View Full Version : Some real hope now in DC
There may be hope, yet, in DC with the likes of newcomers Senator Marco Rubio (see statement below) and Congressman Allen West, Lt. Colonel (Ret.) (Comment on multiculturalism link below).
http://rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=17bcff26-0087-4095-a766-7cd2f6ed1526
Feb 17, 2011
Senator Marco Rubio On The Two-Year Anniversary Of The Failed Stimulus
In Video Statement, Rubio Says "I Hope That We Never Repeat That Mistake Again"
“It was two years ago today that President Obama signed into law the stimulus package. A law that he said would help stimulate and grow the economy. Well two years later, it is still as big a failure as it was the day it was signed. In fact, the only thing it stimulated was the national debt. This year alone, the federal government will spend over a trillion and a half more dollars than it takes in. The stimulus is a big part of that.
The stimulus didn’t fail because of bad intentions. The stimulus failed because government doesn’t create private sector jobs. U.S. senators don’t create jobs. Regulatory agencies don’t create jobs. Jobs are created by everyday people from all walks of life that start a new business or expand an existing business. The job of government is to make it easier for them to do that – not harder. And growing our debt, it makes it harder on them to do that. It makes it harder on them to do that because it dries up the availability of money that people can invest in the private sector. It makes it harder because, ultimately, it makes people afraid the future is going to include higher taxes, and higher taxes are not a stimulus generator.
The reality is, the stimulus package set us backwards, not forwards. And I hope that we never repeat that mistake again.
The most important thing we can do here in Washington, D.C., to help grow our economy is to be helpful to the people that grow the economy – the everyday people from all walks of life who have a dream and pursue it by starting a business and employing others. We need to make it easier for them to do that by getting control of runaway, excessive, and quite frankly, sometimes ridiculous regulations. We need to get a hold of this debt crisis that faces our country and that threatens our future. And we need to give people a simple, sane, fair and affordable tax code. These are the things I campaigned on. These are the things that I’ll work for as a United States Senator. I look forward to working with all of you and make all of this a reality. Thank you all. May God bless all of you, and may God bless our country, the United States of America.”
Permalink: http://rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2011/2/senator-marco-rubio-on-the-two-year-anniversary-of-the-failed-stimulus
Congressman West on Multiculturism and Political Correctness on Greta Van Susteren
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9dBhUVmShk
http://www.economist.com/node/21009942
Interesting article - IMHO it's time to choose up sides - warts and all - Madison, WI protester types or Rubio types - the country is at a precipice. YMMV.
Interesting article - IMHO it's time to choose up sides - warts and all - Madison, WI protester types or Rubio types - the country is at a precipice. YMMV.
No snark-the time to choose sides was November 2008.
No snark-the time to choose sides was November 2008.
I started with Nixon vs. McGovern. Maybe thats why mom and I never did see eye-to-eye......:rolleyes:
I started with Nixon vs. McGovern. Maybe thats why mom and I never did see eye-to-eye......:rolleyes:
My first vote, as well.
No snark-the time to choose sides was November 2008.
We must regain the next WH election - unless you have a time machine. That can be accomplished and all is not lost...yet.
IMO, however, the country as we know it might not survive a repeat of the current administration and it's policies.
We must regain the next WH election - unless you have a time machine. That can be accomplished and all is not lost...yet.
IMO, however, the country as we know it might not survive a repeat of the current administration and it's policies.
Now, isn't THAT a great idea. When will you be announcing your campaign?
Otherwise, I believe your point is understood and accepted as imperative. We'll see you in Iowa...jd
rubberneck
02-19-2011, 14:04
No snark-the time to choose sides was November 2008.
The sad reality is that we wouldn't have been any better off under an incompetent McCain then we have been under Obama. I feel comfortable saying that even though I did vote for him on general principle. The shame about the 2008 election was that the candidates were nominated mostly because of their positions on how to deal with the situation in Iraq. It wan't until after the conventions that Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and AIG cratered kicking of a credit crisis that sunk our economy. Neither candidate had a clue what to do. Even President Bush mentioned in his book that McCain looked like a deer caught in headlights during a Bush sponsored summit at the White House for the two candidates, and IMHO McCain's idiotic proposal to create the Mortgage and Financial Institutions Trust would have done as much damage to our economy as the bailouts or stimulus did.
Now, isn't THAT a great idea. When will you be announcing your campaign?
Otherwise, I believe your point is understood and accepted as imperative. We'll see you in Iowa...jd
...perhaps understood and accepted as imperative by some...but not by those in Madison, WI, et al.
The sad reality is that we wouldn't have been any better off under an incompetent McCain then we have been under Obama.
I thought long ago that McCain was the worst thing that could happen, and I'm sort of glad it turned out like it did. In other words, this nation will truly understands the differences it faces with its next candidates, as opposed to the same ignorance from previous dancing bear candidates. With a President McCain, we would have continued an ignorant and incremental progressive slide towards more stupidity. With Obama, this nation has awakened, and is paying attention like it hasn't done since Carter. The clear distinctions are being made and this country will choose better now, I HOPE.....
...perhaps understood and accepted as imperative by some...but not by those in Madison, WI, et al.
Those Union types are being bussed in and do not represent the majority in WI. Their trying to reverse an election from which a true majority voted in, so that GOV Walker could do what he's doing. Don't let them fool you....jd
I thought long ago that McCain was the worst thing that could happen, and I'm sort of glad it turned out like it did. In other words, this nation will truly understands the differences it faces with its next candidates, as opposed to the same ignorance from previous dancing bear candidates. With a President McCain, we would have continued an ignorant and incremental progressive slide towards more stupidity. With Obama, this nation has awakened, and is paying attention like it hasn't done since Carter. The clear distinctions are being made and this country will choose better now, I HOPE.....
Speaking for myself and many, many others who don't fall into the category of"we" as in "we would have continued an ignorant and incremental progressive slide towards stupidity", I can say that though McCain sucked rocks as a choice, the drastic (maybe fatal for the Country) mistake of elected Obama is definitely NOT the better event; we knew which way the wind was blowing then and we know which way it's blowing now.
You can thank females, college kids, and Africans-Born-in-America for electing Obama.
And everyday, run-of-the-mill, one-born-a-minute suckers.
Saying we're better off with Obama as President rather than McCain IMO, isn't logical.
Speaking for myself and many, many others who don't fall into the category of"we" as in "we would have continued an ignorant and incremental progressive slide towards stupidity", I can say the though McCain sucked rocks as a choice, the drastic (maybe fatal for the Country) mistake of elected Obama is definitely NOT the better event; we knew which way the wind was blowing then and we know which way it's blowing now.
You can thank females, college kids, and Africans-Born-in-America for electing Obama.
And everyday, run-of-the-mill, one-born-a-minute suckers.
Saying he's a better President than McCain would have been, IMO, isn't logical.
I hate what Obama's doing and agree that McCain would not have been as bad but, I'm glad people are waking up and that wouldn't have been the case with McCain.
I'm just pointing out that I think Obama has awakened the voters into very specific camps. No blurry lines for most anymore. We're becoming more polarized because of him and that bodes well for the next election I think....jd
I hate what Obama's doing and agree that McCain would not have been as bad but, I'm glad people are waking up and that wouldn't have been the case with McCain.
I'm just pointing out that I think Obama has awakened the voters into very specific camps. No blurry lines for most anymore. We're becoming more polarized because of him and that bodes well for the next election I think....jd
I understand what you mean; in the case of say, Hitler-would the same theorem apply?
I understand what you mean; in the case of say, Hitler-would the same theorem apply?
I think most of us who pay attention saw real concern with Obama, most of the voters obviously did not though. Other than his roughly 20% hard left folks that is, they new what they were getting. The rest of those who voted for this guy are feeling pretty gullible right about now.
I think most who voted for Hitler, new what they were getting. (He still won with about 35% of the vote ) Most who voted for Obama are not getting what they voted for.
To answer question though, were lucky that it doesn't...jd
Those Union types are being bussed in and do not represent the majority in WI. Their trying to reverse an election from which a true majority voted in, so that GOV Walker could do what he's doing. Don't let them fool you....jd
Agreed - the point of my original post and subsequent comments was that there are now clearer demarcations in policy choices and candidates than (perhaps) in 2008.
A Rubio, a West, and others - while they may have warts (like those suggested in the older Economist piece on Rubio cited above) are now IMO clearly preferable to the alternative - warts and all.
I suggest that for those sitting on the fence or sharp shooting at a less than perfect Rubio or West...that the time for the luxury of such sharp shooting (at less than perfect candidate) has passed.
Personally, although I did not vote for BHO - in the past - I could have been considered more moderate in my political tendencies - but I have observed and experienced a need to modify that position. I suspect that I am not unique in this regard.
Thus, I submit that not all potential voters for the policies of the Rubio's and West's of the world have yet to make that transition - there are numbers of folks that do not (yet) see the imperative so clearly.
And, I suspect that substantial numbers of these folks exist and that they can be won over. Moreover, IMO, the policies of the Obama administration may have rendered the classic moderate candidate somewhat irrelevant. That was the purpose of my posts that I so obviously failed to communicate without additional narrative.
Dragbag036
02-19-2011, 16:32
Speaking for myself and many, many others who don't fall into the category of"we" as in "we would have continued an ignorant and incremental progressive slide towards stupidity", I can say that though McCain sucked rocks as a choice, the drastic (maybe fatal for the Country) mistake of elected Obama is definitely NOT the better event; we knew which way the wind was blowing then and we know which way it's blowing now.
You can thank females, college kids, and Africans-Born-in-America for electing Obama.
And everyday, run-of-the-mill, one-born-a-minute suckers.
Saying we're better off with Obama as President rather than McCain IMO, isn't logical.
Really,
I usually just read...but I am an American, (happen to have darker skin) and I didn't vote for Frickin Obama. America is made up of 12.9 percent blacks. I am no math major, but that does not add up to thanking AFRICAN-BORN-IN-AMERICA for his win. I feel your pain, but check what and how you say it. I vote (R) all the time, even this time, but even I knew we had week candidates. And if we don't wake up and find someone other than the same old people, the same sh-t is going to happen. Man, when are we going to stop the frickin White vs. Black and get to whats important, THIS COUNTRY and her preservation. While the Dems are busy trying to keep their party in power by any means, we are just blaming Obama, the same thing they did with our beloved Bush. All that rhetoric back and forth is not going to help fix this country. I pray that out of the darkness someone comes along and has THIS COUNTRY at heart. Someone that will keep THIS COUNTRY great. GOD BLESS AMERICA
DB .0000000002cents
ZonieDiver
02-19-2011, 17:27
I started with Nixon vs. McGovern. Maybe thats why mom and I never did see eye-to-eye......:rolleyes:
Hey, '72 was MY first vote, too.
I voted for McGovern! I thought it was great that he had an NCO as a running mate! :)
You can thank females, college kids, and Africans-Born-in-America for electing Obama.
Double X here, got the stretch marks to prove it. I did NOT vote for Obama. I think your brush is pretty broad there. :p ;)
Double X here, got the stretch marks to prove it. I did NOT vote for Obama. I think your brush is pretty broad there. :p ;)
I'd say you're an exception.
Little broader brush-same with the Clinton election.
Women, as a rule, vote for the candidate they would most want to be seen with in a romantic situation. It's called the gender gap, and it's a well-established factor in elections.
Sorry you're overweight-tried Jenny Craig or Michelle's "Move It" program?:D
Women, as a rule, vote for the candidate they would most want to be seen with in a romantic situation. It's called the gender gap, and it's a well-established factor in elections.
Well, shoot. And here I've been voting based on the candidate's qualifications.
Sorry you're overweight-tried Jenny Craig or Michelle's "Move It" program?:D
Hey, I'm way taller than I am wide and I've never been in a "People of Walmart" email. Does that count?!
Well, shoot. And here I've been voting based on the candidate's qualifications.
Exactly. As the exception.
The only proof you need to understand my point is the fact that Obama was elected. Can you honestly say that you believe that if women weren't allowed to vote, he'd have won?
Really,
I usually just read...but I am an American, (happen to have darker skin) and I didn't vote for Frickin Obama. America is made up of 12.9 percent blacks. I am no math major, but that does not add up to thanking AFRICAN-BORN-IN-AMERICA for his win. I feel your pain, but check what and how you say it. I vote (R) all the time, even this time, but even I knew we had week candidates. And if we don't wake up and find someone other than the same old people, the same sh-t is going to happen. Man, when are we going to stop the frickin White vs. Black and get to whats important, THIS COUNTRY and her preservation. While the Dems are busy trying to keep their party in power by any means, we are just blaming Obama, the same thing they did with our beloved Bush. All that rhetoric back and forth is not going to help fix this country. I pray that out of the darkness someone comes along and has THIS COUNTRY at heart. Someone that will keep THIS COUNTRY great. GOD BLESS AMERICA
DB .0000000002cents
I didn't stop at Africans-Born-in-America; I'm not a dumbass. I included other sectors, naturally. But you can count on Blacks for a Dem vote.
Over 90 percent of Blacks (Afro, African-American, Negro, Colored-whatever you want to call it-or rather what they insist on being called) voted for Obama. That's a fact.
If you fall into that category and didn't, then you're an exception to that trend.
I'll admit that a great many people I know voted for him; folks that don't normally vote to the left. I can't begin to project what their reasoning was.
I also witnessed (first hand as the mother of two college students) how intense the democratic campaigning was on the campuses. I think the community organizer skills were a definite advantage there.
This seems to be a very restless time in the world. Winds of change are all around. What is the old Chinese saying, "may you live in interesting times"? I think the Chinese may get their wish.
I'll admit that a great many people I know voted for him; folks that don't normally vote to the left.
...with less and less admitting to it daily. :D
The Reaper
02-19-2011, 23:35
I think a large number of people voted for Obama based on the promises he so articulately made (however implausible) and the fact there was a fair amount of Bush fatigue/derangement syndrome, much of it driven by the MSM.
There was also a lot of voter fraud, my wife and I each witnessed fraud when we went to vote.
Add in the fact that McCain was not a favorite of the conservatives in the party, and frankly, I am surprised that he did as well as he did. I still voted for McCain, though it left a bad taste to have to do it.
Despite the fact that President Obama can do no wrong in the minds of many black Americans, I think we still have to consider their votes and reach out to them when we can. If we made inroads and captured a few more points of black, Hispanic, and female voters next time while holding the core Republican votes, it might at least make the election more competitive.
As Dragbag noted, not all blacks voted for Obama, nor did all women, and we need to expand our inroads to these groups, not offend them.
IMHO, the Democratic Party takes the black vote for granted, and has done far more to hurt the black community than to help it.
I have my prejudices, just like anyone else, but look forward to the day when we have black conservatives like J.C. Watts, Condi Rice, or Allan West to vote for as national candidates. My opposition to Obama is based more on his lack of substance, inexperience, and far left positions on almost every issue. I believe that his political ineptitude was unsuspected by most till after he was elected.
I have hopes that the sheeple will wake up prior to the next election, but would not be at all surprised to see President Obama re-elected.
The real issue is who among the Republicans is going to run against him. If that candidate is not able to motivate conservative as well as moderate voters, we might as well begin preparing for another Obama term.
Just my .02, YMMV.
TR
Over 90 percent of Blacks (Afro, African-American, Negro, Colored-whatever you want to call it-or rather what they insist on being called) voted for [the president]. That's a fact.A question that follows is: Did blacks vote for Democratic party's nominee because of his race or because he was a democrat?
Frank Newport summarized the findings of a 2008 Gallup Poll as follows. (Source is here (http://www.gallup.com/poll/107770/Most-Say-Race-Will-Factor-Their-Presidential-Vote.aspx).)PRINCETON, NJ -- A large majority of blacks, 78%, and an even larger majority of whites, 88%, say the fact that Barack Obama is black makes no difference in terms of their likelihood of voting for him for president.
This may appear to be an unusually high percentage of blacks saying Obama's race makes no difference, given that his nomination will mark a historic moment in American political history -- the first black candidate to capture a major party's nomination.
Without question, blacks are going to vote for Obama in overwhelming numbers; the latest Gallup tracking shows that Obama gets 93% of the black vote when pitted against Republican John McCain in a hypothetical trial heat.
So on the one hand, black voters say Obama's race makes no difference to them, and on the other hand, about 9 out of 10 blacks say they will vote for Obama. But the high percentage of the black vote going to Obama is not unusual. Gallup polling estimated that John Kerry received 93% of the black vote in 2004, and Al Gore received 95% in 2000. So it may be that black voters are making the (correct) self-observation that they would be voting for the Democratic candidate regardless of his or her race, meaning that Obama's particular race is not a deciding factor for them.MOO, it is risky to infer (and even moreso to intimate) that blacks vote one way or another because of a candidate's race.
I think a more sustainable approach is to consider the likelihood that blacks, like other Americans, consistently use their votes to advance their own self-defined interests. If we want blacks either to redefine those interests and/or to reconsider how they advance their interests but fail to communicate in an appropriate manner, then we will continue to push away a cohort of Americans who might otherwise embrace candidates and policies that expand their economic opportunities <<LINK (http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CBYQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blackeconomics.org%2FBE%26Lit %2FBRITE.pdf&rct=j&q=blacks%20percentage%20of%20gdp&ei=EbFgTc-GJJG4sAPtj9TQCA&usg=AFQjCNGRFL3nknCD7UwtdTnQv1s148UATQ&cad=rja)>>.
incarcerated
02-20-2011, 02:27
Man, when are we going to stop the frickin White vs. Black and get to whats important, THIS COUNTRY and her preservation. While the Dems are busy trying to keep their party in power by any means, we are just blaming Obama, the same thing they did with our beloved Bush. All that rhetoric back and forth is not going to help fix this country. I pray that out of the darkness someone comes along and has THIS COUNTRY at heart. Someone that will keep THIS COUNTRY great. GOD BLESS AMERICA
Thank you for saying that.
MOO, it is risky to infer (and even moreso to intimate) that blacks vote one way or another because of a candidate's race.
I've evidently, again, not communicated well, and I think it's because of my use of the turn-of-phrase "Africans-Born-In-America". That is a group of voters I refer to in those terms because they seem to be obsessed with the notion that they need to identify themselves as Africans first and Americans second. Many Mexicans (another bloc wooed by both parties) do the same.
Please show me where I've inferred that Blacks voted for Obama because of his race. I listed women, college kids, etc. as culprits as well-did I infer that they had the same racial prejudice? I "broadened the brush" re: the female vote by including the votes for Clinton; I should have made certain that I mentioned the other sectors as well, I suppose-especially Blacks-to avoid coming across as prejudice.
No, it's not the Black I'm prejudiced against. It's the liberal democrat.
I I still voted for McCain, though it left a bad taste to have to do it.
IMHO, the Democratic Party takes the black vote for granted, and has done far more to hurt the black community than to help it.
TR
These are my thoughts, as well.