Is a Mitch Daniels candidacy being ‘Trumped’?
The announcement by Haley Barbour that he will not seek the 2012 GOP presidential nomination was a bit of a disappointment, and I mean that seriously.
No, I don’t think Barbour would have made a good president, and I doubt he would even have been a top contender for the nomination. But he did have — how should I put this? — an appreciation for basic reality and seriousness that too many other candidates in the GOP field do not.
At one point in their careers, the same could have been said of Tim Pawlenty and Mitt Romney, but since those two former governors volunteered for Extreme Makeover, Political Edition, they’ve emerged almost unrecognizable and have repudiated their former selves. I’m not sure who they are anymore, and I’m not sure they know who they are.
The only remaining potential candidate with a firm grounding in this factual universe is Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels. While I wouldn’t vote for him against President Obama, I could certainly envision Daniels as president without fearing for the future of my country. And I can’t say that about the rest of the GOP field.
So I’m hoping Daniels runs, both for the good of the Republican Party and for the country, but he clearly has some misgivings. (He’s expected to announce his decision in the next week or two). I have to wonder whether Daniels’ misgivings might have increased in the last few weeks as he watched the clownish Donald Trump rise rapidly in the GOP polls.
Someone such as Daniels would be the anti-Trump, presumably unwilling to pander to the birtherism and Islamaphobia rampant on the right. Given the current environment, he has reason to question just how much of a market there might be for what he has to offer.
– Jay Bookman
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435 comments Add your comment
Joe Mama
April 26th, 2011
5:14 pm
USMC — “I think Legalizing drugs would be a huge success for our country and society. Legalization removes MOST if not all of the crime element similar to the effect that doing away with prohibition had on crime.”
On this point, sir, we are in agreement.
FWIW, you’d get the same effect if you legalized and regulated prostitution, thereby cutting pimps and organized crime out of the picture. It doesn’t seem to have done Nevada any harm.
jm
April 26th, 2011
5:14 pm
Taxpayer 5:04 – anytime you get a structured investment vehicle with that kind of dividend yield, it means there’s a lot of risk being taken…. no (economically) free lunches.
Left wing management
April 26th, 2011
5:15 pm
Is anyone else a little freaked out at the eerie lack of plausible candidates for president these days? Am I the only one who wonders if this is another sign of our following in Rome’s footsteps? Amidst all the cut-throat competition for the office and mountains of money being spent, there’s a weird disconnect in the serious lack of gravitas, experience, and increasingly, willingness among potential occupants of the office. Another decade or two like this and we’ll have to start importing our presidents from abroad and paying them handsomely. Well, good thing so much dough is going into the campaign, someday we may need it to pay someone to actually do the job.
Just an observation
April 26th, 2011
5:17 pm
Many of the posters here mirror the current crop of Republican candidates, all trying to out “Republican” the other. In other words, take irrationality to a whole new level. For instance the posters who can’t post anything without calling the President some goofy name. I guess that’s meant to show that not only are they against Obama, they are REALLY against him. It’s funny but a bit pathetic as well.
This isn’t some game, it’s the welfare of our country. Obama could solve all the world’s evils tomorrow and some of you sound as though you’d be angry because he would then receive credit. Grow up already, and get past the “us versus them” mentality. We will either all win or all lose together.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
April 26th, 2011
5:19 pm
Poison, you still beating your wife?
jm
April 26th, 2011
5:19 pm
Taxpayer 5:04. You’ve got $83B in assets, $73B in debt, almost all of it short term. That’s an 8.3x leverage ratio (not as bad as the investment banks at their height, but exceedingly risk), all financed with short term debt. Recipe for blow up. If you get a 12% decline in the value of the assets, the equity is worth $0 (never mind the dividend yield).
pogo
April 26th, 2011
5:19 pm
Trump is non-starter Jay. You have to know this. As pertaining to the previous thred, why didn’t you talk about the “Big Dig” in Boston? That is “The” earmark against which all others must be judged. It cost the American taxpayers billions and billions in overuns and union corruption. I think Democrats just may have been involved in the decision making on the appropriations for that one, don’t you? That being said, I agree with you that it has to end, but please don’t just point at one side. You’re far too intelligent to think that only Republicans “deliver the bacon” aren’t you? I mean, Obama has been delivering it to the unions for their support since 2008, hasn’t he? Look at what the bail-out of General motors is going to ultimately cost us. I think it is in the neighborhood of something like 40 billion and now even Obama is wanting to dump their stock (at a huge loss to the American taxpayers) because he knows it is a loser.
Someone here today asked the question on whether you are a journalist or political hack. Are you a journalist Jay? Or are you, as one of your defenders implied, just an Op-Ed man who is supposed to have political bias? Op-Ed men and women are a dime a dozen and in the grand scheme they are pretty much disposable. On the other hand, true journalists are becoming an extinct species. If you are just an Op-Ed writer, I think that it is a huge waste of intellectual talent.
getalife
April 26th, 2011
5:24 pm
Now is not a good time to change leadership.
Too much going on.
AmVet - A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned how to walk forward. ~Franklin D. Roosevelt
April 26th, 2011
5:26 pm
Poor poison pen, did I irk your sensitive little soul?
Interesting because, I didn’t mean to offend you so personally.
Hombre, you’ve been humiliated so many times on this forum, by so many different people, that you no longer even have the balls, presuming you ever did, to try and insult people directly, do you?
You just gossip about them like a little hen.
Pathetic with a capital P.
Now go back to lurking under your bed, until you show up once again with another equally childish “contribution”…
TaxPayer
April 26th, 2011
5:27 pm
jm,
It sounds like NLY is not for you then. Might I suggest AIG or Washington Mutual.
Logical Dude
April 26th, 2011
5:28 pm
getalife: Now is not a good time to change leadership. Too much going on.
I don’t buy that argument at all. It seems to be what gave us Bush for 8 years instead of 4. It’s okay to change leadership if the country wants a new leader.
But then, they are ALL IN IT TOGETHER in the first place, so new leaders change things here and there, but overall, they’re all IN IT FOR THE MONEY. (see Jay’s article).
Fiscally, What’s the difference between Bush and Obama? Each has cronies and lobbyists that move the money around in circles, draining it away from the rest of us.
Recon (2nd.and 3rd.)
April 26th, 2011
5:28 pm
“Now is not a good time to change leadership.”
That’s the problem, we don’t have leadership.
Left wing management
April 26th, 2011
5:28 pm
Southern Comfort, I see. Thanks for explanation
jm
April 26th, 2011
5:32 pm
reuters
Pressure on the six senators to deliver a report as soon as next week has intensified in recent days, because a separate deficit-reduction panel led by Vice President Joe Biden, due to meet for the first time on May 5, is viewed by many on Capitol Hill as little more than political theater.
A U.S. Senate aide derided the Biden panel as “an entirely made-up thing.”
jm
April 26th, 2011
5:34 pm
Taxpayer 5:27 – your choice. no thanks. good luck with that.
Dave R.
April 26th, 2011
5:34 pm
” Amidst all the cut-throat competition for the office and mountains of money being spent, there’s a weird disconnect in the serious lack of gravitas, experience, ”
But enough about Hope & Punt ™ . . .
Joe Mama
April 26th, 2011
5:35 pm
Recon: “That’s the problem, we don’t have leadership.”
I don’t see how the GOP’s problems are the fault of the Democrats.
Dave R.
April 26th, 2011
5:35 pm
“A U.S. Senate aide derided the Biden panel as “an entirely made-up thing.””
But enough about Biden’s hairline . . .
Logical Dude
April 26th, 2011
5:35 pm
jm: separate deficit-reduction panel
And what was wrong with the one last year that gave recommendations?
OH YEAH! Because they need to HIRE MORE CONSULTANTS to move the money back around in circles, all the while leaving the US people to keep tossing money into the neverending whirlwind of lobbyist-legislator-contractor-lobbyist.
Left wing management
April 26th, 2011
5:37 pm
pogo: “Trump is non-starter Jay. You have to know this.”
Funny how many people are making this mistake, both on left and right.
I’d put it to you that if you don’t think Trump’s for real – in terms of how far he could go, all questions of his motivations aside – then you are falling into quite a trap. Trump has all the clownish showmanship, the blustering, the strongman bravado and contempuous dismissal of expert mumbo jumbo (which Americans just love), and the big brand name that he’ll need to easily win over enough independents to overcome any qualms GOP base voters might have with his past flirtations with liberal interests. So he has to be taken very very seriously.
As I’ve said. Americans love a strongman who makes the experts squirm and look foolish, and Trump is that on steroids, and could potentially be a whole lot more, if he chose to play the game. He could easily be our Berlusconi here in a couple of years if we’re not careful.
jm
April 26th, 2011
5:37 pm
WH is revving up the Daniels character assassination machine….
President Obama thinks Mitch Daniels is a “serious person,” but he’s not going to make any predictions about the Indiana governor’s place in the 2012 presidential field.
“You know, it’s a little early to start prognosticating. I’m going to let the Republicans sort out who they think their standard-bearer should be,” Obama said in an interview with WTHR Indianapolis. “I think Governor Daniels is a serious person. I have some significant philosophical differences with him.”
The interview with the local NBC affiliate was given last Monday, but the station showed the 20-second clip Sunday evening and promised to air more snippets of the conversation in coming weeks.
jm
April 26th, 2011
5:37 pm
Logical Dude – Obama didn’t like the result of the previous commission, so he swept it under the carpet.
Obama has no credibility anymore.
Yahtzee
April 26th, 2011
5:38 pm
“While I wouldn’t vote for him against President Obama, I could certainly envision Daniels as president without fearing for the future of my country. And I can’t say that about the rest of the GOP field.”
And you feel safe with Obama as president? That’s laughable. I’m starting to wonder why I even waste my time reading anything you write, Jay. What’s really sad though is that your “writing” is a reflection of most mainstream “news” that is being reported.
Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.
TaxPayer
April 26th, 2011
5:40 pm
jm,
I’m sure it is not for everyone. I bought in at $14 and I may have to think about an exit strategy in the near future.
Southern Comfort (aka The Man)
April 26th, 2011
5:41 pm
LWM
No prob.
Kamchak
April 26th, 2011
5:42 pm
I’m starting to wonder why I even waste my time reading anything you write, Jay.
Don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out, sport.
Jay
April 26th, 2011
5:48 pm
“WH is revving up the Daniels character assassination machine….
President Obama thinks Mitch Daniels is a “serious person,” but he’s not going to make any predictions about the Indiana governor’s place in the 2012 presidential field.
“You know, it’s a little early to start prognosticating. I’m going to let the Republicans sort out who they think their standard-bearer should be,” Obama said in an interview with WTHR Indianapolis. “I think Governor Daniels is a serious person. I have some significant philosophical differences with him.”
Boy, that’s some character attack there, jm.
Joe Mama
April 26th, 2011
5:54 pm
jm — “Obama has no credibility anymore.”
Please tell us specifically when, why and how you made this determination. Also please tell us if you *ever* felt that President Obama had credibility in the first place.
jm
April 26th, 2011
5:57 pm
Jay 5:48 – you’re right, that wasn’t. They’re teeing it up in the background (off stage) in case he decides to run.
Joe Mama 5:54 – over the last 12 months, no specific date, though the deficit commission rolling really gets my goat. Did he ever have credibility? In my mind, yeah, I guess when I voted for him.
jm
April 26th, 2011
6:00 pm
Commentary by Caroline Baum
April 26 (Bloomberg) — When President Barack Obama took his deficit-reduction show on the road last week, he found audiences had more on their minds than spending cuts and tax increases.
“What are you doing about gas prices?” someone at a town- hall-style meeting at North Virginia Community College in Annandale wanted to know.
The reaction of town-hall attendees to soaring gas prices, which hit a nation-wide average of $3.84 last week, probably isn’t much different than that of ordinary Americans, who are devoting a bigger chunk of the household budget to filling the tank.
What exactly do folks have in mind when they ask the president what he’s doing about oil prices, which are set by the market? Do they want him to respond with, “Drill baby drill”?
I doubt it. Environmentalists haven’t warmed up to oil exploration and drilling since last year’s Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.
Maybe the public wants more hydraulic fracturing to extract the vast supplies of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale formation in the Appalachian Basin, which would reduce demand for oil-based products? Not in my backyard, thank you.
Or, was the question about gas prices a sign of support for the administration’s clean energy initiatives? Not unless windmills can power autos.
I’ve got it! Along with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, Americans want a guarantee of cheap gas prices. All that stuff about us wanting less government in our lives, the take-away from the 2010 mid-term election, is just a bunch of hooey.
http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=aQ9mu4t7HaTQ
jm
April 26th, 2011
6:02 pm
Last week, after Standard & Poor’s lowered its outlook to negative for America’s AAA long-term sovereign credit rating, I asked Nikola Swann, the primary credit analyst on the report, about recent parallels. He told me that, in the mid-1990s, both S&P and Moody’s downgraded Canada’s credit rating (from AAA to AA+ and Aa2, respectively), as a result of the country’s deteriorating fiscal situation, the lack of a plan to deal with it and a reliance on external borrowing.
O Canada
Canada’s deficit as a share of gross domestic product had, in the early ‘90s, ballooned to 9.1 percent, and public debt had risen to 68.4 percent of GDP. By comparison, the U.S.’s publicly held debt is expected to reach 72 percent of GDP this year, according to the White House Office of Management and Budget.
-looks like we’re due for a real downgrade.
jm
April 26th, 2011
6:03 pm
Canada worked hard to regain its AAA status in 2002.
“Canadians felt embarrassed by the downgrade, which helped build grassroots support for fiscal discipline,” Swann said.
The groundswell of public support to do whatever it would take to get Canada’s fiscal house in order started with the ouster of the ruling Progressive Conservative Party and the installation of the Liberal Party. Prime Minister Jean Chretien and Finance Minister Paul Martin slashed federal spending by 20 percent. Provincial and local governments came to see balancing the budget as a virtue. By 1998, Canada went from chronic budget deficits to a surplus.
I’ve heard a lot of emotions expressed about the U.S. fiscal stalemate, but embarrassment isn’t one of them.
Instead, opinion polls consistently show that Americans don’t want cuts in their Medicare and Social Security benefits. They don’t want to pay higher taxes. The one thing most Americans favor is raising taxes on the rich.
The trouble is, there aren’t enough rich folks to provide for our unlimited wants. Once people accept this, then the government can proceed with a deficit-reduction plan. If we can’t send a message to Washington that we are willing to accept sacrifices, then we’re the ones who should be embarrassed.
jm
April 26th, 2011
6:05 pm
Yep. I’m embarrassed for my ignorant-arse country that thinks the deficit can be fixed without raising taxes or by just raising taxes on the rich, or by not cutting entitlements.
Atlanta 1
April 26th, 2011
6:06 pm
Right from the AJC: Why Standard and Poor ‘down graded’ the U.S..
Outstanding public debt: $14.26 trillion, aka $14,260,000,000,000.00. That’s a lot of zeros.
• GDP in 2010: $14.66 trillion. That means debt constitutes 96.3 percent of our annual gross domestic product.
• Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac obligations: $5 trillion
• Social Security’s unfunded obligations: $7.7 trillion
• Medicare/Medicaid’s unfunded obligations: $38.2 trillion
• Combined total debt and unfunded obligations: $65.56 trillion
At this point, I don’t care if your a ‘lefty like Jay’ or a ‘righty like Limbaugh’ – I just want a real plan laid in place to reduce the debt. Cut ‘everything’ – Defense and Social Security/Medicare/Medicaid – reshape our policies based upon those cuts. Drop the ‘national healthcare’ nightmare right now. Do all of this before it is too late… Do it for your kids and their kids…
jm
April 26th, 2011
6:06 pm
3rd rate USA…..
josef nix
April 26th, 2011
6:07 pm
jm
If the USA is third rate, who’s first and second rate?
Joe Mama
April 26th, 2011
6:08 pm
jm — “Did he ever have credibility? In my mind, yeah, I guess when I voted for him.”
Well, I am also disappointed in him and what he’s delivered, but I can’t imagine that the Republicans would have done a better job. Frankly, I think that half a friend is better than an outright enemy.
jm
April 26th, 2011
6:08 pm
You know why the country is in a damn mess and nothing’s happening? Because Obama, the President of the United States, has not leveled with this country and helped to educate them on the problems.
Either out of ignorance, cognitive dissonance, or spinelessness. And I don’t care what the reason is, he’s gotta go.
jm
April 26th, 2011
6:09 pm
josef nix – I’d say Canada’s back in 1st rate. Norway, Israel, Germany…
jm
April 26th, 2011
6:10 pm
Singapore, Australia…..
Midori
April 26th, 2011
6:11 pm
AmVet, Getalife, Bosch, Kammy, Joe Mama, Mrs. G: http://www.wftv.com/video/27677949/index.html
All who voted with/for Ryan is getting a taste of this.
josef nix
April 26th, 2011
6:12 pm
jm
Okay…going there, and what is the GDP of those in comparison with the USA..? Size does matter…
jm
April 26th, 2011
6:12 pm
Jay, this will be the Obama mantra, even though it is a bunch of bunk: “Mitch Daniels was W’s budget director and therefore responsible for all the Bush deficits that put this country on the path to decline and therefore he is responsible for our current disaster.”
Oh yes, and I’m sure they’ll trot out the tired old refrain: “he’s beholden to big corporate interests, the big banks, etc etc.”
Lil' Barry Bailout
April 26th, 2011
6:15 pm
• Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac obligations: $5 trillion (Democrat failure)
• Social Security’s unfunded obligations: $7.7 trillion (Democrat failure)
• Medicare/Medicaid’s unfunded obligations: $38.2 trillion (Democrat failure)
Heckuva job putting those big-government social welfare programs together, Democrats!
jm
April 26th, 2011
6:15 pm
josef nix 6:12 – well, it is perhaps easier to fix a smaller country than a larger, more diverse one. But that doesn’t absolve anyone from trying to fix the problem.
Reminds me of the movie (Disclosure) with Demi Moore and Michael Douglas. Where he is reminded, and finally gets the refrain: fix the problem.
Joe Mama
April 26th, 2011
6:15 pm
Midori, I don’t know much about that Webster fellow. Is the he one who’s holding Dan Grayson’s old seat?
ζῷον λογικόν
April 26th, 2011
6:17 pm
“Well, I am also disappointed in him and what he’s delivered, but I can’t imagine that the Republicans would have done a better job. Frankly, I think that half a friend is better than an outright enemy.”
I’m with Joe Mama.
Small Govt = Good Govt
April 26th, 2011
6:18 pm
Less corruption.
Efficient economy.
Less favoritism.
Less value to lobbying.
Less waste.
Better real wages.
More competitive economy.
Get it?
Midori
April 26th, 2011
6:20 pm
Joe Mama – it’s Alan Grayson (Florida), and yes, this is the guy who replaced him.
getalife
April 26th, 2011
6:23 pm
Attention voters:
The gop will end Medicare.
They voted for it.
Stand up at town halls and scream at them.
Get your corrupt hands of my Medicare gop.
Joe Mama
April 26th, 2011
6:23 pm
Alan Grayson, yes, mea culpa. It’s been a long week, lol. I blame insufficient caffeination for my slip-up.
Thanks for the clarification. Did this Webster fellow run as a Tea Party candidate, or as a more typical example of the GOP species?
Kamchak
April 26th, 2011
6:24 pm
Hiya Midori
Kinda makes me wonder why some young enterprising entrepreneur hasn’t set up a concession out side town hall meetings selling torches and pitchforks.
Jay
April 26th, 2011
6:25 pm
That’s not character assassination, jm. Whatever you think of its validity, it’s critiquing him on the basis of his record of public service, not attacking his character.
Lil' Barry Bailout
April 26th, 2011
6:25 pm
gottalie: If you’re on Medicare already, then there are no changes in the Ryan plan that affect that.
Dave R.
April 26th, 2011
6:26 pm
Attention voters:
Anyone who tells you the GOP voted to end Medicare is a lying sack of . . .
And if you’re too stupid to figure that out, you shouldn’t be voting.
Lil' Barry Bailout
April 26th, 2011
6:27 pm
Fear not, gottalie, your handouts are intact!
Joe Mama
April 26th, 2011
6:27 pm
getalife: “Attention voters:
The gop will end Medicare.
They voted for it.
Stand up at town halls and scream at them.
Get your corrupt hands of my Medicare gop.”
I’m also concerned about what they will do to veterans’ benefits. I’m a disabled vet, but I don’t need the bennies NEARLY as bad as some of my brothers and sisters in arms who have seen action in Iraq and Afghanistan. And I need not go into detail about our Vietnam vets.
Those of you who do go to press your cases to your Congressmen and Senators, please don’t forget about the disabled vets who can’t come plead their cases in person.
They stood up for you. Please make an effort to stand up for them.
getalife
April 26th, 2011
6:28 pm
lil w ,
Never ever let them get their corrupt hands on Medicare or SS. Period.
What in the world is wrong with you?
Kamchak
April 26th, 2011
6:29 pm
Anyone who tells you the
GOP voted to end Medicaresmoking gun is the mushroom cloud is a lying sack of . . .And if you’re too stupid to figure that out, you shouldn’t be voting.
FYT.
getalife
April 26th, 2011
6:29 pm
“your handouts are intact!”
Blatant liar.
We paid for it silly.
getalife
April 26th, 2011
6:31 pm
The gop voted to privatize Medicare and end it. Fact.
Not my Real Name
April 26th, 2011
6:31 pm
Trump for President.
Allen West for VP
Ron Paul for Treasury Secretary
Giuliani for Attorney General
Petraeus for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Bolton for Secretary of State
Joe Mama
April 26th, 2011
6:32 pm
NMRN: “Trump for President.
Allen West for VP
Ron Paul for Treasury Secretary
Giuliani for Attorney General
Petraeus for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Bolton for Secretary of State”
Thorazine and straitjackets for some, reeducation camps and vicious beatings for others!
getalife
April 26th, 2011
6:34 pm
dave is calling all those Americans standing up and creaming at the gop to get their corrupt hands off their medicare “a lying sack of . . .
And if you’re too stupid to figure that out, you shouldn’t be voting.”
dave owes us a apology.
Dave R.
April 26th, 2011
6:35 pm
“The gop voted to privatize Medicare and end it. Fact.”
Lie.
Even PolitiFACT gave it their lowest rating of “Pants on Fire”.
Dave R.
April 26th, 2011
6:36 pm
“dave owes us a apology.”
Blatant liars get no apology from me.
Liars are the scum of the earth.
Not my Real Name
April 26th, 2011
6:36 pm
Joe’s Mommie:
“Thorazine and straitjackets for some, reeducation camps and vicious beatings for others!”
We save that good stuff for the animals at Gitmo and ADX Supermax.
ζῷον λογικόν
April 26th, 2011
6:37 pm
Dave R. “Even PolitiFACT gave it their lowest rating of “Pants on Fire”.
Could you link to that?
getalife
April 26th, 2011
6:38 pm
“Republicans Just Voted To End Medicare — So Where’s The Outrage?”
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/republicans-just-voted-to-end-medicare—-so-wheres-the-outrage.php
It is at gop town halls.
I am going to mine.
Stand up Americans.
Joe Mama
April 26th, 2011
6:42 pm
NMRN: “We save that good stuff for the animals at Gitmo and ADX Supermax.”
I should hope not. We should be better than those whom we mean to imprison.
getalife
April 26th, 2011
6:42 pm
Apologize dave.
Real Americans are standing up while you are bowing down.
MarkV
April 26th, 2011
6:42 pm
The Republicans in the House voted to end Medicare for younger people, and they cannot keep denying it. The try to deny it using a rather disingenuous trick – they would call a completely different program again “Medicare,” but that does not seem to fool anybody.
Dave R.
April 26th, 2011
6:42 pm
“Could you link to that?”
Politifact is featured on the AJC site.
Paulo977
April 26th, 2011
6:43 pm
USMC
re: your attack on Obama’s inexperience in the White House …. These accomplishments emerged as a result of his inexperience… WOW WOW and WOW again!!
http://3chicspolitico.com/president-obamas-accomplishments/
Dave R.
April 26th, 2011
6:44 pm
“Real Americans are standing up while you are bowing down.”
WTF????
That comment alone proves you’re not all together upstairs, getaclue.
Not my Real Name
April 26th, 2011
6:45 pm
Yes Mommie,
Those Mafia kingpins, terrorists, gang leaders and cold-blooded killers deserve our mercy…
You’re wacked Mom !!
Those inmates should suffer 24 hrs a day until they die !
Keep Up the Good Fight!
April 26th, 2011
6:45 pm
Dave..settle down Dave..
Let’s just admit it. The Ryan Plan is the end of Medicare as we currently know it, correct? The House Republicans voted for the Ryan Plan and very soon the Senate may get the same chance.
Dave R.
April 26th, 2011
6:47 pm
“re: your attack on Obama’s inexperience in the White House …. These accomplishments emerged as a result of his inexperience”
Yeah, I can make things up by pulling crap out of my butt, too.
Has about the same validity as the fawning 3 Chics list.
getalife
April 26th, 2011
6:47 pm
Yeah dave.
Admit it.
Midori
April 26th, 2011
6:48 pm
Joe — from his website: http://www.electwebster.com/
click on “about daniel”
Not my Real Name
April 26th, 2011
6:49 pm
I have an old friend stationed at Gitmo. When KSM walks up the stairs to his gallows with the flashbulbs popping and cameras rolling America starts to turn in the right direction.
His corpse ought to be cut down into a pool of pigs blood and then be buried face-down pointed West.
Dave R.
April 26th, 2011
6:50 pm
“Let’s just admit it. The Ryan Plan is the end of Medicare as we currently know it, correct?”
Keep, shifting the payment structure is not ending ANYTHING regarding the program.
There aren’t enough fainting couches for everyone who thinks Medicare is going away.
Joe Mama
April 26th, 2011
6:52 pm
NMRN: “Yes Mommie,”
Making fun of another poster’s handle marks you as a foolish person and not someone to be taken or treated seriously.
“Those Mafia kingpins,”
Kingpin or not, forced medication, restraints and beatings fall under cruel and unusual punishment and are Constitutionally-prohibited forms of punishment.
“terrorists,”
How many Gitmo inmates have been tried and found guilty, please? Those that have not been tried and found guilty are *accused* terrorists. An accusation does not make one guilty.
“gang leaders”
As with mafiosi above, forced medication, restraints and beatings fall under cruel and unusual punishment and are Constitutionally-prohibited forms of punishment.
“and cold-blooded killers”
Again, as with mafiosi and gang leaders above . . . go back and reread, please.
“deserve our mercy…”
I said nothing about mercy, and the thought did not enter my mind. Imprisoning someone for life is quite a good punishment; there’s no need to beat, restrain or drug them as well.
“You’re wacked Mom !!”
No, just scrupulous in my adherence to both the letter and the spirit of the law and the Constitution. I can’t speak for you, though.
“Those inmates should suffer 24 hrs a day until they die !”
You don’t suppose that people in jail might already *be* suffering by dint of their incarceration, do you?
Keep Up the Good Fight!
April 26th, 2011
6:55 pm
Dave, is it not an end to Medicare as we currently know it. Medicare will no longer pay and instead you will get a voucher applicable to the purchase of a private plan. Medicare beneficiarie will pay more for their own insurance accounting to the CBO. That is not ending anything??
Joe Mama
April 26th, 2011
6:58 pm
Thanks very much for that, Midori. He sounds tea-ish, but he doesn’t seem to explicitly associate himself with them.
Doggone/GA
April 26th, 2011
6:59 pm
“You don’t suppose that people in jail might already *be* suffering by dint of their incarceration, do you?”
You’re seriously missing the whole point. It’s all about “I want to see some punishment” Argus Filch
It doesn’t MATTER is they are guilty or not. As long as they are punished.
Dave R.
April 26th, 2011
6:59 pm
“Medicare beneficiarie will pay more for their own insurance accounting to the CBO.”
And the CBO numbers have also been debunked by Politifact.
I’m sorry, but I haven’t believed in the CBO’s accuracy since the late Clinton years. They are entirely too beholden to whoever feeds them the data they are to massage. They’ve been wrong on virtually everything for the past dozen years.
josef nix
April 26th, 2011
7:02 pm
Joe Mama
Why try to argue the rule of law as the fundamental of a democratic state with the emotional reactionary? It serves little or no purpose. We should be more concerned with how this present administration has kept in place policies from the previous one which are the antithesis of the rule of law in a democratic system…starting with habeas corpus. Until that is reinstated, it is all a matter of degree…just my thoughts on the matter…
Keep Up the Good Fight!
April 26th, 2011
7:08 pm
Dave, according to the article you cited in Politifact, the CBO has not been debunked. But does not matter because you apparently have your own assessment without evidence or basis.
Midori
April 26th, 2011
7:09 pm
He sounds tea-ish…………..
That just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?
md
April 26th, 2011
7:11 pm
“The Congressional Budget Office issued updated figures today that predict the budget deficit for fiscal year 2011 will be a flaming huge $1.5 trillion. That’s about $414 billion bigger than the CBO last August figured this year’s shortfall would be. And yes, it would be a record in terms of absolute dollar red ink for Uncle Sam.”
This was in January……5 whole months between estimates………..for those inclined to use the cbo as any kind of indicator………..
Joe Mama
April 26th, 2011
7:11 pm
Josef — “Why try to argue the rule of law as the fundamental of a democratic state with the emotional reactionary? It serves little or no purpose.”
Just so long as people who think like that aren’t working in law enforcement or corrections.
“We should be more concerned with how this present administration has kept in place policies from the previous one which are the antithesis of the rule of law in a democratic system…starting with habeas corpus.”
On that point, sir, we are in agreement. I am sorely disappointed in the President’s failure to undo his predecessor’s mistake in that area. Sorely disappointed indeed.
Joe Mama
April 26th, 2011
7:13 pm
Midori — “That just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?”
Not as well as “Tealiban,” I think.
Or Teahadi.
If they go all violent on us, we can call them Tearorrists.
Dave R.
April 26th, 2011
7:15 pm
Maybe you didn’t read this, Keep:
“Seniors will have to find $12,500 for health care because Republicans voted to end Medicare,” the ad says.
We found that Ryan’s plan for Medicare is a dramatic change of course, but we didn’t agree with the contention that the proposal ends Medicare. For this and other reasons, we rated it Pants on Fire.”
Plain as the nose on your face.
AmVet - A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned how to walk forward. ~Franklin D. Roosevelt
April 26th, 2011
7:16 pm
josef, did you hear about Phoebe Snow?
http://www.cnn.com/2011/SHOWBIZ/celebrity.news.gossip/04/26/phoebe.snow.obit/index.html?hpt=T2
RIP, Phoebe…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SESmndcKI0&feature=related
Paul
April 26th, 2011
7:16 pm
Like I’ve said, the only thing the ‘who would you support’ polls are good for at this point it to demonstrate name recognition.
Hi Midori!
That town hall video – kinda reminds you of this blog with audio, doesn’t it?
Joe Mama
April 26th, 2011
7:20 pm
AmVet — “RIP, Phoebe…”
I did not realize she was Jewish; I had always had the impression that she was African-American. She certainly had a unique voice and style.
Paul
April 26th, 2011
7:22 pm
Oh, and regarding Trump
One of the pundits on Fox the other night said “Anyone who thinks Pres Obama isn’t an American is nuts.”
Apologists said the Trump/birther issue was kept alive by the media. Now Trump’s started the ‘academic credentials’ line and he’s only himself to blame.
Krauthammer called Trump “the Al Sharpton of the Republican Party – provocateur and clown, he’s going to harm the Party if he runs.”
TaxPayer
April 26th, 2011
7:28 pm
I see some folks here are still in denial about the impact of Ryan’s yellow brick roadmap to the end of medicare and medicaid and food stamps, etc. The people at his town hall meeting spotted it and did not like it. After all, what is there for the average taxpaying voter to like about a GOP plan to throw the poor and elderly under the bus in order to give the billionaires another tax break while still allowing the national debt to go up and up and up and up, year after year after year. The GOP has just dumped one too many compound lies on we the people and it is finally catching up with them. Ewwwww.
josef nix
April 26th, 2011
7:29 pm
AmVet
A truly great human being all the way around…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxJU1X1YSDE&feature=related