Tag Archives: Mitt Romney

Politics Out of Control: Somebody Please Say ‘Amen’

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Did anyone notice the color of the carpet on the debate stage?  It was an almost blinding shade of bright red? Unusual color to see anyplace but on a fire truck. Don’t believe I’ve ever seen a carpet of that color before.

The logical explanation is that the debate planners didn’t want you to see the blood on the floor.

Yes, I recused myself from criticizing the debate performance of President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney. But I have to say I’m appalled by the state of American political discourse in general. Maybe we should skip the debates and select the next president by mixed martial arts in a cage. Or if that’s over the top, maybe an old-fashioned fist fight with civilized rules and a referee.

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No Debate Criticism Tonight

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I hereby recuse myself from analyzing the debate performance of President Barack Obama, Gov. Mitt Romney, and moderator Candy Crowley. I reserve the right to criticize the performance of the cable TV commentators. Their constant analysis of the debates in the past few weeks has been over the top.  — John

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American Politics: Check Your Knife At The Door

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Here’s the shadow side of cable TV news:

“Where was Obama tonight? He should watch — well, not just ‘Hardball,’ Rachel [Maddow], he should watch you, he should watch the Reverend Al [Sharpton], he should watch Lawrence [O’Donnell], he would learn something about this debate. There’s a hot debate going on in this country. Do you know where it’s being held? Here on this network is where we’re having the debate. We have our knives out. We go after the people and the facts. What was he doing tonight? He went in there disarmed.”

That was Chris Matthews on the MSNBC post-game party after the Obama-Romney debate Wednesday night.    Continue reading →

After the First Debate

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AFTER THE FIRST DEBATE:   “Never mind.” The election goes down to the wire. Probably it will be close. The pundits on MSNBC were bitterly disappointed in President Obama’s performance. Mitt Romney took two weeks off to rest and prepare, and it paid off. He denied repeatedly that he’d cut taxes for the wealthy. He pounded the president  on investments in green energy. He accused the president of cutting Medicare funding. All Romney had to do was stand on the same stage and look like a plausible candidate. Mission accomplished.  — John

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Before the First Debate

Aside

BEFORE THE FIRST DEBATE:  After tonight’s domestic-policy debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, the outcome of the November election will be settled. That’s what I’m thinking. Romney’s ace has always been the economy,  but a growing consensus says things are improving. If Mr. Romney can’t find a way to break that mildly optimistic economic consensus tonight, he’s done.  — John

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A Brief History of (Re)Distribution

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(Re)distribution.

Mitt Romney is willing to go straight to the heart of issues that politicians usually avoid. Whether you agree or disagree with him, he’s helping us understand.

Economics is the study of the distribution of scarce resources. (I think that’s a valid statement.)

Isn’t it always about distribution?

Isn’t all of history about distribution? The distribution of scarce resources, of wealth, of power. Who owns what? Who has a right to what?

Aren’t most wars fought to redistribute land, wealth, and power? Land and the resources on or under the land are the fundamental scarce resources.

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Mitt Romney’s Economic Divide, Part 2. Lash Yourself to An Oar.

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We used to have the upper class, middle class, lower class, working class. Most of us in America pretended that class wasn’t an issue.

Retired folks living on Social Security and pensions were in a separate category. As elders and retired, they were deemed “entitled” (gasp) to the Social Security and pensions they received. They had, after all, worked long and hard to earn those Social Security and pension checks.   Continue reading →

Mitt Romney Clarifies the Economic Divide in America

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Mitt Romney is to be commended for finally bringing into focus the economic divide emerging in America.

Mitt Romney Steve Pearce event 057

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In the Winner’s Camp are people who own and control the wealth. It starts with the very richest, a tiny sliver at the top, less than one percent.  This camp also includes the affluent classes, the bankers, accountants, lawyers, executives, innovators and politicians who preside over the modern economy. They provide the brainpower to monitor, preserve, and increase the wealth.

You also find in the Winner’s Camp a large number of people who are crucial for the operation of the economy.

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Austerity Is A Lead Brick in Elections

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Takeaways from the provincial election in Quebec last week, in which the separatist Parti Québécois ousted the Liberal Party from control of the Quebec government:

  1. Voters don’t like “Austerity.” Not in Europe, and not in North America.
  2. If  there’s some friction or resentment along generational lines, the cost of college education might be a flash point, both in Europe and in North America.

You could see Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate for president, distancing himself from the dreaded Austerity on Sunday, Continue reading →