Tag: 2010 Election

Take Our Country Back!

College of Political Knowledge

2010/2012 Election Series

Lecture #2

Speech after speech…speaker after speaker…..for many years now…have used the term “take our country back” as some sort of rallying cry….usually around election time…there is this urgency to lather the populace up to force them into action…..particularly in voting for one party or the other….

But a few questions come to mind….like…..take the country back from whom?  Or just who is it that stole the country?  Just who the Hell stole the country?

Are these politicos suggesting that the American people have stolen the country?  If they are, I am sure that the American people would be interested in hearing how they did that……would it be by voting?  Or maybe they are referencing the politicians, our voices in Washington….sad to say they stole the whole pie years ago….but all that aside who are “they” saying stole the country?

When Bush II was the president, I heard some of these rumblings from the Left and now it seems to be those on the Right rumbling about those darn pesky progressives or liberals, depending on which adjective one would prefer to describe those on the so-called Left.

So right now, it is still up in the air just who are the dastardly people that have stolen our country….and the song goes on….speech after speech….speaker after speaker….all bitching about the theft of the country…..

Please, if you have some inside information on the theft of our country…share it with the rest of us…..most thinking people are at a loss for words on this theft and like me, they would like to know who the culprit/s are……..

Yet another campaign slogan that has no foot in reality…only in the minds of those that have no idea what they want from the government…..they may be against big government, but what does that mean?  They may be against wasteful government programs, but which ones are those?  Where does this type of yellow political games stop?

Apparently the American voter wants slogans with NO substance over solutions to real problems……

Why Vote For Her?

From the VOMITORIUM

Let me see if I have this about right?  Some of the candidates on this election (2010) want the government out of our lives altogether….right?  But do they really?

Neweser is reporting:

The Delaware Senate candidate opposed to masturbation who first looked like a joke has become Sarah Palin’s latest fair-haired girl. Palin has officially endorsed Christine O’Donnell in her primary race against long-time GOP congressman Mike Castle, Slate reports. Palin met with O’Donnell last month after critics viciously attacked the candidate on her lack of experience and positions, highlighting her opposition to masturbation because the Bible thumper believes “lusting in your heart” during masturbation is the same as adultery.
Democrats are more than a little gleeful that GOP and right-wing infighting may be splitting the vote on their side of the aisle, giving the Dems a boost in the general election. Castel responded to Palin’s endorsement by emphasizing the primary will be decided by “grassroots Republican voters here in Delaware, not out-of-state interest groups who are working to control the outcome.” The Castle campaign has filed an FEC complaint against O’Donnell, charging an “illegal scheme” to coordinate donations with the Tea Party Express.

I have spent decades trying to understand why people vote as they do……it is disheartening….there is little logic or for that matter rationale in the voting habits of Americans.

The type of person in the story above is one of those people that I find amusing…..they hate government involvement into our lives yet they want to involve government in our personal lives….where is the logic in that?

I stand by my belief that whatever I do to myself and that it does not harm anyone else then it is NONE of anybody’s business…if these types of people want the government out of their lives then I say get them ALL the way out….STOP trying to legislate morality!

How About Some Political Activity?

College of Political Knowledge

Professor’s Classroom

Subject:  Political Theory/Politics/

Paper #29

A loyal reader of Info Ink inspired this post, Quin of Quintessential Havoc (blogroll will get you to this insightful blog….visit soon and often)…..

Tis the season to be jolly…….wait!….that is Christmas.  But if you are a political junkie then this is truly the season to be jolly…it is the silly season…..American elections….Americans have a truly f*cked up political system….millions spent on primaries and caucuses and then million upon millions spent in the general election….and this NEVER stops…as soon as one is elected then one starts working on one’s re-election….a continuous cycle of political activity…not really activity….just political ambition.

Political activity?  I am Not talking about the silly partisan crap that Washington dines on daily….not talking about showing off one’s tan or chastising the Left or screaming about death panels or where someone is born……NONE of this is true political activity…..more like petty bullsh*t.

Then Professor, what is true political activity?

True political activity requires the formation of ideas, the construction of arguments, the capacity to understand where the people are on any given issue, the recognition of human nature and the explanation of the solutions to problems And then the defense of the stand on the issues…this is political activity and this is sadly missing in our political system today.

Just look at the goings on in Washington….does nay of it resemble political activity in the least?  Of course, I does NOT!  What we have in Washington today is partisan BS, obstructionism and a total break down in the political American system….Washington is at a standstill…..that standstill does NOTHING to improve the lives of the people in this country…it does however improve the lives and bank accounts of the people we have elected to represent us.

The American people need to wake up to the facts…..no matter which side of the spectrum you are on……NOTHING is working properly in Washington….and these are the people that YOU elected…maybe it is time to start paying attention and time to elect people who will work for the country and not just themselves……JUST A THOUGHT!

Okay…Where’s The Anger?

Daily Agitator

We have all heard since about the last of February of this year just how angry the American people are with Washington….that the American people are sick of the Washington insiders running the country into the ground.  We also have been told by the media especially, that this year was going to be the anti-incumbent year, that incumbents will have a difficult time explaining themselves to the electorate and that they could be in considerable re-election trouble.

I guess that I fell victim to this sort of thinking and reporting because I have watched our country go to crap at the hands of our elected officials…I have seen all the anger in the Tea Party protests…the anger on the radio….the anger within the different parties and their struggle to define themselves to the people.

But are the American people really as angry as they are telling us?  So far in this mid-term election season there has been at least 300 primaries and run-off elections and out of those elections only 7 non-incumbents have won their races.  Does that sound like the anti-incumbent feeling is truly taking hold?

Granted the general election in November may prove the anti-incumbent anger to be true….but as it is today does not look too good for any substantial change in Washington.  Americans will once again be trading one insider for another….and nothing will change…….normal American politics.

Apologies To Conservatives

In my numerous years of writing and analyzing politics I have made some good friends in the conservative ranks, while we may not agree totally on the direction government should take, we did treat each other with respect and the exchange of ideas has been great….I feel I must apologize to my conservative friends for this post…..while I mean every word of it, it may ruffle some feathers………and for that I regret that I have done so….

With the coming election and the possibility of gaining in the House and the Senate and you guys are passing around BS like the so-called mosque debacle or immigration and the 14th amendment and then there are those birther morons that cannot let that go…..why?…..you guys have perfect weapon against Obama and the Dems……the ECONOMY!  So why do you guys spend an inordinate amount of your election time talking about the BS mentioned above?

You guys need to find some that will step forward and put all this crap to bed….you need a strong voice for rational thought…..so far you guys are NOT using rationale or logic in these months before the general election…why?  I realize that you have very limited ideas on how to fix the country….I mean you are just re-hashing Reagan’s ideas….sorry guys…that was 30 years ago….step into the 21st century and find some real solutions for the problems of the country…..

Here is an idea…..try using the FACTS to make your case!  As long as you hold onto these conspiracy theories….you are BLOWING IT!

Some of your candidates are proving everyone on the Left right…..that you are a party of white people…or that you are a party of old guys…….that you have NO new ideas and that your only concern is to return to power and that it has NOTHING top do with what is best for the country…….

Just remember you can fool some of the people all the time….and this is what you are doing….FOOLING the American people….

I am questioning your sincerity and the collective intelligence of your leaders, when the best you can do is campaigning on emotional issues that appeal to NO one but the people that already hate the Prez and will vote against anything he is for…..what kind of political tactic is this?  That conspiracies trump facts and sanity.

Why would you think that you could attract younger voters or Hispanic voters?  You are showing your hate…..you are showing prospected voters that you have NOTHING to offer them in the way of solutions to our problems.  They are NOT listening!

What Happened To The Tea Party?

College of Political Knowledge

Election 2010/2012

We have been told that the Tea Party is the way of the future….that this is going to be around form now on because the people see the problem in Washington and that the TP has the answers to the problems.

First of all, what are their answers and what are the problems as they see it?

We have some that want to give people a literacy test before they can vote or the repealing of the 17th amendment so that the people cannot elect their senators or the one that wants to barter health care with chickens or the one that thinks civil rights was a bad idea or………

And then there is the people that are profiting from the “grassroots” activism….like

Eric Odom: Odom, who appears regularly on Fox News and on other venues as a spokesman for the tea party movement, is at the center of tea party profiteering.

Allen Fuller: According to Tennessee business records, Odom’s Strategic Activism, LLC business partner is Republican new media consultant Allen Fuller.

Glenn Beck: Beck, the most powerful promoter of the tea parties in the media, often rants during his regular programming that investing in gold is the only way to hedge against a supposed deep inflation in the future.

Dick Armey: As ThinkProgress has documented, Armey has a long history of organizing conservative grassroots causes in support of his corporate clients.

These are just some of  people that are using the anguish of the American people as their personal bank account…..not bad if you are a sleazoid….but with these people making lots of cash off the TP there is another problem…..

Some leading tea party activists are concerned that their efforts to reshape American politics, starting with the 2010 elections, are being undermined by a shortage of cash that’s partly the result of a deep ambivalence within the movement’s grass roots over the very idea of fundraising and partly attributable to an inability to win over the wealthy donors who fund the conservative establishment.

Many tea party organizations have shied away from the heavy-handed solicitations that flood the e-mail boxes of political activists. And the handful of tea party groups that have raised substantial amounts, either by embracing aggressive fundraising or through pre-existing connections to wealthy donors, are viewed suspiciously within the movement.

It seem that these are not all the problems….recently there were four primaries that had TP supported candidates and all but one failed in the voting…..is it possible that the American people are finally waking up to the game the TP is playing?  I am sure that there are some in the TP that are truly concerned about the direction of the country…..but their spokespeople, whether official or not, are not convincing too many American voters.

Watch The Trend

College of Political Knowledge

2010/2012 Election Series

The mid term election is quickly approaching but what will the outcome be?  Will the American people throw the bums out?  Or will they go for broke and elect radical Righties to lead the country?  Will the voter show logic and rationality in their voting?  Just how will the people track in their voting?

There for awhile the media was giving the Tea Party more than its fair share of influence….why do I say that?  Simple…..they missed the beginnings of the movement and now hope to capitalize on it……The media, especially conservatives in the media, have said that the people are tracking to the TP because of their anger with Washington…

Personally, I think it is much to do about nothing!  The big TP candidate has shown that he is a Repub, NOT A Teabagger!  One Scott Brown.  The TP candidates in Kentucky and Nevada and elsewhere are showing that they are truly on the fringe…some think the unemployed are causing unemployment (no! really!)……and there is one that does NOT want to eliminate Social Security, but rather wants to PHASE it out (no! really! Has been said!)  These show just how out of touch these people are….but the elections will tell just how out of touch the American people are.

If the TP cannot get a foothold in the South, where conservatism is at its highest point, then where will they find it?

A mainstream Republican rolled past a tea party activist Tuesday in the GOP runoff for a southeast Alabama congressional seat that Republicans hope to reclaim.Montgomery City Councilwoman Martha Roby was drawing 60 percent in the unofficial count in the 2nd Congressional District GOP runoff Tuesday against Rick Barber, a former Marine who operates a Montgomery pool hall that hosts tea party meetings.

Remember him?  He was the one that was in a bar talking with our Founders and said to “Gather your armies”?  His brand of politics did NOT play well in the Deep South……if not there, then where?

It is too early to look at the trends in voting…..okay something else…..Obama’s disapproval rating is 57…..Repubs are at 73% and Dems are weighing in at 67%……

I distrust polls especially the ones 4-6 months before an election…..much can happen by the time people vote and will swing approval in another direction…..the trends today point to the anger of the people will NOT translate into votes for any different type of candidate….the US will get a carbon copy of the politician that they voted out of office….nothing will change and the people can go back to bitching about their representation in Washington…a vicious cycle that few are willing to break…..the only trend that will be evident with the next election is that the TP will be proven to be a non-player……

Plato disliked democracy because he said it was “opinion over knowledge”…….and this next election will prove him correct, yet again…….people will vote with their opinions regardless of the facts…..

Hit ‘Em Hard!

The Dems seem to have found their cajones that have been lost in the past 18 months…..the following is a new DNC ad for the upcoming elections …it shows a little imagination that I thought that they were missing…there has been numerous times I thought that the Dems needed to go on the attack and they would wimp out and let it pass trying to smooth it over with some lame talking points…….but now they show some cajones….

http://bit.ly/cZtdaC

http://bit.ly/9uk5iV

Will this work in the coming elections?  Only if the people are paying attention and check the facts….ALWAYS  check the facts!

BP Must Pay!

From the VOMITORIUM

From time to time there are some things that happen in the political world that can be best described as a………..BLOWJOB!  And now it has Florida on its knees…..(pun intended)

It seems that Florida’s governor, Charlie Crist has a new idea:

Gov. Charlie Crist authorized property appraisers Wednesday to calculate lost real-estate values caused by the Gulf oil spill, so homeowners and businesses can send the tab to BP.

The governor signed an executive order authorizing property appraisers in 26 counties under threat from the oil spill to give property owners an updated assessment on their homes and businesses if they believe they have lost value because of the spill. Property owners could use the document to file a claim for damages against BP, although they wouldn’t necessarily have their tax bills lowered.

“It is logical to predict that the oil spill will result in declining property values,” Crist said at a news conference. “Businesses and families of the Gulf Coast did nothing to warrant this loss, but they bear the burden of it.”

State law requires property to pay taxes based on the value of their property in January. But in many cases — particularly for hotels and businesses dependent on the beach — their property values have dropped as much as 30 percent since then.

His action drew approval from some affected property appraisers, although staff time and cost of reappraisals will be tough on cash-strapped counties.

This is a helluva idea, right?

This is just plain stupid!  It is just another political ploy to gain votes in Crist upcoming election against Rubio.  This will probably never happen….why?  Florida has suffered much from the economic meltdown…how does one prove that the oil spill is the cause of loss of value?

If you read my stuff you know that I think that BP should be held accountable for their damage because of the oil spill….but this idea is just plain moronic…..does that mean that I can sue AIG or Goldman-Sachs for the loss of value of my property because they gambled with my money?

This is all so much political theater….after all, he has an election to win.

War Of The Words

Inkwell Institute

2010/2012 Election Series

In four months the mid term elections will be happening and in the meantime the war of the words is heating up….the silly season it has been called…..the he said, they said……all the humor of an election and the campaigns that accompany it…..

Both sides are screaming at the voter…….let us start with Obama and the Dems…..

President Barack Obama implored heartland voters Thursday to believe his economic policies averted impending disaster, pushing a hard-to-swallow message at a time when unemployment still hovers near double-digit levels.”What is absolutely clear is we’re moving in the right direction, we’re headed in the right direction,” Obama said at an electric truck factory here, before a pair of campaign appearances for Senate Democratic candidates in Missouri and Nevada.

He will be pushing his FinReg and the upcoming energy bill and he will avoid the immigration thing, for now.

The Repubs are just as guilty….they are screaming at the voter also…..

on Fox News Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he and other Republicans condemned Barton’s remarks (and forced him to apologize). In terms of the election, McConnell said the Obama-ites are seeking to change the subject from issues they plan to address this fall.The Democrats are “in deep trouble and the reason for that is the American people have looked at this administration,” McConnell said. “They’ve seen them running banks, insurance companies, car companies, nationalizing the student loan business, taking over health care, running up debts. America would like to do a mid-course correction.”

It is what the American people want (at least that is what the Repubs tell us) but so far NO one has ask me what I want (maybe they read the blog…yea right!)

The GOP will push the jobs issue…it is a winner for them…at least at the polls……even if there is NOT much sense in any proposal they have to increase employment, other than the vague promises of supply side economics.

Let us look at a well known maverick, John McCain.  He has shed his maverick moniker and embraced the views and verbiage of the far right…all in the name of re-election.  He is nothing new…it is surprising just how hollow their words are when they need to be re-elected.

No matter who wins in November……the promises of change and such are just nothing more than idle promises……but we will have to trust those campaigning to hold to their word……and we have seen how silly that prospect is from past elections.  But Americans will smile and vote and give them another chance to do the right thing…..and then the bitching will start…….we NEVER learn!

It is a “War of Words” and nothing will change but the name on the congressional office door…….