislation and whose budget is nothing more than smoke and mirrors. A move that can be summarized in one word: desperation.
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Yeah don't vote for that Wall Street banking cabal vote for...that...guy... from Wall Street...DOH!.
I don't get into the false left-right paradigm, but I had to say your conclusion is quite accurate.
Always happens when you allow banks to issue credit money at interest.
Now Bill Still is a person who understands this completely, as his videos made ME understand this.
pods
Bill Still makes a lot of sense to me.
I suppose to believe that this is a libertarian post? Well, when I think about true libertarian the name of Peter Schiff comes to mind. I disagree with 50 percent of what Peter is saying but I agree with another 50 percent. Peter Schiff will never vote for Obama because Marxism and libertarian ideas are simply incompatible. Obama is trying to pull Chavez in America and doing this in a most zynical and demagogical way. But America is not Venezuela (simply because there is no enough oil per capita in America despite all remarkable progress with fracking) and if he wins America as we know it will cease to exist by the end of his second term. Seriously, who can believe this demagogue? After what he has done for 4 years.
Missinglink right on.. Ryan is no great pick but he scares the shit out of the Dem's their transformation of the American psyche and political landscape(not that romneybama won't have his own) is in danger. The voter suppression / disenchantment tactics are comign Fast and Furious, I just love watching the spin for someone like me I see them a mile off but they will suppress a portion..
This battle will be cataclismic, the Dems will pull every al Franken cheating trick out to make this dog flies we shall see, I fear if they win they may regret it at some point.. The 79 reds at this point down is simply folks conditioning coming out to play.. no worries
GOT GOLD? either way?
Regardless of who wins, the American people will lose.
Wake up.
My own personal speculation is why Ryan was picked is simplely because no one else Mittens asked excepted. Ryan was probably near the bottom of the List. I would even speculate that Mittens asked Ryan to join him months ago, and Ryan had turned him down. However at this point, with time running out Ryan relucantly accept for the good of the party
[Scene: Mittens walks up and knocks on a front door]
[Man answers the door] Hello Rommey, what are you doing here?
[Rommey]: I've come to ask if you would be my Vice President.
[Man]: F*ck No!. Now get the F*ck off my lawn!
My guess is that this scenerio was repeated dozens of times.
a-c-c-e-p-t-e-d
AGuy? Is that short for a-hole? (just asking)
That would be funny if it weren't so desperate.
This article is a sign filks here want to have relations with Ron Paul, tjat's all. They can't stand politics, nor can I, but I can luke a man without the throbbing!
Let's hope. Too many ZH Libs apparently for my taste (browsing your negative scoring).
Article stated, "Ryan virtually no reward". Really?? 70,000 additional campaign donors since announcement begs to differ. The base is ELECTRIFIED, and the Left is PETRIFIED.
"From my house I can see November"
ROMNEY/RYAN 2012 !!
Not a chance in hell. People aren't going to vote themselves in the foot by voting for Romney...he's the prime example of what's wrong with the economy with his crony capitalism. Also, he obviously won't ever get the Latino votes, so the numbers don't stack up in his favor either.
Ryan argues that eliminating or scaling back deductions, credits, and exclusions ought to be part of the GOP fiscal plan. But he won’t say how. Supposedly Ryan is a guy who say details are the indispensable coin of the realm. Yet last fall Al Hunt conducted an interview with Ryan on the details of how loopholes would be eliminated and got absolutely no where with him. If this were anything more than another kleptocratic scam, why so evasive? Lowering brackets is easy, closing loopholes is the real work. The loopholes is when the lobbyists write the code. If this is a mischaracterization then Ryan needs to honestly answer that question.
TPC projected the tax cuts in Ryan’s budget would add $4.6 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade, even after extending the 2001/2003 tax cuts, which would add another $5.4 trillion to the deficit.
On the spending side, Ryan has a so called radical Medicare reform, that is nothing but a red herring, a ruse. His proposed Medicare changes would not apply to current beneficiaries or to those within 10 years of eligibility. So once again you get the out years nonsense both parties like to play.
His voting record is fascist, like Obama he supports lots of security initiatives and stripping of civil liberties. He hasn't meet a foreign military adventure he doesn't like.
America's Choice between crony Social Darwinsim and crony Socialism.
https://www.fms.treas.gov/fmsweb/viewDTSFiles?dir=w&fname=12080900.pdf
TD....you're a democrat.....sad.
It was a HOMERUN selection. Romney's not worried about alienating democrats, he's moire interested in showing he DOESN'T want another 4 years of NOTHING.
Zero Hedge, you will be shocked to discover since you seem to be a recent reader, is neither "democrat" (see here) nor "republican" for the simple reason that those two words are completely and utterly meaningless and serve to merely, as you so well demonstrate, divide and conquer, in order to perpetuate the interests of a status quo whose ONLY interest is to plunder any remaining middle class wealth.
The sad thing is that the American system, whoever is president, is now locked into a mode of crony capitalism for the rich, and socialist welfare handouts for the poor, in which the only loser is what made this country great in the first place (for whatever reason) - the middle class.
Furthermore, it gives us no joy to inform you that US debt will be over $21 trillion in 2016. Regardless of who is president.
Which is why enjoy this election - it is doubtful that anyone will want to preside over a country that has 130% debt/GDP in November of 2016.
Bottom line - we prefer to do math.
Sadly, few others do as proven here, which shows that in America "democracy" is a farce.
On that note, maybe Romney picked Ryan for the very reason you mentioned. He does not want to be president of a nation in such decline.
The question of course is why did he then run. I bet that he could keep the excess contributions he does not spend? Fire away
Why run? Because being President adds $25 million to your net worth. Even more if you can make it 2 terms.
right, because romney needs the money - he's donated more than that. i personally think we've already crossed the black hole event horizon, and fiscal collapse is inevitable, but if romney/ryan think they can actually stave it off then more power to them.
If not the money, then what?
Could it be an omen, since he introduced Paul Ryan as the next president?
Well, Paul is still not out and the nomination is not formally wrapped up:
http://www.facebook.com/BenSwannRealityCheck/posts/392059774192312
I am very much looking forward to the republican convention. Given the recent gaffe about Ryan as president (do you really think these big egos would title someone else with such a coveted thing) and the IRS tax amenisty issue, two weeks is a long time...
Regards,
Cooter
I kept waiting for Bush to appear as smart as some of the diplomas on his wall suggested he might be.
It was a losing proposition.
Your pipe dream about RP is a similar situation.
You might want to consider a plan "C."
I don't think the Republicans want to win. Obama's implementing all of their policies and they don't have to take the political fallout for it.
As an aside, it would appear that Bill Banzai's serial junking pooch is "marking his territory" all over this thread.
Question is why would anyone want to be President in THIS election. You can complain about Ryan's budget and plan not being enough to do anything, but even that is probably too "radical" to get him elected. Who knows what budget Romney/Ryan really want to put out? I think he knows how little "austerity" 51% of the american voters will tolerate.
Red team Blue team Rah, Rah ,Rah..................
If their is no difference between the teams Tyler you posted this simply for page views, got it. thanks. I can always count on honesty here at least.
Say Tyler could you give us a quick article on why Democrats cheat so prolifically in elections.. It is beyond argunment it happens, dead rising in Chitown, felons in MN etc.. ad nauseam, why do they bother anyway just wondering?
1) Real US Nat'l Debt is >$22 trillion right now: add all that rotten paper parked "off the books" at the mortgage agencies.
2) Belgium isn't even a country anymore. US voter apathy is good, not bad. If all the yahoos voted, they'd elect CF.
3) I forgot #3. Paging what's-his-name, gov of soon-to-be Republic of Texas.
4) Now I remember. This is why Romney made that Freudian slip about "President Ryan". Robama isn't up to the job and knows it. But Ryan is a good choice, tactically speaking, because millions of undecided idiots will confuse "Paul" with "Jack" and vote Romney.
Tyler is correct. America's democracy is a farce NOT because of low voter turnout, but because half still believe in the bullshit they are told by the pols, and wait in line and vote. In you have one ounce of self dignity and respect, you would not give the current crop of bought-and-paid-for-by-Wall-Street banksters a minute of time or support, including a vote. Voting makes you feel (FALSELY) empowered when voting for an establishment candidate.
I voted for Kodos, Damn it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qk12ALX9fz8
You could vote for the inanimate carbon rod.
"In Rod We Trust"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfTgxrxL9ug
Perhaps you missed the title where it said ...guest post...
How dare the TD's put multiple perspectives on this board...
P.S. This article is not supporting democrat or republican.
there is zero difference between the parties
Duopoly Indeed...............Dont forget, the voting machine gets turned on once every 1,460 days and then is promptly shut off. Golman Saks, Exxxon Mobil and the Fortune 500 get to vote everyday and get to write their own laws and set foreign policy.
Both parties are screwed up with special interests, but that doesn't mean there is no difference, e.g. social issues.
Yeah social issues. Those things that goverment shouldn't regulate but are really great at getting half the country to fight with the other half about while the politicians ignore the issues everyone agree on.
I would correct that to, "there is zero difference between the LEADERSHIP of the two parties."
There are a few in the Republican ranks who still stand for freedom and free enterprise. They have been effectively marginalized over the last 30 years starting from the day Reagan got shot by that friend of the Bush family, Hinckley. The democratic party, unfortunately, was completely lost to socialism 80+ years ago.
Effectively, it doesn't make a difference.
"There are a few in the Republican ranks who still stand for freedom and free enterprise."
Well, there's at least one, anyway, though the rest of the party would like to be rid of him.
that statement was mostly true 5-6 years ago. now, not so much - we're hurtling towards such an epic collapse that a consensus of sober adults have finally noticed.
"Bend over America!" -Barack Romney
Not true: one is owned by the banks, lawyers, greenies, and union bureaucracy.
The other is owned by the banks, hydrocarbon frackers, and chickenhawks.
Ok, I will take a chance that you can back up what you say and are not just a propaganda regurgitating idiot. Perhaps Ryan's selection is a home run as you say- now prove it.
Precisely where in Ryan's plan are there meaningful cuts, how much will it actually reduce deficit spending by? How will the size of the reduction prevent either an outright default or if not a massive debasement of the currency to pay for it?
Please be specific.
I KNEW this would become all about the 'ryan plan'!
I'm actually becoming excited about this circus now!
Did Willard pick Ryan to distract everybody from his boring, non-descript candidacy, or will he adopt the 'ryan plan' and become a true believer?
Will the blue team be able to use the 'ryan plan' against Romney, or will it blow up in their faces?
Ryan plan ryan plan ryan plan ryanplan ryanplanryanplan.
Sounds like fun!
In other news... Corzine wins again.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/10/us-sentinel-appeals-decision-i...
Sentinel ruling may hurt MF Global clients
A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld a ruling that puts Bank of New York Mellon ahead of former customers of Sentinel in the line of those seeking the return of money lost in the 2007 failure of the suburban Chicago-based futures broker.
However, Thursday's ruling suggests that brokerages can use customer funds to pay off other creditors, Sentinel trustee Fred Grede told Reuters.
Worse, Grede said, is that the ruling suggests that a brokerage that allows customer money to be mixed with its own is not necessarily committing fraud.
That may raise the bar for proving that MF Global Holdings Ltd, under then-CEO Jon Corzine, misused customer funds as it scrambled to meet margin calls to back bets on European debt in the brokerage's final days. A $1.6 billion customer shortfall remains.
"I'm sure Mr. Corzine's attorneys will get ahold of this ruling and use it for all it's worth," Grede said.
http://dailycloudt.com/voice/358/us-attorneys-refuse-to-assure-judge-tha...
US Attorneys Refuse to Assure Judge That They Are Not Already Detaining Citizens Under NDAA
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/realestate/fl-hoa-foreclose-banks-2...
HOAs foreclose on big banks
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/egypt-s-president-morsi-removes-...
Egypt's President Morsi removes Defense Minister Tantawi, chief of staff
http://www.timesofisrael.com/decision-by-netanyahu-and-barak-to-strike-i...
Decision by Netanyahu, Barak to strike Iran is almost final — Israel TV
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4267093,00.html
IDF redeploys munitions, supply reserves
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israeli-official-iran-has-...
Israeli official: Iran has made progress toward nuclear warhead
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/idf-to-test-emergency-text...
IDF to test emergency text-message alerts to Israelis' cell phones
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/158790#.UCZmG6PFA0q
Financial System Preparing for Iran Strike, Says Fischer
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=32311
UN Designates "Free Syrian Army" Affiliates as Al Qaeda
All is well citizen, buy US government AAA bonds! LOL
Fucking Trollbot!
None of this makes any sense wrt the article.
So what. Just spreading interesting news.... or do you only read ZH??
I guess that is why he said "in other news?"
pods
.
As long as idiots write and argue over the two puppets of the same criminal party on power (with its two wings; Despicable and Repulsive) in a sense of one being "better" than the other one, the good old divide et impera (divide and rule) tactic works like a well oiled machine.
The Americans will vote for the continuation of the forever wars, for their country's death, destrucion and debt export items and will willingly invoke an era of new slavery by voting for either of those two psychopat puppets and therefore for their masters.
What a repulsive / despicable charade...
First of all Robomney didnt pick Ryan the powers that be did, maybe the bilderberg group. Just like Obamney didnt pick Biden. Its all an illusion, who cares???? Only dumb animal partisans care, they think they are picking these guys. The NWO picked these guys and we are heading for the second American revolution
Once the Bilderbergers get you on tape having sex with a child, an animal or couple of elderly NWO geezer males that are still able to get it up -you are vetted, and if you meet the other criteria you qualify for nominee for President or Vice-President of either party. Once you are in he "family" you can never leave. They own you. The Kennedy's foolishly thought they turn on the Family and do their own thing -they were wrong. Every once in a while they still kill a Kenedy to let others know the consequences of disloyalty.
SRA and pedophilia are rampant in the elite world. Yes, politics is compromise.
The question is why JFK and his brother rebelled. What caused them to fight against their programming and class?
The answer may lie with a woman, the wife of a CIA agent. Her name was ____, and she was ____ ing w/JFK.
Well, that and Joe's stroke.
Laughable. An article written by a child for other children.
I know you're trying to disparage the article, but your label just doesn't make sense. Try again, if you like.
That's why we're here at your website instead of ZH for pithy insight like the above.
Oh, wait a sec....we're not.
Naming Ron Paul as VP would have been a sign of GENIUS!
He got confused because of the "Paul" part
Ron Paul would never have been so stupid as to accept.
He picked a poor mans ron paul, which doesn't make sense, because he isn't poor...
Maybe that's the plan. Paul Ryan worships Ayn Rand and plays a libertian on Tv. Maybe Romney is hoping that all the new Libertians that supported Ron Paul and don't have any idea what Liberterianism actually is, will line up behind Paul Ryan.
The pick of Ryan means the Tea Party has one and the republican party as it used to be known is in total disarray. Paying dues is for suckers. Right the new horse and get the biggest prizes. Similar to the Democrats election of Obama to the top post the pick of Ryan is a win at all ideological cost.
Mitt's biggest problem before the pick was the Republican party was really lukewarm on him.
His biggest problem now is the tea party likes his number 2 so much better than they like him and the few Republicans who weren't lukewarm on him are now colder.
The total hatred of any and all things Obama will now run head first into the Republican Bill Clinton - ie what do you want me to say to get elected.
Ryan was picked to become president in 2016 should this fail and 2020 should it succeed.
You really think the Tea Party likes Ryan? Not only did he vote in favor of all the bailouts and stimulus but he voted against oversight of the funds that were given to banks and financial houses? How the fuck does that square with any true fiscal conservative? How is that cognative dissonance working out for you?
i am noticing the down arrow trolls have really come out of the woodwork lately. funny that none of them have anything to say.
Yeah I have something to say and it's this: FUCK YOU.
your intelligence combined with humor is overwhelming. go eat a dick fuckface.
?
Let's see -
Every major paper in the country says the tea party likes Ryan but your voice is the official one.
My bad.
You got the new lotto numbers too?
Dude, I wouldn't believe anything you read in the MSM papers. Not even the lottery numbers.
"..leaking that Romney tapped Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, for the prestigious VP slot."
part-time after-dinner speaker, Joe Biden, and full-time comedian has brought the position down surely no?
Voter suppression tactic, build up the position to one of extreme importance and prestige spend next five paragraphs excoriating the others guys candidate for the office, classic..
The Presidential election is about electoral votes.
Although it's possible that the Republicans could obtain a narrow victory, it looks unlikely. It doesn't matter how much land is in the redneck states, it matters how much electoral votes they have.
The SWPLs, Mexicans, Asians, Jews, and urban blacks have the West Coast and the Northeast locked up, and have made big inroads into the Midwest and Rocky Mountains. All they need is Ohio and a few other states to win.
It's about which tribe you belong to, not policy. Policy is so old fashioned and boring.
That's about it. As soon as Florida croses the ethno-socialist tipping point, Republicrats - for what it's worth - are a "permanent" minority party...with electoral votes coming only from the (shrinking) White majority inhabiting flyover country. Race Rules: the cheap-labor Stupid Party done immigrated itself to death.
Dems' Epic Smears - Romney's Nazi Torture Cult
Just a bit of humor to create frothing from the mouth..LOL
I thought this was an awful selection, and I agree with Tyler that the Goldwater comparision applies here. Romney is in a very close race needs someone who can help. I think Ryan hurts more than he helps.
Ryan hurts because this election will be decided by independents, and perhaps independent women. Ryan is a very polorazing figure. He evokes intense emotion, which is not what you want for a running mate.
I think Romney picked him for one reason: he likes him. He is exactly the kind of business-minded intellectual who Romney respects.
Ryan has a problem, and now Romney has inherited that problem: A lot of people hate him. Why, because he comes off as a zealot who could care less for the unfortunate. Obama will use this and will likely win the election.
I thought Romney could win if he picked either Portman (Ohio) or Rubio (Florida). Now I think his only chance is a market melt down, which would change enough votes for a Romney victory. I'll make a prediction: If the DOW does not drop below 11,500 between now and election day, Obama wins.
Newager
Who cares. The system is toast under both budgets. You waste my time with this diversionary nonsense. I don' t read zerohedge for this conventional crap.
There will be no revolution until fiat fails to feed the F.S.A. When that day comes hell will come unhinged. Havoc will reign and the dogs of war will be loosed.
True that, hunger is the only gamechanger but it is interesting to watch all the wriggling on the hook..
I think the author needs to get booked for an appearance on THE VIEW so that we may have a deep intellectual conversation on the subject...
What, didn't Romney have Dan Quayle's telephone number?
He tried 1-800-POT-ATOE but somehow it was the wrong number.
Biden makes Dan Quayle look qualified for Isaac Newton's chair at Cambridge.
He called Gore but he was busy inventing gravity..
I can think of at least one scenario under which there would be no elections - "terrorist" attack involving WMD, declaration of martial law, elections 'postponed'. Double SNAP cards for everybody, and SNAP now buys beer, liquor and where its legal, medical marijuana. Peaceable kingdom.
Anyone else want to play "Lets not have an election and say we did?"
Lincoln held an election if the middle of a civil war with a rebel army not a hudred miles from his capital. If we have no election the game is up.
Madame Zelda takes umbrage at your comment.
Prognosticating the future is an ancient and honorable profession.
Paul Ryan BEGGING for Bailout Dollars:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyJBZYz858M&feature=youtu.be
same old, same old
The Rebloodlicans voting to pass the bailouts was all the citizens needed to know = "We work for the Banks"
Both sides do, we have no representation, and you are spot on - SSDD.
If the pubs wanted to save America they wouldn't be beating Ron Paul out of his rightful nomination. I see his signs and graffitti all over.
They don't want a smaller government, they just want the reins of the power they and the dems have spent 50 years handing over to the executive branch. To them, big government is a good thing as long as they are on top.
The wars must end, 911 needs to be properly investigated and the police state must be devolved, and lots of murdering traitors should hang. I don't bother with national elections, it's all an absurd kabuki therater. The winner is already decided.
Those of you that believe the TV, (muppets) go ahead and enjoy the rest of the show.
I like Ron Paul and would have voted for him if he was on the ticket.
Apparently, what you and a whole bunch of other RP'rs don't understand was that his message and enthusiasm was too much for too many plebes whom we call the electorate at large.
RP's message had something for everyone to like and something for everyone to abhor. The problem with his wide stance on all these issues is that the things people don't like outweigh the things they do. Fear is a much stronger emotion that joy. Hell, if fear is stronger than greed, that's pretty damn strong.
Take conservatives for example, the thought of shutting down the over 100 military bases overseas scared the shit out of them. Pretty much the whole nation has been brainwashed into thinking the US Military is a force for good.
You and I may know that making this actually happen would be a monumental task due to treaties, agreements that don't expire until RP would be long gone and a myriad of other reasons but, the sheeple shuddered with fear of this and shunned him with vigor. My sisters, staunch tea party members, both agreed when one sister said "That stupid SOB would shut down bases and leave us vulnerable here at home". They loved a lot of his other idea's but couldn't get over that fact which he pushed hard, true to form, on the debates. Hell, even a lot of liberals fight him on this issue.
Some others are the anti abortion stance, getting rid of education, of eliminating the EPA, shutting down HHS, the list goes on. He scared the shit out of a lot of sheeple who hold those institutions in high regard. Opps, there goes another 50% of the electorate.
You know how he did this? By telling the truth. He boldly proclaimed his positions and scared the electorate into pissing their pantaloons. I'm not saying he was wrong but, people don't want to hear the truth, Which is why we now have lying obfuscators running for president.
The current candidates don't give two shits about telling the truth, well at least one of them and not the American. lol
The last thing the candidates want to do is to scare the shit out of potential voters so they feign left and right to the message they think the voters want to hear. Obamma and the "You didn't build that, someone else helped you do it". The welfare receiving liberals in his audience weren't happy to clap about it but clap they did with the previously requested gusto.
I'm sorry RP is not the candidate as we may have had a chance to not fall as hard as we are going to but, he couldn't sell the needed medicine as the patient was afraid of it.
This is getting long but I should add that just be being on the hunt for the job, RP brought out ideas and concepts to the masses that they had not seen before. A very large percentage liked at least one of his ideas and many other more than one. The best thing RP did was to educate the masses into the machinations of gov they had not previously thought about.
This is what RP did best, get people to think about things for themselves for once. Will it last, I doubt it as peeps are comfortable in their cozy, spoon fed places. Until they're not.
His message in one part or another got through, the haters hate because he makes them uncomfortable in their views and choices, which they took as gospel and he showed them it is all a mirage.
Conax, 911 does need to be properly investigated, and RP won't do it either. He has scorned 911 truthers for the start--the very reason why I won't vote for him.
ANY candidate who will not support 911 truth is an enemy of the people, period.
Markets will determine who wins in November. If markets hold, Obama wins. If markets tank, Romney wins. History shows this over and over again.
A Dow weekly lines up will with this comment. Recall Carter, Reagan, Bush Sr and Clinton? Recall the state of the markets at those times?
www.bullandbearmash.com/chart/dow-jones-industrial-average-weekly-august...
And what happens after November 2012?
Regardless of who wins, we are all in helluva mess. Deflation will pick up momentum and it's going to get ugly.
Hey, there are Ryan muppets here abouts...
Duck and cover!
Romney is the anti-Christ.
Lol, if Obama hadn't already taken that job, I might be inclined to believe you.
Just like I call out the asshats that claim O is a marxist, I gotta call you out on this one...
At least one Marxist has existed, the Anti-Christ is some figment of an over active evangelical mind that....
Now if you had called him an insensitive kleptocrat, you'd have a point...
Um, yeah. Obama IS a Marxist.
You know how it's really fucking obvious? Look at how the food stamp, SSDI, and other welfare rolls have positively exploded in the last 4 years. Obama is creating a gigantic Free Shit Army, the biggest seen since the heyday of Chairman Mao.
It's the Makers vs. the Takers, and Obama is leading the charge for the Takers.
The winner of the '08 election got the right to administer the Last Rites...
None of that shit you bring up wasn;t anything that was not in place well before he was elected...
Did you forget what the fuck happened leading up to AIG and Lehman and how we got there???
Obama is to the right of Eisenhower.... So please remind me about the "Marxist" policies of DDE..
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=25838
Pay attention to the section on Labor and those afterwards...
The more you post, the more you reveal yourself to be a complete moron with a grade 9 understanding of history and the political economy...
Obama is to the right of Eisenhower?...ROTFLMAO!!!
I don't think adding TRILLIONS in public debt over four short years is exactly what Eisenhower had in mind.
From your link:
"Our great President Dwight D. Eisenhower has counseled us further: "In all those things which deal with people, be liberal, be human. In all those things which deal with peoples money or the economy or their form of government be conservative."
In Ikes day liberal meant Liberal...it didn't mean fucking socialist-fascist like it does today.
Given that you are ROTFL most of the time, I can understand why you don't have the time to educate and inform yourself...
It is very clear that you still do not grasp the difference between facism and a social democracy...
Until you post something to the effect that you understand the difference, I can safely ignore whatever you may type on the nature of the political economy...
Number one: This was never intended to be a "social democracy". Why are all those marvelous "social demoracy" experiments in Europe up to their eyeballs in debt without any war? I'm sure you will point to one or two examples of "balance" but the price in liberty and taxation is extreme.
Number two: Fascism is what we have now. Anytime government ventures down the path of any alliance with corporations it begins to turn fascist.
But now we're talking degrees of fascism aren't we? Solyndra was fascist wasn't it? So is "investment banking" after repeal of Glass-Stegall. Crony capitalism is by definition, fascist.
I laugh at you and others like you because the education of the people was taken over by doe eyed socialist zealots thinking they were doing one thing but in the end it would turn into something completely different.
Just remember, when they come for you I won't lift a finger to stop them because you and others like you have attempted for my entire life to take so much from us all...through the state, under the guise of "fairness".
Blah, blah, blah... more empty rhetoric on your behalf....
Glad to see you are starting to get the corporate fascism thingie though....
nmewn - That last paragraph should be in bold!
Its where we're at, isn't it?
"Just remember, when they come for you I won't lift a finger to stop them because you and others like you have attempted for my entire life to take so much from us all...through the state, under the guise of "fairness
And I intend to be as "fair" as they were.
When they come and trundle Flak off to some God forsaken camp because he didn't tow the party line or said the wrong thing to the wrong person or didn't grow out a little paint brush moustache to imitate a "dear leader'" fashion statement and thus shows no solidarity toward the state and its ambitions...
I'll smile...knowing my time will come also...but he got to experience it long before me.
Spoken like a 911 truth denier, unsurprising.
HANG THE BANKERS. PROBLEM SOLVED
HANG THE BANKERS. PROBLEM SOLVED
I disagree that there is no difference between Democrats and Republicans. Democrats are corrupt as a matter of policy (socialism corrupts absolutely). Republicans are corrupt by expediency (they go along to get along). Either way, it hardly makes a difference now. We are in a generational debt spiral. Only after the collapse can we rebuild.
it wasn't romney who chose ryan, it was the bilderburgers! Mmmmm, burgers! ( yes, i know, it's bilderbergers.)
if the elections could really change anything, they would be IMMEDIATELY forbidden.
the games are cooked.
Testify brother!
Those voting computers are to outcomes as HFT computers are to the market.
Paper ballots or nothing.
Quote: "Poll after poll shows that Americans refuse to accept changes to entitlement programs, despite their clamoring for someone to fix our debt."
AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHY WE HAVE DEBT PROBLEMS ALL OVER THE WORLD... POLITICIANS BUYING VOTES WITH FUTURE GENERATION'S MONEY!
AND PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO VOTE FOR THESE CRIMINALS ON THEIR PROMISES. SO IN THE END WE GET THE POLITICIANS WE DESERVE!
and this is how democracies die. Selfish self-interest. We can blame the politicians but, as you said, we get the politicians we deserve. Its not just the politicians that lack the backbone but the people too.
We have debt problems all over the world because that is how the system is designed. Money is debt in our system. Every year the government has to go deeper and deeper into debt in order to create the bonds that are the basis of the money supply so that the banks can create enough money to cover the interest on the bonds the government issued the year before. It's like trying to pay off your credit card with your credit card.
----
"When you or I write a check there must be sufficient funds in our account to cover the check, but when the Federal Reserve writes a check there is no bank deposit on which that check is drawn. When the Federal Reserve writes a check, it is creating money."
- Putting It Simply, Boston Federal Reserve Bank
----
"If all the bank loans were paid up, no one would have a bank deposit, and there would not be a dollar of currency or coin in circulation. This is a staggering thought. We are completely dependent on the commercial banks for our money. Someone has to borrow every dollar we have in circulation, cash or credit. If the banks create ample synthetic money, we are prosperous; if not, we starve. We are absolutely without a permanent monetary system. When one gets a complete grasp upon the picture, the tragic absurdity of our hopeless position is almost incredible - but there it is. It is the most important subject intelligent persons can investigate and reflect upon. It is so important that our present civilization may collapse unless it is widely understood and the defects remedied very soon."
- Robert H. Hemphill, Credit Manager of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
----
“Thus, our national circulating medium is now at the mercy of loan transactions of banks, which lend, not money, but promises to supply money they do not possess.”
- Irving Fisher, economist and author
----
"Commercial banks create checkbook money whenever they grant a loan, simply by adding new deposit dollars in accounts on their books in exchange for a borrower’s IOU."
- Federal Reserve Bank of New York - I Bet You Thought - p. 19
----
“That is what our money system is. If there were no debts in our money system, there wouldn’t be any money.”
- Marriner S. Eccles, Former Chairman and Governor of the Federal Reserve Board
I know both parties suck and are both responsible for the disaster that is coming. Why don't we come up with some solutions? Clearly the US is not ready for Ron Paul but at least 10% of the country is! Why not work on getting one of the states to leave the union and start over?
A war started in the 60s between liberals and conservatives and WE LOST! But that is okay so did the Founders! They left their homes of hundreds of years to come here for liberty and found themselves, after all of their struggles, in the 1770s in the same position - under the boot of the English! They realized that even leaving and moving an ocean away did not free them from tyranny so they declared their independence and won their liberty. We need to do the same today.
Pick a state, Texas, Florida, Utah I don't care and write a new Declaration of Independence (modeled after the first one) stating that the president and every member of congress swore an oath to uphold the constitution and here is a list of 9,765 ways the federal government violates the constitution. Furthermore, We the sovereign people of Texas (or whatever state) are leaving the United States as our federal government no longer respects the constitution or our sovereign rights as a free state.
i think this is end result of our current mess, and its not really a bad thing. the US was conceived as 50 different sovereign laboratories of governance, loosely connected to a federal hub, each free to pursue their own policies. that's what we'll return to when the shit finally hits the fan on the federal level. Texas, and other states that still have a frontier ethos, is not going to go down with the ship.
Gotta call bullshit on this article. Romney could have picked Adam Smith for VP and somebody is still going to bitch. And the question is no longer who can fix the economy, it's much more about who we want to preside over our collapse and reconstruction. DroneBama, or the Choir Boys?
At least the Ryan pick correctly highlights our greatest challenge and existential threat -- the economy. Now, the left cannot avoid the elephant in the room all the way up to election day. Niall Ferguson called Paul Ryan and Ron Paul the only two guys in Washington who seem to know what is going on with the economy.
It makes no sense for the author to quibble about Ryan's past congressional liberal votes unless he is claiming the leftists would do less, not more. And at least Paul Ryan has actually produced a budget that we can examine. The left has not even come up with a budget for 3 years running because they are, quite literally, too embarrassed to put anything in writing.
Obama, Biden, Pelosi and Reid insist on a fake economy with crony mandates, one light bulb at a time. None of these people can be taken seriously.
Agreed.
And that wheezing everyone hears in the background is Justice Ginsberg. Giving O'Barry another unchallenged SCOTUS pick will be the end.
Shhh...the real prize is the Senate.
Ginsberg stepping down with Obama as prez would indeed be the last sign of the Apacolypse. Senate would be great, need both to repeal Obamacare.
.....or a simple E.O.
How is having the Senate going to help if Obama just does what he wants by Executive Order and Vetoes anything he doesn't like. Reps are not going to get an 'override-proof' majority. And certainly not enought to Impeach this incompetant boob.
How ignorant you are about our Constitution. All spending bills must begin in the House, no exceptions. Therefore, nothing gets spent without the approval of the party that controls the House. Last time I checked, that was Repubs.
And WTF is the "economy" you claim is our greatest challenge and existential threat?
The Ryan pick is all about giving assurances to all of the corporate titans and FIRE economy parasites that they have nothing to fear from a Romney administration. Defense contractors will do well, as will Big Ag, Big Pharma and Big Oil. The only people thrown under the bus will be the poor, unions and other Democrat sponsors. The wealthy will get another huge tax cut that will only force my children to pay higher taxes in the future, with interest.
If you think the Ryan pick was anything else, you're dreaming.
IF Romney had chosen Rubio (Rubio has class) then it was Ok for the family to vote Rep but with this guy from Wisconsin, a place where they have so many problems and divisions, it is too risky. We are not voting REP. Sorry!! Now the decision is Dem or libertarian!!!
Rubio or Jindall would have been better choices.
Romney/Ryan is too white bread.
Not that it matters but...
TheFourthStoog-ing wrote:
Your comment is a sign of delusion. America has no hope of solvency ever again.
That is the failure of democracy. If the US is to put its financial affairs in order, it will require electing a president and entire congress, house and senate, consisting of honest, courageous politicians that put the interests of the nation as a whole ahead of their personal interests and the interests of political parties. Such politicians would never be elected in numbers amounting to more than single digits.
There is no political solution to the insolvency of the US.
Go back to playing Zelda.
I'll say it again...
Right on TheFourthStoog-ing --
This is what Americans need to realize. But they are so in the dark due to the MSM, Obama's BS speeches full of false information and misdirection, being pinned to the hamster wheel so that they can support their families, etc. etc.
Spin... crash... burn. The only logical ending.
It isn't difficult to determine consequences if you look at some history and some statistics. When morality is gone, when basic laws of economics have been violated for decades, when debt exists that is unpayable, when a credit fueled and growth addicted nation can no longer make loans, when the people slumber in wifull ignorance... it's curtains.
Yes, curtains by meticulous design of the Luciferian NWO.
Deja vu all over again Dept:
RINO McCain picked Palin and RINO Romney picked Ryan.
Romney's Intrade numbers now up to -20% below o.
Admittedly Intrade had Ryan below 10% until the announcement and totally missed the SCOTUS free pass on 0Care.
For some insight into why Ryan did not move the MR needle:
" Ryan's voting record shows a robust support of big-spending programs to enlarge the role of the federal government, especially when they are promoted by a Republican in the White House. Ryan voted for all of the big-ticket, budget-busting items of the administration of President George W. Bush, including the No Child Left Behind Act and the prescription drug benefit known as Medicare Part D, often described as the largest expansion of the welfare state since Lyndon Johnson's Great Society. Ryan voted to create the new Department of Homeland Security, including the Transportation Security Administration that has harassed air travelers, while making aircraft safe from shoes, belt buckles and grandma's knitting needles. He voted for the PATRIOT Act, giving government enhanced powers for warrantless snooping into the lives of American citizens as well as foreign nationals. Ryan voted for the Troubled Assets Relief Program that bailed out the "too big to fail" financial institutions and inspired the Tea Party rebellion against big government and "crony capitalism." He backed the auto bailout that turned GM into "Government Motors."
And while conservatives generally like to leave wars and military spending off the list of costly "big government" programs, Ryan's record on that front is also troubling. Like Romney, Ryan has no foreign policy credentials and no record of military service to point to in the election campaign. And like Romney, Ryan swallowed whole the Bush-Cheney line on Iraq and supported the decision to invade and occupy that country in a needless war that cost more than 4,000 American and hundreds of thousands Iraqi lives and has added roughly a trillion dollars to our soaring national debt. Ryan's budget calls for no reduction in military spending, despite the continued presence of U.S. troops in some 130 countries around the world, most of which have no bearing on our own national security.
Even more troubling is Ryan's vote last December in favor of the National Defense Authorization Act. The legislation included a provision authorizing the President to use the military to arrest suspected terrorists, including American citizens apprehended in the United States, and hold them indefinitely, without charges and without trial, in clear violation of due process rights guaranteed by the Constitution. This year Ryan voted against an amendment to remove that provision from the law.
Ryan did vote against reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank, which grants loans and loan guarantees to foreign governments and businesses for the purchase of U.S. products. But his vote last year for the $915 billion Omnibus Appropriations Bill for 2012 went to support further spending on housing, education, foreign aid, and other programs for which there is no constitutional role for the federal government.
On The New American magazine's latest Freedom Index, matching congressional votes with the strictures of the Constitution, Ryan's rating for the 112th Congress to date was an anemic 67 percent.
Paul Ryan is, in short, a typical Bush-era Republican, whose selection as a vice presidential candidate is being trumpeted as a triumph by many of the same Republicans who are doing their best to flush the administration of George W. Bush down the memory hole. Republican candidates almost never invoke the Bush name and the most recent Republican President will not be attending the party's convention in Tampa, where Romney and Ryan are expected to be officially nominated. Chances the name of the 43rd President will be mentioned in rare fleeting reference, if at all. Yet in his choice of running mate, Romney has chosen a loyal Bush Republican and reliable supporter of the programs and policies that made the Bush administration an anathema to genuine conservatives and an embarrassment to the nation.
Finally, the Ryan budget, while including a number of unspecified cuts in entitlement programs, would push overall spending higher than current levels. Despite its optimistic revenue projections, the Congressional Budget Office projects the Ryan plan will lead to a balanced budget by 2040.That suggests a rousing slogan for the Romney-Ryan ticket: "Slightly Less Socialism And A Balanced Budget in 28 Years.""
http://thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/item/12432-veep-pick-paul-ryan-is-no-conservative
Intrade currently has Ron Paul Nomination at 1.6%, although this could rise as more Americans figure out who Ryan is, unless Intrade has become a rigged gamne since founder Del\aney died on Mount Everest:
http://www.intrade.com/v4/markets/contract/?contractId=669534
Great comment. Up vote from me.
Who raided the Social Security coffers? Why do we keep hearing about Medicare going broke, but very little about skyrocketing medical costs? We have the most expensive health care system in the world! 46% of the elderly in America, die with an estate less than $10,000. We have allowed the FIRE sector to squeeze people throughout their productive years, and once they are old enough to retire, we use them to squeeze the system to fund the same damn health care corporations. We are not broke when we had to bail out the big business, we are broke when it comes to the people. We have allowed all this to happen right under our noses, the theft of our treasury.
Is it a surprise that Ryan will not cut the military budget? Or back off from demanding more tax cuts for the rich? It's never ever going to trickle down, it's going to offshore accounts. It has become obvious with what little we know of Romney's finances, hence he is going to double down on the far right ideology to justify his position, he has no other choice. Ultimately, either choice is doomed, no one is going to fix this, the math doesn't work. Our government is a whore on the take, has been for decades. Ryan will go full bore on making his nightmare a reality, don't believe all that walking back stuff. Like the repubs won 2010 promising jobs, and all they've done is muddy up the water with endless stupid social issues. When they reduce all those who have been impacted with this lousy economy to serfs, they wouldn't be sending jobs overseas. People will be grateful for a $2 wage. That's their long, end game. You want to try the Darwinian "Virtue of Selfishness" creed? Then Ryan is your man.
+10
2010 GOP: Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!
They get a majority, and the first they do is go after abortion and and try implementing other "Christian" values; forgetting that you can't have any religious laws, or laws based on a certain religion (which is the why the whole Sharia Law scare cracks me up. People really believed that shit)
Your end game is dead-on. Workers are easier to control when they're desperate and feel 'lucky' to make $9/hr, compared to those that make a living wage and have safety regulations. (read: busting up organized labor).
lol @ all the junking and hopefuls going on about Romney/Ryan saving the country. Did this place get infected by The Blaze or something?
What's with all the graphs and drivel? Everyday we read ZH and everyday it's the same old I know better than whoever. I mean really, it doesn't matter who's or what kind of graph we look at. If it doesn't show an end of the financial world senario then it's all BS!! It doesn't take a world class economist to know that financially we past the point of no return back 0n 9/11/2000. Anyone that's been in business knows that the truth is it's all been down hill. Even a roller coaster goes up but in the end it's all downhill!!
Does it even matter?
If Jesus Christ, our lord, saviour and according to Mormons, astronaut, comes flying down to earth to scoop up all the Mormans (is that why they all wear name tags ? )and take them to planet Kolob...if that happens will this guy be President? 'cause thats a worry!
I strongly disagree with the author.
Yes, scepticism is warranted, but choosing Ryan is the best sign to date that one candidate wants to deviate from the financial appocolypse we are heading towards. Will Romney & Ryan have all the answers? Almost certainly not. But at least we have one party that seems to at least recognize the problem. Does that make me naive? Maybe, but I don't see any "hope or change" on the other side.
Yes, Romney/Ryan "recognize" the deficit problem. But their only solution is to cut taxes for this year's voters, which will only make the deficit larger. And a larger deficit is simply another way of saying that taxes are going to go up --- just not now. Borrowing the difference is simply taxing future voters. To spend is to tax because once you spend you MUST tax.
I'm not looking for somebody to "recognize" this problem. This is not a vote for a pastor or therapist. I'm looking for somebody to solve it. So I'll be writing in Ron Paul.
Can someone fill us all in on Mittens platform? Not sure how he plans to fix this country. Of course, it might be too late. I don't think Ron Paul could fix it if he should get the WH.
props to peter pan.
this shit is inconsequential obfuscatory drivel
by the just the simple fact GS got off the hook this week you have to be a complete moron to think you live in a democracy and waste one single minute pondering this election...i like obama as a person but just seeing that reuters story on friday (hes good for the stock market) leads me to believe hes gotta go. I have no problems with things being bad i have a problem with being lied to
this may be the singe worst post I've ever read on ZeroHedge, except for when Tyler quotes Tommy Stolper verbatim
Deep sigh...
When you see the words "via" is mean that "this is were is came from... "
So this is a re post from a blog called the "Right Condition" and you can read the post in it's entirety by clicking on the link which ZH (Tyler) provided..... (I appreciate that, they (ZH), provides direct links...) it was written or Posted by Arkady K. On 8/11/2012
or you can click here.....
http://www.rightcondition.com/2012/08/mitt-romneys-selection-of-paul-rya...
I could not bring myself to "junk" you..... sadly shaking head.......
It's amusing that so many people believe elections still matter.
At the state level and local level at least, elections do still matter, there are reasons to pay attention and cast a vote.
Certain states are moving in a direction to decriminalize marijuana, for example. This is an issue that transcends partisanship. Same with a number of other issues most people agree on that go straight to the heart of individual liberty.
But when the people stay home, those initiatives get squashed and Big Pharma; Big (fill in the blank) thrives in the status quo.
In my state, this is still true and those who'd like to limit freedom count on people thinking elections don't matter, staying home.
Elections matter when state/local laws will directly result. On the national level maybe not so much given the Capture factor there.
No. Wherever you go, more than half the population is dependent on the system in way or the other. Even if your local election is legitimate, you are still the over-ruled minority. This means the status quo must persist until the end. Hell, we're all dependent on Uncle Scam's magic money machine. It's just that a few are willing to accept the truth. I guess this minority will just keep repeating the obvious like a broken record until the numb-skulls accept it or the whole thing falls apart.
Without term limits and the removal of lavish benefits, no politician should ever be trusted from any party, demo, repub, libertarian, green, etc.
"....he was obliterated because he dared to speak up against Social Security. "
Barry Goldwater got his ass handed to him not because he was "conservative" but because of his stance and votes on Civil Rights.
Your really underplaying Goldwater's comments about Vietnam and his viewpoints there on using what he called 'tactical or battlefield nukes' in Vietnam. Daisy Ad really pushed away a lot of moderates who had a financially conservative bent because they were concerned (and with some reason) that Goldwater would be batshit crazy enough to dramatically escalating Vietnam.
Would have Goldwater used nukes in Vietnam? Very slim chance he would have but his loose rhetoric around the topic and other comments made it easy for his opponents to paint him as a warmonger who would readily use nukes if necessary. Frightened the hell a lot of most Americans who had just lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis.